1960 Kawai EP-140 Electric Archtop Set-Neck Rare!

SLT Vintage Presents ca, 1959-1962 Kawai EP-140 Electric Archtop Thin-line. Set-Neck, Florentine Cutaway. Rare! This is truly a killer guitar and applicable to a broad spectrum of styles. 

Make sure to watch all three videos featuring the three pickup positions!

Visit The Chronologue for detailed specifications. COMING SOON!

You are looking at a gorgeous sounding rare beast! Judging by the peghead glue remnants, this Kawai EP-140 guitar was manufactured for house brand Checkmate. These logos can be found online if desired. In the late 1950s, Kawai was competing with the likes of Gibson and Fender. The quality reflects this. The use of x-bracing (variant) for top and parallel for back gives this guitar fantastic resonance and tone. Adding a set neck to this equation provides a structurally tight, sound construction. The wood used is most likely a Japanese Fir for the top and flamed Sen for the back and sides. Coming in at 41 ¾” length, 17 3/8” lower bout and 2 ¼” deep, this guitar only weighs 5 lbs. 10 oz. Super easy to handle! On top of this, you get 25.5” Pro Scale Length; 6-ply Binding on Top with Single on Back; Fully Bound 3-piece C -shaped Set Neck with Ebony (variant) Fingerboard! Neck depth is .854” 1^st to 1.125” 10^th; Neck radius is 22” with 20 .075” Nickle Silver Frets and 6 White Celluloid Block Markers accompanied by 6 Black Dot Side Markers. Ping Deluxe Tuners; 1 5/8” Bone Nut to 1 15/16^th at 12^th; Fully Adjustable Working Truss Rod; Compensating Height Adjustable Rosewood Bridge (aftermarket); Heavy Duty Bigsby-Style Tremolo; Diamond/Pyramid Inset Knobs with Felt Washers. Great Stuff!

Action for video demo is 1/16^th first to 1/8” twelfth. Intonation is spot-on, with well-balanced relief and all notes sing over the entire course, (except noted below).

The electronics are original Tsubame Mfd. from the DPST Rotary Pickup Selector Switch to the Potentiometers. As you can hear in the demo, these are clear and punchy Kawai Mfd. pickups with 6 individual pole height adjustment screws. At some point, a ground wire was added from a tone pot to the tailpiece. The signal is quiet and noiseless. Zero issues.

The pickguard and tremolo arm are missing. Other noticeable unoriginal appointments are the late 50s early 60s Dakaware pickup selector lever and Harmony-style plastic strap buttons. The binding is missing from fret 15 to 20 on the neck treble side. The neck area at the last two frets dips down causing irregular fretting at 19 and 20. This can be corrected if so desired.

This Kawai EP-40 is a War Horse! There is blushing, scratches and dings. However, there are zero cracks, and nothing is dried out. It’s guaranteed to be a solid piece. The detailed photographs sum up the rest. 

The original bridge is included. There is a split in the plastic cap. This can be repaired if so desired.

Ships in a Pro Gig Bag.

The Chronologue is an online database of in- house, hands on gathered specifications for the historical reference of each instrument. Using SLTV gold standards, each instrument we sell is inspected without sacrificing its vintage integrity, guaranteeing it remains 100% factory stock or original to its initial procurement. 

Adjustments and cleaning are not performed except dusting for photos. Due to age, instrument will be detuned and bridge may be removed for shipping. A knowledgeable setup may be required.

Please view our store policies before purchase. Thank you for having a look!

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