Brand: Epiphone
Instrument Categories: Archtop, Electric, Guitars, SOLD
This is an Epiphone Elitist Byrdland in natural finish, built during 2008 at the Terada plant near Nagoya. This plant builds many top quality instruments, including much of the Gretsch pro-line guitars.
This guitar is in very good condition, and seems to be entirely original and in excellent condition with very little wear of any kind. The plating is exceptionally good.
The wood selection on this guitar is spectacular. Unusually for Gibson archtop models intended to function as electrics, the top is bookmatched, solid carved Spruce and the back is bookmatched, solid carved Maple. The sides are also solid. The neck uses three pieces of Maple for stability, and carries a bound Ebony fingerboard with Mother of Pearl block position markers. The head is also bound. Unusually for non-US made Epiphones or guitars in general, the Epiphone Elitist Byrdland fingerboard binding shows that Gibson USA’s production method was used. In this, the fingerboard is inlaid, crowned and fretted, and then bound, prior to being mounted to the neck. This leaves small ‘nubs’ covering the end of the frets.
The original hard shell case is included.
Byrdlands are fun to play because they are so easy to get around on and ‘big’ chords are an easy reach. The spruce archtop construction lends itself to jazz playing, but as Ted Nugent illustrates, it certainly doesn’t limit it.
In the mid 1950’s, Billy Byrd and Hank Garland were two of the hottest session players in Nashville, and Gibson produced the Byrdland to meet their needs.
Introduced in 1955, the Byrdland has a full 17 inch wide body, with maple back and sides and carved spruce top – but its depth is only 2.25 inches, and to allow for complex chording, the scale length is very short at 23.5 inches. It’s been available with both Florentine (pointed) and venetian (rounded) cutaways.
- Model: Elitist Byrdland
- Year: 2008
- Finish Natural Gloss
- Class: Used
- Serial Number: T806548, built during 2008 by Terada at Nagoya Japan
- Country of Origin: Japan
- Condition: Excellent
- Date Posted: 11/07/2023
- This instrument has been sold
- Consignment Item
- Including original Hard case
- Instrument Weight: 6.776lbs 3.08kg
- Scale Length: 23.543in 598mm
- Nut Width: 1.707in 43.37mm
