The anatomy of an Epiphone guitar. Part 1: The Humbucker

The humbucker, or humbucking pick-up, is a feature of most of the electric guitars made by Epiphone and its parent company, Gibson.

The humbucker is a two-coil pick-up with coils of reversed polarity, reverse wound, and connected in series. The name is derived from the fact the design of the pick-up significantly reduces the noise and interference associated with single coil pick-ups used in other guitars, such as Fender’s Stratocaster. In other words, they ‘buck the hum.’

Epiphone Riviera

The Epiphone Riviera is a hollow-body electric guitar, based closely on the Gibson E335 and originally manufactured between 1962 and 1969. It has a maple side and top, one-piece set mahogany neck, and a rosewood fretboard with trapezoidal pearl inlays.

10 ways to make sure you don’t get scammed buying a guitar on eBay

Following the post last week on the dangers of buying an Epiphone guitar on eBay, I thought it would be a good idea to post a few tips on how to avoid being scammed. There are two key factors involved in fraudulently selling fake guitars on eBay – the copies are often very good (at least until you play the guitar) and the prices are very, very attractive.

The combination of those two elements sucks lots of people into bidding on and buying these guitars only to regret it later. Don’t be fooled, just because these Epiphone guitars look like the real thing doesn’t mean they sound or play like a real Epiphone. They don’t. They’re poorly and cheaply made, the wiring is usually dreadful and the finish slapdash.

Does it matter that Epiphone is owned by Gibson?

Scott is concerned that guitar manufacturers are becoming conglomerates and that this is harming the guitars they make. I don’t think it matters one jot. The guitars made by a company, any company, should be judged on their own merit, not on which factory they were built in and where that factory is located.
Besides, Gibson [...]

Epiphone SG G-400

The SG is one of the iconic guitar shapes. Originally built by Gibson to replace the Les Paul, which was selling poorly in the late 1950s, it has established itself as a classic. Epiphone makes a whole range of SGs and here we look at the G-400 models.

50 Years of the Flying V

Epiphone’s Korina Flying V 1958 was created to celebrate the fiftieth birthday of the original Gibson Flying V. The Flying V was originally issued in 1958 as part of a futuristic guitar line-up that included the Gibson Explorer and Moderne and is one of the most easily recognisable guitars ever made, thanks to its v-shaped body and pointed head. Despite being adopted by no less than Albert King and Lonnie Mack, the Flying V proved less than successful and was discontinued in 1959

Guitar Rig 3

If you use a Mac, you probably already know that Guitar Rig is one of the best amp modellers there is and Guitar Player Gear Guide has a tutorial on using it to add effects to your tracks.

It looks like it was lifted from a post by Jim Dalrymple on Gibson.com, so you may want to check out the original here.

The Epiphone Les Paul

If there’s a single electric guitar range that’s synonymous with the Epiphone range, and in particular its Gibson copies, it’s the Les Paul. Epiphone currently lists 19 Les Paul guitars in its line-up, including legends like the Les Paul Custom, Les Paul Studio, and the Les Paul Junior.

While it’s widely assumed that Les Paul designed the original guitar which bore his name for Gibson and that Epiphone later made less expensive versions from factories in Korea and Japan, this only scratches the surface of the real, much more interesting, story.

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Epiphone Les Paul vs Gibson Les Paul

Every once in a while, I thought it would be fun to post videos of pretty much anything related to Epiphone guitars or amps. First up is a guy from The Next Level Guitars demonstrating the differences between an Epiphone Les Paul and a Gibson Les Paul. Click Continue, below, to see it.

Epiphone Sheraton

The Epiphone Sheraton was one of the first Epiphone electric guitars to be made following the purchase of the company by Gibson, appearing a year after the Casino in 1959. The Epiphone Sheraton is a double-cut thinline, semi-hollow-bodied guitar with twin humbuckers.