Can Anyone tell me about my EA250, s/n 17918

[Bullwinkle]

Hello, I have a Cherry Red Epiphone EA250, (s/n 17918 on the blue label inside the guitar) in really great shape and I'm interested in finding out its age, where it was built, and a $-range of about what it might be worth.

It has a bolt-on maple neck w/rosewood fingerboard, abalone inlays, a (non-Bigsby) vibrato tailpiece that works perfectly.

The chrome plate on the back of the guitar where the neck is bolted on has the #0150948, which I suspect might be a p/n for the chrome plate, but I'm just guessing.

The input jack is on the lower bout.

The pickups look something like mini H/Bs sizewise but I'm pretty sure they're not.

The pickups are black with black surrounds and each p/u has a row of 6 screws with a corresponding row of small rectangular studs about 5/8" below each screw.

It also says Epiphone Inc, Kalamazoo, Michigan, made in Japan on the blue label

I'm an old timer who has owned over the years several high end guitars and I can't say enough good things about the sound, action, etc of this guitar.

Thank You

[Parabar]

Those guitars were made in the Matsumoku factory in Japan in the late 60's and early 70's. The same design was sold under a variety of other brand names, with minor variations in cosmetics: Univox, Aria, Conrad, Lyle, Sebring, Toledo, and others. They were part of the influx of "cheap Japanese guitars" during that time which gave that phrase its derogatory connotations.

 

They generally sell on eBay for between $200 and $300 --- mostly because of sentimental associations by "players of a certain age." They're not particularly valued as collectibles, and there are certainly much better instruments made nowadays for comparable prices.

 

If you enjoy playing yours, that's really what matters most, though, isn't it?