Epiphone

The history of Epiphone started in 1873, in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire (now Izmir, Turkey), where Greek founder Anastasios Stathopoulos made his have got fiddles and lutes (oud, laouto). Stathopoulos moved to the United States of America in 1903, and continued to bemuse his original instruments, as well as mandolins, from Long Island City in Queens, mod York. Anastasios died in 1915, and his son, Epaminondas, took over. After two years, the caller-up was known as The mansion 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, quaternion years later, took on the name of the Epiphone Banjo Company. They produced their archetypal 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 impudently York to Phi ladelphia. The company was bought out by their main rival, Gibson in 1957.It is extremely substantial to meet that all Epiphone instruments made between 1957 and 1969 were made in the Gibson mill at 225 Parsons Street, Kalamazoo, Michigan. These 19591969 Epiphone instruments were, effectively, homogeneous to the relevant Gibson versions, and made with corresponding timber, materials and components. These guitars were made by the same people, in the same place, and with the same materials and components as the contemporary equivallent Gibson guitars were. They hitherto sh ard the same Gibson serial-number sequenceTo note whatever of the specific examples of Gibson-made Epiphone instruments from this consequence the Epiphone casino was identical to the Gibson ES-330 the Epiphone Cortez was identical to the Gibson B-25 the Epiphone Olympic Special was technically identical to the Gibson Melody Maker the Epiphone Sorrento was identical to the Gibson ES-125TC (except for a few co smetic improvements ), and the Epiphone Texan was (apart from a change in scale-length) an identical guitar to the Gibson J-45.All of the other Gibson/Kalamazoo-made Epiphones had some clear technical or cosmetic relationship with the relevant Gibson version. This riches of cultivation elicit, admittedly, be quite conf use so I turn to any interested readers to Gruhns Guide To Vintage Guitars (Gruhn-Carter, Miller-Freeman Press). Most of the specific information that you will need can be found here. Gibson eventually completed the folly in having two identical specks and, because, by 1970, Gibson commenced using the Epiphone brand as a figure-line and started having them made, initially, in Japan.Some confusion arises here because the first year or so of Japanese acoustic guitar production utilizes a mark that denotes the address Kalamzoo, MI. At no point does this label say Made In USA but some confusion, specially on internet auction websites, still arises. It is equally important to understand that the overwhelming majority of Epiphone-branded instruments made since 1969 be, in essence, exploitation instruments are and are basically facsimilies of either Gibson (most commonly) or Epiphone guitars of the past.The vast majority of these facsimilies are real courteous, budget-versions of the iconic instruments that they replicate and are, in may cases, exactly what a schoolchild guitarists needs, but they must not, in any way whatsoever, in legal injury of materials, components and intrinsic quality, be mistaken for the real item. In the hands of a good player the guitars may work indistinguishable, but that doesnt grant them internal equality. editCasino 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 intemperate sound and is a very good rhythm guitar due to its slightly thick sou nd when strummed. It is a genuine hollow body galvanizing guitar with single coil P90 pickups. Epiphone Casino VT The Casino is famous for being use by The Beatles. Paul McCartney was the first to acquire one and antic Lennon and George Harrison followed caseful 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 fourth dimension with the Beatles and into the 70s. Paul still uses his Casino, which has a Bigsby vibrato tailpiece, in concert and studio today. edit1970 largess In the early 1970s, Epiphone began to manufacture instruments in Japan. From the 1980s, Epiphones were manufactured mainly in Korea but as well 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 Epipho ne would have been built under license. The brand was originally used to issue less expensive versions of classic Gibson models, in a manner similar to that of the Squier brand by extension. Like all Asian-made copies, these guitars were constructed using different timbers (usually Nyatoh, for example, instead of Mahogany), were stuck together with epoxies rather than wood-glues, and were finished in hard, quick-to-apply polyester rosin rather than the traditional nitro-cellulose lacquer used by Gibson.Nitro-cellulose lacquers are apply very thinly, and as a result, do not impede the resonance of the instrument as resin finishes do. Nitro-cellulose, being a solvent-based lacquer (as strange to a catalyzed resin), requires many more very thin coats (but still results in a lighter, thinner finish because of ofttimes more hand-applied cutting and polishing) and is therefore much more time-consuming (and consequently expensive) to apply. Resin finishes are much quicker and cheape r to apply.These particular budget considerations, along with others such as ductile nuts and cheaper hardware and pickups, allow for a more affordable instrument. Although the decent Epiphone copies look (other than upon very close inspection) to be very much handle the iconic, original instruments that they replicate, and often, in the hands of a good player, DO sound very, very close to the originals, they are not, as is the case with all of these budget brands, conceived and constructed to the same intrinsic quality.But it is a matter of budget if you can look and sound close to how your favorite player sounds for a cipher of the cost then it is a good thing. Gibson, via their Epiphone brand, just like Fender via their Squier brand, bring a close approximation of the real thing to unconditioned players who cannot afford, or justify, the expense of a professional-quality instrument. The result is that Epiphone and Squier have become the worlds highest merchandising brands of electric guitar. Samick has stopped manufacturing guitars in Korea.In 2002, Gibson opened a grinder in Qingdao, China, which manufactures Epiphone guitars exclusively. With few exceptions, Epiphones are now built only in the Qingdao factory. Unique Epiphone models, including the Emperor, Zephyr, Riviera and Sheraton, are built to higher quality standards than the companys 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.