Used Epiphone

[Keyboard Cowboy]

Hi all,

 

I'm new here (and new to guitars) and looking for some help. I did some research before even attempting the purchase (and being a fan of the Les Paul style, and looking for something inexpensive), settled on an Epiphone Les Paul Special II. However, while hemming and hawing as to where to purchase, I came across a Special at a local pawn shop. It was a nice gloss black (with a few blemishes from being dropped, etc.), a string missing, and two knobs. None of which was too much of a worry. At $70 (after talking him down) it seemed a good deal for a starter.

 

Getting home, my wife and I eagerly started looking up what information we could find. For instance, the markings on the headstock show the "Epiphone" logo at the top and a "Special Model" in gold. And I'll apologize here for not knowing the terminology, but at the bottom of the headstock is a part (plastic?) attached with three screws. The photos I looked at previously showed "Special II" on this. What I picked up reads "Gibson". I next checked the serial number.

 

Easy enough was finding out it was manufactured in China. The rest is confusing, and the Guitar Dater Project proved, well, useless. MC23030413 on the plate on the back yields Muse Plant, China, made in March of 1923, with a production number of 0413. Which is definitely impossible. Noticing some sites show 90's Epiphones possibly using a single digit for the year (more plausible that it's a 1992 model I guess), but a month of "30"?

 

So, can anyone help me identify what I have? If so, I give you my thanks.

 

And I'm more than happy to post pictures if anyone cares to see my new (well used) electric guitar.

 

Thanks,

 

KC

[animalfarm]

Welcome to the Forum, KC!!!!

 

Cowboy, pics are ALWAYS welcome. $your $70 grab is a great price.

 

Your "plastic part" is the Truss Rod Cover. Usually says Special II, CAN

say Gibson depending on factory, year, and whatever they seem to have had lying around.

 

Your git has the 700T Bridge pick up, and 650R neck pick up, both are Ceramic

magnets, and are wound "hot" - can produce ROCK Tones when used with amp distortion.

The factory tuners are a bit lacking, sometimes you get a good useable set, sometimes

you get one or two of 'em that have "issues".

I recently did a refinish on one as a project, turned out quite nice. Was planning on

keeping it as a "Beater Git", but just for grins, listed it on Cragslist. I bought it for $25,

listed it for $125 as refinished Git. The buyer looked at it, played it, then opened wallet

and handed over my price - NO haggling at all. Duhhhh. Guess my refinish looked better than

I realized.

 

I've tried to make sense out of your serial # several times. I have a "speculation",

but it's pulling it out of my "@zz". We need the services of our resident Serial number decoder

GURU in Germany - "PeteR, PeteR!!! Wo Bist Du???????" Helf! Helf!!!!"

 

MC = Muse China

2 = 2002/1992?

3 = March

03 = ?

0413 = production run number

 

ARE YOU SURE you ar reading the number plate 100% correctly???? (HAVE to ask).

A CLEAR PICTURE of the number would be excellent, BTW.

 

We'll figgure it out!

[Keyboard Cowboy]

Thanks animalfarm!

 

It's always good to find a friendly forum. I'll take some photos tonight and post them. (Sigh. Work always seems to get in the way of a good time, doesn't it?)

 

I can say I'm 200% certain on that serial number. Well, counting my wife's 2 cents it works out that way. However, as part of the photo package tonight, I'll make sure I have a nice clear shot of the serial.

 

I appreciate the work you've done so far, and hopefully PeteR can help us confirm. And I'm definitely looking forward to staying active around here.

 

KC

[Keyboard Cowboy]

Here are the pictures as promised. If you guys need/want anything else in terms of photos, I'm happy to snap some more pictures. It may not be much compared to some of the beautiful guitars I've seen on this forum, but it's mine and I'm happy with it as a starter.

 

 

 

 

Obviously I need to do a lot of cleaning. Any recommendations?

 

 

And the aforementioned mystery serial number...

 

 

As always, any help is greatly appreciated. I'm just very curious about it all.

 

KC

[gearhead]

Looks like you got a good deal! If you don't find out a whole lot from that serial number don't be surprised. I had a '95 LP Jr. that not even Epiphone could tell me anything about! Go figure! They said there weren't very good records kept. Couldn't even tell me what plant it came from, only that it was a 1995 model and the production number, which was obvious. As far as cleaning, use any of the reputable guitar cleaners, if it's got some nasty stuff that won't come off, I've used Zippo lighter fluid before, it removes glues, oil etc. Be sure to wipe it off good. DO NOT use furniture polish! It'll leave a coating on the finish. And I use a "Micro Fiber" cloth for daily cleaning before I put my guitars in the case. Welcome to the forum by the way!

[RobinTheHood]

HNGD! Your LP Special is a great little starter guitar. One thing Epiphone and Gibson have down to a perfected science is the playability of their guitar necks. And to me, that is the most important part. Everything else, except for the body, can be upgraded if neccesary.

 

Its almost impossible to tell the year of your guitar with that serial number. Like Animal farm said, it could be a 1992 or a 2002. The pots and pickups might be dated, but I'm not sure. Epiphone serial numbers are all over the map and dont always fall in line with decoding methods. Although, if the factory code MC (Muse, China) is correct, I would guess that its probably a later '02 model. I believe that if it was a '92, it would most likely be Korean or indonesian with the prefix "S" or "SI" for Samick / Samick Indo.

By 1992, Epiphone had only been producing guitars in Korea for nine years. Most, if not all of the lower end models were being made at the Samick plants in Korea and Indonesia at that time. Epiphone had other, higher end models being produced in other Korean factories, and maybe a few models still being produced in Japan. I dont think anything was being built in China at that time.

 

And truth be told, I'm not positive that Specials were being made in 1992. Its definitely possible, but not 100% positive. And if they were, they were a newer model back then. I would probably go with the 2002 theory. It falls more inline with the MC factory code.

[brianh]

The serial numbers stamped onto the neck plates on Epiphone bolt-on neck guitars are meaningless, don't even bother trying to figure out any info from them.

 

Not that there's anything wrong with bolt-on neck guits - I have several of them. It's just that at that price point, Epiphone doesn't bother with records.

[RobinTheHood]

Thats why I was trying to rough estimate the era through the factory code. Not that the year matters at all with most of the lower end stuff, but sometimes its just nice to know or have an idea.

[animalfarm]

Here are the pictures as promised. If you guys need/want anything else in terms of photos,

I'm happy to snap some more pictures. It may not be much compared to some of the beautiful

guitars I've seen on this forum, but it's mine and I'm happy with it as a starter.

 

Obviously I need to do a lot of cleaning. Any recommendations?

 

As always, any help is greatly appreciated. I'm just very curious about it all.

 

KC

 

Absolutely NOTHING wrong with a Special II as a starter guitar, or as a Guitar in general.

It's all in the fingers in the end. Recently I jammed with a Git player I hadn't seen in 20 years.

He spent about 10 years in Southern California playing with various bands. Sooooo, long story short,

he brought his Amp and a mystery guitar in a ratty-looking Acoustic case.

 

Plug in the amps, and out comes...... An EPI LP Special II?????? (Said his Jackson was in the Pawn Shop).

The drummer had a Cowbell, so first warm-up tune out of the gate was "Mississippi Queen" by Mountain.

The dude could flat out PLAY, Special II or not. Later, out comes the Slide, and off we go into

"Rocky Mountain Way", ZZ Top, Thin Lizzy, Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, etc... Lucky for me, I was able to keep up

with about 90% of the material, trade leads, etc.

NOTHING wrong with a Special II! I saw it with my own eyes.

 

Regarding the maintenance and care of your Guitar, eventually, you WILL want to get a good set up done.

If you don't do your own, check the local git shops for someone who KNOWS what they're doing. It'll

involve not only making sure neck is straight, but also lowering action to decently playable level, and

perhaps even pickup height adjustment. The "standard" "ACTION" is 5/64ths LOW E String, 4/64ths HI E string,

(Gibson Specs), but as I do my own setups, I drop mine to 4/64ths for both - just my personal preference.

 

Strings - Epis come from the factory with .046 -.010 strings. I like to BEND 'dem notes, so I use

.042 -.009 strings. Choose your string thickness BEFORE getting the setup done, thicker strings

exert more pull on the neck, so it'll require a slightly different "tweak" than the .009s I use.

 

Your Missing Speed Knob and Switch Tip - If you can't source them locally, "holler" back. Our members

know of all kinds of places to buy replacements at GOOD prices.

 

Cleaning - Do NOT use PLEDGE!!!! NEVER, NEVER! Guitar Polish only.

It's OK to wipe down/scrub off grime on your Finish and Fretboard with a warm. damp

SOFT cloth, then dry it off. And, yes, you can pull all the strings to clean the Fretboard.

 

There is a Thread at the Top of the EPI Lounge called the "Do-it-Yourself" thread,

contains links/references to many topics, including Fretboard care, removing scratches,

doing set ups, Blah, Blah, Blah. Lots of Topics. Scroll through it sometime just to see

what's contained in it.

 

IF you have ANY questions, ASK!!!! Our members will be able to help - after all, we're

"The Friendly Forum"!

[Keyboard Cowboy]

Thanks AF and everyone that's contributed,

 

I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with my guitar. I definitely don't think of it as being inferior. As I said, I did quite a bit of research first, and felt this was my best option for the price I was looking to pay. And once I'm good enough to know the difference, it may simply be some upgrades away from being exactly what I need.

 

I'll be looking around the forums to see the info you mentioned. And I'll try and keep you up to date on parts, etc.

 

I look forward to being part of the "friendly forums".

 

KC