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1965 Epiphone Dwight Model Coronet
Shields’ business model came to include a line of house-branded instruments that were geared towards his students. Partnering with CMI (the parent company of Gibson/Epiphone and distributor for Valco) Sunny Shields Music offered student-grade guitars, steels, and amplifiers branded "Dwight." The lineup consisted of several rebranded Valco-made instruments and amplifiers, along with Dwight-branded versions of the Gibson-made Epiphone Olympic and Coronet models.
Made in 1965, this Epiphone Dwight Model is a rebranded Coronet sold through Sunny Shields Music. The guitar features typical mid-'60s Coronet specs, including a single "dog-ear" P-90 pickup, Maestro Vibrola, mahogany body and neck with a rosewood fingerboard, batwing headstock with 6-on-a-plate tuners, amplifier-style knobs, and narrow string spacing at the nut. While the earliest "Dwight" Coronet guitars featured the Dwight name on the peghead and a "D" in place of the "E" on the pickguard, Dwight models from later in the decade like this one, feature the Epiphone name and logo on the headstock and pickguard, and the "Dwight" name is only found on the truss rod cover.
A wonderfully preserved example of a Gibson-built Epiphone guitar from the mid-1960s, this Dwight model features an incredibly clean and largely unfaded Cherry Red finish. The guitar is completely original throughout and is repair free. Apart from a handful of minor finish chips and light wear to the first five frets, this guitar is in excellent condition, suggesting that the student who initially owned this guitar likely did not make it very far with their lessons!
With its single P-90 pickup that is slightly underwound (6.6k), this Dwight Coronet delivers a rich and open amplified voice that retains defined note separation and overall clarity that some hotter P-90s lack. Lower reading aside, the tonal response is very much akin to that of a great SG Junior, with all the power, width, and bark one hopes to have from a vintage P-90 equipped solid body Gibson. The mid-'60s Kalamazoo neck profile has a fast feel that, while relatively lean in the first position, tapers to a very full carve by the 7th fret or so. While the guitar features Gibson's Maestro Vibrola, we bypassed the tailpiece during setup to improve resonance and tuning stability. Weighing in at a mere 6lbs 1oz, this lightweight solidbody can be played comfortably for hours on end.
Scale length of 24.75", nut width of 1-9/16", 1st fret depth of .804", and 12th fret depth of 0.949".
With modern hardshell case.
