ric44 Posted November 3, 2011 Posted November 3, 2011 Guys Im new here but figured I have come to the right place to get some help. Today I traded for what appears to be satin black gothic version of a Epi Les Paul Special II. The trouble is I can find no mention of Epi ever making the special in a gothic version. The headstock does have the white outline Epiphone at the top with the celtic cross underneath and centered between the top four tuning pegs. The backside of the headstock has both USA and China inspection passed stickers. The truss rod cover says Special II. The serial number is SJ04------. All the hardware is blacked out. The guitar appears untouched and unaltered but its puzzling finding no reference to this model. Thanks for any help guys and I can post a pic if need be. Quote
ric44 Posted November 3, 2011 Author Posted November 3, 2011 Well I did find a post by RTH dated sept 9th where he asks the same question. The pic of the guitar shown there is exactly like mine. Guess I should have done the search first but I still dont know anything more than I did as far as it being authentic. Quote
Oldhippie Posted November 4, 2011 Posted November 4, 2011 Hi and welcome to the forum. I own one that seems to match to your describtion. But mine doesn´t say "Gothic" or simular. It has all black hardware. Quote
RobinTheHood Posted November 4, 2011 Posted November 4, 2011 Well I did find a post by RTH dated sept 9th where he asks the same question. The pic of the guitar shown there is exactly like mine. Guess I should have done the search first but I still dont know anything more than I did as far as it being authentic. I cant really shed any light on this guitar. I'm in the same boat as you. I know nothing of this guitar and it seems that no one else does either. From your serial, it appears that these were made in SaeJun China in 2004. I'm guessing in seriously limited quantities as I can find no references whatsoever about them. From what I can tell, everything looks legit on the guitar...at least from the high res pics I have. My only guess is these were prototypes, show guitars or a very small special run. There is no mention of them in any catalogs or on the web anywhere. Quote
ric44 Posted November 4, 2011 Author Posted November 4, 2011 RTH I have no doubt that the guitars are authentic as you state. Theres just nothing that would lead me to believe otherwise. I do think they deserve a place in your Wiki and I think the serial no. on my guitar has shed some light on the place and date of manufacture of this limited run. A rare bird indeed........ If I can be of further help let me know. Quote
RobinTheHood Posted November 4, 2011 Posted November 4, 2011 Up until your post, I was a lot less certain of its authenticity. The pics I have do not have a serial number on the guitar. I'm guessing that it is a sticker on the back of the guitar somewhere. Also, being that the serial has an SJ factory code, the possibility of it being a fake or hoax are a lot slimmer. Most people dont even know of the SJ factory code and its not one that counterfeiters use, at least that I have seen. Its typically the EE or a numbered serial without the letter prefix. Sometimes just S for Samick. I would really like to put this one on the wiki, but I'm still a little apprehensive about it because I dont know anything about them...like why they were made in such small numbers, what market they were made for, etc. If it is a prototype or a show guitar, I would like to list it as such. I have a few guitars like this that I'm just sitting on while looking for more info. If you dont mind me asking, where and when did you purchase this guitar? What country are you in? Also, do you happen to know what type of pickups are in the guitar? Your country of origin may shed some light on the market this guitar was made for. I can at least narrow down my searches with that info...unless you are in the U.S. Then its not going to help my searches much. lol. But at least I wouldnt be looking to other countries for clues. Canada and the UK seem to get a lot of these small special run guitars that are hard to find info on. Quote
ric44 Posted November 4, 2011 Author Posted November 4, 2011 Up until your post, I was a lot less certain of its authenticity. The pics I have do not have a serial number on the guitar. I'm guessing that it is a sticker on the back of the guitar somewhere. Also, being that the serial has an SJ factory code, the possibility of it being a fake or hoax are a lot slimmer. Most people dont even know of the SJ factory code and its not one that counterfeiters use, at least that I have seen. Its typically the EE or a numbered serial without the letter prefix. Sometimes just S for Samick. I would really like to put this one on the wiki, but I'm still a little apprehensive about it because I dont know anything about them...like why they were made in such small numbers, what market they were made for, etc. If it is a prototype or a show guitar, I would like to list it as such. I have a few guitars like this that I'm just sitting on while looking for more info. If you dont mind me asking, where and when did you purchase this guitar? What country are you in? Also, do you happen to know what type of pickups are in the guitar? Your country of origin may shed some light on the market this guitar was made for. I can at least narrow down my searches with that info...unless you are in the U.S. Then its not going to help my searches much. lol. But at least I wouldnt be looking to other countries for clues. Canada and the UK seem to get a lot of these small special run guitars that are hard to find info on. RTH the serial number is stamped into the neck plate on the backside of the guitar. I traded for the guitar yesterday at a local shop here called Allen Music in Paducah ,Ky. just a few miles from where I live. Ill have to take a looksee at the pickups and let you know. Quote
RobinTheHood Posted November 4, 2011 Posted November 4, 2011 Thanks. The pics I have are a little dark and with the neck plate being black, I cant see the serial number or even tell if there is one. Paducah Kentucky, eh? Thats not too far from Nashville. I'll bet these guitars are prototypes and never went in to full production. Made in China, sent to Nashville and ultimately sold to employees or people in the region. Quote
ric44 Posted November 4, 2011 Author Posted November 4, 2011 Thanks. The pics I have are a little dark and with the neck plate being black, I cant see the serial number or even tell if there is one. Paducah Kentucky, eh? Thats not too far from Nashville. I'll bet these guitars are prototypes and never went in to full production. Made in China, sent to Nashville and ultimately sold to employees or people in the region. Thats a fair assumption RTH and I wouldnt doubt it at all. I just happened to notice that the USA inspection sticker on the backside top of the headstock says " 100% Inspected and Set-Up in the USA by 7 . Quote
RobinTheHood Posted November 4, 2011 Posted November 4, 2011 Thats a fair assumption RTH and I wouldnt doubt it at all. I just happened to notice that the USA inspection sticker on the backside top of the headstock says " 100% Inspected and Set-Up in the USA by 7 . I think that most, if not all, Epiphones take a short trip to Nashville for inspection, setup and distribution. These guitars were just never distributed. But I think the fact that this one didnt make it too far from Tennessee is the tell. The one I have pics of is from an online auction house in Texas. But I dont know how they acquire their stuff, so the location doesnt really mean anything in that case. I'm sure they acquire thier goods from all over the country. The fact that yours was in a pawn shop in Paducah tells me that it most likely didnt travel too far from its origin of sale. Well, after all of this, I think I just may be ready to list this guitar on the wiki. This is great info on a very obscure guitar. Sometimes I feel like a detective. lol. I'll be sure to give you credit on the wiki for helping me put this one to bed. I was starting to think nothing was going to come of it. Thanks a lot Ric! I'm going to try to get it in this weekend. Quote
Lefty Bill Posted November 5, 2011 Posted November 5, 2011 Oh, oh.. I know this one. This is the Wine Red Les Paul Special II, came with black hardware, open 650R/700T pickups, single volume and tone, bolt-on neck with dots and was only available as a right-hand model.. and it could be a mahogany body, if it's an Indonesian version. The other LP Special II color finish versions had bright hardware (nickel or possibly chrome) and some (all, maybe) were available as left-hand versions. Some of the LP Special II bodies are laminated/ply construction, depending upon year or country of origin. The necks are likely the same as many of the bolt-on models.. mahogany with rosewood fretboard, and dots. The tuners are likely to be the typical old style (being attached with 2 screws each), and probably not the sealed/diecast types found on slightly higher priced models (as far as I know). The neck plate may have a plastic "gasket" under it, and the screws may be a larger diameter that most neck screws (maybe #10 instead of #8). Goth versions (black finish) had the uncommon headstock and 12th fret markings. Regards, Bill Hi and welcome to the forum. I own one that seems to match to your describtion. But mine doesn´t say "Gothic" or simular. It has all black hardware. Quote
Javier Fernandez G. Posted December 13, 2011 Posted December 13, 2011 Hi, Is this the one you got??? http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Les-Paul/Goth-Les-Paul-Studio.aspx If so, welcome to the Les Paul Studio Goth great guitar. I do have one and is a great entry level one. Hope you enjoy it, same as I have. Quote
ColoradoRobert Posted June 5, 2014 Posted June 5, 2014 I realize this is an old thread but it interests me because I am faced with buying the LP Goth Special II. Like the people have said here very little info could I find about it either. Now I did find the SG in Goth Special II (http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Packs/Goth-SG-Performance-Pack.aspx) but I cannot find much of anything regarding the LP. The LP is different in that it has 2 dots at the 12th fret (not Roman numerals as the Goth Studio). One of my main interests is as an investment. How many of these LP Goth Special II were made and what did they sell for? Quote
brad1 Posted June 5, 2014 Posted June 5, 2014 It didn't cost very much new, and it's not worth much used. It's a guitar for a beginner and does not have anything "special" about it. I don't believe there would be any investment value for this particular guitar. Sorry :( Quote
crust Posted June 6, 2014 Posted June 6, 2014 I realize this is an old thread but it interests me because I am faced with buying the LP Goth Special II. Like the people have said here very little info could I find about it either. Now I did find the SG in Goth Special II (http://www.epiphone....mance-Pack.aspx) but I cannot find much of anything regarding the LP. The LP is different in that it has 2 dots at the 12th fret (not Roman numerals as the Goth Studio). One of my main interests is as an investment. How many of these LP Goth Special II were made and what did they sell for? old guitar and amp look like they would be fun to play. What was said, not a collectors item, well maybe not, but the whole package looks OK. I dig the Epiphone gig bag and strap Quote
ColoradoRobert Posted June 17, 2014 Posted June 17, 2014 I did buy the guitar (LP Goth Special II) and I like it. It is unique because of the 2 dots at the 12th fret, instead of the Roman numerals as found on the Studio Goth. You certainly don't see these very often and I can find no information about them either except what is said above. I did contact Gibson customer service/support and a person did write back and told me they were going on vacation! ha. I will remind the person again and see if they will reply about how many were made, what they sold for, etc. The SG Goth Special II sold in a performance pack for around 250, so maybe that makes the guitar worth about 150 without the amp and all the other accessories that came in that package. I did take some photos of it and blacked out 5 digits on the serial neck plate so someone won't claim it as stolen from them. I love guitars like these (sort of rare and unique). Quote
RobinTheHood Posted June 17, 2014 Posted June 17, 2014 Contact Stijn Vergeest from Gibson Customer Service Europe. These werent European guitars, but Stijn really knows his stuff and is the man to help you with answers...if he has them. Here is a link to his profile. Send him a PM. http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/user/15276-stijnv/ Quote
rattagous Posted September 15, 2017 Posted September 15, 2017 I also have the Special II "Goth" that only has two dot at the twelve fret.. I wish I could find out more about this guitar. How many were made, what year it was made and if this is a collector's item for anyone? Thanks for any info anyone else has Quote
travis83 Posted March 21, 2022 Posted March 21, 2022 Got a goth special 2 04 but it has dots on the fretboard Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.