Epiphone les paul serial F97040258

[parralico]

Hi friends from Spain.

 

I'm a new partner in this who needs some help from you. I'm trying to buy a used Epiphone Les Paul with serial ner F97040258. This guitar has the serial inset in the back plate where the neck is bolt on the guitar (what a surprise for me because I thought that the neck of this guitar was setted in). It's possible to know the model using the serial number?? Here is the link with the photos of the guitar...

 

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/jakarrion/Guitarra?feat=directlink

 

 

In this plate it says that is "made in Korea" and I've been reading in other forums that serials with "F" are made in Japan .... so, what happens??

 

Please, help me because I'm in love of this guitar and I have to decide to buy it or try with a new one (maybe one of the new models made in China).

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

Regards.

Juan

[Barcham]

I would look for a Les Paul Standard which does have a set neck instead of the bolt on. It's a better guitar in general and you shouldn't have any problems finding a used one in good condition. Just be careful of the fakes being sold out there and if you have any doubts post a link to it here or on the MyLesPaul forum to confirm that it's a real Epi and not a fake. Do not have faith in the guitar dater serial number database as it will not prove that the guitar is real, just that the serial number is.

[Amino Moore]

Juan,

Welcome to the forum!

 

Epiphone did produce LP models with a bolt on neck for a short while in the Nineties.

I have never heard them referred to as an "LP300" but there are alot of variations in Epiphone models through the years.

 

It really is a shame that Epiphone did not have a better system in place to track the models and dates of the guitars they commissioned from various Asian factories in the last 30 years. But since Epiphones have always been the "gateway drug" for buying a Gibson I suspect that it just didn't matter to the management at the time.

So we are left with the info gathered by enthusiasts of the brand, old catalogs and the work of those who put together websites to share what they have learned.

 

I would have to politely disagree with Barcham on a couple of points.

A set neck guitar is not better just because it has a set neck.

Other guitar manufacturers have made some fantastic guitars with bolt on necks.

 

Regarding the Guitar Dater website, which, BTW, was started by one of our very own forum members, it does not claim to be the gospel on the age or manufacture of a guitar but merely one tool of many that you can use to find out more about a guitar. The guitar dater website asks for country of manufacture if known. This helps to narrow down the possibilities up front.

There are other methods of detective work to narrow down age and country of manufacture. For instance, the Japan built "FXXXX" Epiphone guitars have the serial number pressed into the headstock under the painted finish. Yours has the serial number on a neckplate. That is a good clue along with the fact that it says "Made in Korea" means it is not made in Japan.

 

The guitar in your pics looks really nice. It has all the appointments of a Standard except for the neck attachment.

If you like how it plays, looks and sounds then it doesn't make any difference how the neck attaches.

Buy it, play it and be happy!