Koppwedder Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 Hello everybody! I have an Epiphone Spirit II. It's got the maple top, sunburst finish and a serial number with first and fifth digits being 8 and 2, respectively. It's all original, so far as I can see. I've read somewhere that the pickups are called Tim Shaw after an engineer at Gibson. What's the relevance of that? Is this a rare/valuable guitar or an uninteresting digression on Gibson's part? Any input will be most welcome[biggrin] Koppwedder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 How did I miss this thread? Actually, I was out of town... that's how I missed it. I consider myself the resident expert on the Spirit and Special. The Spirit and Special were part of the Epiphone USA line in the early 80s. They didn't sell very well, so during 1983, they began producing them with Gibson logos instead of Epiphone. Some 1982 Epiphones were re-labelled as Gibsons. Tim Shaw designed the particular pickups in this guitar. Many people think they're Dirty Fingers, since Dirty Fingers from that era were white, but they aren't. It's not particularly valuable, though they aren't terribly common. If you're considering selling, I may be interested. I've been on the hunt for a while. I'm also interested in details on your guitar as part of a project I'm working on. I want to catalog as many as I can find. I'm looking for Year Brand Model Finish Binding Serial Number Factory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koppwedder Posted August 12, 2010 Author Share Posted August 12, 2010 Thanks for info. Wish I could find out how to post pictures here, but I can't. You can see it on my website, though. It's casinoguitar.dk - all in Danish, but the pictures are there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sachi Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 It seems to be a pretty nice example, but the price is much higher than you could get here. There's a German seller on eBay who wants over $1000 for his, and it's not going anywhere. The last one I saw sold for $500. There's someone on eBay UK, though, that wants $1400, so maybe there's a higher demand for them in Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReneBoedker Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 First of all: Velkommen Koppwedder - det er altid at se en dansker på forummet. As for the price-difference between the States and Europe, I think it might be the the higher taxation (in Denmark we have a 25 % sales tax), and, as it is build in Michigan, you would have to pay customs when importing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koppwedder Posted August 12, 2010 Author Share Posted August 12, 2010 Tak for dit svar på dansk og hej med dig. As for the price I just grabbed it out of the blue, thinking that it might fetch the same as an equivalent Gibson - but reneBoedker is right: In Denmark we have to add around 35% plus transport to anything we buy from the States. Anyway, does anyone know if this particular guitar has a maple top? It doesn't look as if there is a joint when I look in the cavities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 The price for an Epiphone and a Gibson will be the same - but don't think you can get the same for it as you can a Les Paul DC. They're generally regarded as lower-quality instruments. Yours should have a maple top - a veneer, at least. Most I've seen have poplar bodies and maple necks. Most sunburst examples have maple veneers as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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