Alan17

Agreed. The Invader is very much at the low-end of the Epi guitar spectrum, but it's a handy little instrument and worth acknowledging. Definitely not fair if it slips into the void of unrecogntion. The spin is actually a gif that was lifted and then re-scaled and re-positioned. I liked the effect too. As is pretty obvious from the demo, I prefer cleaner tones and only added a couple of distortion effects to at least give an idea of what the guitar can do. It's been a very interesting little project. Thanks again to everyone here. Now it's a case of seeing if, over time, any additional details are posted as comments into Youtube.

I know the feeling! Thanks for the bits of info that you’ve been able to add. It certainly looks as if the B, J, C and H will be starting letters of specific words. (J - Junior?) As for the 3 - who knows? For what it’s worth, I’ve now uploaded the demo As an afterthought, a friend who has been looking for information about his own guitar, put together these notes from what he found out about deciphering the full Epiphone serial number. How accurate he is, I don’t know. As for the last numbers in the code after the date code, these represent the ranking of that guitar in the production process. For example, if the serial number ends with "1354," it means the guitar was the 1354th guitar of that model manufactured in the production run. That at least sounds logical and is what I was assuming - based upon how other guitar makers construct their own serial numbers - although some refer to units made per day, week or month.

Although I'll keep on searching, it looks for the moment as if I've uncovered as much as I can about the history of the Invader. Unlike Gibson, Samick have not replied to my enquiries and I've almost finished recording some sound examples for the proposed Youtube upload. Purely for completeness in case any other Invader owner comes this way, I've now attached photos of the two labels which are on my instrument. One clearly identifies it is being part of the 'Starter Pak'. Interestingly, in an idle moment when I Googled PAK-EEBJVSCH3, I landed on a reference to an Invader with this same label having been sold on 2008-10-03. I'm assuming that the PAK label is generic to all Invaders as the serial number for my instrument dates it as August 2004. http://www.guitar-museum.com/guitar-48526-Epiphone-Invader-Electric-Guitar-Model-PAK-EEBJVSCH3 I was also interested in the suffix 'SCH3'. Simple logic might suggest that SCH is an abbreviation for 'School' and might thus imply that the PAK was mostly sold to educational establishments ... but I doubt that things are actually that simple, obvious or logical! Thanks again for all the replies and snippets of info that members have offered.

We don’t disclose information about the rest of the digits however, as that is considered as confidential information .... it is also very well possible that it was a special dealer edition Thanks Stijn The terms I've seen used for those final 4 digits in Epi serial numbers are 'Unit number' and 'Production number' so I'll leave it as that in the video I'm making. The 'pack' aspect for the singlecut Invader certainly seems limited to mainland Europe so you could be right in that it was put together for a major European distributor. Thanks again for your input. I'm now literally setting up to record some soundtrack for the movie that will eventually be uploaded to Youtube. Alan.

I suspect you're right - the specs for this guitar look almost identical to the current Epiphone 'Special II'. There is absolutely no trace of it on the internet (well, not that I've found as yet). I suspect that it might have been catalogued and intended as an upgrade to the actual Invader but then wasn't produced as such and eventually became the Epi Special II. The Invader almost certainly became the Epi Junior and retained the single humbucker setup whilst dropping the Pak association. That's my theory so far ..... unless anyone out there actually owns the Invader shown in the jpg .... ?

Thanks Stijn, and thanks for replying to my separate email to Gibson Europe. Your jpg has just opened up a whole new area of unknown territory because the Invader shown there is a twin humbucker version and I've never come across that anywhere in any of my extensive searching. This really is a mystery instrument and yet I reckon it was certainly produced for several years either side of 2004. I'm currently finishing a short movie for upload to Youtube which will feature my Invader and which will contain all the info collected so far .... your jpg looks ideal for inclusion if only to add to the mystery. One additional query --- the last four digits of Epi serial numbers refer to the unit number. My Invader has the number SI04081331 ... so was it the 1331st unit for one day in August 2004, or for the whole of August or ... ?? Any ideas? Thanks again for responding. Just in case Samick have any records, I also emailed them with similar queries .... so, once again, I'll get back to you all if anything is forthcoming. When my own little tribute movie is uploaded to Youtube, I'll post the URL. A.

Thanks folks - looks like I aleady gathered most known info. I added most of the basic details to the Wiki for the Les Paul Junior as that seemed the most appropriate place until such time as one for Invader turns up. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_Les_Paul_Junior There's no mention of the Invader on the Epiphone site - so I've sent an email to the Europe side of the Gibson/Epiphone business to see if they have any records. I'll let you know if I get a reply. Thanks again.

I'm trying to compile as much information as I can about the Epiphone Invader. Since buying one myself in the house-clearance of a semi-professional guitarist, I've been intrigued by how many comments I've encountered by other owners who can't find out much information about this instrument. Thus far, I've been able to work out the following. Do any other forum mebres have additional information, or are able to correct any errors in what I've found out. (I'm currently making a demo using my own Invader and want to include in it as much information as I can find to help others who might be searching). So here goes ... from what I've found out so far .... (1) The Invader was originally made exclusively for sale as part of a 'starter pack' and was probably marketed mainly or wholly in Europe. (That's mainland Europe rather than the UK). At least one version of the pack contained a Harley Benton GA5 amp as well as other accessories such as a strap, instructional CD or maybe DVD, gig bag, plectrums and spare strings. (2) It's a budget version of the Gibson Junior and either pre-dates or was produced at the same time as the Epiphone Junior. The body is flat but the edges are rounded, which makes it very comfortable to play (and in-line with Les Paul's original preference for uncarved body types). (3) It was manufactured by the Samick organisation, probably in their factory in Cileungsi, near Bogor, Indonesia. (4)Whereas the Invader is no longer manufactured, the Epi JUnior is and, to all intents and purposes, the two guitars are very similar (possibly identical). (5) Because it's a low-end instrument as regards budget, the neck is bolt-on rather than set. (6) The guitar was probably manufactured for just a few years in the early 2000's. (Mine dates from August 2004) (7) The body is possibly alder but is certainly not a lightweight wood. (My Invader tips the scales at just over 6lbs (2.8kg). The wood is laminated. I can see 3 layers when I look in the hollow cut for the electrics. (8) The only finish I've found any reference to is the classic vintage sunburst. (9) Whereas the Invader is no longer manufactured, the Harley Benton GA5 amp which was included in the original starter pack IS still made and sold with current specs described as: 5W Class A, 8" speaker, 1 channel, 1 volume & 1 tone control, 1x 12AX7 & 1x EL84 tubes, 4 Ohm external speaker output. Weight: 10.5kg, size WDH mm 364 x 215 x 390 (incl. handle, 20 broad x 210 long and feet, 18 high). (One advertiser being Thomann from where I gathered that info) (10), Today, the natural successors to the Invader are the Epihone Junior (single humbucker and mahogany body) and the very succesful Epiphone Special II (twin humbuckers, several choices of finish and is available either on its own or as part of a new starter pack containing Epiphone Studio 15R amplifier with built-in reverb, gig bag, instructional DVD, electronic tuner, strap, cable, and plectrums .... in other words, full circle!) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- What I don't know is --- >> During which range of years was the Invader produced? >> Am I right about the location of the Samick factory where it was made? >> Did the Invader precede the Epi Junior or were they concurrent - or was the Junior a renamed Invader when sold in its own right? >> Was there just the one finish? >> Was the body Alder or Mahogany? >> The GIBSON Invader (1983 to 1988) was a twin pickup singlecut, so why did Epiphone choose the same name for their single pup model? (The Gibson also had the 'Invader' logo printed teastfully on the headstock trussrod cover rather than splattered all along the headstock which is what Epiphone did, presumably to attract youngsters.) >> What other information is out there and what mistakes have I made? Thanks for any comments or additional info.