Playable Project - Epiphone Masterbilt Deluxe 1933 - Blonde Refinish

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This is a 1933 Epiphone Masterbuilt Deluxe, a pre-war carved archtop from the years when Epiphone and Gibson were fighting it out to build the best orchestra guitar in America. It's a playable project. It's had some work over the years and it isn't original, but it has good bones, a straight neck, and a sound that'll make you forget about all of that the minute you play a chord.

The Early Masterbilt Deluxe

In 1931 Epiphone launched its Masterbilt line, a new series of carved-top archtops, and put the De Luxe at the top of it. It was Epiphone's flagship, priced at $275, and it was built to go head to head with the Gibson L-5, which was the guitar every serious orchestra player wanted at the time. Epiphone even made the body 16 3/8 inches across, a little wider than the 16 inch L-5, to give players a bit more. That small edge kicked off the size race between the two companies that ran through the rest of the decade.

The first Deluxes were fancy guitars for their day. Period specs call for a carved spruce top, a carved figured maple back, solid maple sides, rope-pattern purfling, a bound rosewood fingerboard with diamond and triangle inlays, three-segment f-holes, gold-plated hardware, and a chunky laminated maple neck. The headstock carried the famous Masterbilt banner with floral pearl inlays, which is why these early guitars are known as Masterbilts. The original finish was sunburst.

That first design didn't last long. By 1934 Epiphone had redone the headstock and dropped the Masterbilt banner. By 1935 the segmented f-holes were gone. Then around 1935 to 1936, after Gibson came out with its larger "Advanced" L-5, Epiphone grew the Deluxe a full inch to 17 3/8 inches. So the original 16 3/8 inch Masterbilt Deluxe was only built for a few years in the early 1930s.

Those also happened to be the worst years of the Depression. The Deluxe was an expensive guitar, and Vintage Guitar notes that sales were low when it came out. Not many people had $275 to spend on a guitar in 1933, so not many of these were made, and far fewer have made it through the last ninety-plus years. Later Deluxes from the late '30s and '40s turn up much more often. These first-generation Masterbilts don't come along often at all.

Plenty of collectors and players think the early guitars are the ones to have. They were Epiphone's first real shot at the L-5, built when the company was trying to prove it could make the best archtop in the country, and the 16 3/8 inch body gives them a punchy, focused voice that's a little different from the bigger Epis that came after.

It has that dry, woody, punchy voice you only really get from an old carved archtop. Notes jump off the top with a fast, strong attack and a quick, clean decay, so chords come out tight and focused instead of washing together. Play rhythm on it and you get that classic swing-era chop that sits right in the middle of a band and pushes it along. The midrange is full and warm, the trebles are clear without getting harsh, and there's plenty of volume when you dig in.

Single-note lines sound round and vocal, and it's easy to hear how these guitars were made to be heard over a horn section before amps took over. If you play jazz, swing, old blues, or western swing, this is the sound on all those old records. Ninety-plus years of the wood drying out and opening up hasn't hurt it either.

How It Plays

It plays very well, but that's partly because the bridge has been shaved down A LOT so the action could be set low. Technically the guitar needs a neck reset, but as it sits right now it plays easily and you can enjoy it as is.

The neck is straight. It's been refretted at some point with small, vintage-style frets. They're even and they play well, but not cosmetically perfect.

Condition

• Refinished at some point in a natural finish
• Bridge significantly shaved to get the action low
• Needs a neck reset
• Refretted at some point with small vintage-style frets, even and playing well
• Some holes on the side of the neck where a pickup was once mounted
• Missing the Epiphone logo on the headstock
• Straight neck and good bones overall

A Good Project Guitar

This would be a great guitar for someone who wants a real pre-war Epiphone to play right now, and maybe fix up over time. Play it as is and enjoy it, or do the neck reset, put a proper bridge on it, and restore the headstock logo when you're ready. Either way you're starting with a 1933 Masterbuilt that sounds great and plays well today.

Includes

• Non-original case

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