We’ve been bustin’ it around here this week… getting ready for a cool new promotion that launches today! A couple of days ago we sent a these posters and hang tags to all of our Authorized Dealers to announce it and if you check Epiphone.com you will find out that, for a limited time, when you buy a qualifying new Epiphone guitar you get the WAY COOL Guitar Rig Mobile from Native Instruments absolutely FREE!!!!

Epiphone & Gig Rig Mobile… It’s the perfect combination!

CLICK HERE for the details.

This week we announced the Limited Edition Roy Orbison Signature Guitar. A lot of people don’t know that Roy wrote many of his hits including “Oh, Pretty Woman” on his 1962 Epiphone 12-String. Check out the whole story plus pics of the guitar at the link below.

CLICK HERE

We’re pretty excited this morning… Got a copy of the June Guitar Player and the Masterbilt AJ-500RE scored the Editor’s Pick Award! These guitars are truly incredible and it’s nice for them to get the recognition we know they deserve. If you haven’t checked out the Masterbilt line yet, please do.

CLICK HERE for more on the story.

Los Angeles was rockin’ extra hard last Tuesday night… The Epiphone Revolver Golden Gods Award Show was THE place to be for any hard-rock / meta fan. But, if you missed it you can follow the link below for the full story and pictures PLUS… you can watch the entire show on MTV2 starting on May 2nd!

CLICK HERE NOW to read the story and see the pictures.

Yesterday we conducted an informal Twitter poll asking the question:What artist is at the top of your Media Player playlist right now?

Some of you asked to see the results so here you go. (No particular order.) One thing is for sure… Epi fans are a diverse bunch. The list is very wide stylistically and other than Dylan and BRMC there were no repeats.

Brad Paisley
Prince
Steve Vai
Smashing Pumpkins
Johnny Mastro
Eric Clapton
Bill Callahan
Jeff Beck
About Nothing
Dark New Day
John Mayer
Veil of Maya
Ryan Adams
AC/DC
Gov’t Mule
Animal Collective
Doves
David Crowder
Bob Dylan - 2
Tangerine Dream
Larry Carlton
Mayday Parade
David Bowe
Fionn Regan
Ray LaMontagne
50 Foot Wave
Rafael Saddiq
Charmparticles
Monte Montgomery
Faces
Rise Against
Tree 63
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - 2
Jonas Brothers
Santana
Marcy Playground
Black Crowes
Frank Gambale
Yngwie Malmsteem
Mikrokosmos

CLICK HERE NOW to follow Epiphone on Twitter.

Today we got a  pre-release copy of Black Label Society’s “Skullage” which is scheduled to hit stores on 04/21. This is a must-have for any BLS / Zakk Wylde fan… and even if you’re not a fan yet… you will be after you see and hear this. The package includes 16 tunes that represent the history of Black Label Society including classics like “13 Years of Grief”, “Stillborn”, “Suicide Messiah” and more. The included DVD includes 4 songs recorded live in concert, 5 videos, a must-see “Welcome To The Compound” interview and a “Slightly Amped” live acoustic set.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE EPIPHONE ZAKK WYLDE SIGNATURE MODELS

Here's a sneak peek at the backdrop for Tuesday nights Golden Gods Award Show. It's not little… ha! After the show we plan to hang it from the Bat Building in Nashville… I think it will make the music city skyline a little more exciting!

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT GOLDEN GODS

We just launched two new contests on www.epiphone.com. The first one is for a Prophecy SG GX and the second one is for a Les Paul Custom and Plain White T’s CD. Also, There is a dealer tie-in with the Plain White T’s contest. Visit a participating Authorized Epiphone Dealer and enter to win 2 concert tickets plus back stage meet & greet passes. Follow the link below for more info.

CLICK HERE NOW.

Nashville based photographer Rocky Yosek sent us this great picture today. According to Rocky, he rescued the Epiphone Valve Junior amp at a local garage sale last fall and rescued the dog shortly thereafter. Named Willie, the dog (a Rhodesian Ridgeback and Mastiff mix) is one of Rocky’s favorite photography subjects and playing guitar is one of his favorite pastimes.

Spring is in the air… and you know what that means? It’s time to kick-off our clinic season. Look for one of the Epiphone clinicians in your area real soon. You can check out www.epiphone.com/clinics for a heads up.

Our friends My Chemical Romance are currently in the studio recording a new project. Here’s a behind the scenes shot of Frank Iero with one of his Epi’s. We absolutely cannot wait to hear this project!

Attention Tweeple… did you know you can follow us on Twitter? Be sure to follow @epiphone for the most current updates… plus you might just score some cool swag. Today we gave away the awesome Epiphone Mechanics Shirt pictured above. It’s not available in any store.

CLICK HERE NOW

Has anybody seen the video of Paul Weller playing his Casino on the homepage of paulweller.com? All I can say is WAY COOL! You gotta check it out at the link below. This guy is a true International Superstar talent… and his guitar rocks too!

CLICK HERE NOW

Paul also recently sent us this photo of him with his Epiphone Texan.

We just posted an updated version of the Epiphone Mobile Site. Feature and News have been separated for ease of navigation plus a few other things have been modified. Traffic has been very good on this site since we launched on February 10th so if you’re not hip to it yet… point your mobile device to www.epiphone.com/m and check the latest from Epiphone while you are on the run.

A new homepage will soon be posted at epiphone.com. This month we will feature the Zakk Wylde signature models that we have in our line and this cool pic of Zakk will be used in the layout.

CLICK HERE to see if it’s posted yet.

Man … there is some exciting news today at Epiphone. America’s first-ever hard rock and heavy metal music award show is a REALITY and we are thrilled to bring it to you. The First Annual Epiphone Revolver Golden Gods Awards Show is going to happen on April 7th at Club Nokia in Los Angeles and you can get ALL the details by clicking on the link below.

Our friend Marko from Sugarcult stopped by Epi Headquarters yesterday.

Look for a feature story on Marko on www.epiphone.com very soon. A great guy, a great guitarist and an Epi loyalist for many years now!

In case you missed the news over at epiphone.com, we’ve got great news for all you mobile users! Epiphone just posted a unique mobile website that is formatted for the iPhone and other mobile devices.

 
Some of you may know already that we do a lot of custom promotional guitars for various events we sponsor around the world. Some of them are very cool and have even become sought after collectors items. Here’s a collage of a few of the more recent ones we’ve done.

 

Most of you have probably heard by now that we have introduced the first guitar in our new Historic Custom USA Collection… the 1962 Wilshire. It’s been a lot of fun prepping for this line and we have had a blast re-visiting out rich history in the process. One cool thing we have done is re-create this cool ’60’s era hang tag. We reproduced these accurately… all the way down to a few typos! It measures about 5″ x 4″ and is 8 pages.

CLICK HERE to find out more about the 1962 Wilshire re-issue.

 

Back on December 8th we gave you a behind-the-scenes look at a photoshoot for an upcoming ad. Well, we are happy to say that the layout is complete and you should start seeing this ad in major music publications very soon. It features the ‘62 Wilshire Reissue we just introduced at NAMM.

CLICK HERE to find out more about the 1962 Wilshire Reissue.

 

We had a great time in Anaheim Saturday night. Our annual NAMM Party brought out a standing-room-only crowd and proved again to be THE place to hang out at NAMM. Puddle of Mudd (above) and Duke Robillard (below)… as well as all the other acts brought the house down!


CLICK HERE for more pics

So today is the day… January 15, 2009. We’ve been planning for it for a very long time and in just a few minutes after this is posted, the 2009 NAMM Show will open it’s doors in Anaheim, California and the fun will begin! It’s one of the most exciting times of the year for those of us in the Music Industry… a time when Dealers and Distributors from all over the world get to personally check out all the New Epiphone models for the coming year.

We are extremely excited about this years offerings and if you are not at the NAMM Show, we still want to unveil these beauties to you. Follow the link below for details on each… and Epi New Year to you!

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE NEW EPI MODELS

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With CES under our belt… it’s time to move on! The NAMM show takes place this weekend in Anaheim, California and we will be there to unveil all the new models to our dealers. The new homepage at www.epiphone.com (posted today) highlights the new models and YOU can check them all out on-line by CLICKING HERE NOW.

Oh, and also… not sure if you caught it on the website… but we are giving away a sweet prize package this month that features 2 Epiphone guitars (including the awesome Prophecy Les Paul EX) plus a bunch of cool stuff from our NAMM Party co-sponsors. Sign up for your chance to win by CLICKING HERE.

 

It’s been CRAZY this week here in Epi-land! CES is going on right now and NAMM is just around the corner. And speaking of NAMM… today we got the 2009 catalog inserts back from the printer. We will be taking these to Anaheim next week and all the new models will be on display there as well… good times!

CLICK HERE for a look at the new models.

 

If you haven’t noticed yet, yesterday we announced the new Epiphone ZV Custom electric guitar on www.epiphone.com. Links to a NEWS item and the new Micro-Site are below. The Micro-Site features a 360 degree rotation of the guitar… but maybe not how you are used to seeing one. We took the guitar to a local construction site and photographed the instrument 24 times, making a complete circle around it, then through the wonders of FLASH created the movement. It’s a pretty cool effect. And speaking of cool… be sure and check out the guitar! It’s totally radical and will allow players to add a not-so-normal shape to their collection at an affordable price.

CLICK HERE for the Zakk Wylde Epiphone ZV Custom NEWS item.

CLICK HERE to check out the Zakk Wylde Epiphone ZV Custom Micro-Site.

 

It’s getting close! The HUGE Epiphone NAMM party will take place in Anaheim, CA. one week from Saturday on January 17th. We just got the passes back from the printer and if you want one… I suggest you contact your Epiphone Rep on the show floor as early as possible. Looks like doors open at  10:00am on Thursday and our booth number is #303.

CLICK HERE for a closer look at the event.

 

Today we announced the 2009 Epiphone NAMM Party lineup. Headlining this year will be Puddle of Mudd, along with the GREAT Duke Robillard… and some other awesome acts. The show will be MC’d by our own Will Jones… pictured above with the show posters that we just got back from the printer.

Everything takes place on Saturday night January 17th at The Pulse Room which is located inside the Anaheim Hilton Hotel Bar at 777 Convention Way, Anaheim, CA.

Those of you who have attended in the past know that this is a HUGELY POPULAR event and every year we turn away a good amount of people so… I cannot emphasize enough that if you want to go, you need to contact your Epiphone Rep on the show floor for passes… and DON’T BE LATE to the show! When the room is full, we have to stop letting people in.

It’s going to be a great time and we hope to see you there. Check out all the details by clicking HERE.

 

On Wednesday we posted a new homepage at Epiphone.com featuring Marcus Henderson and his new Epiphone signature model… the Apparition. We are totally pumped about this screamin’ new guitar… and you gotta check it out! Visit the new Apparition Micro-Site at www.epiphone.com/appartition or follow the links below for more info:

Apparition Micro-Site

Apparition News Item

Apparition Contest… win one!

 

We are busy putting the final touches on a new promotional video for the Marcus Henderson Apparition model. Can’t wait to unveil the video and micro-site… should happen very soon so keep your eyes on Epiphone.com.

BTW… the Apparition absolutely ROCKS! It has EMG 81/85 pickups, Original Floyd Rose, Gorgeous Quilt Maple top, SpeedTaper Satin Finish neck… and a couple features that no other Epiphone model has. This thing screams!
 

 

14 years ago we had a bunch of Epiphone Christmas ornaments made and used them as promotional items. I kept one and every year since then I have hung it up in the office as Christmas approaches. It’s a little worn and tattered by now but has come to represent the Holiday Season in the Epi office… in fact, it is tradition. People have been asking where it is… so today, I hung the traditional Epiphone ornament! Ha!

Which reminds me…

If you’re still looking for that perfect gift… why not give the gift of music with a quality musical instrument from Epiphone. Did you know we have several instruments that are less than $300 MSRP? Plus, you get a Limited Lifetime Warranty on all our guitars… Now that’s a great gift!

CLICK HERE NOW to check out five Epi’s under $300.

 

NAMM is coming up in mid January and as you can imagine… we are hopping crazy, in an effort to get ready for the BIG show. And… If you have been there, you know that the Saturday night Epiphone party is THE place to be. It’s an intimate setting with some of the finest musicians/bands in the world that people just don’t want to miss. Each year we turn literally hundreds of people away and when people find out the lineup for this year it will no doubt be the same. I’m working on signage for the event now but can’t reveal the lineup just yet. All I can say is… all you dealers and VIP’s out there may want to start requesting passes from your rep now! It will be another great show.

We will be making a formal announcement soon on the homepage of Epiphone.com.

 

 

 

This cool 60’s era Epiphone Pacemaker Amplifier made it’s way into the office next to mine this morning… Here’s a few shots of it for my fellow amp-geeks out there. Look for this beauty in an Epiphone print ad in the very near future.

 

 

Spent the major part of the morning on a location photo shoot for a new product. Here’s a behind the scenes look for you.

 

 

Hello all out there in guitar land.  I would like to spend some time talking about the Les Paul Ultra II guitar from Epiphone. Since about 1991, I’ve been a chickin’ pickin’, plank spankin’ sort of guy, with some forays into shredding, sweep picking and economy picking a-la Frank Gambale. This was all on top of my usual repertoire.  Before this, however, back in the '70s and '80s I was a straight-ahead knuckles-to-the-pickups McLaughlinesque “see who I can impress” fusion jazz rocker. I’m glad that I grew out of all of that. (So is everyone else around these parts…) The guitars that I used for this were always Gibson Melody Makers that I preferred over everything else because of their neck profile and especially because of their light weight. I have always loved, but never owned a Les Paul for the same reason; it was too heavy for me, and my back. Great guitar, don’t get me wrong — but I just couldn’t do it.

What a great joy when I strapped on the Epi Les Paul Ultra II. This mahogany body and maple cap beauty is chambered out in key places making it one of the lighter electric guitars I’ve ever had over my shoulders! One might be thinking that there is a compromise in tone if a guitar is lighter — this is not the case. This particular guitar is outfitted with Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pros in the neck position and a Seymour Duncan Custom/Custom in the bridge position. There’s only one word that comes into my head to describe the tones that I can get out of this guitar, no matter what I’m doing at the gig or at home. Juicy!

Epiphone has also seen to it that the back of the mahogany neck has a satin finish for guys like me that get stuck, promoting ease of motion. There is something else that I can’t get out of my other guitars that this one has . . . Strummmmability. Strummishness? Strumola. Strumtastic . . . I know they’re not real words, but you know what I mean.  Many electrics currently available can’t handle a full on strum like Tom Petty for example who plays electric rhythm with a clean sound. Many of those guitars go out of tune or sound “clangy”. Most folks leave this up to the acoustic guitar, should they have one in their band, or just play solo. As well, most electrics go out of tune should you put a beatin on it, but this baby doesn’t. As a great added bonus, the Ultra II is also equipped with a low impedance cobalt pickup located at the end of the fingerboard.  The NanoMag© pickup gives you shimmering acoustic like tones. One achieves this by just rolling back the “southern-most” knob where the tone pot would be on the front in the usual bridge pickup location. There’s also active tone and gain controls for the NanoMag pickup located on a control panel on the back of the guitar. Roll it back to the Seymour Duncan’s, give it a crank, and you’re good to go with songs like Sweet Child O’ Mine, or any fat sounding Les Paul song you can think of without missing a beat. You can noodle around with some jazz tones and I roll back the tone pot, with the neck pickup toggled, and got some very sweet, convincing jazzy archtop tones as well. That also illustrates this point: if you’re a beginner learning everything under the sun on guitar, or if you are a journeyman player taking requests of every sort - this would be the guitar for you! The lightweight construction doesn’t weigh heavily on you over a four hour gig, and the body width and bout are just pronounced enough for you to engage in hours-on-end practicing.

 

 

OK… so you may have noticed that I ramble a lot about our history on this blog… and there’s a good reason for that. Epiphone’s history is a rich one to say the least and many times we find ourselves drawing on that rich heritage for inspiration… and today was no different. I just got out of a meeting with our Art-Director and much of our discussion centered around these 60’s era Epiphone catalogs. Cool stuff!

Read more about Epiphone’s history by clicking HERE.
 

It’s been a little crazy around here lately! Still, last week we took the time to get together and share a Thanksgiving meal as an Epi family. And even though this is late… we hope you had a very Happy Thanksgiving yourself!
 

Here’s a ‘beaut’ for you! Check out this 1904 ‘Bowl Back’ mandolin. This is the oldest piece in our collection… so old that it carries the A. Stathopoulo brand name which was a brand name that Anastasios Stathopoulo used before his son Epimanondas (Epi) took over the company and changed the name to Epiphone. Holding this piece in your hands, you can literally feel the rich history associated with Epiphone… awesome!



CLICK HERE NOW to check out more about the history of Epiphone.

 

Photo shoots with guitars are always fun and this morning was no exception. We had a need for some additional shots of the Prophecy Les Paul Custom GX and let me tell you… even though I have seen this guitar in person many times, it never fails to induce “tongue-hanging-out-of-mouth” syndrome! WOW! I know you will think I am totally biased but I have to say that this guitar is one of the baddest looking six-strings you will ever see. The Quilted Maple top in Black Cherry with gold hardware accents is nothing less than stunning. And it doesn’t stop with just good looks either. The satin-finish neck is super-fast and Gibson USA Dirty Fingers pickups make this thing scream!

Do yourself a favor… don’t take my word for it but run down to your local Epi dealer and check out the LPGX for yourself… in person. You’ll see what I am talking about. In the mean time you can check out the entire Prophecy line at the Epiphone Prophecy Micro-Website by CLICKING HERE.

CLICK HERE to find your local Epiphone dealer.