Before anything else, it should be reaffirmed that the word
"Epiphone", despite how real-sounding it is, is not an actual word.
It is actually a combination of the name Epaminondas "Epi"
Stathopoulo and the word "phone", which is "sound" in
Greek. The Epiphone Company is a known manufacturer of all sorts of musical
instruments, and has been around since the late eighteenth century. It has
progressed from making just guitars, to manufacturing banjos, amplifiers and
various stringed instruments. Its forte has always been its trademark Epiphone guitars, however.
The founder of the company,
Anastasios Stathopoulos, made fiddles, lutes and mandolins, continuing his
profession even when he moved to the United States. His son, Epi, took over
when he passed away, starting a company that began to produce Epiphone guitars in 1928. Since then, Epiphone
and its name and glory have become legendary.
The most well-known Epiphone
guitar is the Epiphone Casino, an electric guitar with a hollow body and very
heavy sound. It is famous worldwide today because three members of The Beatles,
starting with Paul McCartney, used the model all throughout their careers.
McCartney still uses his Epiphone guitar,
and has grown quite attached to it, just as other Epiphone lovers have with
their own instruments.
Most Epiphone instruments used
to be made in Japan, but Korea became the main manufacturer during the
eighties. Since 2002, China has become the main manufacturer of Epiphone guitars exclusively. Today, The
Epiphone Company is now owned by Gibson, their former rival. Although most
Epiphone products greatly resemble Gibson's models as a result, the line of
archtop guitars that Epiphone is also known for, remains largely unchanged.
 |
