RobinTheHood

YY = year of manufacture MM = month of manufature FF = factory I.D. RRRRR = ranking number Example: 08121520333 was made in December 2008, factory 15, 2 unknown significance, 0333 unit produced The pickup model prefix ACH means Alnico Claissic Pro.

No problem. Sorry that I couldnt give you a definitive answer. I dont think that anyone really knows for sure.

Wilkinson and Grover are two different brands. If the specs on the tuners is incorrect, then there is always the possibility that the 2011 pickup info is incorrect as well. However, when the ProBuckers first started coming out there were no Alnico Classic PROs that I know of. That seems to be something new for 2012. The thing is that these spec sheets are supposed to be used by the retailer for their websites. It is no wonder that the info is all over the map. And as far as the tuners go, quality-wise they are both very good. Epiphone does state though, that they reserve the right to change specifications without notice for any reason. This may be the case with the tuners. Grovers may be less expensive than the Wilkinsons.

Your serial number indicates that it was made in 2011. However, that doesnt necessarily mean that you have ProBucker pickups. I dont know when the switch was. It could have been in mid-2011 for all we know. The neck and body could have been made in 2011 and the electronics from 2012. Its really hard to say. I would assume that if your guitar was originally out of stock and listed as a PRO, then you have the Alnico Classic PRO pickups.

During the first year of production, before they were called PROs, the had ProBucker pickups in them. In the second year of production, after being given the PRO suffix, they now have Alnico Classic Pros in them. I know what Jim said in his email, but I have the Excel spec sheets for both years and that is what they say. Here they are in text format in case you dont have Excel. SP_ES339 - 2011.txt SP_ES339 - 2012.txt

Thanks for the info on the HR. Good to know that all of those variations are from the factory. It definitely helps to know this when people come here to ask about thier HR guitars. Excellent info, and I wont forget it.

I saw that pic yesterday. Its the only JP sig that I found with covers on it. I suppose it is possible that someone put in a set of those pickups.

Oops. Sorry, yeah that was the OP that said it was all original. Looking at the Gibson Joe Perry models on the web, most of them seem to have open-coil pickups. But they all have white pearloid accents, and not black pearloid like yours. Also, your guitar may well have been made in 1996, but they probably didnt hit the stores until 1997, hence, the "1997 Exclusive Run". Rumor has it that Epiphone produced a trans-black/pearloid Joe Perry model for Ishibashi in Japan, but no one has ever been able to produce a picture of one. There was a UK exclusive LP standard in 2010 that looks like the open-coil Joe Perry Les Paul with white pearloid, but it wasnt a JP. Though, the only thing missing is the Joe Perry signature below the stopbar. People seem to think that is an actual Joe Perry model, but I've found several dealer sites and reviews that have it listed as only a Les Paul Standard UK Limited Edition. No mention of Joe Perry.

Yeah, the LP OBL has cream binding. Body binding doesnt usually show up very well, if at all, on my pictures. You should think about taking the pickup covers off and seeing if they are actually OBLs underneath. If the guy said it was all original, maybe he just added some pickup covers.

Guitardater would be great if they would update the serials that it recognizes. It seems that they have lost interest in the project. I mean, they havent really updated in almost four years, but now you are innudated with a massive ad when you go there. Guitardater is crap becuase the owners let it slide in to irrelevance and are apparently resting on their laurels. Anyway, who needs Guitardater to date an Epiphone when we have this thread? I havent even really used Guitardater since this thread went up. http://forum.gibson....e-guide-part-3/ Bye bye Guitar Dater Project. You used to be cool. It was nice knowing you.

Well, I shouldnt have edited my post earlier, because I nalied it without seeing a pic. Then I second-guessed myself and removed what I had written. So, you have a Les Paul Standard OBL. Made in 1997 as a Sam Ash exclusive run. Someone probably replaced the pickups or covers to make it look like a Joe Perry model. I know the guy said it was all original, but I doubt that is the case with the pickups. http://www.epiphonew...ul_Standard_OBL There have been a few other Les Pauls with Ebony finishes and pearloid accents, but this is the only one with black pearloid.

Another 3 year old thread? There were a few guitars that fit this description. We definitely need pics.

Holy hell, I cant read that chicken scratch! And I though my handwriting was bad... I dont know Jerry, I dont put a lot of stock in to Blue Book when it comes to anything other than pricing. There are so many models that they arent even aware of. And considering that they cover a wide range of guitars and other things, I cant imagine that they put a whole lot of research in to obscure stuff like this. I used to refer to the online Blue Book before they started hiding thier specs, and the amount of wrong guitar specs and production years was astounding. I mean, they were in the general ball park, but their accuracy was a little lax. I recently had an email exchange with someone inquiring about their Emperor-I. They called Epiphone to verify some years, and even they said that the Joe Pass came out in 1993...even though their own catalogs say otherwise. And by two years, which is quite a long time for something like this. But much like Blue Book, I dont put much faith in the knowledge of a customer servive rep looking stuff up on the computer at a customer's whim. Hopefully that link to Guitar Museum that I posted is enough to prove the existence of the Joe Pass Emperor-I beyond the Epiphone catalogs and print ads. Like I said earlier, I have a feeling that these early JP models were "order-only" type sales. Something to test the market, maybe.

Jerry. both of those Joe Pass Emperor pics are from 1991. One of them is a magazine print ad, and the other is right out of the 1991 catalog. The first Korean Emperor (non-Joe Pass) shows up in the 1986 catalog and is identical to the Emperors in the ad & catalog, minus the signature pickguard and TRC. The JP Emperor II is seen in the 1994 catalog, but I dont have 1992 & 1993 to compare. My dates were a bit of guesswork and internet sluething, which I really hate to rely on because it is oftentimes innacurate. My guess is that they were putting JP sig parts on any Emperors that were ordered as Joe Pass sigs, and the rest were just standard Emperors. That may account for why you never see the JP models from 1991-1992 or 93. Here is a Joe Pass Emperor I, but the pickguard sig is more like the JP Emperor II. The ones in the catalog & ad most likely have mock-up parts on them. Just another guess, but it would explain the difference in sigs on the PG. http://www.guitar-museum.com/guitar-13719-Epiphone-Joe-Pass-Emperor-II-Gibson-with-hard-case As far as the spruce vs. maple top, I have no idea. I'm not even sure if I have it right on the wiki.

You see, the thing is about Jerry, is that everyone thinks that the "Mac" part of his username is part of his actual last name. But it actually stands for "Mack Daddy"! Because thats what he is. An Epiphone juggernaught, that guy is!

Thanks, Rob. But lets not forget to give Jerrymac credit for his knowledge. He may be a quiet guy around here, but his knowledge is far greater than mine. I've learned a great deal from Jerry.

I am most certainly NOT basing my answers on an online catalog. If you are refering to the wiki, I built it. Its not something I just refer to. The reality is that the were no MIJ LP-100s. The only bolt-neck Epiphone Les Pauls that were built in Japan were 3-bolt configurations with the bolts inside of the body under the neck pickup at the tenon. The back of the guitar would look similar to a set-neck except for a rubber cap at the center of the heel. These are extremely rare. Also, your serial number is NOT fuji-gen. Its Samick, Korea before the factory code prefix was instituted. Its a typical Samick serial without the "S" prefix. The first two numbers indicate the year 1994. Also, Japanese serials were never on the neck plate. They are always on the headstock either stamped or printed, and usually with "made in japan" underneath. The only possible exception to this rule would be the 1970's Matsumoku bolt-on guitars, but those serials didnt have any rhyme or reason to them. They were just numbers. You may not believe me and I really dont care. But you'd be wise to believe Jerrymac because the man knows what he is talking about and his knowledge of these things far surpasses mine and most others on this forum. Furthermore, you are more than welcome to take your query over to MLP and see what they say. I already know what they will tell you.

Apparently, I dont!

Nope. Its Korean. Ah, you are correct. I looked at the catalogs from the 1990's and they are all listed as Alder/Mahogany. Oops. I must have gotten the info from more recent catalogs. I'll have to amend that info. Thanks!

I got the info for the LP-100 Standard out of a 1993 Japanese catalog. I wrote it up as such becuase I have never seen that model in any US catalogs or anywhere else. It is basically the same thing as the LP-100 Studio, but named differently, and appears to have an Alder/Mahog (lam?) body instead of the normal Mahogany body....which, IIRC, the LP-100 has never been spec'd with an Alder/Mahogany body as far as I know. It was not produced in Japan, but its not much of a strech to assume that it was sold only JDM under that name. The Japanese market gets many Epiphone models and colors that we dont get here. If you guys had looked closely at the pic in the wiki, you would see that the name is LP-100 Standard and the price is in Yens.

Thats was one of the biggest reasons behind creating the wiki. There is an unprecedented amount of wrong info concerning a great deal of Epiphone guitars floating around the internet. Of course, the wiki doesnt always get it right, but I try to stay on top of it when new/correct info is presented to me. Most of these other sites just ride on the info they have and leave it at that. Even Wikipedia's info is incorrect on so many levels regarding Epiphone guitars. I've even submitted corrections on their discussion pages concerning a couple different guitars (Supernove included) and it basically goes ignored.

I added the header for the D-12 last night as soon as I saw this thread. Now I need to find some specs for it.