Epiphone is proud to announce the Wilshire Phant-o-matic, one of our most anticipated new models. Designed in collaboration with Frank Iero, guitarist for multi-platinum band My Chemical Romance, the Wilshire Phant-o-matic combines an incredible array of features that only Epiphone would dare put in one instrument. The result is one of the smartest and most flexible guitars you can find anywhere with all the vintage styling that made Wilshire models a behind-the-scenes favorite of Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter, Paul Gilbert and Steve Marriott.
Classic Form
Like our classic SG, the Wilshire Phant-o-matic features a double cutaway design with a solid Mahogany body. The 24.75” scale Mahogany hand-set neck has a 1960s SlimTaper™ profile, a Rosewood fingerboard with mother-of-pearl block inlays, a 12” radius, and a 1-11/16” nut. The neck profile and double cutaway make the Wilshire Phant-o-matic a perfect guitar for chunking rhythm or cutting leads. The Antique Ivory color finish, black single-ply pickguard, and classic form make the Phant-o-matic a striking instrument. But what really sets the Wilshire Phant-o-matic apart from the pack is how it sounds.
Premium Electronics
Working closely together over several years of research and development, Frank Iero and Epiphone strove to make an axe that puts the sound of a dozen guitars at your fingertips. And the Wilshire Phant-o-matic does just that. It can be whatever you need: a straight ahead awesome rock guitar or something completely new and groundbreaking. The Phant-o-matic employs two classic Epiphone humbucker pickups, our famous Alnico Classic Plus™ humbucker in the bridge and an Alnico Classic™ humbucker in the neck position. To get the most of the wide tonal possibilities from this arrangement, we’ve included a mono VariTone™, much like the one used most famously by blues legend
B. B. King.
Epiphone VariTone™
The VariTone™ uses a six-way rotary switch that engages 5 pre-set notch filters and a bypass. In position one, the VariTone™ is completely bypassed. As you rotate the rotary switch into positions 2-6, the center frequency of the notch filter shifts from around 1.9kHz down to 130Hz, providing a player with a wide tonal palette unavailable on most other instruments. Positions 2 through 4 offer tonal shaping while still maintaining great clarity. But keep turning and you’ll find Positions 5 and 6 shape-shift the Alnico Classic™ humbuckers into a single-coil style pickup but without the thin quack usually associated with traditional single coil pickups. Add it all up and between the 6-position VariTone™ circuit and the 3-position toggle switch, you have 18 unique tones available. And if that wasn’t enough, Epiphone has included a high quality horn-mounted KillSwitch™ which provides an infinite range of staccato on/off effects. A master volume control is mounted with easy access to the VariTone™ rotary switch for quick adjustments.
Classic Epiphone Hardware
Like many Epiphone classic solid body electrics, the Wilshire Phant-o-matic uses our LockTone™ Tune-o-Matic™ StopBar bridge for tuning and intonation accuracy. Machine heads are nickel Wilkinson™ vintage style tuners with tinted green keys on an Epiphone Clipped Dovewing headstock with a ‘60s era Epiphone logo in gold and a double ply trussrod cover with vintage “E” logo in white. And to protect your Phant-o-matic, Epiphone has included a premium padded gigbag.
Epiphone Peace of Mind
As with all Epiphones, every Wilshire Phant-o-matic comes with the peace of mind of our Limited Lifetime Warranty backed by Gibson Musical Instruments’ famous 24/7/365 day Customer Service. See and hear the groundbreaking Wilshire Phant-o-matic today!