Epiphone Zephyr Hawaiian 7-string Model Lap Steel Electric Guitar (1939), made in New York City, serial # 2650, black lacquer finish, maple body capped in plastic and metal, black gig bag case.
This is a nicely stylish pre-war 7-string lap steel from Epiphone in New York, with some finagles over the years but in good playing order. The black-lacquered wooden body has stepped edges, faced in white plastic with a metal top overlay. The fingerboard ornamentation and control graphics are displayed on this metal cap in silver, along with an "ELECTAR Zephyr" logo. The whole effect is very "1930s New York at night."
The pickup is a 7-string version of Epiphone's then-new "Trubalance" unit featuring a thin coil is wrapped in black tape and named for the adjustable screw polepieces the company pioneered. The volume and "Mastervoicer" tone controls are helpfully labeled. The pickup is covered by a metal handiest, the nut and tailpiece/bridge combination are milled aluminum.
The 4-and-3 layout headstock has an "Epiphone" metal logo plate pinned to the face. This is a cool looking and good sounding prewar-steel; The 7 string version of this instrument is much rarer than the 6-string version.
Overall length is 31 in. (78.7 cm.), 8 in. (20.3 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 2 in. (5.1 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 22 3/8 in. (568 mm.). Width of nut is 2 1/8 in. (54 mm.).
This old steel has seen plenty of use and some alterations over the last eight decades but still remains largely original and performs well. The black lacquer finish has checking, dings, dents and chips just about everywhere but no large areas of loss. The metal and plastic sections show wear as well, but are still quite presentable with a couple of small chips and cracks to the white overlay and dings in the edge of then metal top plate.
It has had some oddball work over the years; it appears someone made a half-hearted conversion to 8 string long ago, which was later reversed. A fairly discreet plugged hole in the headstock and some extra notches in the nut are the remaining evidence. The pickup is original; the pots are original or at least period but some rewiring was done long ago; there is an ancient primal RCA plug jack added on the bass side, which is still there but no longer wired in. Apart from this and an added ground to the bridge most of the wiring remain original.
The chicken-head knobs are old but not original, the tuners are a recent re-issue Grover set, which are a very good and perfectly fitted reproduction of the originals. One is SLIGHTLY mis-matched, the legacy of being a 7-string. The felt-covered panels on the back have a lot of wear; The remainder of the hardware is original. This is a good sounding steel with a fairly bright tone, a fairly rare variation on an Epiphone classic. Very Good + Condition.
