New Epiphone 'Inspired by Gibson' Lineup

Supersonic

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Epiphone Launches "Inspired By Gibson" Collections, US-Made Texan | NAMM 2020
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epiphoneheadstocks_dxlmrv.jpg

A close-up of the now-standard "Kalamazoo" headstocks.

Fans of Epiphone and Gibson that have long wished for some headstock parity between the brands have reason to rejoice: Epiphone's new Inspired By Gibson Collections will drop the sharp angles of Epiphone's recent headstocks and soften their curves into the "open-book" style, while still being differentiated from Gibson's own design.

The plan to move toward the open-book shape for Epiphone was softly announced back in September 2019 by Gibson CMO Cesar Gueikian, who shared a photo of an elongated open-book headstock on Instagram and said "it's coming" when asked to put it on more Epiphone models, as reported by Guitar World at the time.

The Inspired By Gibson Collections—announced today—will follow Gibson's lineup restructuring from last year. Epiphone's streamlined offerings will go nearly model-for-model with Gibson's, offering less-expensive, foreign-made versions of Gibson designs that look more similar to the US-built Gibsons than ever before.

Like Gibson's bifurcated lineup, Epiphone's Original Collection will feature vintage-style instruments, while the Modern Collection will offer slicker, more contemporary guitars.

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Epiphone's Inspired By Gibson line-up.
The Original Collection—featuring the likes of Les Paul '50s and '60s Standards, SG Standard with Maestro, Firebird, Flying V, and Explorer—will have CTS pots, vintage pickup voicings and wiring, vintage-style tuners, and era-correct neck profiles.

The Modern Collection—featuring the Les Paul Studio, Les Paul Modern, and SG Classic Worn—will have push/pull pots, weight-relief bodies, slim taper necks, and other more contemporary appointments.

US-Built Texan
While the Inspired By Gibson line-up may be Epiphone's biggest news for NAMM 2020, it's not all. One popular acoustic, the Texan, is returning to Stateside production, for the first time in decades. And it's the first of what the company is calling a Epiphone Made in USA line—setting the stage for more stateside guitars to be announced soon.

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Epiphone Made-In-USA Texan.
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The American handiwork and classic headstock shapes of the Texan look back to the golden era when artists like Paul McCartney strummed the Epiphone acoustic.

The Texan FT-59 will feature solid-wood construction, bone nut and saddle, a dovetail neck joint, and vintage-style tuners and finishes.

Check back soon for pricing and availability on all new Epiphones.
 

Supersonic

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weight-relief bodies.......:hmm:

I pretty much like everything I read in the whole article. I think Epi will do very well with all of these.

It'll be interesting to see what the prices are and what the fretboards are made of.

I wonder if people will start complaining about wanting the old clipped ear headstock back now? :dunno:
 

Mr Grumpy

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If a nice 339 of this style comes out, I'll very likely pick one up.

Interesting idea, but hope they keep the existing guitars and don't streamline the range.
 
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your taste in guitars is impeccable BGood! When did this come out I’ve only seen the PB SG Custom with the Maestro & the Special 1?
 

BGood

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your taste in guitars is impeccable BGood! When did this come out I’ve only seen the PB SG Custom with the Maestro & the Special 1?
The image came out a few days ago. The guitar itself is still ... an image.

But thanks for the impeccable taste nonetheless :h5:
 

Matt Karr

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Hope they offer a left handed SG standard cause I’m putting off getting a G400 cause I love the new headstock design
 

Bonzo21

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Am I the only one who finds the new shape "Meh"? Most responses on facebook and here that I have seen are quite positive.

I didn't hate the old headstock, and I don't hate this one either. It's just not an extra selling point for me. That being said, I feel like the response has been overwhelmingly positive, so it was a great move for Epiphone.
 


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