I had a masterbilt dreadnought with solid rosewood back and sides that i really regret trading on. Diy luthier reshaping an epiphone les paul headstock youtube. New guitar day 2008 epiphone les paul openbook headstock. The problem is there is no serial number stamped on it. They stopped using it abruptly in 1990, the same time epiphone did, suggesting gibson became aware at that time, and didnt even want epiphones use to encourage or imply to other manufacturers that it was okay to use. Gibson epiphone les paul standard open book headstock 1989. In my book, it would be a keeper and a modding platform. Mccartneys 1962 casino has a bigsby tailpiece and a gibsonstyle open book headstock. Epiphone openbook headstock question my les paul forum. I am not sure but judging from what i found online, it seems to be from the late 80s or early 90s. I never minded the old epi headstock, but i think a lot of people are going to be happy about this. Harrisons guitar boasts a bigsby, while lennons came with a trapeze tailpiece.
I think this would go great with a gibson style but slightly offset body. The neck has sizeable but not too chunky vintage 50s profile. I own an epiphone et290 from around 1975 and it has the open book headstock with abalone inlay. I sent this out to pst guitars in king george virgina to have the headstock reshaped to a gibson openbook, new waterslide and clear coat.
This 1965 gibson firebird is a very rare bird indeed. I have a 1989 epiphone lp that has that same headstock on it. The guitars reverse body and nonreverse headstock makes it a rare 1965 transitional model. Plays nicely, and has decades of wear on the body, but. It has its share of bumps, and i will not try to list them all, but say that there are too many to show. Encore by teisco violin body scroll headstock pro setup. A cheap les paul copy with openbook headstock and full horn. However, it isnt a direct copy, so there is still some. View attachment 76429 the article explains that the new headstock from the old kalamazoo branded guitars from the late 60s. The new kalamazoo headstock shape is a lot closer to the famous open book shape of the gibson usa models.
Over in good condition some nicks and dents and scratches it is a use guitar not new. I will conservatively call the condition good, for a guitar this old. View attachment 76428 at one point epiphones had the same headstock when they were still mij. Find great deals on ebay for guitar headstock veneer and guitar headstock decals. Friends, this a purely innocent observation about gibsons trademarked open book headstock.
Mosrite copy sunburst es335 style with open book headstock shape made in japan it has a gibson shaped headstock, es335 style body but different pickups and i. The 1989 models were the first to sport a setneck and a carved top with a cap. Gibson could be putting their classic headstock shape on. Gibson has announced that their open book headstock may be carried over to epiphones range of guitars. Powered by a classic p90 the p90 is one of the defining sounds of rock and roll. Whty does one equate the headstock shape to the quality of a guitar.
Does anyone know why this aesthetic choice was made. Unfortunately, it is still a lam body guitar and the vantage pickups are pretty terrible. I dont have a problem with the epiphone logo, just the shape. This is an experiment i did to reshape an epiphone headstock to look like a gibson shape. This is a mahogany bodied guitar in excellent physical condition. Not sure if theyre referring to the exact gibson version of open book, or the long, awkward epi version seen in higher models such as the sheraton. Introduced in 1989, the epiphone gseries is a line of gibsonauthorized copies of the famous gibson sg. It comes close to the classic gibson openbook shape, but doesnt ape it. My 90s sorrento hollowbody has an open book headstock with a 3 screw trussrod cover. Why cant epiphone les pauls have a gibson shaped headstock. They didnt even start working with gibson until 1985. There are rumors that samick had a contract with gibson allowing them to make copies, but this is untrue. Archtop guitar, acoustic guitars, jazz guitar, music instruments, carving, flat, amazing, violin, guitar building.
Greco gibson replicas around 1975 and pre 1975 models had a greco logo that looked like gneco. Had this guitar for a long time and never could find. It is a direct copy and includes the open book headstock. About the only difference seems to be a slightly exaggerated center dip on the openbook headstock. The classic open book gibson headstock design would sell more guitars, i feel. Its not a high value guitar by any means, but it should fetch a little more for the openbook headstock. I personally like the epi headstock on my lp custom. Gibsons next epiphone guitars could look significantly different. The open book headstock was used occasionally on samick brand guitars. They are considered by many to be one of samicks best models.
Hohner has not been able to provide much, if any information. Cameo les paul 70s mij japan lawsuit era open book headstock. The temperature was so high, the guitar case began to melt, yet amazingly, the case protected the wood from turning to ashes. After the lawsuit, copy guitar manufacturers had to change their headstock design. The mahogany neck also maintains a vintage profile. If your guitar sounds fine when playing open strings but out of tune when you finger notes and chords, it is not a problem you can fix with a tuner. The lawsuit was settled out of court, and ibanez replaced the headstock with a revised design. Greco guitars have been made by matsumoku, fujigen gakki, dyna gakki and others as well. Vintage sg style guitar pre lawsuit era japan matsumoku. It appears as all original except the input jack with the original included. Gibson is planning a major change to the entire epiphone. Interestingly enough, this isnt a totally new headstock for them, some of the early mik epi les pauls had the same not quite gibson style open book headstock. Gibson open book headstock and tokai guitar discussions.
Epiphone les paul junior electric guitar vintage sunburst. New epiphone models with the new headstock design page 2. On june 28, 1977, norlin, the parent company of gibson, filed a lawsuit against elger ibanez in philadelphia federal district court. Called a 60s kalamazoo, the shape closely mirrors the openbook style of a gibson original. An instagram post by cesar gueikian appears to suggest that epiphone guitars of the future could finally come with a gibson open book style. While we re at the headstock, lets look at the trademark openbook. The specials mahogany neck has an updated headstock design called the 60s kalamazoo. Gibson has made several limitedrun epiphone guitars in the usa over the years, but this guitar, made in the gibson acoustic factory in montana. For many players, the openbook headstock design that appears on vintage epiphone models and modernday gibson guitars is classier than the slightly blockier epi variant that tops off the majority of the lowercost companys range.
The fl331 was a white les paul custom copy, with gold hardware, bound ebony board, block inlays and a pair of goldcovered humbuckers. Lawsuit guitars have a headstock that is known as an open book headstock, copied from gibson. Some kg32 oriole guitars were sold with the roof peak headstock design and others had the gibson open book headstock design. Does the headstock resemble that of a gibson les paul. This has a fat 50s style neck, not small and thin like most japanese guitars. Looking at my gibsons, im noticing subtle differences in the cut of the headstock and am interested to learn. I have a special blended guitar body design which i might pair ir with at a later date, in a later blog post here. Epiphone sg g310 mij epiphone electrics gibson brands. The true story behind japanese lawsuit guitars soundfly. For starters, it barely made it through a house fire. A couple of weeks ago i have found, in my favorite guitar shop in shanghai, some strange epiphones, two les paul one special and one standard one 339 and one sg that instead of the normal epiphone headstock had the traditional open book gibson headstock. It was introduced in 1981 as their homebrand version of the hondo h935. I also own an epi lp from 2006 with the modern headstock, which isnt my favorite look but after some upgrades, the guitar itself is pretty kick ass. An image of prelawsuit ibanez left and postlawsuit ibanez.
Epiphone les paul special electric guitar tv yellow. Take a close look at the logos and headstock configuration. It has the offset open book headstock shape that i think looks great. Theres been a marked increase in the number of counterfeit guitars. Epiphone 2020, ft openbook headstocks and mia lines. Like the previous 19861987 lp models, the 1989s came with the korean version of the openbook headstock. The orvilles were gibson guitar designs and went from 19881998 and then they were replaced by the epiphone japan models in 1998 and. The odd thing is that gibson does use the open book headstock on the baldwinmaestro.
Plus, we all know it is an epiphone and currently, in my opinion, they are making better guitars than gibson anyway. Early 80s or 90s samick les paul open book headstock. When i open the ad its an openbook headstock in a gibson gun case. I read somewhere or then heard it from a video that if actually epiphone sgs and les pauls came with the classic open book headstock and i. Gibson could be putting their classic headstock shape on epiphone. In an instagram post from gueikian showing off some vintage epiphone headstock templates sporting the classic openbook style, user. The tone of the guitar is balanced, percussive, refined and polite, and a little brighter than a typical les paul. Gibson style headstock for the epiphone lps page 4.
Gibson does use the open book shape on the maestrobaldwin etc. The first semihollowbody guitar sold as a samick was the eg1935. Action is set up low like an electric, but can easily be raised if you desire by changing the saddle. It looks like we may well get to see this redesigned headstock shape during winter namm and find out which models will be carrying it from now on. Cmon are slight divits missing from the gibson open book headstock really that much of a tone or build or playability factor. I guess i will be that guy and come in here with the who cares what the headstock looks like, whats the guitar play like. Last fall i had a complete pro setup done, including fret level and recrown, and having a bone nut and saddle installed. Discussion in guitars started by peskypesky, jan 5, 2018.
Ibanez ramped up the quality of its own designs, including setinneck copies of solid body and archtop guitars. Gibson epiphone les paul standard open book headstock 1989 rarefirst year with set neck and last year or only year with this open book headstock. This is also the only one that i have seen with an epiphone style open book headstock. You likely have an intonation problem and will need to take your guitar to a technician. New headstock design check out the headstock on this les paul junior. Common features found on most epiphone gseries guitars include a doublecutaway mahogany body with humbucker pickups and a rosewood fretboard. I really enjoy and appreciate this guitar for what it is at the price i got it for. A cheap les paul copy with openbook headstock and full. I cant find the history of the decision, know nothing about guitars, and it is driving me insane. The open book headstock was used occasionally on samick brand guitars through the 80s, and from 19881989 and early 1990, was used in their usinternational lineup. The pressed top was laminated spruce and had a natural finish instead of the usual sunburst finish found on all the previous models.
The sa model lineup consists of gibson es335 style semihollowbody electric guitars. Selling my 1970s morris wd25 dove acoustic guitar in cherry sunburst. Most of the greco open book headstock gibson replicas were made by fujigen gakki. The indian laurel fretboard has a 12 radius and is bound with cream binding. This headstock shape i think of as a bit like a lazy open book style or a dali melting headstock. It does have inlays beginning on the 1st fret and 4 diamond shape headstock inlays that form a larger diamond. The three way switch is broken, switch works fine but the knob. Not only do the guitars now look more reminiscent of their gibson counterparts, epiphone have also taken a page from gibsons famous open book headstock, something which many fans have been hoping for for years.
Its pretty subtle, but there are different proportions in the shape of these two headstocks. This guitar came with flamed maple sides and flamed maple veneer on the back. Welcome to rguitar, a community devoted to the exchange of guitar related information and entertainment. From the gibson lawsuit era open book headstock, it is a deadon, very well made guitar. I pic came up recently in one of the fora, maybe this one, showing a late 80s epi with a gibson style open book headstock. Its a model 2453 and has the open book headstock that gibson based the lawsuit over. An important piece of the puzzle in determining when your guitar was made is the.