JHutchinson81 Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Hi all, i have my fathers old Epiphone here that he bought at Quigley Music in Kansas City, i would like it dated, but the dating system is all askew for details on locations of serial numbers and their numerical identifiers and the label style. It seems no serial number was on the label inside, however below it there is a tag with a number on it that doesnt line up with the other ones on the dating system, etc Can someone help me categorically date this guitar? It means a lot to our family. Ive restored it a bit without ruining its original condition, and it might not be worth much, but its of great value to me and my family. Also i would like to purchase one of the screws for the bridge because it was lost maybe 20 years ago. There is a size requirement here on the forum, so i made a gallery on PostImage.org Here is a link to some choice photos of the guitar: http://postimg.org/gallery/1kw5p5oe6/ Thank you and I hope someone can help find me an exact date/year based on this info, if i need to give more info please respond and ill do whatever i can. Thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 I can only tell you that it's going to be from the '70s. This Epi was from Gibson's first wave of Epiphone imports after production of Kalamazoo Epis ended. It's monetary value will not be significant, as this period was essentially a low water mark for Epiphone acoustics, but it's great that you want to preserve it for your family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gralst Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Hi all, i have my fathers old Epiphone here that he bought at Quigley Music in Kansas City, i would like it dated, but the dating system is all askew for details on locations of serial numbers and their numerical identifiers and the label style. It seems no serial number was on the label inside, however below it there is a tag with a number on it that doesnt line up with the other ones on the dating system, etc Can someone help me categorically date this guitar? It means a lot to our family. Ive restored it a bit without ruining its original condition, and it might not be worth much, but its of great value to me and my family. Also i would like to purchase one of the screws for the bridge because it was lost maybe 20 years ago. There is a size requirement here on the forum, so i made a gallery on PostImage.org Here is a link to some choice photos of the guitar: http://postimg.org/gallery/1kw5p5oe6/ Thank you and I hope someone can help find me an exact date/year based on this info, if i need to give more info please respond and ill do whatever i can. Thanks, Pin-pointing an exact date for the FT-145 is going to be impossible....but... We may be able to get within three or four years using specific details of the model. To begin with this model is not rare or sought after by collectors or worth obscene amounts of money. They can be viable, playable, fun guitars but most of all your guitar has priceless sentimental value. The FT-145 was an all laminated square-shouldered dreadnought with a laminated spruce top and laminated mahogany back and sides. It first appeared in the January 1972 Epiphone price list listing at $104.50 (guitar only) and the last time it appeared was in the Spring 1980 listing at $219.95. The near doubling of the list price over those eight years had more to do with rampant inflation and currency value fluctuation than any production or material changes. Based upon the format of the model number, the interior label and the truss rod cover I can guesstimate that it was made between 1972 and 1974. My reasoning is this: The truss rod cover on your guitar has a silk-screened epsilon ("E"). Until about 1973 the truss rod covers were usually (not always) blank. The interior label states the model number as "FT-145" Starting about 1973/1974 The model.style name was expanded to "FT-145 SB (for "sunburst") and "Texan" was inexplicibly was added to the model name (Your guitar has absolutely nothing to do with or does it have any similarity to the Epiphone FT-79 "Texan" produced by Gibson from 1958 until 1970-The addition of "Texan" was a marketing attempt to create a connection to an original Gibson made instrument). The interior label itself being a blue rectangle dates the guitar to that 1971-1975 time frame (In 1976 the interior label was changed to a larger white square label. Using all this my guess is that it was made between 1972 and 1975. When Epiphone began importing Matsumoku-made instruments in 1971 it was to provide a market entry in the beginners/intermediate.hobbyist niche at an economy price point to compete with other lower end Japanese imports. Initially this line of guitars was re-labeled/re-branded Aria, Lyle, Westone and other Matsumoku instruments with minor cosmetic changes to appear more "Epiphone-like". While these guitars aren't high end, top quality collectibles they're more than adequate to provide years of playing pleasure with the added value of being your father's. The bridges and parts do come up from time to time on E Bay. I would think that a machine shop supply place could come up with a metric thumb screw that will fit. I'm sorry that I can't get closer with a date but I have to stick with the 1972-1975 time window. This wasn't the greatest era of Epiphone's history but they made an awful lot of guitars back then that has given pleasure to an awful lot of people. Congtarulations and good luck. Enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 I dearly love the tone of mine. All else is superfluous. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 They can be viable, playable, fun guitars.... Thanks for the info, Gralst. I have a different model from that era. Yeah, I figured early 70s. Same blue label, same serial number positioning on the bolt-on neck plate. Mine's an FT-160 12-string. I pulled it out of my dad's closet where it'd been for 40 years (he never got into it, but he's currently hog-wild over his Gibson LP studio). I had my tech restring and give it a setup. I really enjoy the 12-string sound coming out of this thing! The E and A bass strings are a little weak relative to the others, but I guess you can't expect a whole lot from a laminate. Still, it's a fun guitar. Pretty, too. :) Oh--and I've heard this called a Texan too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gralst Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Thanks for the info, Gralst. I have a different model from that era. Yeah, I figured early 70s. Same blue label, same serial number positioning on the bolt-on neck plate. Mine's an FT-160 12-string. I pulled it out of my dad's closet where it'd been for 40 years (he never got into it, but he's currently hog-wild over his Gibson LP studio). I had my tech restring and give it a setup. I really enjoy the 12-string sound coming out of this thing! The E and A bass strings are a little weak relative to the others, but I guess you can't expect a whole lot from a laminate. Still, it's a fun guitar. Pretty, too. :) Oh--and I've heard this called a Texan too! I also have an FT-160 "Texan 12" that was the first "big" gift my ex wife ever gave me back at the start of our relationship. The strange thing is that there's an interior stamp that appears to be a date stamp that I can't ever recall seeing on any other Epiphones of this era...the stamp is "11-7-77" that in the Japanese date format would be "July 11, 1977" ...and my son's birth date... It is what it is as far as being a guitar goes but I've enjoyed it for a lot of years. Mine has the white, square "Norlin" label...the only negative thing was my ex bought it at a friend's of mine's music shop and they knew who she was and took advantage of her (she went there expecting to get a good deal and trusted she would) and charged her essentially list price. When I told them how petty I thought they were it more or less ended both a friendship and a business arrangement. Just the principle of it. Years ago a friend of mine used my FT-160 for some "serious" recording because it was so balanced sounding. They tried a Martin D-1228 which was too boomy and a small bodied Guild that was too "tinky tinky"...my friend had my FT-160 at the time so they tried that and liked the results. I don't think it's so much that it's a laminate as it is the top bracing itself being a bit "over-built" (though the neck pocket is a big weak spot) and inhibiting projection and bottom resonance. As I said, it is what it is. Mine is a dead ringer for the one that's pictured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatstrat Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I had one of those! But mine was also marked "Texan". I thought it was a great guitar. But I sold it when the wife complained I had too many guitars. Hey I only had 10! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.