Levee Dweller Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Hi I'm new here and I have a question. (sorry for my bad English, bud I'm from the Netherlands) Just bought a second hand (3e or 4e ??) Epiphone ES 335. Serial is J203119 and I found out that it's from the Terada plant in Japan. The looks are not like I can find on the internet. I also think that de guitar has been changed by one of the owners before me. Can anybody tell me if all the ES 335 from 2002 are a Elite or are there more 335 models made in that year? Thank's [attachment=16924:IMG_2362.JPG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vomer Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Welkom! Could you post more photos? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levee Dweller Posted November 3, 2014 Author Share Posted November 3, 2014 Hi, I just posted some other photos in my first post. Hope it helps ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levee Dweller Posted November 3, 2014 Author Share Posted November 3, 2014 I took out a humbucker to find more information but there was nothing on it so that didn't help <_< ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Many basic specs on this guitar do not match a true Terada Epiphone Elite 335 from 2002. Things that are not consistent with the actual Elite model: > serial number (should start with T) > no elite logo on back of neck > f-hole shape (too large) > headstock shape > headstock logo > multi-ply binding > interior label In close-up, it also looks like it might have a two-piece top, which would be incorrect for the Elite 335. Knobs, pickup rings, and truss rod cover are wrong as well, but those can be easily changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levee Dweller Posted November 4, 2014 Author Share Posted November 4, 2014 Thank's for the info Bobouz. Is it possible that the guitar is made for the domestic market in Japan? Serial numbers starting with an J are also made in Terada. I tried to make a picture of the serial number. It says ES 335 and than the serial started with a J. It also says Epiphone, but that you can not see in the picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 First, any Terada made guitar has the potential to be a great guitar. The workmanship is hard to beat, and the materials are top notch. The most significant thing that separates this one from an Elite/Elitist is the (stock) pups. Until the Elite/Elitist series, the Terada made guitars did not have Gibson pickups. Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Thank's for the info Bobouz. Is it possible that the guitar is made for the domestic market in Japan? Serial numbers starting with an J are also made in Terada. That could be, as the 'J' designation has indeed been associated with Terada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levee Dweller Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 I made contact with Gibson in the hope that they can find the info that I'm looking for. Hope that they don't just say that they'll look it up, because I don't think that I'm the only one with that soort of question! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 First, any Terada made guitar has the potential to be a great guitar. The workmanship is hard to beat, and the materials are top notch. I agree with Red - that's one nice guitar! As you say, it simply appears to be a 2002 ES-335 out of Terada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cunningham26 Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Here's some Elite info from another thread including the first(?) catalog thanks to our man Red http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/50759-different-eliteelitist-les-pauls/ and the info on the JDM archtops http://epiphonewiki.com/index.php/Elitist_Archtops_%28Japan%29 What bothers me is the finish on both the body and headstock. If this is leaning towards the elite '63 335, they were only supposed to be in Vintage Sunburst, Natural, and Cherry. Further, the epiphone and crown inlay in the picture looks yellow/aged, where the elite had pearl finish. Along with the aforementioned lack of elitist markings, this would have to have been either a prototype, a 2nd they decided to spray cherry, or (not likely but you never know) a copy. How does it play? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Here's some Elite info from another thread including the first(?) catalog thanks to our man Red http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/50759-different-eliteelitist-les-pauls/ So strange to re-read that old thread. I have absolutely no memory of it! Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Further, the epiphone and crown inlay in the picture looks yellow/aged, where the elite had pearl finish. One of many things I find odd about this guitar is the logo. The font is one which Epiphone started going to in 2010. That's the first year I noticed it on an Elitist model (the Casino), and it appears on my 2010 Valensi Riviera made in Korea. In the ensuing years, it has become almost universally applied to Epiphones, both electric and acoustic. Through 2009, the Terada Elite/Elitists (except for the Broadway) used a slightly thicker font with a short center 'E' line. This clearly is not an Elite/Elitist, but what in the heck is it? To date, I have not seen anything with similar features. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levee Dweller Posted November 7, 2014 Author Share Posted November 7, 2014 Thank's for all the replies! First of all, the guitar plays very nice and sounds great! My amp is a Blues Deluxe with a matching cabinet from de Hot Rod series. Made some tube changes en switched the speaker from the amp into the cabinet and from the cabinet into the amp. I took the Epihone to a guitar builder and let them look at it. He thinks that the neck has been repaired or replaced. That might be the reason why most of you think of it as a strange looking Elite. Because of all the comments and info that i found I don't think it's an Elite. Maybe it's a model from before they started to make the Elite in 2002 or maybe a model just for the Japanese market. The strange thing is, I can't find a picture of an ES 335 with the same colors and binding as the one that I have. I found pictures of an LP with the same colors en binding.I also found a picture of an Ibanez Artist AR with the same colors en binding. Also build in Japan as far as I know. Yes, I'm very curious what it really is, but at the end it's the feel and the sound that brings joy in making music on this guitar!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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