1945 Epiphone Spartan Archtop - Electrified, Refinished, and Bigsby'd - w/OHSC
New Arrival — 1945 Epiphone Spartan Archtop, a guitar born at a pivotal moment in American history. With World War II just coming to an end, materials and skilled factory labor were finally becoming available again, and U.S. guitar production began to cautiously ramp back up. Very few instruments were made during this transition period, which makes wartime and immediate post-war Epiphones especially scarce.
The Spartan itself was introduced in 1934 as a round-soundhole acoustic archtop and remained that way until 1937, when it adopted F-holes and the familiar look most players recognize today. Over its entire production run, it’s estimated that only 1,153 Spartans were built, and surviving factory data suggests that just 25–40 examples may have been made in 1945 — making this a genuinely rare piece.
This particular Spartan has lived an interesting second life. Decades ago, it was thoughtfully converted from a purely acoustic instrument into an electrified jazz machine, fitted with a mid-1970s DiMarzio pickup, volume and tone controls, a gold Bigsby tremolo tailpiece and bridge, and gold Grover tuners. A neck reset, minor crack repairs, new frets, and extra reinforcement were added to the wood around the output jack. The original unused mounting holes from the original tuners and pickguard were filled before the guitar received a deep, elegant lacquer sunburst refinish. The result is a cohesive, period-respectful overhaul that feels intentional rather than invasive.
It has now been given a full Cumberland Guitars setup, strung with flatwound strings, and is ready to do what it does best — warm, articulate jazz tones with effortless playability. Even better, it still includes its original case. The frets have the typical worn spots but intonation and playability is not affected. See photos.
A rare survivor from a brief and important chapter in American guitar history, reimagined long ago into a serious player’s instrument. It's a double time capsule!
This lovely Spartan is available for a test drive in our Jamestown, Kentucky showroom, and we ship all over the globe. Let us know if you have any questions!
Weight: 6lbs 0oz