- EPIPHONE SHERATON SERIAL NUMBER LOOKUP HOW TO
- EPIPHONE SHERATON SERIAL NUMBER LOOKUP SERIAL NUMBERS
- EPIPHONE SHERATON SERIAL NUMBER LOOKUP SERIAL NUMBER
It's a beautiful piece of work, for what was at the time a relatively budget guitar.Īnd it plays, just as it looks: beautifully. But really what's most staggering about this guitar is the intricacy of the design: the old thick-style script Epiphone signature and Epiphone "Tree Of Life" inlay, both in mother-of-pearl, the intersected Block & Triangle mother-of-pearl and abalone fretboard inlays, the 5-layer fretboard binding, the 6-layer top body binding, even the 5-layer tortoiseshell pickguard. Cutting costs and with an "if you can't beat them" spirit, Gibson moved all Epiphone production to Matsumoku in 1970, where it stayed before transitioning to Korea in the mid-80s. Matsumoku was already home to the Aria range of guitars, which many of us remember with misty eyes as a high quality, low-cost entry-point when an original Gibson or Fender was beyond your pocket. Which was only a few clicks away from identifying this as an Epiphone made in the Matsumoku, Japan factory.
EPIPHONE SHERATON SERIAL NUMBER LOOKUP SERIAL NUMBERS
1936 serial numbers started possibly near SN 1 (first documented is SN 25) and reached the 7000s by the time electric instrument/amp production was virtually halted during WW2. Other things, small things, but definitely different things.Īfter many years of happy ignorance, the big reveal came when lifting out the pick-ups: stamped "MMK", printed with "75". Wiedler wrote us May 2016: The first Electar instruments from 1935 don’t show a serial number. The old-style Epiphone signature, the 7-digit serial number, the extension of the mahogany neck layers into the block, the top-hat knobs with reflector inserts, the body label with brown splotches. Because it doesn't look like the Sheratons built in Samick's Korea plant in the 90s. But broadly this is the same guitar, and one that, in the early years of manufacture in Japan and Korea stood up to the quality of the earlier US-produced models.Īdvertised when bought in 2002 as a 1994 model, it's always been a bit of a mystery. From Mini-Humbuckers to Standard Humbuckers, from Frequensator tailpiece to Stopbar. Like Fender Telecasters, they're one of those guitars that prove the maxim "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", with only occasional changes to spec over the last 60 years.
EPIPHONE SHERATON SERIAL NUMBER LOOKUP SERIAL NUMBER
Guide to Epiphone Les Paul guitar serial numbers for guitars manufactured after 2008 Serial number is on back of headstock YYMMFF12345 YY year, MM month, FF factory. Just want to thank eggy for the website to look up the serial number to identify Epiphone guitars by serial numbers. A different question as to whether he played it on the studio recording, but when he crashes into the final as-close-to-a-lead-solo-as-you'll-get-from-The-Edge bars, I know that sound, and I'm back, lost & happy, on Bourbon Street.Įpiphone have been producing Sheratons since 1958. The Guitar Dater Project - Epiphone Serial Number Decoder.
EPIPHONE SHERATON SERIAL NUMBER LOOKUP HOW TO
It makes it into the "As Made Famous By" collection with The Edge playing it on the video for All Because Of You, the 2005 release from How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. As it has for so many others: John Lee Hooker, Matthew Followill, Tom Delonge, and, most famously, Noel Gallagher (check out the close-relative Epiphone Supernova in the collection). This guy played on the stage, on the bar, out in the street - and this guitar just sang. A lost afternoon, the best of afternoons. The gold plating on the tuners, bridge and pickups has worn off in. A search of the serial number on this guitar shows it was made in Korea in April 1988. But the band opened up with an electrifying cover of Bob Dylan's Tangled Up In Blue, and just shook the place for 3 hours solid from there. Built at the Samick factory in Korea between 1986 - 1988, this version of the Sheraton is easily spotted by the Rare 'Epiphone By Gibson' headstock inlay. To my regret and to my shame, I can't remember the Bourbon Street bar's name, nor the guitarist's name. But this one bought shortly after being blown away by a Bourbon Street guitarist playing his heart out in 2002. For example, after 1969, it’s unlikely your guitar would have a label saying it was made overseas, but you might have a seven-digit serial number that could tell that story.Well, to be honest, you could point to almost any guitar and find a picture of The Edge playing it. Norlin acquired CMI and moved all of the production of Epiphone to Japan and subsequently to Korea.ĭuring each of these transitions, there were also changes made to how the instruments were labeled, which is part of the reason why the serial number identification process is so confusing. As they already owned Gibson, this merge brought the two powerful brand names under one umbrella.
In 1957, the Chicago Musical Instrument Company (CMI) acquired Epiphone.
They grew in popularity and by the 1950’s, became Gibson’s main rival. In the 1930’s, they switched up their business model and began producing high-end guitars, and became the only manufacturer to successfully make the transition. To understand the significance of the Epiphone serial number, we first need to look at how their company historyintertwines with that of Gibson.Įpiphone started as a family business in 1873 as a luxury banjo manufacturer.