Epiphone celebrates a big birthday this year – a very big birthday, in fact – as it marks its 150th anniversary with the release of four limited edition electric guitars, including the Crestwood Custom, Wilshire, Sheraton and Zephyhr DeLuxe Regent.
Gibson is often described as Epiphone’s big brother, yet – in terms of pure age – the opposite is true. Indeed, with Epiphone founded almost 30 years earlier than its parent company (1873, as opposed to 1902), it’s old enough to be Gibson’s father.
Similarly, while the brand is mostly regarded as a source of budget-friendly Gibson-endorsed builds – the go-to for a cheaper ‘official’ Les Paul or SG model – it has a rich history of original designs that date back just as far as its more famous sibling.
It is appropriate then – and perhaps a sign of new Gibson CEO Cesar Gueikian’s respect for the brand – that the 150th Anniversary series consists solely of Epiphone-original models.
Given the variety of models on offer, the spec naturally differs between the builds, but they all share upgraded hardware, limited edition finishes and 150th Anniversary hardshell cases.
150th Anniversary Crestwood Custom
First up and perhaps the most attention-grabbing, is the Crestwood Custom –celebrating Epiphone’s first solidbody – finished in California Coral.
There’s a solid mahogany body and neck (with a ’60s SlimTaper ‘D’ profile) and Indian laurel fingerboard featuring Epiphone’s oval inlays. Up top, there’s a Batwing-style headstock with Wilkinson tuners, while at the other end there’s a Tremotone vibrato.
Notably, it’s loaded with USA-made Gibson mini-humbuckers and the upgrades also extend to CTS pots and a Switchcraft switch and jack. Finally, we have to give a shout-out to those Epiphone Historic ’60s Radio knobs. All of that is yours for $999.
150th Anniversary Wilshire
Next in the lineup, the Wilshire is essentially a hardtail variant of the Crestwood in a beautiful Pacific Blue colorway. Aside from the finish and the LockTone Tune-O-Matic bridge and stopbar, its spec is identical.
Like the Crestwood, it draws on the more elegant asymmetrical body shape that was introduced around 1963, as opposed to the chunkier 1958/9 symmetrical shape of the current core line-up – the right call in our book. The Wilshire carries a price of $899.
150th Anniversary Sheraton
Third in the 150th Anniversary line-up is the Sheraton. The semi-hollowbody is one of the firm’s most iconic designs, rivaled only by the Casino among its Originals line-up.
It has been used by everyone from John Lee Hooker, to Emily Wolfe, through to Tom DeLonge – and let’s not forget Noel Gallagher’s Union Jack finished model that encapsulated the ’90s Cool Britannia moment.
As with the core Epiphone’s Original Archtop series option, it’s a layered-maple construction, with a solid maple centerblock and a one-piece mahogany neck. The bound Indian Laurel fretboard is adorned with mother-of-pearl block inlays (with abalone triangles) and there’s a fetching ‘tree of life’ inlay on the headstock.
This 150th Anniversary option features gets some eye-catching upgrades, with in the additions of a Tremotone vibratro and Gibson mini-humbuckers, all finished in gold.
The tuners have also been bumped to Grover Rotomatics, while inside you’ve got Orange Drop capacitors, plus CTS pots and Switchcraft components. The Sheraton will retail for $1,299.
150th Anniversary Zephyr DeLuxe Regent
Last – and we really mean this – by no means least, is the 150th Anniversary Zephyr DeLuxe Regent. This jazzy hollowbody build harks back to one of the firm’s earliest electrics – produced from 1948 to 1957 – though it has been tweaked for playability, with a new deeper cutaway.
There’s a big ‘n’ boxy multi-layered maple body with a five-piece mahogany neck and ebony fretboard, alongside a Fender-like 25.5” scale-length.
The ‘board is inlaid with Epiphone’s traditional ‘cloud’ inlays and there’s that tree of life detail again on the headstock. You’ll also spot some fancy Epiphone Historic machinehead tuners there.
It comes equipped with Epiphone’s NY humbuckers, plus CTS pots and Switchcraft toggleswitch and jack. It is in some ways the pick of the bunch when it comes to the brand’s history – not least because there’s not even a variant of the Zephyr in the firm’s current core line-up. Expect to pay $1,299 for that one.
On the core line-up point, it’s worth noting that the aforementioned (asymmetrical ’60s-style) body of the Wilshire and Crestwood is also not available at present –perhaps that’s something that might change in the near future?
For more information on the 150th Anniversary Originals, head to Epiphone.
