lowatter Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Hey guys. I can't seem to get much info on this possible new aquisition. The gentleman says that the only #'s he can read is 02545 and he thinks he bought it new around '79. Any info would be great. He said that he placed PAFs in it many years ago and added a phase switch. Please respond ASAP. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinlander Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Looks close to this : Epiphone ea 250 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowatter Posted January 13, 2012 Author Share Posted January 13, 2012 That looks like it's the one and probably a '75 since it says Epiphone on the label(I gather). Thanks man! Unfortunately someone dowelled in the bridge, drilled out for the phase switch, glued the neck in place, AND welded the Bigsby bar so that it's unmovable. Still, what would you value it at in it's current condition? I plan to restore it somewhat to it's original as possible without too much ado. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Though they are pretty much the same guitar, its most likely the 5102T. The main difference being that the EA-250 had humbuckers and the 5102T had double-coil pickups with staple poles. They were wider than normal humbuckers and that is why you see so much space at the sides on this guitar. The other difference is the 5102 had a rosewood bridge base. The EA-250 bridge was on posts. http://www.epiphonew...A-Series#EA-250 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowatter Posted January 13, 2012 Author Share Posted January 13, 2012 Thanks RTH. I read and looked at the pics closer. I appreciate it. I'll probably get this guitar tomorrow and start thinking about where to get original parts and what to do with it. The original pups would be really hard to track down I'm sure as well as the tuners and vibrato. Looks like pickguards are copied and readily available though. I do wish that it wasn't a bolt-on but it was made in Japan and shipped here for assembly which made it more affordable I'm sure. I'll probably just try to get it to intonate and add a B-30 Bigsby and leave it at that. Anyone else have one of these guitars? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR56 Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Thanks RTH. I read and looked at the pics closer. I appreciate it. I'll probably get this guitar tomorrow and start thinking about where to get original parts and what to do with it. The original pups would be really hard to track down I'm sure as well as the tuners and vibrato. Looks like pickguards are copied and readily available though. I do wish that it wasn't a bolt-on but it was made in Japan and shipped here for assembly which made it more affordable I'm sure. I'll probably just try to get it to intonate and add a B-30 Bigsby and leave it at that. When I was looking for a vintage Sheraton, I came across these all the time on ebay and craigslist (quite a few sellers tried to pass them off as "original" Kalamazoo Epi's). On a good day, they might bring around $200-$300. The completed listings on ebay right now bear this out (there are three active auctions right now, and the current bids are all in the $100 to $200 range). I don't know what price you're paying for it, but the idea of pouring money into a restoration of a guitar like this seems like a bad idea, unless you really really happen to like this particular model. With the huge number of Sheraton/Riviera type guitars that have come out of Asia over the years (and continue to flood the market), I would think you could find a better instrument to spend your money on. Just my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianh Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 I don't know what price you're paying for it, but the idea of pouring money into a restoration of a guitar like this seems like a bad idea, unless you really really happen to like this particular model. With the huge number of Sheraton/Riviera type guitars that have come out of Asia over the years (and continue to flood the market), I would think you could find a better instrument to spend your money on. Just my opinion. I agree, plus in the many previous threads about the EA250 and 5120T, it has been pointed out that they had weak neck pocket blocks that in some cases are impossible to economically repair. You could of course just buy it for the PAFs, load it with GFS pickups and flip it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowatter Posted January 14, 2012 Author Share Posted January 14, 2012 Thanks guys. I did see what they bring on the "bay" and now knowing that I'm just wondering what people think of them. I believe the fellow is bringing it by later on today for me to consider. If I like the way it play and feels, I'll probably still add a B-30 and get it to intonate etc. without much expense. I'll repost on it later. Again, thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowatter Posted January 15, 2012 Author Share Posted January 15, 2012 Well, I did get the guitar for a trade which cost me $130 so I feel that I'm not at risk putting another $100 or so into it. It plays OK but needs some serious attention. Neck adjustment, new nut cut, a headstock wing needs to be glued up because when someone installed the Grovers they didn't pre-drill, adding a Bigsby, addressing the intonation issues etc. Needless to say that I'll have some time into it but I don't care...this guitar really does have some mojo. It turns out that it's a EA250 and not a 5102TE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianh Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Congrats, should be an interesting project. Post up some pics when you git 'r done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowatter Posted January 15, 2012 Author Share Posted January 15, 2012 Thanks man. I started in on the resto and this poor little feller needs alot of TLC. The PAFs that the gentleman I got it from ended up being Dimarzios which is fine and I'll probably leave them in there for now. The neck was glued together with what he said was a carpenter's glue but because there's a black residue around the whole joint, I'm thinking some kind of epoxy maybe. The Grover tuners are pretty beat up and missing 2 back cap covers and all the washers and I'm on the fence about maybe placing some Gibson Vintage ones or not. I love the look of them but probably not the best choice. The nut was replaced at some point and done poorly too. The dowelled-in bridge is removable I've found and that'll be another chapter there. I'll take some progress pics along the way and share with anyone who's interested. Hey does anyone know if these were finished in Nitro? It sure looks like it to me. Anyone who knows for sure, I'd sure appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaSTuS Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Congrats on the guitar LW, looks like you'll have a lot of fun whipping her back into shape, all the best with that, looking forward to the updates. Sorry I can't help with the finish question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyg Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Glad you like your EA250 but before you start restoring it and spending out loads of cash I'd suggest that you put some strings on it and play it for a while. Reason for this is, I owned one of these in the mid 70's (pic below) and no matter what I did it would not stay in tune. I glued the neck in, had the nut changed and fitted good quality Schaller heads but nothing made it better. In the end the guy who did my guitar work in those days told me that it had a short, weak neck pocket and the heel didn't extend far enough into the body to give a stable fixing. This combined with a very flexible, thin neck made it unstable as far as tuning was concerned and there was nothing he could do to make it better. You can see from the pic that I changed out the (very poor) bridge PUP and fitted a phase switch and it didn't have a bad sound. However, when someone offered me a straight swap for an early 70's fixed neck Antoria ES175 copy (which I still own today) I almost fell on his neck weeping for joy. In truth, that EA250 was the worst electric guitar I ever owned. Good luck with it anyhow. Oh, it's not a nitro finish, it's poly and yours seems to have had the bit the tremolo arm and spring attach to removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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