The Ultimate Guitar in the Epiphone Line-Up

This full-bodied (18 1/2 inches wide and 3 1/2 inches deep) Jazzbox weighs just 8.60 lbs. The body is multi-bound with laminated spruce top and laminated curly maple back and sides. Seven-piece maple and mahogany neck with a scale length of 25 1/2 inches and a nice, fat nut width of 1 3/4 inches. Rosewood fretboard with 20 frets and pearl block with abalone "V" inlays at frets one, three, five, seven, nine, and twelve, and a pearl rectangle at position fifteen. Large headstock with the inlaid pearl "tree-of-life" and "Epiphone." Individual Epiphone closed-back tuners with tulip-shaped Keystone buttons. The headstock is triple-bound and f-holes are single-bound. All metal parts are gold-plated. The pickguard has been replaced, some of the body binding is coming away, as usual, and a small piece of binding has chipped away from around the top edge of the right-hand f-hole (which is now hidden by the replacement pickguard). There is an early two-layer plastic plate on the side of the guitar strengthening the input jack, otherwise this fifty-five-year old "ultimate Jazzbox" is in remarkably fine and original condition, and is still housed in its original Epiphone brown hardshell case with purple plush lining (7.50).

On par with the Gibson Super 400, the $540.00 (1954 price) Zephyr Emperor Regent was the ultimate guitar in the Epiphone electric line of instruments, with three pickups, elaborate ornamentation, and a body size of 18 1/2 inches. It was generally believed that the Zephyr Emperor Regent was issued in 1952; however, an ad in the November 1950 issue of Metronome magazine introduced this wondrous guitar to the public at $440.00. The original name for the guitar was the "Zephyr Emperor Vari Tone," which referred to the tonal variety available from the "Vari Tone" circuit. The name "Zephyr Emperor Regent" was used from 1952 until 1954, when the name became "Emperor Electric." The Zephyr Emperor Vari Tone/Regent/Electric had the same cosmetic features as the Emperor Acoustic and remained available until 1957. The electric components on the Zephyr Emperor Regent are unique. Three-tone spectrum pickups are connected to the Vari Tone, a bank of six push-button selector switches mounted below the single volume and tone controls. The push buttons are mounted on an oblong metal plate. Pickup selections are 1, 1+3, 3, 1+2+3, 2+3, and 2.