Brand: Epiphone
Instrument Categories: Electric, Guitars, REDUCED, SOLD, Solidbody
Shown here is a fairly rare guitar – an Epiphone Olympic Special, built during 1963 at the Gibson Kalamazoo plant and looking almost exactly like a single-pickup Melody Maker. This version was offered from 1963 to 1969, with a production total of around 3,000 guitars.
The Epiphone Olympic Special was introduced in 1963 in the ‘Melody Maker’ form seen here, with the Vibrola tailpiece appearing later in the year. By late 1965, the body design was changed to resemble the Epiphone Olympic and Crestwood models. The electronics duplicate the Gibson Melody Maker parts.
Construction of the Epiphone Olympic Special is very simple. The body is a slab of Mahogany with a one-piece Mahogany neck, while the fingerboard is Rosewood, until 1967 sourced from Brazil. The Epiphone logo runs along the length of the head, so it’s right side up to the audience, but not the player.
The tuners are open-gear strip models with creme plastic buttons. A short Maestro Vibrola is mounted just behind the stop-bar tailpiece, which has raised ridges for improved intonation. The faux-tortoise pickguard holds the pickup, volume and tone controls and output jack, all mounted from the front.
These Epiphone Olympic Special models are seldom seen. This example is in overall good condition, especially considering that it’s over sixty years old. The finish is Gibson’s nitrocellulose lacquer sunburst, showing natural checking and oxidization. There are a few small chips around the edges. Fret wear is light and the guitar plays well.
A modern hard shell case is included.
- Model: Olympic Special
- Year: 1963
- Finish Sunburst
- Class: Vintage
- Country of Origin: USA
- Condition: Good
- Date Posted: 13/02/2024
- This instrument has been sold
- Consignment Item
- Required CITES documentation
- Scale Length: 24.in
