Author Archives: George Gruhn

1965 Epiphone Emperor, serial number 347083. Photo courtesy of George Gruhn. The Epiphone Emperor has a long, convoluted history. It first appeared in Epiphone’s catalog in late 1935 as a response to Gibson’s Super 400, which was introduced in late 1934. Epiphone went one better on Gibson’s 18″-wide Super 400 by making the Emperor 181?2″ […]

1934 Martin 12-Fret D-28. Photo courtesy Daniel Salvo. The Martin D-28 was first issued in 1931. And all dreadnought Martins made from 1931 through ’33 featured a 12-fret (a reference to the point at which the neck meets the body) slotted-head neck and extended-length body, rather than the more familiar squared upper bout and shorter […]

1953 Gibson Les Paul Junior photo courtesy George Gruhn. Gibson’s records tell us the Les Paul Junior was introduced in 1954. But here we have what appears to be a 1953 example. This instrument has no serial number on the back of the peghead, though the tone and volume pot codes indicate they were made […]

In early 1984, Mark Dronge, son of the Guild founder Alfred Dronge, was president of Guild. That year, Mark and I struck a deal to design six acoustic Guild guitars in two different body sizes. These were introduced at the 1984 summer National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) show in Chicago. Reaction to the acoustics […]

When Gibson’s F-5 was introduced in mid 1922, it was part of the series of Style 5 “Master Models” consisting of the F-5 mandolin, H-5 mandola, K-5 mandocello, and the L-5 guitar. These instruments all featured a special oval-shaped Master Model label visible through the bass-side f hole, and a matching-shape signature label signed and […]

While five-string banjos are far more popular today than any other style, during the height of the Dixieland Era of the 1920s, when Gibson introduced its famous Mastertone banjos, four-string tenor and plectrum models were in far greater demand. Five-string banjos were popular from the 1850s until shortly after the turn of the century, when […]

While five-string banjos are far more popular today than any other style, during the height of the Dixieland Era of the 1920s, when Gibson introduced its famous Mastertone banjos, four-string tenor and plectrum models were in far greater demand. Five-string banjos were popular from the 1850s until shortly after the turn of the century, when […]

From 1933 to ’42, Martin produced a total of 91 D-45 guitars. At the time, the model was the most deluxe and highest-priced flat-top guitar in the Martin line. Today, these instruments are among the most sought after of all steel-string flat-tops, and without doubt bring the highest prices of any vintage American-made acoustic guitars. […]

The braguinha, forerunner of the ukulele, was a small four-string instrument tuned in fifths. Named after the town of Braga in Portugal, the instrument arrived in Hawaii with the first group of Portuguese immigrants in 1878. But its owner didn’t know how to play it. A second boat, which arrived in 1879, carried not only […]

The Epiphone Emperor has a long, convoluted history. It first appeared in Epiphone’s catalog in late 1935 as a response to Gibson’s Super 400, which was introduced in late 1934. Epiphone went one better on Gibson’s 18″-wide Super 400 by making the Emperor 181?2″ wide. This was the top model in the Epiphone line. By […]