2021 Epiphone USA Frontier – £2849

NEW ARRIVAL  The Frontier holds a very important part in Gibson’s development of the acoustic guitar. When Gibson bought Epiphone in 1957, and moved their production from New York to Kalamazoo, Michigan, they continued the production of Epiphone guitars under the same roof, and also used the Epiphone brand for more adventurous designs. When the Frontier was first produced in 1958 it was the first square shoulder acoustic produced in the Kalamazoo factory, being the forerunner of the Gibson Hummingbird and Dove in 1960. The Frontier production ended in 1970, and is now considered one of the most desirable square shoulder dreadnoughts of that iconic era. Gibson’s master luthiers have resurrected the model and, under the Epiphone banner, painstakingly produced a modern version of the famous guitar. It features a Spruce top with figured Maple back and sides, a bound Rosewood fingerboard with classic Mother of Pearl slotted rectangle inlays, gold-plated Gotoh Keystone tuners, hand-scalloped X-bracing, compound dovetail neck-to-body joint, all put together using hot hide glue. Oh and then there’s the most distinctive of all pickguards featuring cactus and rope images. Tonally the guitar really packs a punch – it’s bright and dynamic, with a sweetness in the upper mids and lower trebles, yet just enough richness in the bass to keep it all balanced. The playability is good, with a comfortable neck and easy action. As a four year old guitar it’s in excellent condition, and comes with an LR Baggs VTC pickup in it’s original deluxe hard case.