Sada Yairi Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 For all you super-knowledgeable Epi experts, I have a query about the Epi Dot headstock decal. Seeing the other thread here with the guy trying to identify his Dot reminded me of the question, and I thought who better to answer an obscure Epi-related question than the masters of the Epi forum? Older Dots had the traditional Epi font for the name on the headstock (the font that is still the Epiphone trademark). The older font is most recognisable by the extension on the letter n. Newer Dots have the Epi name in the more modern font - when did the font change? I believe the older Dots at some point also didn't have "Dot" on the trussrod cover - any idea when the name Dot was added? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfox14 Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 Pictures would help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sada Yairi Posted April 19, 2012 Author Share Posted April 19, 2012 This is the older headstock with the traditional font used: And this is the current headstock showing the newer, more modern font: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJ Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 I don't think it's changed. The 2nd photo looks to be an Elitist model, which used the old-style logo. I think they did this because these were reissues of older models. The top photo is the more modern logo that's used today. I don't think it was as much a change as an older-style logo used on one series of guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgrmatt Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Can't see the top real good but it looks like a 1989 one year wonder openbook type headstock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sada Yairi Posted April 20, 2012 Author Share Posted April 20, 2012 So are we saying that the Dots have always used the modern font? Right from when Epiphone started producing them? Was that other, more traditional font shown above only a once-off? The older one wasn't an elitist (according to the other thread in this forum) so what was it? And if it was a reissue-type idea, then what older Dots was it emulating? Surely older Dots at some point must have used that older font? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubstar Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 2012 dot images... recent dot... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sada Yairi Posted April 20, 2012 Author Share Posted April 20, 2012 Yes, the current Dots use the modern font for the decal. The question is, at what point was Epi using the older font, shown in that older pic I posted above, for the decal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eggs Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 @SY: Not sure if you have found your way here, or if this even helps with this question: http://www.epiphonewiki.com/index.php?title=Dot ... & is that two screw TRC 'correct' in your Post #3 second pic??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaSTuS Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 ... & is that two screw TRC 'correct' in your Post #3 second pic??? Elitists have 2 screw TRCs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eggs Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Cool... I didn't know that... I was only comparing SY's pics to the three 'Gibson' TRCed geets that I've had or have, all of which have three screw TRCs But also... I'm not sure that you could really call the logo ending with the Epi E 'newer'... My '99 Sheraton uses that format... & I can't see any Dots in the Epi-Wiki link that use what SY is calling the 'traditional' logo, yet that is exactly the logo format on my '99 Nighthawk's original headstock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sada Yairi Posted April 20, 2012 Author Share Posted April 20, 2012 Don't know much about the trussrod covers, I was just using that pic to show the decal of the Epiphone name. The Epi-Wiki Dot section only shows one of the Japanese domestic market Dots with that 'older' type decal. That site also states that the Epi Dots atarted in 1997 - is that right? One of the posts even on this thread refers to a 1989 model. And then there are the '59 and '63 reissues; what are they a reissue of? An Epi or a Gibson? If it's a reissue of an Epi then the Dots must have been in production in in '59 and '63. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Yes, the Dot begain in 1997. There were no Dots in 1989. The first pic you posted was some model from 1989. Probably a Les Paul or an SG. The second pic you posted was some Elitist model. As far as the truss covers, they vary alot. You cant necessarily pin down the year by the truss cover. We know that they stopped using the "Gibson" engraved truss covers in the the late 1990's to early 2000's. After that, they might have and "E" on them, or the model of the guitar. Epiphone archtop guiars are more likely to have the 1960's style scripted logo on the headstock, but I believe that in the 1990's they had the modern-style logo with the block-style letters like you would more commonly see on electric solid bodies. Not entirely sure though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 The 1959 & 1963 reissues are modeled after the Gibson ES-335 and are Epiphone's reissue version of that guitar. There were no Dots in 1959 or 1963. Only Casinos, Sheratons and Rivieras with the ES body style Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 '60's (Riviera) headstock Logo....my '66 Casino has the same one...no "dropped n." (sorry, about the small photo size) CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 This is the thread he is talking of... http://forum.gibson...._1#entry1181963 Well thats weird. Never seen anything like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sada Yairi Posted April 21, 2012 Author Share Posted April 21, 2012 Hence the question!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sada Yairi Posted April 22, 2012 Author Share Posted April 22, 2012 So is the consensus that the Dots started in 1997 as a Gibson replica, they've always used the current font for the Epi decal (except when they haven't!!), and no-one seems to know when the other font (shown above, and in that other thread) was used? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eggs Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 So is the consensus that the Dots started in 1997 as a Gibson replica, they've always used the current font for the Epi decal (except when they haven't!!), and no-one seems to know when the other font (shown above, and in that other thread) was used? Case solved Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lefty Bill Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Absolute definite maybe. When looking at the history of Epiphone's manufacturing moves in the past 4 decades (Wikipedia), it's fairly easy to see why some details are difficult to pinpoint. I think some minor differences were likely a matter of substitutions done for convenience, although certain economic changes were made such as using fewer screws for a controls cavity cover. The earlier reference to a question of whether a Dot was produced in Korea in 1963 or not, well.. in '63 many models were still being produced in the USA. Bill So is the consensus that the Dots started in 1997 as a Gibson replica, they've always used the current font for the Epi decal (except when they haven't!!), and no-one seems to know when the other font (shown above, and in that other thread) was used? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinlander Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Just to add to the confusion a bit : OpenBook Epi Dot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sada Yairi Posted April 22, 2012 Author Share Posted April 22, 2012 Yep, that helps!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.