1930s Epiphone Electar Model M Art Deco Lap Steel | Original Case

A stunning example of one of the earliest and most recognizable electric lap steels ever produced, this 1930s Epiphone Electar Model M is a true piece of American electric guitar history. Built during the pioneering years of amplified instruments, the Electar Model M combines unmistakable Art Deco styling with the warm, singing voice that made these early steels legendary.

This one has all the charm you’d hope for from an instrument approaching 90 years old. The original geometric graphics, white catalin-style body, colorful fret markers, and matching headstock make it an absolute showpiece whether it’s being played or displayed.

Even better, it delivers where it counts—it sounds fantastic. Plugged in, it produces the rich, smooth vintage lap steel tone these early Epiphones are known for.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
◆ Features & Highlights
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

♦ Authentic 1930s Epiphone Electar Model M

♦ Original pickup with classic pre-war lap steel tone

♦ Gorgeous Art Deco graphics and design

♦ White molded body with original hardware

♦ Original multicolored fret position markers

♦ Original hard shell case included

♦ A wonderful addition for collectors, studios, or players alike

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
◆ Condition
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

This instrument remains remarkably complete for its age.

The most notable cosmetic issue is the binding alongside the fingerboard, which has come loose or fallen away in sections (pictured). Fortunately, the instrument remains fully intact and structurally solid.

Additional cosmetic wear includes:

♦ Missing several colored fret marker dots

♦ Normal scratches, nicks, dings, and finish wear throughout

♦ Honest age-related patina to the hardware and body

♦ Typical wear expected from a nearly century-old instrument

Despite its cosmetic imperfections, this Electar is complete, functions properly, and has an incredible vintage voice.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
◆ Why Collectors Love These
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The Electar series represents Epiphone’s earliest venture into electric instruments during the birth of amplified music in the 1930s. Their striking Art Deco styling, molded construction, and unmistakable tone have made them increasingly desirable among vintage guitar collectors and lap steel enthusiasts alike. Finding one this complete—with its original case—is becoming harder every year.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
◆ Shipping
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Your guitar will be professionally packaged, fully insured, and shipped with the same level of care we use for high-end vintage instruments every day.

Whether you’re a collector of early electric guitars, a vintage recording enthusiast, or a serious lap steel player, this 1930s Epiphone Electar Model M is a beautiful and increasingly hard-to-find example that captures the beginning of the electric guitar era.