EpiSheriMan Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 I know that there is at least one forum member who recently found and BOUGHT one of these but did anyone ever establish if these Epiphone LIMITED MODEL ES-335 Block found on the Japanese market are actually MIJ or MIK? http://www.rakuten.co.jp/ikebe/443977/824885/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender 4 Life Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 OMG!! HOW much are these including shipping(USDollars)? and HOW can I purchase one? I don't read/speak Japanese. somebody help me here!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EpiSheriMan Posted April 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 OMG!! HOW much are these including shipping(USDollars)? and HOW can I purchase one? I don't read/speak Japanese. somebody help me here!! Don't get too excited Bender. These are practically impossible to get unless you live in Japan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freak show Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 Hold yer horses, boys, you got to read the fine print first! At the bottom it says (loosely translated): "Made out of left over chopsticks by our slaves in China". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1966luke Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 The sunburst finish looks amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgrmatt Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 Yeah it's dead gorgeous and they are also producing a Riviera II for the Japan market but it is my understanding after a conversation with a Japanese shop owner that they are not allowed to sell new Epiphones intended for the Japan market online or ship them out of Japan but you are allowed to purchse them if you go to Japan. Now if you can find one used that's a different story they are allowed to ship / sell used product to the US or elsewhere for that matter, the only drawback is that the shipping can be a bit costly but they do have some high quality Epi offerings that you can't get anywhere else. mgm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1966luke Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 Riviera II http://www.rakuten.co.jp/ikebe/443977/824884/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Summerisle Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 ...almost worth the cost of a plane ticket to Tokyo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Summerisle Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 By the way, this is probably a stupid question... But why do Japanese consumers have access to these beautiful Epiphones, while guitar buyers in other parts of the world do not? Do Epiphone really think that these would not sell well in North America, Europe, Australasia, etc...?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkuss Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 I think it's something to do with the copyright infringement as well as the fact that people are even more less likely to gor for that Gibson if they can get even nearer to one with an epiphone. For instance, I'd love to mod an Epi to make it look like a 355 but with the dot inlays and epi headstock, by the time I bought the parts, installed them and set it up i would be just as well getting a gibson but if epi did a 355 or a 345 copy with block inlays vibrola/bigsby etc i'd definitely buy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EpiSheriMan Posted April 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 Hmmm,...no one knows huh? I'd bet that they are China or Korea made for 49,000 Yen. Too cheal for a MIJ.... No one have one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkuss Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 I think the person on here who had one had an open book style japanese one. I agree that these look too cheap to be Japanese but then I know nothing about the complications of Taxes, Export fees, Labour costs, Gibson mark up. What I mean is that it may be a reasonable price for a Japanese guitar IN Japan that we outside of Japan can't benefit from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twiggy Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 I'm almost ready to fly to Japan for that blueish riviera... unbelievably gorgeous Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgrmatt Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 By the way' date=' this is probably a stupid question... But why do Japanese consumers have access to these beautiful Epiphones, while guitar buyers in other parts of the world do not? Do Epiphone really think that these would not sell well in North America, Europe, Australasia, etc...?![/quote'] LS, You don't know how many times I have asked myself this. I don't know if it's strictly due to sales numbers, Epi/Gibson sales strategy or what? There are several Hollow semis and solid bodys offered only in Japan that are gorgeous ( another one that hasn't been mention is a 59 Les Paul reissue that's only in Japan that's stunning IMHO) while we in turn get another ZW sig. I love Epis but this part is frustrating. mgm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unreal77 Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 DAMN!!!!! is all I can say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgb7 Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 Translation via Yahoo Babel Fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxHart85231281734137 Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 just look for a cheap stand by ticket, and fly over there and go get one, or sign up to be a currier???? maybe??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tulsaslim Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 So help me I haven't seen a bad Japanese-made guitar in 15 years. I'm happy every day because I own 9 elitists. I'm old enough to remember when J-made guitars were considered 'junk'. IMO, nowadays they are every bit as good (maybe even better) than our American-made geets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 A conversion says it sells for about $470. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkuss Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 That ice tea finish is wow. Strange how the rivieras have the selctor switch in the les paul position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Summerisle Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 just look for a cheap stand by ticket' date=' and fly over there[/quote'] Ha, ha - don't laugh. I guess I have too much time on my hands this morning! I just checked Expedia. A return flight from Charlotte NC to Tokyo (changing at Chicago O'Hare), can be had for as little as $1055. So, in other words, I could theoretically fly to Tokyo, buy the Epi, have three or four days vacation (provided I found a flea-pit hotel in the one of the world's most expensive cities), all for less than the cost of the equivalent Gibson... because Sweetwater are selling this baby for $3,500. Hmmm...you've got me thinking... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Flick Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 But why do Japanese consumers have access to these beautiful Epiphones' date=' while guitar buyers in other parts of the world do not? Do Epiphone really think that these would not sell well in North America, Europe, Australasia, etc...?![/quote'] LS' date=' You don't know how many times I have asked myself this. I don't know if it's strictly due to sales numbers, Epi/Gibson sales strategy or what? There are several Hollow semis and solid bodys offered only in Japan that are gorgeous ( another one that hasn't been mention is a 59 Les Paul reissue that's only in Japan that's stunning IMHO) while we in turn get another ZW sig. I love Epis but this part is frustrating. mgm [/quote'] Maybe I can shed a little light on the subject as I understand it. In the late '70s, the Japanese economy made the price of Gibsons prohibitively high in Japan. They decided that the only way to supply the market was to build the guitars in Japan. Matsumoku was making the cheap Epiphone exports, so Gibson decided to have them make professional quality instruments under the Epi brandbased on Gibson/Epiphone designs for the Japanese market. Some will even argue that these Matsumoku Epiphones were equal or even better than the Norlin Gibsons of that era. Side note: This was also the Golden Era of guitar manufacturing in Japan, and Japanese companies like Ibanez were making inroads and becoming a serious threat. Gibson needed a competitive product, price wise as well as quality. Eventually, Matsumoku was forced to close shop and Gibson shifted manufacturing of the Japanese Epips to Terada and Fuji Gen (who made some of the Ibanez). These eventually morphed into Orvilles and Epiphone Japan and Elitist for the USA market. By the mid '80s, the Japanese manufactures could no longer compete with Korea and other emerging countries. Gibson contracted with Samick to manufacture Epiphones, and even Japanese companies like Ibanez had to farm out their products to foreign manufactures to remain competitive. (The original Samick Sheratons were very similar to the Matsumoku Sheratons, and I have heard that the by Gibson on the headstock was a way of thelling them apart at a glance). The Japanese manufacturers continued to produce top line instruments, including the Japanese Epiphones & Elitists, Gretsch Professional Series, some Fenders and the top of the line Ibanez models. Now I can't say what effect the value of the yen and Japanese trade policies has to do with today's market, but I imagine that Epiphone has developed a pretty good market in Japan during the last 30 years, and that's why they continue to make them for the Japanese market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishdazzler Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 here you go lads - the translated page: http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.rakuten.co.jp/ikebe/443977/824885/&ei=XizeSb-7FprLjAfkucQJ&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhttp://www.rakuten.co.jp/ikebe/443977/824885/%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DG cheers Dazza Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgrmatt Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 Jerrymac, Great info, that would make perfect sense. Thanks for sharing! mgm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinzbaby Posted April 9, 2009 Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 I'm the owner of a MIJ Block (2000) (avatar) these new ones are made in china and probably don't compare to the MIJ ones that were available non export in the early 00's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.