“A lot of the great players did back in those days, when you really had to thump out the rhythm. “The great players like George Van Eps, Carmen Mastern and Freddie Green all had Epiphones,” Les recalled. For example, when Gibson introduced the Super 400 in 1934, which featured an 18-inch body and was Gibson’s largest archtop at that time, Epiphone responded by developing the Emperor, which boasted an 18 1/2-inch body.
The rivalry between Gibson and Epiphone significantly drove the evolution of archtop acoustic and electric guitars during this period. Gorgeous and stylish, these instruments lived up to their big city, aristocratic names– Broadway, Emperor, De Luxe – in every way. Almost from the very beginning of Epiphone’s guitar production efforts in 1928, there was a synergy between the two brands – somewhat adversarial at first, but also with considerable admiration on both sides.Įpiphone’s guitar production expanded rapidly during the Art Deco Thirties, and the company quickly became known as a preeminent maker of jazz archtop guitars. The rivalry probably existed well before then, but as Epiphone eventually transformed its primary focus from building banjos and mandolins to guitars, the competition between the two companies became increasingly evident.
