Epiphone Deluxe 1946

Directly competing with Gibson's L-5, the Deluxe sold for the same price, but distinguished itself with its richer ornamentation and generally louder, slightly brighter tone. With its enormous projection, the Deluxe was a favorite among big band guitarists who had to compete with a full horn section without amplification. Although listed in the catalog until 1955, few examples were produced after 1953, when Epiphone's New York factory closed. This made postwar Deluxe guitars highly sought-after instruments among collectors and players. 

This 1946 Deluxe is a particularly great example, carved from tightly flamed fiddleback maple and featuring an exceptionally fine-grained, quarter-sawn spruce top in a bookmatched configuration. The guitar delivers the brilliant projection and clarity for which Epiphone has always been known. The five-piece maple and walnut neck has a comfortable soft V-profile with beautiful pearloid cloud inlays on the rosewood fingerboard. The guitar is equipped with original gold-plated Epsilon logo tuners with marbeloid buttons and an unstamped Frequensator tailpiece, which is only found in this model year. The multi-piece binding, bound tortoiseshell pickguard, and bound F-holes give the guitar a refined vintage look. 

This Epiphone Deluxe has undergone a neck reset and refret over the years, during which the nut has also been replaced and raised. The fingerboard has also been filled in several places. The tuners and Frequensator tailpiece are original, and the pickguard is vintage-correct. The binding in the bass-side F-hole has shrunk at the corners, and some lacquer repairs have been made to the body and neck. Despite these adjustments, the guitar is in excellent condition and retains its authentic character. The Dutch Archtop Museum acquired the guitar in September 2009 from Joe Vinikow of Seattle, who received it from a collection in the Boston area. The guitar comes in a hardshell case.