1964 Epiphone Olympic Sunburst, Very Good, Soft, $1,250.00

Summary: Like its Gibson-made sibling, the Melody Maker, Epiphone’s Olympic is a one-time beginner’s model that is now coveted for it’s stripped down vintage vibe and relative affordability. This particular Olympic has all the old-school tone and style you want, with some modern mods that make it a sweet and giggable player.

Body: Slab mahogany double-cut with sunburst nitrocellulose finish.

Neck: Solid mahogany. Unbound rosewood fretboard with dot inlays.

Electronics/Hardware: One single-coil pickup in bridge position. Single volume and tone controls. Electronics mounted to single-ply tortoise-shell pickguard. Three-on-a-strip Kluson Deluxe tuners. Original bridge replaced with compensated wrap-around bridge for improved intonation.

Cosmetics: This is a definite player’s guitar with the battle scars to prove it. Structurally, it’s break-free and solid as a rock, but the sides of the body and the headstock bear fair-sized dents and areas where the finish has worn away. There are smaller dings and finish chips on the neck, top and back. The finish has developed a very distinctive crazing pattern with lots of vintage character and overall the guitar has the look of a well-played old-school mojo machine. Even better, the fretboard is in excellent shape and has been refretted with jumbo frets that have tons of life left to them.

Playability: Thanks to its pleasantly chunky tapered neck, newer jumbo frets and compensated bridge this vintage “starter” guitar plays like a modern pro’s piece. Action is low without buzz or dead spots, and the neck is straight and correctly intonated. The bright and snappy single coil has plenty of spunk for rock, punk, country and blues.

Weight: 5 lbs, 14 oz.

Case: Chipboard.