Epiphone, the inventor of the Electric Guitar

G-310

Since Epiphone introduced the G-310 over 15 years ago, it has been the go-to instrument for those wanting real SG tone and styling at an economical price. Every serious player wants an SG, and here's a real one that sounds as good as it looks. The original SG not only rivaled guitars of its own era for sonic variety, but also proved to be a sign of things to come. Hard rock, metal, and scores of rockers embraced the original SG and made it a classic. The G-310 gives you the sound and look of a real SG without the vintage price tag.

And like all Epiphone’s the G-310 includes our Limited Lifetime Warranty and Gibson’s famous 24/7/365 customer service. Visit your authorized Epiphone dealer today and break out today with a G-310.

The SG Story

When the SG or "Solid Guitar" was introduced in 1961 as a replacement for the Les Paul, it was called the "fretless wonder" for its low frets and fast action. The twin horn cutaway design was like nothing on the market and its light but balanced weight made it the perfect guitar for stage and studio. Later ‘60s models introduced the SG with humbucker pickups, and since then, the SG has gone on to became the go-to guitar for artists like The Who's Pete Townshend, Eric Clapton, Tony Iommi, Paul Weller, AC/DC's Angus Young, and Derek Trucks of the Allman Brothers Band.

Epiphone started in 1873, in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire (now İzmir, Turkey), where Greek founder Anastasios Stathopoulos made his ownfiddles and lutes (oud, laouto). 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.^[4] 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 theEpiphone 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. 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.^[5]

Epiphone instruments made between 1957 and 1969 were made in the Gibson factory at 225 Parsons Street and on Elenor Street. Only solid guitars with flat tops and backs were made at the Elenor Street plant (both Gibson and Epiphone) in Kalamazoo, Michigan. These Epiphone instruments were effectively identical to the relevant Gibson versions, made with same timber, materials and components, and by the same people as the contemporary equivalent Gibson guitars. They shared the Gibson serial-number sequence.

Some specific examples of Gibson-made Epiphone instruments from this period includes the Epiphone Sheraton (co-developed with theGibson ES-335 & sharing its semi-hollow body, but with, Epiphone's pre-Gibson "Frequensator" tailpiece and "New York" mini-humbucker pick-ups, and significantly fancier inlays) and Sheraton II (replacing the Frequensator with Gibson's "stop-bar" tailpiece), theEpiphone Casino (similar to the Gibson ES-330), the Epiphone Cortez (similar to the Gibson B-25), the Epiphone Olympic Special (similar to the Gibson Melody Maker), the Epiphone Sorrento (similar to the Gibson ES-125TC, except for a few cosmetic changes), and the Epiphone Texan (similar to the Gibson J-45, apart from a change in scale-length). The other Kalamazoo-made Epiphones had technical or cosmetic relationship with the similar Gibson version.

1970–present

In the early 1970s, Epiphone began to manufacture instruments at the Matsumoku plant in Japan^[6] with the production and distribution being managed by Aria in cooperation with Gibson. At this time Epiphone ceased production of all of its traditional designs and began manufacturing markedly less expensive guitars, many of which had less traditional bolt-on style necks and unspecified wood types.^[7]Some of these guitars had similar body shapes to traditional Epiphone and Gibson designs but had different names while other models retained certain model designations, such as the FT (Flat Top) guitars.^[8] Construction of these guitars differed greatly from past Epiphone models. For the first several years of production in Japan, Epiphone guitars were actually rebranded designs already produced by the Matsumoku Company.^[9]

By 1975 the Japanese market started seeing some of the more familiar designs and names being reintroduced. These guitars were of higher quality than that of the previous years of production in Japan and included models such as the Wilshire, Emperor, Riviera and Newport bass.^[10] These models were available to the Japanese market only. By 1976 new designs of higher quality were being introduced for export but did not include the current Japanese market models. Notable new designs from this era were the Monticello (Scroll Guitar), the Presentation (PR) and Nova series flat tops and the Genesis solid body guitar. By 1980 most Japanese-only designs were available for worldwide distribution. The Matsumoku-made archtops, such as the Emperor, Riviera, Sheraton and Casino, were available into the mid-1980s.

Korea

From the 1980s, Epiphones were manufactured mainly in Korea but also in Japan by contractors licensed by Gibson.^[6][11] One of these contractors was Samick,^[11] which also built instruments under license for other brands and in its own name. The brand was primarily used to issue less expensive versions of classic Gibson models.^[11]

These guitars were constructed using different woods (usually Nyatoh^{[citation needed]}, for example, instead of Mahogany), were fastened with epoxies rather than wood-glues^{[citation needed]}...Gibson and Epiphone guitars all use Titebond resin glue, which is simple carpenters' wood glue, and were finished in hard, quick-to-apply polyester resin rather than the traditional nitro-cellulose lacquer used by Gibson^{[citation needed]} Epiphone guitars assembled or made in the US use lacquer finishes, but those made outside of the US use a poly urethane finish because of pollution requirements. These particular budget considerations, along with others such as plastic nuts and cheaper hardware and pickups, allow for a more affordable instrument.

Samick has stopped^[when?] manufacturing guitars in Korea^{[citation needed]}. In 2002, Gibson opened a factory in Qingdao, China, which manufactures Epiphone guitars.^[12] With few exceptions, Epiphones are now built only in the Qingdao factory.^[12]

Unique Epiphone models, including the Emperor, Zephyr, Riviera and Sheraton. In 2004 Epiphone introduced a series of acoustic guitars named Masterbilt after a line of guitars of the 1930s. Today's Masterbilt guitars are manufactured in Qingdao, China.^[13]

Imperial Series and Elitist

During the early 1990s Epiphone released a series called the Imperial Series. These were remakes of the classic Epiphone archtops of the 1930s and '40s. Each instrument was handmade in the Fujigen Workshop in Japan^{[citation needed]}. This short-lived series was discontinued in 1993, after only 42 Emperors were made^{[citation needed]}. Several other models, including De Luxe, Broadway and Triumph models, were also produced in varying quantities.

Production was moved back to Nashville and Bozeman for a similar limited run of instruments (250 each of Sheratons, Rivieras, Frontiers, Excellentes and Texans).^[14] These guitars were the "Nashville USA Collection" (archtops) and the "Anniversary Series" (acoustics). Contrary to popular information, this line was related to, but not part of the 1994 Gibson Centennial Series commemorating 100 years of the Gibson Guitar Corporation. The Nashville and Anniversary Collections were intended as reintroductions of original, USA built Epiphone models.

In 2002, Epiphone began producing a range of higher quality instruments under the "Elitist Series" moniker which were built at the Terada and Fuji-Gen workshops in Japan^{[citation needed]}. As of 2008, all of the Elitist models have been discontinued with the exception of the Elitist Casino and the Dwight Trash Casino. The Epiphone Elitist guitars included features such as higher grade woods, bone nuts, hand-rubbed finishes, "Made in the USA" pickups and USA strings.^[15] Japanese Domestic Market Elitists used the Gibson Dove-wingheadstock as opposed to the "tombstone" headstock used on exports.^[16]

USA Models

Several Epiphone guitars have been produced in the United States since 1971. The Epiphone Spirit and Special were produced in the early 1980s in Kalamazoo^{[citation needed]}. In 1993, three historic Epiphone acoustic guitars, the Texan, Frontier, and Excellente, were produced by Gibson Acoustic in Montana^{[citation needed]}. The Paul McCartney Texan was produced in 2005, and in 2009, the Epiphone Historic Collection was created, beginning with the 1962 Wilshire, built by Gibson Custom. Several other models, such as the Sheraton and John Lennon Casinos, were built in Japan and assembled and finished by Gibson USA

Epic Epiphones: How Epiphone Guitars 

Shaped Rock and Roll

Ted Drozdowski

When the Greek fiddle and oud maker Anastasios Stathopoulos immigrated with his family to America, he 
couldn’t have imagined the role that the instrument company he started in Long Island City, Queens, would play
 in defining the amplified sounds of rock, country and jazz. After all, those great, distinctly American musical
 genres came into vogue in the decades after his death in 1915. Nor could he have foreseen the empire or the
 legacy that his son Epaminondas – also known as “Epi” – would begin building using the House of Stathopoulos shop as a foundation, evolving from building popular mandolins and banjos to electric jazz guitars.

Today the Epiphone brand, under the Gibson company umbrella, still builds many of the classic models that
 helped shape the sound of American music, albeit occasionally in the hands of British musicians.

To illuminate some of the Epiphone legacy, here is a look at some epic Epiphone models, paired with some of 
their most outstanding musical exemplars:

Casino

George Harrison, John Lennon and Paul McCartney made this legendary hollowbody famous
while all three were Beatles. With a rich, bold tone and a versatile nature, the Casino served
 Lennon from Revolver through his solo years, including the Plastic Ono Band’s Live Peace in 
Toronto. Nonetheless, Beatles bassist McCartney was the first Beatle to acquire a Casino,
buying a 1962 model four years after it was built.

Two versions of Lennon’s 1965 Casino are produced today. One is finished in sunburst, as the
guitar appeared when it was originally acquired by Lennon, and the other wears a natural
finish to evoke the instrument as Lennon had it modified. Both come with Gibson USA P-90
pickups.

The Beatles used the Casino to produce feedback and generate the grinding chords of
 “Taxman,” the psychedelic lead breaks of “Tomorrow Never Knows” and the musical hook of
 “See Said She Said,” proving its utilitarian nature.

Keith Richards also played a Casino on The Rolling Stones’ first tour of the States in 1964, and
 Brian Jones used one to play Howlin’ Wolf’s blues hit “Little Red Rooster” on The Ed Sullivan 
Show a year later. Other Casino-playing notables include U2’s The Edge, Dave Davies of The
Kinks and smooth jazz/R&B kingpin Phil Upchurch.

Texan

McCartney put this acoustic model on the map, using his 1964 Texan to record and perform
 “Yesterday” and many other Beatles and solo compositions. Gibson’s Montana acoustic
instrument shop began building a Paul McCartney 1964Texan, earlier this year, reproducing
 that famed flat top box. Today’s Texans come with preamps and under-the-bridge pickups.

The Texan is appreciated for its crisp, even tone and was played by Graham Nash during his 

tenure in The Hollies and his early days in Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, by Jimi Hendrix,

 and by the influential folkies Tom Rush and Bert Jansch. But the Texan also played a role in 

the popularization of grunge when Kurt Cobain slung one around his neck on Nirvana’s 1993-94 

In Utero tour.

Emperor

A product of the big band era, the Emperor Regent was a response to the need for bigger and
louder arch-top hollowbody guitars that could compete with horn sections. Les Paul was an
early proponent of the Regent and played one during his tenure in Fred Warning’s
Pennsylvanians, his first high-profile gig, before designing his namesake model. Modern jazz
giant Joe Pass used a signature model Regent II as his main axe.

Today a modified version of the Regent II with a whammy bar and twin Epiphone SwingBucker
pickups is made by Epiphone under the Emperor Swingster name, evoking classic rockabilly
six-strings. And the Swingster Royale is an upgraded version of that guitar with gold hardware
 and other toney appointments.

Sheraton II

If you’re trying to conjure the singular sound of the great bluesman John Lee Hooker, try a
vintage Sheraton or a contemporary Sheraton II. Those models were the basic building blocks
 of his bad, bad boogie.

The Sheraton was created in 1959 during the Epiphone Company’s early days of Gibson
stewardship as a less expensive alternative to the Gibson ES-335. The Sheraton II is
differentiated from the Sheraton by its more efficient stop tailpiece, replacing the original’s
trapeze-style butt. And with a warm-but-aggressive semi-hollowbody sound and chunky necks,
 Sheratons proved irresistible to  Hooker and other budget-conscious blues players.

Today the model also has a home in the cutting edge of modern rock. Ezra Koenig of Vampire
Weekend, Matthew Followill of Kings of Leon and Brian Aubert of Silversun Pickups all play
 Sheraton IIs.

Wilshire

In the 1960s, the Wilshire was Epiphone’s first entry into the solidbody guitar market.
 Wilshires were played by Jimi Hendrix and Pete Townshend, among others. Townshend used
 a 1961 model on stage with his pre-Who group The Detours that he bought from Roger Daltrey
 on an installment plan. Today Gibson’s Custom Shop makes an exacting reissue of the white
1962 model of this double-P-90-equipped tone machine.

Zephyr

Sometimes known as the Emperor Zephyr Regent, the Zephyr is the forerunner of the Emperor.

 The first Zephyrs were non-electric, and even when equipped with pickups, they were fat 

bodied and lacked cutaways, which is why the Emperor quickly surpassed them in popularity. 

Nonetheless, the guitar’s mettle was proven in 1946 when the gypsy jazz innovator Django 

Reinhardt made his only tour of the U.S. – as a member of Duke Ellington’s band – with a

 Regent in his arms.

Epi Zephyr Blues Regent natural

Epiphone_zephyr_emperor

Broadway

This model is part of Epiphone’s historic line of jazz guitars. The Broadway is essentially a
variation on the Emperor with two full-sized humbucking pickups and a three-way selector
switch and speed dial array duplicating the classic Gibson Les Paul configuration. The guitar’s
 leading player today is bluesman Duke Robillard, who uses his Broadway on stage and in the
studio. In addition to his many solo albums and pioneering swing-revival recordings as the
 leader of Roomful of Blues, Robillard’s resume includes work with Bob Dylan and Tom Waits.