EPIPHONE GUITARS

The Epiphone Company is a musical instrument manufacturer founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulo. 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.? The name "Epiphone" is a combination of proprietor Epaminondas Stathopoulo's nickname "Epi" and "phone", Greek for "sound".
In the early 1970s, Epiphone began to manufacture instruments in Japan. From the 1980s, Epiphones were manufactured mainly in Korea 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 has stopped manufacturing guitars in Korea. In 2002, Gibson opened a factory in Qingdao, China, which manufactures Epiphone guitars and no others. 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.


Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plain Top Review:

Features : 10 This is a 2006 model Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plain Top in Honeyburst finish. Made in China. Standard Les Paul features as listed before. Grover tuners. Suppose to be Mahogany Body with Plain Maple Top.

Sound : 10 I play in a 3 piece band that plays Classic Rock, Oldies and Country. I use a Line 6 PODXT Live thru a Peavey Bandit 112 combo w/add'l. 1x12 cab. This guitar SOUNDS like a Les Paul should. The pick-ups have a nice warm, vintage kind of tone. Very nice clean tones and crunch tones. Not "Hot" pick-ups, but nice "vintage" type pick-ups. With the Line 6 PODXT Live, it sounds just like whatever you want it to!

Action, Fit, & Finish : 10 I can't say enough about how this guitar plays. I changed the strings to my preference, adjusted the bridge height just a touch and set the intonation. This guitar plays beautifully! The fretwork/finish is just great; very smooth with no sharp ends. Some of the best fretwork I've seen in a while, on ANY guitar lately. Pick-ups adjusted fine, no change here. This guitar weighs in at 9.5 lbs.; very solid feeling. Only flaw was some "rippling" in the finish, on the back of the guitar next to the control cavity cover. Should not have passed Q.C., but not so bad I would pass this guitar up as good as it plays and sounds!

Reliability/Durability : 10 I bought this guitar to PLAY! This guitar plays & sounds excellent out live! Everything looks/feels top notch. Plays just like the last Gibson LP Standard that I owned. Gig without a back-up? You bet!

Overall Rating : 10 I've been a gigging musician for 35+ years and still going strong. I own, or have owned just about every major brand of guitar available. I own too much gear of all sorts/types to list here. This Epiphone feels as good as any Gibson I've tried lately. I'm not saying it's a better guitar, or even as good as a USA Gibson, but for my money, I'm completely satisfied with this guitar. I did A/B this guitar to a Gibson LP Standard that a friend owns, and at least to his LP, there was no difference in sound or playability. Mine looked just as good, also. For the working guitarist, the Epi's are the best bang for the buck in a Gibson style guitar.