Gordy’s 1951 Triumph Regent

A booming Epiphone archtop gets a second lifetime of use

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                      ©  2019 — Kenneth Lelen — All Rights Reserved

                                                 Photo: Lark Street Music
1951 Epiphone Triumph Regent was
played by Gordy Burgess for 50 years

Size still matters. This acoustic archtop from Epiphone is a 17-3/8-inch wide Triumph Regent made in 1951. It is a maple-bodied, spruce-toppped jazz box with a sunburst finish, 25.5-inch scale length, enclosed tuners with marbleloid buttons, 1-11/16-inch nut width, and a cutaway body.

It has no pick-up or electric gizmos. Yet it has all the volume, projection and cutting power it needs to fill a ballroom.

It was played for 50 years by one man — John Gordon (Gordy) Burgess (July 1915 to March 2005) of Chicago IL. He played jazz guitar as well as harmonica his entire his life, according to his wife, Ginny Burgess of Altamonte Springs FL.

After she heard me perform a Vintage Music Concert at her retirement home in October 2005, she decided to give me her husband's guitar. At least, this way, it would be used, she concluded.

Gordy's guitar (SN 63217) was just 55 years old when I received it. It was in remarkable condition, lacking evidence of aging, with a bit of yellowing to its lacquer finish and white plastic parts to prove its age.

The nut width is 1-11/16-inch, which is standard on most archtop guitars of the day. And unlike Gibson archtops, which bury the truss rod adjustment in the headstock, this Epi's truss rod adjustment is set at the end of the fingerboard.

The original pickguard, gone before I got the guitar, was replaced in 2006 with a new unit by luthier Randy Wood of Bloomingdale GA. He also dressed the frets, adjusted the two-piece rosewood bridge and found a proper-fitting case for the instrument. A period D'Armond pick-up, which Gordy used on most occasions he played the guitar, was removed and stored in the case.

Lower bout width grew in 1937
Introduced in 1931 among Epiphone's carved-top guitars, the Triumph's lower bout originally was 16-3/8-inches wide. The guitar cost $125 — serious money for a professional musician.

                                                                                                                      Photo: VintAxe.com
Catalog page for 1936 Epiphone Triumph archtop guitar
with 17-3/8-inch wide non-cutaway body and $125 price

Then, in 1936, the nut size increased from 1-3/4-inch to 1-11/16-inch. In a bold move for Epiphone, the New York City maker added an inch to the guitar's body, making the Triumph model a 17-3/8-inch wide monster.

A large polished nickel tailpiece was replaced by the lighter and now famous Frequensator frequency compensating tailpiece. It grouped the strings in two pairs — one length for the three bass strings and another, shorter length for the three treble strings.

In the mid- to late-1930s an Epi Triumph was regarded by musicians as one of the most versatile guitars of the Big Band Era. Compared to other orchestral archtops, the price was still competitive at $125.

Cutaway introduced in 1948

                                                                              Photo: VintAxe.com
Catalog page for 1950 Triumph Regent
with 17-3/8-inch wide cutaway body

The Triumph's cutaway version — the Regent —was introduced in 1948. It was priced at $210 for a blonde version finished in the "gleaming whiteness of natural wood" and $190 for the regular non-cutaway version finished in a "rich, golden brown."

The cutaway option lasted until 1953. By then, it had become the guitar of choice for working musicians in a studio, nightclub or juke joint combo. Given the upper-fret demands of most jazzmen, they felt the Regent had all the playability of a non-cut body. Its voice was clear and forward, with the cutting power typical for an Epi.

Now 68 years old, this 1951 Triumph Regent is ready for a second lifetime. It already has a voice that rivals a noncut archtop in volume, projection and tonal response.

Or, as vintage dealer Buzz Levine of Lark Street Music in Teaneck NJ said when he saw this big jazz box, "It has drenchingly beautiful tone."

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© 2019 — Kenneth Lelen — All Rights Reserved