Epiphone Howard Roberts Fusion III 1988～1989 - Black

This is a Japanese-made model manufactured only for two years, from 1988 to 1989, and is black in color. The body has a semi-acoustic construction with a spruce top and a mahogany body, making it thicker than a typical semi-acoustic guitar. It has a mahogany neck and rosewood fingerboard. The pickups are in an unusual SSH configuration for a semi-acoustic guitar, with each pickup switchable on/off. The body structure and pickup configuration allow for a wide range of tonal possibilities.

The condition is excellent; the body and neck are free of scratches, and it's remarkably clean for a guitar over 35 years old. The neck appears straight, and the frets are estimated to have over 80% remaining.

The HR Fusion III, produced for only two years in the late 1980s, is extremely rare, and is one of the fewest guitars produced bearing the Howard Roberts name. In fact, due to its extreme rarity, finding photographs or examples of this model is difficult; the only readily available reference image is from an original Epiphone advertisement.

Featuring a spruce and mahogany back, sides, and neck, this semi-hollow, single-cutaway Howard Roberts Fusion III boasts excellent natural volume, further enhanced by its versatile pickups. The standard single-coil pickups in the neck and middle positions deliver a focused, crisp sound with ample sweetness, while the bridge position is a hot humbucker rich in harmonically full midrange. Each pickup has an individual on/off kill switch, and master volume and tone controls complete the tone-shaping options. The guitar weighs 3.7kg.

The one-piece mahogany neck has a slim C-shape profile with minimal shoulder and a subtle taper, and the thick slab rosewood fingerboard features dot inlays and standard fret wire slightly smaller than medium jumbo. The scale length is 24 3/4 inches, and the nut width is 1 5/8 inches. The headstock features a shape known as "clipped ear" and a large decorative inlay.

The body is equipped with original electronic components, and the on/off switches for each pickup, as well as the master volume and master tone controls, operate independently. The ABR-1 and stop tail are particularly clean, and although there are some minor scratches on the black multiply pickguard, the overall appearance is very clean with a glossy ebony finish. There are only a few minor scratches and scuffs on the glossy top, a dent of a few millimeters near the 6th fret on the 6th string side of the neck, and a few light scratches on the back. Enjoy the diverse sounds in the video.