Used Epiphone Masterbilt Century Olympic Violin Burst w/Gig Bag

This Olympic is in very good shape overall. The solid spruce top is clean with only minor surface wear, and the Violin Burst aged gloss finish still looks great across the front. The back and sides show some light marks and a small amount of buckle rash — nothing deep or structural, just honest evidence of use. The most notable cosmetic issue is a small nick on the back of the headstock where a chip has exposed bare wood. Frets, fingerboard, neck, and all hardware are in good shape. Electronics are original, and the eSonic HD preamp and Shadow NanoFlex pickup are functioning. All tuners turn smoothly. The floating bridge and trapeze tailpiece are in clean condition with light tarnish consistent with the aged nickel finish.

Note: Epiphone originally shipped the Masterbilt Century Olympic with an uninstalled tortoise pickguard and mounting hardware. The pickguard is not included with this guitar.

Comes with an aftermarket Voyager gig bag that shows some exterior wear but is fully functional.

Weight: 4 lb 9 oz

The Masterbilt Century Collection was Epiphone's reintroduction of the classic archtop as a true acoustic instrument — not a hollow-body electric, but a proper archtop acoustic-electric designed to sound like an acoustic guitar both unplugged and amplified. The Olympic is the smallest model in the line, inspired by the original 1930s Epiphone Olympic, with a compact body profile, f-holes, and a solid spruce top with traditional longitudinal bracing.

What makes the Masterbilt Century Olympic more than just a vintage-styled novelty is the Shadow NanoFlex HD under-saddle pickup paired with the eSonic HD preamp — a system designed to reproduce the guitar's natural acoustic voice through a PA or amp without the quacky piezo tone that plagues so many acoustic-electrics. Volume and EQ controls are mounted inside the lower f-hole for discreet access. The preamp runs on a standard 9V battery accessed from the lower bout.

Construction is solid where it counts: a Sitka spruce arched top with a mahogany body, a mahogany neck glued in with a dovetail joint, and a rosewood fingerboard. The historic Dovewing headstock with pearloid banner inlays, marboloid crown tuner buttons, and the aged nickel trapeze tailpiece all nod to the original 1930s aesthetic without being a costume. It's a genuinely fun guitar to play — compact enough for couch playing or singer-songwriter use, with a midrange-forward voice that cuts through in a way most flattops don't.

Body Type: Archtop Acoustic-Electric with F-Holes
Top: Solid Sitka Spruce, Longitudinal Bracing
Back and Sides: Laminated Mahogany
Finish: Aged Gloss Violin Burst
Binding: Single-Layer Ivory and Black (Top and Back)
Neck: Mahogany, Rounded C Profile, Dovetail Joint
Fingerboard: Rosewood, 20 Medium Frets
Inlays: Pearloid Dots
Scale Length: 25.5"
Nut: Bone, 1.69" (43mm)
Pickup: Shadow NanoFlex HD, Under-Saddle
Preamp: eSonic HD
Controls: Master Volume, Master EQ (Inside Lower F-Hole)
Bridge: Floating Adjustable Ebonoid, Compensated Artificial Bone Saddle
Tailpiece: Historic Epiphone Trapeze
Tuners: Historic Epiphone Reissue, Marboloid Crown Buttons, 18:1 Ratio
Hardware Finish: Aged Nickel
Truss Rod: Dual-Action
Power: 9V Battery
Made in Indonesia