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Epiphone “1939” Century Lap Steel

Epiphone introduces the “1939” Century Lap Steel, a re-issue of the company’s art deco inspired Hawaiian lap steel guitar.

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This new lap steel guitar is inspired by the original Epiphone Electar, as originally designed by Epiphone’s popular salesman Herb Sunshine and the firm’s founder Epi Stathopoulo.

The new Epiphone 1939 Century Lap Steel 6-String Outfit follows the profile of vintage Electars, and it features the same wood combination and ebony finish as vintage specimens. The company also utilized a classic Plexiglass fingerboard for this release, featuring a traditional “1939” Art Deco replica inlay design.

The company shared a quick back story of the Electar, “Herb Sunshine was one of Epi Stathopoulo’s key employees at the “House of Stathopoulo” headquarters in New York and helped to inspire Epiphone to become the leading name in affordable professional instruments. “Epi’s father had brought over their Greek traditions from the old country and Epi was just carrying on where the old man had left off. They had terrific pride. Epi personally examined every guitar and banjo,” Sunshine told Epiphone historian Jim Fisch. “We called electric guitars and amplifiers “Electar” which is a name I coined.”

Now the 1939 Electar lap steel guitar is being made available and more reliable for modern players while retaining the original guitar’s specs and the company’s trademark affordable price tag. It has the same one-piece mahogany body and neck that ensures structural stability and better resonance, and the instrument follows the compact and portable shape of the original.

The 22.5″ scale length plexiglass fingerboard has 28 frets and is designed to look and feel like a brand new guitar from the past brought here to the present. It features a 2.5″ aluminum nut that is raised for slide playing and Wilkinson Deluxe 3-inLine machine heads with ivory colored buttons for reliable tuning and matching old school look. Even the headstock is sprinkled with vintage goodness, sporting a traditional metal Epiphone badge as seen on the company’s earliest electric archtops from the 40s through the introduction of the Epiphone Casino in 1961.

Giving this lap steel guitar its voice is an Epiphone 500B “Blade” Humbucker that is wired to conventional master volume and tone controls, both of which are equipped with Epiphone’s “Circus Tent” shaped plastic knobs. Wrapping up the features are the aluminum bridge and tailpiece that come with a nickel-plated steel cover to complete the instrument’s classic appeal.

Check out the official video demo of the Epiphone “1939” Century Lap Steel:

The MSRP for the “1939” Century Lap Steel is $415 and it is currently available for preorder with a price tag of just $249, making it a viable entry level lap steel guitar for those who want to lap steel slide playing. For more information and the complete specifications, you can head over to Epiphone.

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