FT-130

[greytrk88]

Hi i recently purchased a Epiphone FT-130 and know nothing about it except its older and in nearly mint condition.The serial no is 1120790.The sticker on the inside sayes Epiphone Kalamazoo,Michigan and made in Japan. This gutar sound excelant i did have to put new string on it but thats it.If you can give me any info on the approximat age or value of this gutar pleas feal free to email me at greyghost88f150@yahoo.com I have a pic but i was unable to attach it if you click on the link i put below to photo bucket you can vew a pic of my gutar tnx.Any feedback you could offer would be greatly appreciated.I check the forum regularly so you can post me a reply in heir if you dont want to send me an email.I only payed $4 dollars for it from a roadside seller who new nothing about the gutar.I did take it to my local music store to get the strings and they told me it sold for about $300 dollars us. new so i think i got a good deal but im interested in possibly selling it now so i need information on age and approximate value.http://s1143.photobucket.com/albums/n622/greytrk88/

[RaysEpiphone]

Open a free account with Photobucket and you can upload and then share photos any where on the web. It will make a world of diffrence if you add some good picture's. Does it look like this? http://www.wikizic.org/Epiphone-FT-150/gallery-1.htm

 

http://photobucket.com/

 

 

Ray

[greytrk88]

ty raysepiphone for the pic mine is acctualy an Ft130 i just looked again in better lite lol, not an FT150 and yes mine is very simaler to yours the only diffrance i see is on the fret board mine has dots instead of the fancy looking inlays between the frets.

[TommyK]

This model was made from 1971 through 1979, shortly after Epiphone production was moved from Kalamazoo to Japan. The blue label was discontinued and replaced with the tan colored, Lincolnwood label, sometime in 1975. The manufacturer was Matsumoku, who made Arias and other brands. The serial number means nothing. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to the numbering back then. Personally, I think it was a meaningless 'feature' added to lend an aura of 'quality guitar'.

 

Value depends on over all condition and playability. Especially important on this vintage of Epiphone, the neck block should be inspected. They had a propensity to break loose.

 

$300.00 new? Anyone who paid that much for a FT130 got slickered. In 1974 the FT130 had a suggested retail price of $99.95 plus $15.50 for the 'Durabilt' case shown in your pic. The case appears to be OEM. Only the FT550 approached $300.00 with hard shell case. The FT550 had a fixed neck and three piece, "skunk stripe" back... very nice. B)

 

Check out the links below for help identifying neck block problems, history, and probably new pricing.

 

> > >Brief History of Epiphone< < <

 

> > >Diagnosing and repairing a Norlin era Broke Neck Epiphone< < <

 

> > >1974 Epiphone Catalog< < <

 

What is yours worth? Depending on the aforementioned condition, location and finding a willing buyer, you should be able to get new price or better for it.

[greytrk88]

thank you tommyk for the info.i have read alot of stuff about the neck block issue and am happy to report that so far my FT 130 has not got any problems at all.The 300 dollars i mentioned was a quote from a large music retail chane but i knew it wasnt set in stone lol.I am gladd to know that in its nearly mint condition it could fech close to retail considering i only have about 15 bucks in it all together . Cant beat that with a stick.I think this gutar will make a good gift to my dad since he is the only one in the family who can play.