The Masterbilt series honors Epiphone's most iconic acoustic guitars from the 1960s, with instruments built with old-world Masterbilt quality and specs. The Texan FT-79 is perhaps rock's most famous acoustic guitar for its association with Paul McCartney and Peter Frampton. Now featuring a Solid Sitka Spruce Top with "Texan" style pickguard, bone nut, and the state-of-the-art Fishman Sonitone Onboard Preamp System for true acoustic tone when plugged in.

The Masterbilt Story
First released in June 1931, the original Epiphone Masterbilt guitars were overseen by founder Epi Stathopoulo who was quoted in the catalog: "The possessor of an EPIPHONE instrument has the assurance that every possible precaution has been taken to build instruments for lifetime performance and pleasure."

Yesterday: Epi Stathoupoulo's Last Guitar
The Epiphone Texan or FT-79 is recognized worldwide as the guitar that both Paul McCartney and Peter Frampton used to write some of their biggest hits. But the basic design of the FT-79 was first put into production in 1942 when Epiphone was based in New York City and under the direction of founder Epi Stathopoulo. The FT-79 was likely the last acoustic instrument that Epi helped design. After Epiphone merged with Gibson in 1957, the FT-79 was refined into the modern "Texan" and went into production at the legendary factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan in the late 50s. The Texan has remained virtually unchanged for over 50 years.

Masterbilt Texan
The Masterbilt Texan… read more FT-79 is built to the same dimensions as McCartney and Frampton's 60s-era Texans and features a Solid Sitka Spruce Top with a 60's style "Texan" pickguard. The body has Solid Mahogany back and sides and 3-ply ivory binding on the top and single layer ivory binding on the back. The Mahogany neck is set with a dovetail joint at the 14th fret and has a traditional 1960s SlimTaper C-profile, a Pau Ferro fingerboard with Mother of Pearl Parallelograms inlays, a 25.5" scale, 20 medium jumbo frets, a 12" radius, and a 1.69" bone nut. The sloped dovewing headstock design was in use throughout the 1960s and features a script Epiphone logo in mother of pearl.

Fishman Sonitone Onboard Preamp System:
The Masterbilt Texan FT-79 features the state-of-the-art Fishman Sonitone Onboard Preamp System for true acoustic tone when plugged into an acoustic amp or PA system. The preamp is soundhole-mounted and includes easy-access rotary controls for volume and tone. The system is powered by a standard 9-volt battery.

Tough Texan Hardware
The Masterbilt Texan FT-79 has nickel hardware and a traditional reverse belly Pau Ferro bridge with a bone saddle. Tuning is fast and accurate with Epiphone vintage styled machine heads with white buttons and an 18:1 tuning ratio.

Lifetime Warranty
All Masterbilt instruments come with Epiphone's Limited Lifetime Guarantee and Gibson Brands 365/24/7 Customer Service.

9V battery not included.

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