ColR Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Hi, I have just joined the forum but have been a reader for a while yet never got round to signing up ! I am based in Manchester UK and have just started to get back into playing after a 17 year layoff and I'm enjoying every minute yet frustrated that I actually gave up in the first place. I am hoping I can tap into the forums extensive knowledge and have my guitar identified correctly as I have had a number of conflicting reports on who made it, when and the history etc.... I purchased my Epiphone Emporer AS from my guitar tutor back in 1993/94. It has a serial number 4014048 on the headstock and also an Epiphone label inside the left F-hole stating model and a Division of Gibson, Michigan kalamazoo. It has been shown to numerous guitarist and shops who all state it is a Gibson made model yet on recently having it recently valued for insurance purposes by a vintage guitar expert he stated it was a Korean 1994 model of very high quality so if there is anyone who can put their finger on this and confirm I would be extremely grateful ? I have attached links to pictures of my guitar. (apologies if bad quality as taken on a Blackberry) http://i1324.photobucket.com/albums/u604/ColR1/My%20Guitar/PICT0193.jpg http://i1324.photobucket.com/albums/u604/ColR1/My%20Guitar/PICT0186.jpg http://i1324.photobucket.com/albums/u604/ColR1/My%20Guitar/IMG-20121204-00007.jpg http://i1324.photobucket.com/albums/u604/ColR1/My%20Guitar/IMG-20121204-00008.jpg Thanks in advance for any help with this, Cheers, Col Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eor Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 per guitar dater: Guitar Info Your guitar was made in Korea January c.1994 Production Number: 4048 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColR Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 per guitar dater: Guitar Info Your guitar was made in Korea January c.1994 Production Number: 4048 Thanks for clarifying this for me, does the Division of Gibson Inc label eference it was one of the guiitars which was made in Korea (body) then shipped back to the Kalamazoo plant for finishing or was it a complete Korean build ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyg Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 That's not a Korean made Emperor from 1994 it's a Made In Japan, Matsumoku Emperor from 1984. It's easy to tell from the imprinted serial number and the tan label inside the upper F hole. The first number is the year and the second two are the month, therefore 401**** is January 1984. Guitar dater always identifies these '80-'85 models wrong although the system is easy to see. Your Emperor is a superb, high quality guitar which is almost as good as the Gibson L5 it is modelled after. You're very lucky to own it as I missed the chance to buy one new in 1983 and I've only ever seen one used model for sale in the UK since then. Here's a link to the info for your guitar on the Wiki. My link It's the F model. If you scroll down past the T and J models you come to the Korean model which is quite different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkuss Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 From reading your description it sounded like a MIJ Matsumoku guitar. The 7 digit serial number and the type of label are the give aways. After seeing the pictures I 100% agree with the previous poster about its age and origin. The Matsumoku guitars are great quality. In the last 5-6 years I've seen them for sale around £500-£800. I almost bought one a few years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 Jonnyg is correct. It is a Japanese-made Emperor F. The "A S" means "Antique Sunburst". If you look at the link that jonnyg gave you, you will see that both the pre and post Japanese models were quite different in design than your guitar. You may want to take it to someone with more knowledge about these guitars for another insurance appraisal. Your Japanese Emperor may be worth considerably more than a Korean model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkuss Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 It's not as well known or desirable as the Sheraton/Riviera/Casino hence why it doesn't sell as well as those models but it has nothing to do with its lack of quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColR Posted December 6, 2012 Author Share Posted December 6, 2012 JonnyG,RTH,Clarkuss,eor, Thank you all for the superb information as this is just what I was after and shines a whole new light on the information I already had and have been trying to piece together for this model over the last 17 years. I post this query and it's sorted in a day !!! Cheers everyone as just shows the quality of knowledge the members of this forum have and really appreciate all your help Col Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 It's not as well known or desirable as the Sheraton/Riviera/Casino hence why it doesn't sell as well as those models but it has nothing to do with its lack of quality. I thought that brianh had spent upwards of $1000 for his Emperor T last year. 500-800 Pounds or Dollars seems awfully cheap...but I'm no appraiser either, so I could be off. No problem, ColR. We are happy to help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkuss Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 I thought that brianh had spent upwards of $1000 for his Emperor T last year. 500-800 Pounds or Dollars seems awfully cheap...but I'm no appraiser either, so I could be off. No problem, ColR. We are happy to help! Glad we could help out! £500-800 works out about $800-1300. In the UK many people are aware of the Sheraton and Riviera and they are desirable because of the Oasis connection and the Korean/Chinese models are still very popular. Casinos are always desirable because of the Beatles connection and they're all desirable because sellers normally compare them to the Japanese Elite/Elitist line. For some reason Matsumoku Emperors are less well known and often sold without the full information/identification, and even with the full information, if sold at auction instead of BIN/Best Offer they seem to command a slightly lower price than the 3 above. I'm sure you could sell one at top dollar if you put it up as a Buy It Now and waited for the right person to come along but that's not a true reflection of its value IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 Glad we could help out! £500-800 works out about $800-1300. In the UK many people are aware of the Sheraton and Riviera and they are desirable because of the Oasis connection and the Korean/Chinese models are still very popular. Casinos are always desirable because of the Beatles connection and they're all desirable because sellers normally compare them to the Japanese Elite/Elitist line. For some reason Matsumoku Emperors are less well known and often sold without the full information/identification, and even with the full information, if sold at auction instead of BIN/Best Offer they seem to command a slightly lower price than the 3 above. I'm sure you could sell one at top dollar if you put it up as a Buy It Now and waited for the right person to come along but that's not a true reflection of its value IMO. Ah, that makes sense now. I didnt realize that the exchange rates between the two currencies were that far apart. So, roughly about $1000 here in the states would probably be a common price for an Emperor F in the right condition. As opposed to a Korean model, that I would suspect to probably sell anywhere from $400-$600 There is a 1980's Matsumoko Emperor F on ebay right now with a BIN price of $1800. A little pricey IMO. I could see (maybe) a Terada-made Emperor J going for that price though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eor Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 i thought that kind of label (tan on white) was a dead giveaway for an mij 80s, but the website said otherwise. stupid guitar dater. at any rate, your guitar is awesome. lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 i thought that kind of label (tan on white) was a dead giveaway for an mij 80s, but the website said otherwise. stupid guitar dater. at any rate, your guitar is awesome. lucky. GuitarDater doesnt go any further back than the Korean Epiphones. Furthermore, it hasnt been updated to include newer Epiphones since 2008...and it is still pretty sketchy for that timeframe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyg Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 There is a 1980's Matsumoko Emperor F on ebay right now with a BIN price of $1800. A little pricey IMO. I could see (maybe) a Terada-made Emperor J going for that price though. There's a '59 Emperor Thinline for $8500.00 as well. '59 Thinline Not a bad price for such a rare, vintage guitar (compared to say, a '59 Strat) but to get it into the UK adds the best part of $2200.00 in taxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 There's a '59 Emperor Thinline for $8500.00 as well. '59 Thinline Not a bad price for such a rare, vintage guitar (compared to say, a '59 Strat) but to get it into the UK adds the best part of $2200.00 in taxes. Wow! What a beauty that is! Aside from the chequeing and yellowed binding, it looks almost new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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