The Epiphone Company is a musical instrument manufacturer founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos. A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. Before being bought out by Gibson in the late 1950s, Epiphone was Gibson's main rival in the archtop market. The Gibson Guitar Corporation of Nashville Tennessee, USA is a manufacturer of acoustic and Electric guitars The company's most popular guitar An archtop guitar is a steel-stringed acoustic or semi-acoustic Guitar with a full body and a distinctive arched top whose sound is particularly Their professional archtops, including the Emperor, Deluxe, Broadway and Triumph, rivaled (and some contend surpassed) those of Gibson. Aside from their guitars, Epiphone also made bass guitars, banjos, and other stringed instruments. The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the The banjo is a Stringed instrument developed by enslaved Africans in the United States, adapted from several African instruments A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a Musical instrument that produces Sound by means of Vibrating strings In the Hornbostel-Sachs However, the company's weakness in the aftermath of World War II allowed Gibson to absorb it.
The name "Epiphone" is a combination of proprietor Epaminondas Stathopoulo's nickname "Epi" and "phone", Greek for "sound".
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History
The history of Epiphone dates to the 1870s, in Izmir, Turkey, where Greek founder Anastasios Stathopoulos made his own fiddles, lutes, and Lioutos. An archtop guitar is a steel-stringed acoustic or semi-acoustic Guitar with a full body and a distinctive arched top whose sound is particularly Year 1870 ( MDCCCLXX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common İzmir, historically Smyrna, is the third most populous city of Turkey and the country's largest port after İstanbul. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck (either Fretted or unfretted and a deep round back or more specifically to an instrument from Stathopoulos moved to the United States of America in 1903, and continued to make his original instruments, as well as mandolins, from Long Island City in Queens, New York. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Year 1903 ( MCMIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar or a Common year starting A mandolin is a musical instrument in the Lute family (plucked or strummed Long Island City (often abbreviated LIC) is the western-most neighborhood of the borough of Queens in New York City. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Anastasios died in 1915, and his son, Epaminondas, took over. Year 1915 ( MCMXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year After two years, the company was known as The House Of Stathopoulos. Just after the end of World War I, the company started to make banjos. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The banjo is a Stringed instrument developed by enslaved Africans in the United States, adapted from several African instruments The company produced its Recording Line of Banjos in 1924, and, four years later, took on the name of the "Epiphone Banjo Company". Year 1924 ( MCMXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. They produced their first guitars in 1928. Epi Stathopoulos died in 1943. Control of the company went to his brothers, Orphie and Frixo. Unfortunately, they were not as capable owners as Epi. In 1951, a four month long strike forced a relocation of Epiphone from New York to Philadelphia. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Philadelphia (ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə The company was bought out by their main rival, Gibson in 1957. The Gibson Guitar Corporation of Nashville Tennessee, USA is a manufacturer of acoustic and Electric guitars The company's most popular guitar
During an appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, Paul McCartney performed "Yesterday" for the first time on an Epiphone acoustic guitar. Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942 is an English rock Singer, Bass guitarist songwriter Composer, " Yesterday " is a pop song originally recorded by The Beatles for their 1965 album Help!. McCartney still uses this same guitar on tour during the concert performances of "Yesterday".
Casino
The most famous Epiphone model introduced by Gibson after taking over was the Casino. The Epiphone Casino is a thinline hollow body electric Guitar manufactured by Epiphone, a branch of Gibson. The Casino was made in the same shape and configuration as a Gibson ES-330 guitar. The Gibson ES-330 is a thinline hollowbody Electric guitar model produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. It has a very heavy sound and is a very good rhythm guitar due to its fairly thick sound when strummed. It is a genuine hollow body electric guitar with P90 pickups.
The Casino is famous for being used by The Beatles. The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 Paul McCartney was the first to acquire one and John Lennon and George Harrison followed suit soon after. Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942 is an English rock Singer, Bass guitarist songwriter Composer, John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (born George Harrison, MBE (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001 was an English rock Guitarist Singer - Songwriter, Author Paul McCartney used his for the solo in Taxman and the Casino sound is very prevalent throughout Revolver and their later albums. "Tax man" redirects here For the profession see Tax collector. Revolver is the seventh album by English rock band The Beatles, released on 5 August 1966. John Lennon made his Casino one of his main guitars and used it for the rest of his time with the Beatles and into the 70s. Paul still uses his Casino in concert and studio today.
1970-present
In the early 1970s, Epiphone began to manufacture instruments in Japan. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. From the 1980s, Epiphones were manufactured mainly in Korea but also in Japan by contractors licensed by Gibson. One of these contractors was Samick, which also built instruments under license for other brands and in its own name. Samick is the name of a Korea -based musical instrument manufacturer one of the largest in the world Thus, a Korean-era solidbody Epiphone would have been built under license. The brand was primarily used to issue less expensive versions of classic Gibson models, in a manner similar to that of the Squier brand by Fender. Squier is a second-line brand of the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. Fender Musical Instruments Corporation of Quincy Illinois is a manufacturer of stringed instruments such as solid-body Electric guitars including the These Epiphones were sometimes built with different tonewoods from the original Gibson versions, which often resulted in the instruments bearing a visual and ergonomic similarity to the Gibson originals but having a slightly different tone. For example, bodies of the G-400 SG copy were made with either mahogany or alder body, depending on the availability of the wood. The G-400 (or sometimes G400) is an Epiphone solid body Electric guitar model produced as a more modestly priced version of the famous Gibson
Samick has stopped manufacturing guitars in Korea. In 2002, Gibson opened a factory in Qingdao, China, which manufactures Epiphone guitars and no others. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National
Unique Epiphone models, including the Emperor, Zephyr, Riviera and Sheraton, are built to higher quality standards than the company's "Gibson copy" line. Epiphone also produces a range of higher quality instruments under the "Elitist Series" moniker, which are built in Japan. The "Masterbilt" acoustics are manufactured in Qingdao.
According to several forum entries, current Epiphone serial numbers give the following information:
Korea
- I = Saein
- U = Unsung
- S = Samick
- P or R = Peerless
- K = Korea
China
- DW = DeaWon
- EA = Gibson/QingDao
- EE = Gibson/QingDao
- MC = Muse
- SJ = SaeJung
- Z = Zaozhuang Saehan
- BW = China
Japan
- No letter or F = FujiGen
- J or T = Terada
Czech Republic
- B = Bohêmia Musico-Delicia
Indonesia
- SI = Samick
Example: U8034853 U = Unsung, 8 = 1998, 03 = March, 4853 = manufacturing number. FujiGen Gakki フジゲン 楽器 is a musical instrument manufacturer based at Matsumoto in Japan and is named after the famous Mount Fuji.
At least one model, the Epiphone Spirit, was manufactured in the USA during the early 1980s in the Gibson factory in Kalamazoo, MI. The Gibson Spirit is a guitar model sold under Gibson and Epiphone USA nameplates in the 1980s USA produced Epiphones of this era bear standard Gibson serialization and include the "Made in USA" stamp on the back of the headstock. Headstocks of US models also use the Gibson headstock shape.
Current status
Epiphone is now a subsidiary of Gibson, somewhat like Squier is a subsidiary of Fender (the chief difference being that the Squier line of guitars was created in-house by Fender; in other words, there is no such thing as a "pre-Fender" Squier guitar). The Gibson Guitar Corporation of Nashville Tennessee, USA is a manufacturer of acoustic and Electric guitars The company's most popular guitar Squier is a second-line brand of the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. Fender Musical Instruments Corporation of Quincy Illinois is a manufacturer of stringed instruments such as solid-body Electric guitars including the Because of this subsidiary relationship, many of the instruments look the same as the more expensive Gibson versions. A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. However Epiphone still maintains its own line of archtop guitars. An archtop guitar is a steel-stringed acoustic or semi-acoustic Guitar with a full body and a distinctive arched top whose sound is particularly
Epiphone also manufactures its own line of amplifiers.
Current products
Amplifiers
Gibson produced Epiphone amplifiers in the 1960s which were basically copies or variations of Gibson and Fender amplifiers. List of past and present Epiphone products Acoustic guitars AJ-100 AJ-200S Dove DR-100 DR-200S DR-212 These amplifiers were of a tube design and some had reverb and tremolo. Gibson decided to launch a new line of Epiphone amplifiers in 2005 with many different models including the "So Cal", "Blues Custom" and the Epiphone Valve Junior. The Epiphone Valve Junior is a small 5 Watt class A Electric guitar Amplifier.
Guitars
The following guitars are currently made by Epiphone:
Gibson copies
- The Explorer
- Several Versions of the SG guitar Including G400, G310 and SG Special. The Gibson Explorer (now marketed as X-plorer and Explorer Pro) is a type of Electric guitar. The Gibson SG is a popular model of solid-bodied Electric guitar that was introduced in the early 1960s The G-400 (or sometimes G400) is an Epiphone solid body Electric guitar model produced as a more modestly priced version of the famous Gibson The G-400 (or sometimes G400) is an Epiphone solid body Electric guitar model produced as a more modestly priced version of the famous Gibson
- Around 20 versions of the Les Paul
- The Dot (and the Dot Studio), similar to the ES-335
- The Flying-V
- The Firebird
- The Thunderbird
- Les Paul Jr.
- The Blackbird
- The ES-175
- The ES-295
- The EDS-1275 Dual-neck
- The Hummingbird
- The LP-100
Dedicated Epiphone models
- Several versions of the Sheraton
- Several versions of the Casino
- The Riviera in 6- and 12-string versions
- The Broadway
- The Emperor
- Several versions of the Zephyr
- The Supernova
- The Wildkat
- The AlleyKat
- The Flamekat
- Nick Valensi Riviera P-94
- The Viola Bass
- The Coronet
In recent years Epiphone introduced a series of acoustic guitars named Masterbilt after a line of guitars of the 1930s. The Gibson Les Paul is a solidbody Electric guitar originally developed in the early 1950s The Dot is an archtop electric guitar manufactured by Epiphone since 1958 The Gibson ES-335 was the world's first commercial semi-hollowbody Electric guitar, released by Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1958. The Gibson Flying V is an Electric guitar model first released by Gibson in 1958. The Gibson Firebird is a solid-body electric Guitar manufactured by Gibson from 1963 to the present The Gibson Thunderbird is an electric Bass guitar made by Gibson. The Gibson Les Paul Jr was initially released in 1954 as an affordable entry level Les Paul electric guitar The Gibson Thunderbird is an electric Bass guitar made by Gibson. The Gibson ES-175 is one of the most famous Jazz guitars in history The Gibson EDS-1275 is a doubleneck Gibson electric guitar introduced in 1958 as a special-order custom instrument The Gibson Hummingbird is an Acoustic guitar model produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. The Epiphone Sheraton is a thinline semi-hollow body electric guitar The Epiphone Casino is a thinline hollow body electric Guitar manufactured by Epiphone, a branch of Gibson. Today's Masterbilt guitars are manufactured in China.
Discontinued Models
- Epiphone Demon
- Epiphone Genesis
- Epiphone Slasher
- Epiphone Supernova
- Gibson/Epiphone Spirit
- Various Signature models
- Epiphone Wilshire
- Epiphone Crestwood
- Epiphone Coronet
- Epiphone Olympic
- Epiphone Pro
- Epiphone Fat-210
- Epiphone Fat-310
- Epiphone T-310
Players Of Epiphone
References
- Epiphone History. The Demon V was an Electric guitar manufactured by Epiphone from 2001 through 2002 The Genesis was an electric guitar produced by the Epiphone guitar company in the late 1970s and early 1980s The Supernova was a Korean made Electric guitar manufactured by Epiphone for Noel Gallagher of the English band Oasis. The Gibson Spirit is a guitar model sold under Gibson and Epiphone USA nameplates in the 1980s This is a List of Epiphone players ( Musicians) who have made use of Epiphone Guitar models in live performances or Studio recordings Because Retrieved on 2008-03-19. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1279 - A Mongolian victory in the Battle of Yamen ends the Song Dynasty in China.
External links
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