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Epiphone Superstrat


Rob74

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Hello!

 

I would like to know more about this Epiphone Superstrat-type guitar I recently bought for about $ 250,-.

It's a very ugly ultra 80's hair metal type of thing, but I thought it was kind of cool to add something from that era to my collection.

It has a set neck, Schaller Floyd Rose, Gotoh tuners and unknown pickups (humbucker at bridge, and angled single coil at neck). The headstock is an Explorer-type.

Serial no. is 9010477 (on a sticker on back of headstock).

 

I hope someone can help me out!

(I just entered the forum so I don't know how to add pictures yet.)

 

Rob

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Thanks for your reply - but I'm a little confused now because here's what Gibson emailed today:

 

"Dear Mr.,

Thank you for your interest in Gibson guitars.

The serial number and pictures you provided should be for a guitar Epiphone Pro made in Nashville US probably in 1988-89.

Find attached doc related guitar specs of this instrument."

 

No doc attached though, I mailed them and hope they'll attach it.

 

Here are the pics:

epiphone9.jpg

epiphone8.jpg

epiphone7.jpg

epiphone3.jpg

epiphone1.jpg

 

So is it Korean or made in or assembled in Nashville USA?

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Thanks for your reply - but I'm a little confused now because here's what Gibson emailed today:

 

"Dear Mr.' date='

Thank you for your interest in Gibson guitars.

The serial number and pictures you provided should be for a guitar Epiphone Pro made in Nashville US probably in 1988-89.

Find attached doc related guitar specs of this instrument."

 

No doc attached though, I mailed them and hope they'll attach it.

 

Here are the pics:

[img']http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj299/MusicMan74/epiphone9.jpg[/img]

epiphone8.jpg

epiphone7.jpg

epiphone3.jpg

epiphone1.jpg

 

So is it Korean or made in or assembled in Nashville USA?

 

Based upon the serial number and the paper label it's on it's Korean... It's also lacking a digit to be a Gibson format serial number. There was in deed a USA-made Epiphone but those say "Epiphone USA" on the headstock if I recall. I call it: a Korean-made (probably by Samick) Epiphone Strat Thingy from January 1989.

 

...and Al's your uncle.

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Gibson has been telling a few people that their Epis were made in Nashville. One guy was in here last week convinced he had a USA-made Epi Les Paul, which, also, is highly doubtful. The CS guys at Gibson tend to be rather clueless about Epiphone; I'd take any info they pass along with a grain of salt.

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I absolutely hate to disagree with Uncle Albert and with Spud but.....

I worked at Gibson in 1990 and I saw these things come off the line in Nashville.

Yours looks like the ones I remember seeing there.

 

The Epiphone Pro and Epiphone Pro II were made for only a year or two. They were fantastic guitars.

The giveaway for the US model is the set neck and the carved top. However the ones I saw had a Truss rod cover that said "USA" or "Pro" not "Gibson". But as discussed here before truss rod covers vary widely with the Epiphone brand.

The sticker serial number confuses me a bit however the Epi Pro's were not serialized the same as Gibsons.

Also, what does the gold sticker on the back of the headstock read? If it says Korea then you have the variant and not the US version.

 

If you want to be more certain you could look up Phil Jones or J.T. Riboloff. They are both master luthiers who were in the Custom Shop at that time and may be able to confirm what you have. The last I heard Phil was with Gruhn's Guitars in Nashville but I don't know that to be true. I lost touch with most of the Gibson gang years ago.

 

There was a Korean variant that looked similar from the front but had a bolt-on neck.

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  • 1 year later...

My Epiphone is almost identical to yours except a few changes, mine has 2 single i pickups and the humbucker, has a bolt on neck, 22 frets not cutaway like yours, it has a 5 switch, and has been a little more beaten up, just a few dings and such, but thats the way i purchased it so what can i say, wondering if you ever did find out what your guitars model is because your guitar is the closest thing to my own that i can find on the internet, the body is identical (except the bolt on neck) their even the same color.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Finally, something that actually resembles what I have! I've been searching for years to figure out what the heck it really is. Had to join this convo!

*Please note that this is the exact condition I received the guitar in: I did not add the hipshot tuner, screw the bridge to the body, or contribute to the cracked neck*

 

Headstock 'Epiphone' is inlayed. Check out the 'PRO' inlay on the last fret. Natural bolt on neck. USA truss cover. 'Made in USA' and serial stamped on the back of the headstock. The Floyd Rose is a Schaller.... with GIBSON on it.

 

Serial: 821597745

 

All I know:

Nashville Plant (Gibson),TN, USA

August 3 1989

Production Number: 245

 

3502230716_66ac589933.jpg?v=0

3502226034_24f14dae16.jpg?v=0

3501412957_eaa4bf7d61.jpg?v=0

3502227850_7ab53dff3c.jpg?v=0

3502229796_17e39ce33b_m.jpg

3501414863_1268c37b50.jpg?v=0

 

Any more help in an ID would be awesome~!

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Well, you do searches on discontinued models... and some places say Epiphone Pro, some places also say Pro II. I'm just a bit confused... especially when you put my black guy against the white guy originally started in the thread. They're the same body, head, bridge style... but there are so many other huge differences: set painted neck vs lacquerd bolt on, stamped serial vs sticker, decal 'Epiphone' vs inlayed. Schaller vs Gibson on the bridge. Pickup covers vs in the nude... it's all so interesting on a guitar that hardly anyone's seen before.

 

Just curious, mostly.

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Well' date=' you do searches on discontinued models... and some places say Epiphone Pro, some places also say Pro II. I'm just a bit confused... especially when you put my black guy against the white guy originally started in the thread. They're the same body, head, bridge style... but there are so many other huge differences: set painted neck vs lacquerd bolt on, stamped serial vs sticker, decal 'Epiphone' vs inlayed. Schaller vs Gibson on the bridge. Pickup covers vs in the nude... it's all so interesting on a guitar that hardly anyone's seen before.

 

Just curious, mostly. [/quote']

 

Oh man! I've been searching for many of these answers for all of the 80's Epi strats for the past couple of years.

Well, As far as the things you mentioned, I would have to say the difference is price tiers. Like the S-5000, 600, 700 and so on for the S-series...or maybe even different model years...although from what people say, there were only two years of production.

 

As for as the Gibson Floyd, you got me on that one. Maybe thats what they were using. It's not likely that Epi would put a Gibson stamped bridge on their asian guitars, but for the USA models, maybe. But, thats just a stab in the dark.

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Oh man! I've been searching for many of these answers for all of the 80's Epi strats for the past couple of years.

Well' date=' As far as the things you mentioned, I would have to say the difference is price tiers. Like the S-5000, 600, 700 and so on for the S-series...or maybe even different model years...although from what people say, there were only two years of production.

 

As for as the Gibson Floyd, you got me on that one. Maybe thats what they were using. It's not likely that Epi would put a Gibson stamped bridge on their asian guitars, but for the USA models, maybe. But, thats just a stab in the dark.

 

[/quote']

 

No kidding! I'd really like to get ahold of a catolog from 88/89. I found one online, but they're a paid subscription website thing, and couldn't view it unless you pay way too much money.

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...and I believe that these two guitars we're looking at are PRO-series, NOT S-series. The S-series, I believe tended to have the sharktooth inlays and a pointier headstock, as well as a HSS SSS configuration with a 5way swich.

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...and I believe that these two guitars we're looking at are PRO-series' date=' NOT S-series. The S-series, I believe tended to have the sharktooth inlays and a pointier headstock, as well as a HSS SSS configuration with a 5way swich.[/quote']Like this.

dsc01084g.jpg1985 S-500

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Haha, no offense intended.....

I was reallly clarifying more for myself.

 

So is it possible that there are not only the Pro and Pro II, but offshore, US, standard, deluxe, etc... type variations? It's such a weird model to begin with, and it seems odd to me that Epiphone would go to such lengths for those variations, only for 2 years of production.

 

So. Strange.

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Haha' date=' no offense intended.....

I was reallly clarifying more for myself.

 

So is it possible that there are not only the Pro and Pro II, but offshore, US, standard, deluxe, etc... type variations? It's such a weird model to begin with, and it seems odd to me that Epiphone would go to such lengths for those variations, only for 2 years of production.

 

So. Strange.[/quote']

 

Possibly. We know now that there were USA & Korean versions that are very different.

I would like to say that it doesnt seem likely that they would vary it that much for only a 2-year run,

but look at the S-series. There was the 210-900. But 400-900 only ran for 4 years.

 

With Epiphone anything is possible. They do alot of weird, small runs and for some reason I have

the feeling that THEY cant even keep track of them.

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