Epiphone Olympic Double, Cream (1963)

One of the coolest variants of Gibson's Melody Maker format you're likely to encounter, this '63 Epiphone Olympic Double debunks the notion that these "student model" electrics can't hang with the big boys.

One of 212 shipped in 1963, this Olympic Double was completed during a transitional era for the model and for Epiphone electrics heading into the mid 60s and the end of the decade. It featured the newly adapted asymmetrical cutaway Mahogany body, early-style short open book headstock with 3x3 tuner configuration, and a wide nut at 1 11/16". This spec gave way to what was dubbed the "batwing" 6-in-line headstock in 1964, with a narrower 1 9/16" nut width.

The slim body design produced a very lightweight guitar - this one is just 5lb 5oz! Combined with the medium-full C neck carve, it's very resonant and lively acoustically.

This Olympic bears an old homegrown refinish in what we've affectionately named Creamed Corn - a Cream-ish opaque color with hints of pale yellow and even a slight tint of green in the right light. It also got the stinger treatment! The serial number was partially sanded in the process, but still shows impression into the wood. It's funky, but we love it! It does appear that the fingerboard was temporarily removed during the refin, as there's evidence of some finish/adhesive residue where it meets the neck in a few spots. It's a nice slab of Brazilian Rosewood, nonetheless, and the frets cleaned up very nicely in-house.

Thankfully, the pickguard, pickups, wiring harness, and knobs remained entirely intact. The original single line Kluson tuners also work great. It came to us with a Badass wraparound bridge, which we replaced in favor of a MojoAxe "lightning bar" wraptail, compensated for a plain G string.

This is just the kind of player-grade vintage electric we love having here in the shop. It's fun to play, sounds great, and tells a story of its unique history.

Includes vintage Epiphone chipboard.