Up for sale is here is a 1942 Epiphone Zephyr made in Epiphone’s New York factory – a great example of guitar manufacturers embracing the then-new electric jazzboxes!
This guitar is an absolutely amazing player and has a lot more playing life left in it!
I restored many points on this guitar while trying to keep as much original as possible; the guitar has been through two neck resets – it came to me with the neck separated from the body and barely hanging on by an ill advised bolt connecting the neck to the body. I restored the dovetail neck joint and set the neck to a proper angle; I’ve owned this guitar for a year and haven’t seen the action move a bit.
The tuners are original while the buttons were replaced at the same time as the neck reset. There is some minor delamination of the different neck woods at the headstock, but this seems to be where the wood has settled over the decades – it hasn’t gotten any worse in my time with it and does not impact tuning stability in the slightest.
the guitar came to me with no bridge – I found a suitable rosewood replacement. Electronics are all original – the pickup signal is slightly weak and the tone knob isn‘t properly functioning. I chose to not repair the electronics due to the historical significance of them – I would recommend removing the pickup and wiring entirely and replace them with a DeArmond Floating pickup if more modern functionality is desired! Removing the stock pickup will also allow greater control over string action – the pickup is non adjustable and set particularly high.
This guitar is an absolute joy to play in its current state, and it is amazing that an but the issues described are reflected in the price.
Ships in a 70s-80s Gibson archtop case
Please let me know if you have any questions or if you’d like to see more photos!