1964 Epiphone FT90 El Dorado
The Gibson-built Epiphone FT90 El Dorado was released in 1963 and featured the Hummingbird’s 16” wide square shouldered Dreadnought body, spruce and mahogany tone woods, and 7-ply top bindings. Unlike the Hummingbird, it was built with a long 25.4” scale. The guitar’s distinctive tortoise celluloid pickguard was large and uniquely shaped and had a gold Epiphone epsilon logo affixed under the lacquer.
This example is a staff favorite. It’s a wonderful strummer and songwriting companion that really shines under a light to medium right hand attack. It’s a surprisingly deft fingerstyle dreadnought as well. There’s plenty of low end warmth and openness mated with rounded treble string response and a nicely supportive midrange. It’s smooth and even, sustains nicely, is easy to control, and particularly friendly to play.
In particularly fine condition with the exception of a professionally executed headstock repair, this FT-90 El Dorado shows very little playwear to its finish and frets and is set-up optimally. The bridge and bridge plate have been replaced with non-adjustable 50’s style parts, and there is a properly repaired crack at the pickguard’s inside margin. A Fishman Matrix pickup was installed by our shop in the not-too-distant past. No other repairs, cracks, or issues. All the braces are tight and have never been reglued. The single-line Kluson tuners, nut, frets, bridge pins and finish are all original.
Compact neck feel with a 1-5/8” nut and a 1st fret neck depth of .835”. Depth at the 9th fret is .933”.
With hardshell case
This example is a staff favorite. It’s a wonderful strummer and songwriting companion that really shines under a light to medium right hand attack. It’s a surprisingly deft fingerstyle dreadnought as well. There’s plenty of low end warmth and openness mated with rounded treble string response and a nicely supportive midrange. It’s smooth and even, sustains nicely, is easy to control, and particularly friendly to play.
In particularly fine condition with the exception of a professionally executed headstock repair, this FT-90 El Dorado shows very little playwear to its finish and frets and is set-up optimally. The bridge and bridge plate have been replaced with non-adjustable 50’s style parts, and there is a properly repaired crack at the pickguard’s inside margin. A Fishman Matrix pickup was installed by our shop in the not-too-distant past. No other repairs, cracks, or issues. All the braces are tight and have never been reglued. The single-line Kluson tuners, nut, frets, bridge pins and finish are all original.
Compact neck feel with a 1-5/8” nut and a 1st fret neck depth of .835”. Depth at the 9th fret is .933”.
With hardshell case