Where Were My Epiphones Made?

[DennisMiller]

This is weird... I have my Epi AJ220 for sale on Craigslist and soneone asked me where it was made. I presume it's from China, but it actually doesn't say, neither on the interior label nor on any sticker on the back of the headstock.

 

I also have an EJ200 and it doesn't say either.

 

Can anyone tell me for certain where these guitars were made?

[GuitarLight]

I have an AJ-220sce same as yours but a cut away electric. The serial number on the inside lable tells the whole story. Here is an example of a typical AJ220S serial number and how to decipher it. Lets say your serial number inside the sound hole reads.. 11062306500 broken down the 11 means it was made in 2011...the 06 means June of that year...the 23 means it was made in Indonesia...and the 06500 means it was the 6500th model 220 made. Hope this helps you. They are very nice sounding guitars when set up properly. Also AJ220S means Advanced Jumbo the 220 is the model number, and the S means it has a solid sitka spruce top....if by chance instead of 23 for Indonesia, you find a 17...that would mean China. It is likely your EJ-200 is read the same way if it is a fairly recent model.

[DennisMiller]

It's pretty funny how close your example is to my serial number.

 

It's 12042306314, so it was made in 2012, April, in Indonesia and was the 6314th made.

 

A potential buyer asked where it was made and when I speculated China, he refused to buy a Chinese product. I'll email him now to say Indonesia and see what he says. On the other hand, I'm having second thoughts. I played it a while last night and I just don't know whether I really want to sell it. I have Martins and Taylors, but for some reason, this guitar still sounds and feels good to me.

[GuitarLight]

It was made in Indonesia guaranteed on the date specified in your serial number. Your post is fascinating...I love my 220 also...I have owned many fine guitars Martins, Gibsons, Taylors, Carbon fiber guitars.....Yet the moment I picked up my 220 which was sitting in the guitar center...I could not put it down. It fits in perfectly and for the price it is one of the best deals I have ever gotten on a guitar. My 220 is so appealing to me that I often play it more than my $3500 Martin J-40. There is just something about how it feels and sounds. The solid top makes it sound amazing. You just may want to keep it for a wonderful beater because you don't have to be afraid of harming it. By the way the serial number deciphering applies to the Epi Masterbilt line as well....and those are made in China ...both China.. (17) and Indonesia.. (23) have been putting out extremely good quality in the last several years. Here is a picture of my utterly beautiful 2011 Epi 220sce V/S (sorry you'll have to click the pic to enlarge it...not sure why.)

[DennisMiller]

I was talking to a friend this morning. He asked me how the sales of all the guitars I decided to get rid of was going. I told him about my second thought about this Epi. He said something very interesting, maybe even profound. He said he wondered if why I liked this guitar so much is because it doesn't have a very distinct personality. The Martins are boomy. The Taylors are brighter and balanced. The Epi is neither. Call it generic if you like, but it's in the middle and seems to satisfy pretty much no matter what.

 

It's an interesting idea.

 

I also have a J200 model and it's more boomy with the bigger body. Since it leans towards the Martin side of things, maybe I'll sell that one instead and keep the AJ.

[GuitarLight]

I was talking to a friend this morning. He asked me how the sales of all the guitars I decided to get rid of was going. I told him about my second thought about this Epi. He said something very interesting, maybe even profound. He said he wondered if why I liked this guitar so much is because it doesn't have a very distinct personality. The Martins are boomy. The Taylors are brighter and balanced. The Epi is neither. Call it generic if you like, but it's in the middle and seems to satisfy pretty much no matter what.

 

It's an interesting idea.

 

I also have a J200 model and it's more boomy with the bigger body. Since it leans towards the Martin side of things, maybe I'll sell that one instead and keep the AJ.

I agree fully with you Dennis...the 220 does not ever over power. I sing a great deal while playing and my Martins can boom out the voice ,and my Taylors are bright and can upstage a voice....the 220 is plain. clear, sweet, and ALWAYS steps back to let my voice shine through on it...ALWAYS...I just finished a 2 hour set on it. Delightful. Even when just rehearsing music alone..the 220's tone allows each note to clearly shine through without embellishment of boom, coral trebles, rumbling over resonance. And its sustain is sweet, long, and clear. It really is a sweet heart of guitars and holds a very prominent place in my guitar stall. I do all my rehearsal work, all my writing, on the 220...and when those are perfected, I pull out the Martin, or Masterbilts or other high end guitars. These simple qualities are often overlooked because of the high price we pay for high end guitars...but there is LOTS of room to own a sweet little work horse like the Epi 220. Good luck on selling it, but I suspect you may not want to if you really think about it. Either way. Good luck!

[DennisMiller]

I just restrung it. I had put a bone saddle in mine and the note to note clarity is really good. I think I've pretty much decided to sell the EJ200 instead.

 

True story - I bought both those guitars on a deal Guitar Center had around Christmas. It was a 20% off thing I got by email. I decided to order the J200 and got it for $159.99, but when the emailed confirmation came, it listed the AJ instead. I called them back and straightened out the problem, but a couple days later, I got shipping confirmations for both guitars. I called again and they said they had left and couldn't be stopped, but what I should do is just keep the one I wanted and call for a return label to return the one I didn't want. When I got both boxes a few days later, the first one I opened was the AJ. I liked it immediately. I liked the J too, so I called GC and said I would be happy to keep both if they would keep the 20% off price for both instead of the way it was advertised as being for just one item. They agreed, so I paid $159.99 for each guitar.