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Epiphone Emperor

The Epiphone Company is a musical instrument manufacturer founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos. Before being bought out by Gibson in the late 1950s, Epiphone was Gibson's main rival in the archtop market. 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. However, the company's weakness in the aftermath of World War II allowed Gibson to absorb it. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1168x2512, 237 KB) Description Work by Rama Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Joe Pass Epiphone Semi-acoustic Guitar ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1168x2512, 237 KB) Description Work by Rama Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Joe Pass Epiphone Semi-acoustic Guitar ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making music. ... The Gibson Guitar Corporation, of Nashville, Tennessee, USA, is a manufacturer of acoustic and electric guitars. ... Epiphone Emperor, an archtop design. ... A sunburst-colored Fender Precision Bass The electric bass guitar (or electric bass[1][2]; pronounced , as in base) is a bass stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers (either by plucking, slapping, popping, or tapping) or using a pick. ... For other uses, see Banjo (disambiguation) The banjo is a stringed instrument developed by enslaved Africans in the United States, adapted from several African instruments. ... A string instrument (also stringed instrument) is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. ...

The name "Epiphone" is a combination of proprietor Epaminondas Stathopoulo's nickname "Epi" and "phone", Greek for "sound".

History

1945 Epiphone Blackstone archtop guitar, made in New York

The history of Epiphone dates to the 1870s, in Izmir, Turkey, where Greek founder Anastasios Stathopoulos made his own fiddles, lutes, and Lioutos. 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. Anastasios died in 1915, and his son, Epaminondas, took over. 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. The company produced its Recording Line of Banjos in 1924, and, four years later, took on the name of the "Epiphone Banjo Company". 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. The company was bought out by their main rival, Gibson in 1957. Epiphone Emperor, an archtop design. ... Shows the Location of the Province Ä°zmir Izmir from space, June 1996 Izmir (Turkish spelling Ä°zmir, contraction of its former name Smyrna), the second-largest port (after Ä°stanbul) and the third most populous city (2,409,000 in 2000) of Turkey, is located on the Aegean Sea near the Gulf... The violin is a stringed musical instrument that has four strings tuned a fifth apart. ... The lute is a plucked string instrument with a fretted neck and a deep round back. ... Motto: (traditional) In God We Trust (official, 1956–present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City Official language(s) None at the federal level; English de facto Government Federal Republic  - President George W. Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence - Declared - Recognized... Carved and round backed mandolins (front) A mandolin is a stringed musical instrument. ... Long Island City, New York, often abbreviated L.I.C., is an area in the borough of Queens in New York City. ... This article is about the borough of New York City. ... This article is about the state. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... The banjo is a string instrument, derived from banjar, an African string instrument. ... This article is about the state. ... For other uses, see Philadelphia (disambiguation) and Philly. ... The Gibson Guitar Corporation, of Nashville, Tennessee, USA, is a manufacturer of acoustic and electric guitars. ...

During an appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, Paul McCartney performed "Yesterday" for the first time on an Epiphone acoustic guitar. McCartney still uses this same guitar on tour during the concert performances of "Yesterday". Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, poet, entrepreneur, painter, record producer, film producer, and animal-rights activist. ... Music sample Yesterday Problems? See media help. ...

Casino

Main article: Epiphone Casino

The most famous Epiphone model introduced by Gibson after taking over was the Casino. The Casino was made in the same shape and configuration as a Gibson ES-330 guitar. 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. Epiphone Casino VT The Epiphone Casino is a true hollow body electric guitar manufactured by Epiphone, a branch of Gibson. ... The Gibson ES-330 is a semi-hollow electric guitar model produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. ...

Epiphone Casino VT

The Casino is famous for being used by The Beatles. Paul McCartney was the first to acquire one and John Lennon and George Harrison followed suit soon after. Paul McCartney used his for the solo in Taxman and the Casino sound is very prevalent throughout Revolver and their later albums. 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. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (671x1592, 353 KB) Oggetto Description: Epiphone Casino VT Made by User:Maxo Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Tremolo arm Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (671x1592, 353 KB) Oggetto Description: Epiphone Casino VT Made by User:Maxo Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Tremolo arm Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create... The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ... Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, poet, entrepreneur, painter, record producer, film producer, and animal-rights activist. ... John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980), (born John Winston Lennon, known as John Ono Lennon) was an iconic English 20th century rock and roll songwriter and singer, best known as the founding member of The Beatles. ... For other persons named George Harrison, see George Harrison (disambiguation). ... For the profession, see Tax collector. ... The Beatles U.S. chronology Alternate cover Cover of the original 1966 U.S. LP Back cover Back cover of the original 1966 UK LP. The main photo was edited in separate parts for the booklet of the 1988 Compact Disc release. ...

1970-present

In the early 1970s, Epiphone began to manufacture instruments in Japan. 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. 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. 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. Samick is the name of a Korea-based musical instrument manufacturer, one of the largest in the world. ... Squier is a second-line brand of the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. ... Fender redirects here. ... The G-400 (or sometimes G400) is an Epiphone electric guitar model that is a more modestly priced version of the Gibson SG. It resembles a 1960s style Gibson SG (with small pickguard and different neck joint). ...

Samick has stopped manufacturing guitars in Korea. In 2002, Gibson opened a factory in Qingdao, China, which manufactures Epiphone guitars and no others. Tsingtao redirects here. ...

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 FujiGen Gakki is a musical instrument manufacturer in Japan named after the famous Mount Fuji. ...

• B = Bohêmia Musico-Delicia

Indonesia

• SI = Samick

Example: U8034853 U = Unsung, 8 = 1998, 03 = March, 4853 = manufacturing number.

At least one model, the Epiphone Spirit, was manufactured in the USA during the early 1980s in the Gibson factory in Kalamazoo, MI. 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. The Gibson Spirit is a guitar model sold under Gibson and Epiphone USA nameplates in the 1980s. ...

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). Because of this subsidiary relationship, many of the instruments look the same as the more expensive Gibson versions. However Epiphone still maintains its own line of archtop guitars. The Gibson Guitar Corporation, of Nashville, Tennessee, USA, is a manufacturer of acoustic and electric guitars. ... Squier is a second-line brand of the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. ... Fender redirects here. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making music. ... Epiphone Emperor, an archtop design. ...

Epiphone also manufactures its own line of amplifiers.

Current products

Main article: List of Epiphone products

List of past and present Epiphone products. ...

Amplifiers

Gibson produced Epiphone amplifiers in the 1960s which were basically copies or variations of Gibson and Fender amplifiers. 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

An Epiphone Les Paul.

• The Explorer
• Several Versions of the SG guitar Including G400, G310 and SG Special.
• 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

Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1704 × 2272 pixel, file size: 629 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) My 1995 Epiphone Les Paul cherry sunburst color. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1704 × 2272 pixel, file size: 629 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) My 1995 Epiphone Les Paul cherry sunburst color. ... The Gibson Explorer (now marketed as X-plorer and Explorer Pro), made its debut in 1958, then known as the Futura. ... 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 electric guitar model that is a more modestly priced version of the Gibson SG. It resembles a 1960s style Gibson SG (with small pickguard and different neck joint). ... The G-400 (or sometimes G400) is an Epiphone electric guitar model that is a more modestly priced version of the Gibson SG. It resembles a 1960s style Gibson SG (with small pickguard and different neck joint). ... -1... Gibson ES-335 In 1957, Gibson realeased the worlds first commercial semi-hollowbody electric guitar, the ES-335. ... 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. ... Epiphone Thunderbird The Gibson Thunderbird is an electric bass guitar made by Gibson. ... The Gibson Les Paul Jr. ... The Gibson Blackbird was a, 34 scale, custom Gibson Thunderbird bass guitar designed for and by Nikki Sixx. ... The ES-175, next to the L5, is the most famous jazz guitar in history. ... The Gibson EDS-1275 is a doubleneck Gibson guitar introduced in 1958. ... The Gibson Hummingbird is an acoustic guitar model produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. ...

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. Today's Masterbilt guitars are manufactured in China. The Epiphone Sheraton is a thinline semi-hollow body electric guitar. ... Epiphone Casino VT The Epiphone Casino is a true hollow body electric guitar manufactured by Epiphone, a branch of Gibson. ...

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

Published in 2001-2002 alone, Epiphones Demon Flying V electric guitar was part of the short-lived E-Series, which was comprised of updated versions and so called extreme versions of popular Gibson & Epiphone guitars. ... The Epiphone Supernova was the Epiphone signature guitar for Noel Gallagher of UK band Oasis. ... The Gibson Spirit is a guitar model sold under Gibson and Epiphone USA nameplates in the 1980s. ...

Players Of Epiphone

Main article: List of Epiphone players

This is a list of musicians who have made notable use of Epiphone Guitar models in live performances or studio recordings. ...

Elitist

Epiphone has recently released a new brand, called Elitist. These are made in Japan, unlike Gibson guitars, but the specific parts of the guitars are made in other countries, such as Germany. These guitars naturally cost more, sometimes twice as much. Standard Epiphone and Gibson guitars have an open-book looking headstock, but Elitist models have a more curved style.

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t311/dzrice/DSCN0613.jpg

This is an elitist guitar, notice the shape of the head comapred to the other pictures on the page.

References

• Epiphone History. Retrieved on 2008-03-19.

2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 78th day of the year (79th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Official site
• McCartney And His Casino On Cover Of Guitar Player
• Epiphone Serial Numbers