However, it wasn’t the guitars that attracted Gibson it was Epiphone’s upright basses.

In the early ’90s, this writer spoke to Ted McCarty, Gibson’s boss of this era, and he remembered how those problems appeared to present an opportunity. By now, Epiphone boasted a packed catalogue with nine acoustic archtops, from the mighty Emperor to the small-body Olympic, four F.T.-series flat‑tops, two classical models, four electric archtops (Zephyr De Luxe, Zephyr, Century and Coronet), plus electric steels, acoustic and electric mandolins, upright basses, acoustic and electric banjos, amplifiers and accessories.īosses at Gibson had seen their upright-bass manufacturing disappear following World War II – and they couldn’t help but notice the problems over at Epiphone.

Alongside Epi’s late-’30s electric instruments was the Rocco Tonexpressor volume and tone foot controller, the first ever guitar pedal.Īs America entered World War II in 1942, Epiphone was neck and neck with Gibson as the biggest name in American guitars. Sunshine designed a new pickup for Epiphone/Electar that was the first with screw polepieces, allowing height adjustment for individual string volume, and also Epiphone’s distinctive twin-armed Frequensator tailpiece. Epi hired Herb Sunshine to develop the new-fangled electric instruments, and Herb in turn hired Nat Daniel, later of Danelectro fame, to create the necessary amplifiers.Īs America entered World War II in 1942, Epiphone was neck and neck with Gibson as the biggest name in American guitars

The Masterbilts marked the start of a battle for leadership in the acoustic archtop market between the two American brands, with bigger sizes and bigger claims throughout the 1930s and into the ’40s for models such as Gibson’s Super 400 and Epi’s Emperor.Įpiphone introduced electric guitars late in 1935, at first with the Electar brand, and the following year added its new F.T.

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