It was back in 1873 when Anastasios Stathopoulos founded Epiphone. It would later be owned by the Gibson Guitar Company until 1957 when it would become part of the Chicago Music Company.
Until its purchase by Gibson, Epiphone was the number one competitor to their archtop lines of guitars which included the Deluxe, Emperor, Triumph, and Broadway.
The Epiphone was considered to not only be a top contender in this industry, but also was considered to be far surpassed with regards to both the quality of construction as well as sound reproduction. Until their absorption into Gibson following World War II, Epiphone also had a number of lines of banjos and many other stringed instruments.
The Ottoman Empire which today is known as Izmir Turkey was where Anastasios Stathopoulos first started developing his stringed instruments starting with lutes and fiddles. After his immigration into the United States back in 1903, he returned to what he knew best which was the manufacturing of high-quality stringed instruments. These were produced by hand in his Long Island workshop until 1915 when he died and passed on his legacy to his son.
It would not be until 1928 that the very first Epiphone guitar line would be produced. They continued on throughout the next few decades as a leader in the guitar industry until Epi Stathopoulos’s death back in 1943. With his brother in control of the company, it would soon begin to falter due to their lack of managerial skills. Eventually World War II would sink in a final blow and the company would be bought out by their rival, Gibson Guitars.
Shortly after Gibson took over the name, the Epiphone Casino would be introduced; quickly becoming a hit among musicians. It was manufactured into the same shape as the Gibson ES-330, but featured a very heavy sound to it which was extremely popular amongst the rhythm players. This guitar was a hollow-bodied electric guitar that made use of the P90 pickup.
The first big name musician to pick up the Epiphone Casino was none other then Paul McCartney of the Beatles. Soon afterwards, John Lennon and George Harrison would also grab one. After the solo in Taxman was played by Paul using a Casino, the entire world soon followed suit and sought out the Epiphone guitar.
This included Japan and throughout the 1970’s, Epiphone produced a number of lines especially for sale in the country. While these were not produced in the States, they were none the less just as fine of quality. The company which manufactured these Epiphone guitars under a license with Gibson continued to produce them in Korea until just after the start of the new millennium.
There have been a number of excellent lines manufactured under the Epiphone name including the Zephyr, Emperor, Sheraton, and Riviera which were available in North America. In China, North Korea as well as Japan, a number of unique models was produced through several different manufacturers
Today these guitars are highly sought-after by collectors around the world. The Epiphone guitars are still manufactured today and are still considered to be of the highest quality possible.
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