From the timeless cool of the jazz age through the looking glass of 1960s psychedelia to the wall of sound of 1990s Britpop and today’s eclectic scene, Epiphone instruments have remained central to pop culture’s “big bang” moments. The Casino, the Texan, the Sheraton, the Riviera – model names that chime with guitarists everywhere, inspiring awe and desire in equal measure, whether you are a Beatle or a beginner. What most people don’t realize, however, is that Epiphone’s history stretches back even further than Gibson’s, beginning 150 years ago in a port on the Aegean Sea in what is now Turkey.

In 1873, around the time of his 12th birthday, Anastasios Stathopoulo’s family left their home in Greece and settled in Smyrna – now known as Izmir – a bustling seaport in the Ottoman Empire where his father, Konstantinos, established himself as a lumber merchant. Anastasios would travel with his father on business trips throughout Europe, observing his trade and learning about different varieties of wood and their unique properties. The family soon established a store in Smyrna selling and repairing lutes, violins, and bouzoukis, and by 1890, Anastasios’ reputation as a luthier was such that he was able to open his own instrument factory.

Around the same time, Anastasios married. His first son, Epaminondas – or Epi, as he became known – was born in 1893, followed later by Alex, Minnie, Orpheus, Frixo, and Ellie. High taxes made life difficult for the young family, and at the age of 40, Anastasios relocated them to the United States. Public records from 1904 list an A. Stathopoulo living at 56 Roosevelt Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Popular with Greek and Italian immigrants, Roosevelt Street and many of the streets and lanes around it were demolished in the early 1950s to make way for the Alfred E. Smith public housing project.

In New York, Anastasios continued his musical instrument trade. He filed his first and only patent on March 25, 1909, for an Italian-style bowl-back mandolin, and his instruments now carried labels in English: A. Stathopoulo, Manufacturer, repairer of all kinds of musical instruments, Patentee of the Orpheum Lyra, New York, 1911, USA.

Around the same time, Epi Stathopoulo attended Columbia University and graduated with honors. With his father crafting and selling instruments on the ground floor and the family living upstairs, the line between work and home life was blurry. Epi and Orpheus (“Orphie”) were soon helping out in the shop, now located at 247 West 42nd Street. Today, the address is home to a multi-screen cinema complex.

Anastasios died in 1915, and the 22-year-old Epi was handed the reins of the family business. His father’s instrument label was replaced by a new design: The House of Stathopoulo, Quality Instruments Since 1873. Epi took a leading role and was soon granted his first patent for a banjo tone ring and rim construction. Following his mother’s death in 1923, Epi assumed ownership of the controlling shares of the business and phased out most of the old-world-style mandolin models. Moving with the times, he introduced the Recording line of banjos to capitalize on the instrument’s huge popularity in America after the First World War. The line included the Recording “A” model ($125), the Bandmaster ($200), the Concert ($275), and the De Luxe ($350).

Following the acquisition of the Favoran Co. instrument plant in Long Island, Epi’s revolution was completed when the company was incorporated and given a new name: Epiphone. Epiphone not only referenced his own name, but it also included the Greek word for sound. He took the title of president and general manager and announced in trade publications and advertisements that “The new policy of business and all interest will be devoted to the production of banjos, tenor banjos, banjo mandolins, banjo guitars, and banjo ukuleles under the registered trademark name of Epiphone.”

With the company retaining most of the Long Island factory’s skilled workers, production increased, and quality improved. Ornate banjo models were introduced, including the Emperor tenor model ($500). The company was manufacturing for major players in the instrument business, such as Conn-Selmer and the Continental Music Company. However, the most pivotal moment in Epiphone’s history so far would come in 1928 with the introduction of its first line of acoustic guitars, designed to compete with the brand that Epi determined was its greatest rival: Gibson.

Like the banjo line, Epiphone’s Recording series of acoustic guitars were identified by a letter (A through E) and notable for their unusual body shape. Combining spruce and laminated maple, they were available as an archtop or flat-top, but their lack of volume or celebrity endorsements were barriers to success. Too small and arguably too ornate, the Recording guitars suffered in comparison to the size and projection of the Gibson L-5, which had quickly become an industry standard following its introduction in 1922.

After the stock market crash of 1929, banjo sales remained steady. But Epi was keenly aware that archtop guitars were becoming more popular, and his main competitor was Gibson. 1931 saw the arrival of Epiphone’s Masterbilt line of guitars, featuring seven carved-top archtops ranging in price from $35 to $275. It wasn’t hard to see the L-5’s influence; the Masterbilts had similar f-holes, pegheads, and even a similar name to the Gibson Master Model range. However, Epi did continue to distinguish his company with model names that musicians could easily remember and be proud to own, such as the De Luxe ($275), Broadway ($175), and the Triumph ($125).

Throughout the 1930s, the rivalry between Epiphone and Gibson would veer from friendly sparring to all-out guitar warfare. Gibson retaliated with a new archtop design in 1934, increasing the body width of its existing models and introducing the king-sized Super 400 (named after its $400 price tag). Not to be outdone, Epi replied the following year with the top-of-the-line Emperor, raising the stakes with a slightly wider body and a provocative advertising campaign. Epiphone struck again in 1936, increasing the size of its De Luxe, Broadway, and Triumph by an inch, making them 3/8” wider than Gibson’s archtops and some of the most distinctive instruments on the market.

By the mid-1930s, Epiphone guitars were considered to be among the best in the world. Epiphone went intercontinental with a distribution deal with Handcraft Ltd. of London, and a new showroom opened at 142 West 14th Street in a seven-story building near Little Italy. The new building included an advertised “state of the art” R&D laboratory, while the showroom on the first floor was both the company’s headquarters and a hangout for musicians. On Saturday afternoons, Epi would open display cases and let artists such as Al Caiola, Harry Volpe, and Les Paul jam as people listened from the sidewalk.

In 1935, Epiphone made its move into another popular market with the introduction of the Electar steel guitar series (originally known as Electraphone), and soon, the company would be the first to develop a pickup with adjustable pole-pieces, or “balancing pins” as they were referred to in company literature at the time. Initially named the TruBalance pickup, a patent application for what became known as the Master Pickup was filed by Epiphone salesman Herb Sunshine in November 1937. Alongside other features, such as the Master Voicer tone control, the Master Pickup would help the Electar line further the reputation of Epiphone as an innovative brand. By the late 30s, sales had doubled.

In July 1936, Epiphone showed off several new models at the NAMM show at the Stevens Hotel in Chicago, including an electrified piano created with the Meissner Inventions Company in Milburn, New Jersey. Epiphone also began selling amplifiers after meeting electronics enthusiast Nat Daniel, a friend of Les Paul. Daniel perfected an innovative push-pull wiring design, which today is a fixture in many amplifiers.

Prior to the USA’s entry into World War II, the rivalry between Epiphone and Gibson showed few signs of abating. In 1939, the two firms introduced similar “pitch-changing” Hawaiian guitar designs that were precursors to the pedal steel. When Gibson introduced a line of violins, Epiphone struck back with a line of upright basses. It took the outbreak of World War II, the scarcity of key materials, and the virtual shutdown of guitar production around the world to ring the bell on the rivalry.

The war era changed everything. Before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Epiphone was a consumer favorite and industry leader. In 1943, the company lost its leading light when Epaminondas Stathopoulo died of leukemia. Control of the company went to his younger brothers, Orphie and Frixo, and cracks soon appeared – both on the production line and in the boardroom.

The Stathopoulo brothers argued over the future of the company, and in 1948, Frixo sold his shares to Orphie. The reputation for craftsmanship and innovation that Epi had built in the 20s and 30s did not survive the war years. Tastes were changing, and Epiphone’s products seemed out of step. The Epiphone factory moved from Manhattan to Philadelphia in 1953 to avoid a union clash, but many of the company’s craftsmen refused to leave New York.

In the early 50s, Epiphone’s former champion and favorite late-night tinkerer Les Paul became a household name with television and radio shows and chart-topping hits; all played with his signature Gibson. But long before that, back in 1939, Les had developed his famous “Log” prototype – arguably the first-ever solidbody electric Spanish guitar – at the Epiphone factory, using some Epiphone parts, including a neck. Later, to make it more aesthetically palatable to his audience, he added “wings” from an Epiphone archtop body that had been sawn in half and attached to either side of the solid center section.

Les had taken this design to Ted McCarty as early as 1941, but it wasn’t until Fender brought the Esquire and Broadcaster to market in 1950 that McCarty made Les Paul Gibson’s first solidbody electric guitar endorser. Still, there’s an argument that the first-ever solidbody electric guitar as we know it today was an Epiphone instrument and that the Log’s design was a precursor to the Gibson ES-335 and its centerblock construction.

Throughout the 1950s, Epiphone’s fortunes continued to decline, and Les Paul suggested that Ted McCarty should reach out to Epiphone. McCarty contacted Orphie, expressing Gibson’s interest in Epiphone’s acclaimed upright bass division. In 1957, when Orphie replied, McCarty was offered the entire Epiphone company, including the remaining inventory of the Philadelphia factory, for $20,000. McCarty accepted on behalf of Gibson. The Stathopoulo family was out of the instrument business.

Though Ted McCarty’s original intention had been to bring the Epiphone bass models into the Gibson catalog, in 1957, he wrote in a memo that the Epiphone brand would be revived with a new line of instruments. McCarty’s marketing plan was to offer Gibson-made Epiphones to dealers who were keen to win a Gibson contract but had not yet proven themselves as profitable dealers – the right to sell Gibson models being hotly contested between dealerships at the time. It was the perfect solution. Dealers would get a Gibson-quality product without treading on the toes of those who already sold the Gibson line. The entire Epiphone operation was relocated to Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Epiphone was back in business.

Epiphone wouldn’t stay in the shadow of Gibson for long. When a new line of instruments started filtering through to dealers in 1958, it became clear that the brands had separate identities. On one hand, Epiphone now listed budget-conscious versions of existing Gibson models. Alongside these models, however, were also recreations of Epiphone classics such as the Emperor, Deluxe, and Triumph, plus a selection of new designs such as the semi-hollow Sheraton, the solidbody Moderne Black Coronet, and flat-top acoustics such as the Frontier, whose square-shouldered body style was a first for any instrument from Gibson’s Kalamazoo factory. Combined with a new line of amplifiers, it was clear that Epiphone designers were quickly establishing their independence.

The grand unveiling of the Epiphone line took place at NAMM 1958 with the Emperor as the flagship model. Over the next few years, Epiphone would sell 3,798 instruments in 1961 and, by 1965, account for 20 percent of the total instruments shipped out of Kalamazoo. Even more impressive was the prestige of the guitars themselves. In the early 1960s, the Epiphone Emperor cost significantly more than the top-of-the-range Gibson Byrdland, while 1963’s deluxe flat-top Excellente was $100 more than the J-200 and made of rarer tonewoods.

When the folk explosion happened in the early 1960s, Epiphone was ready, introducing the Seville classical guitar (with and without pickups) in 1961, as well as the Madrid, Espana, and Entrada models. In 1962, Epiphone listed a 12-string, the Bard (on which Roy Orbison composed Oh, Pretty Woman and Only the Lonely), along with a smaller version, the Serenader. In 1963, the Troubadour steel string flat-top was introduced.

The strength of the Epiphone acoustic range was arguably exceeded by the electric line, with the double-cutaway Casino arriving in 1961 and later finding favor with The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, and, of course, all three guitar-playing Beatles. Paul McCartney, who famously used a 1964 Texan on Yesterday, was the first of the Fab Four to acquire a Casino (a 1962 model purchased in 1964), with John Lennon and George Harrison following suit during the sessions for Revolver in the spring of 1966.

The early to mid-1960s were a boom time for Epiphone, with unit sales increasing fivefold between 1961 and 1965. But the rise of Asian-made copies in the latter part of the decade put a big dent in market share and closed many companies down entirely. There were also other problems. Gibson’s Ted McCarty had retired to run Bigsby. Budgets were cut, and Gibson’s parent company, CMI, was bought in 1969 by the Ecuadorian ECL Corporation. Epiphone found itself in a predicament. It was now perceived to be secondary to Gibson but could not sell instruments cheap enough to compete with foreign imitations.

Before the sale to ECL, the possibility of producing Epiphone products in Japan had been considered. In 1970, Epiphone production in the USA shut down and was moved to Matsumoto, Japan. For the first few years of production, Epiphone guitars made in Japan were actually rebranded designs already produced by the Matsumoku Company, but models gradually improved. In 1976, Epiphone introduced the Monticello, a series of scroll-body electrics, the Presentation and Nova flat-tops, and the Genesis solidbody line. By 1979, the Epiphone product list was gathering speed, with over 20 steel-string flat tops and electrics in the catalog.

With Japanese production costs rising, in 1983, Epiphone relocated to Korea in collaboration with the Samick company. But the big change would come in 1986 when Henry Juszkiewicz, David Berryman, and Gary Zebrowski bought Gibson and Epiphone from ECL/Norlin. Reviving Gibson was the first priority for the new owners, and with Epiphone making less than $1 million in revenue in 1985, the 100-year-old company was once again set aside. But Juszkiewicz and Berryman soon identified Epiphone as a sleeping giant and traveled to Korea to decide how the company could be pushed to match the success of other Asian-made brands. Models were revived, and new production techniques started getting results. Soon, sales were growing again.

In 1988, Epiphone launched a new series of square-shouldered acoustics along with an interpretation of Gibson’s J-180, several classical guitars, a banjo, and a mandolin. There was also a selection of Gibson-inspired models, such as the Les Paul and SG, new archtops, and a revival of the Sheraton. By the time the 1990s came around, Epiphone offered 43 models across a range of styles and budgets. The Epiphone Les Paul became the “first proper electric” of choice for players the world over – just ask Noel Gallagher, who used his to record the landmark Oasis debut album Definitely Maybe.

Meanwhile, Gibson President David Berryman opened an Epiphone office in Seoul, appointed Jim Rosenberg as product manager, and set about re-introducing Epiphone to the world as an innovative guitar maker. This was a major turning point for the brand as engineers and luthiers collaborated to re-make the company.

Factory processes were assessed and refined, and Epiphone’s own engineers took a hands-on role in the development of pickups, bridges, toggle switches, and inlays, as well as unique features such as the metal “E” logo and Frequensator tailpiece. Financially and emotionally, everything was invested into these new models, and the marketplace responded. At NAMM 1993, a new range of acoustic and electric instruments debuted to rave reviews and customer response.

1993 also saw Epiphone production return to the USA, albeit in a limited fashion, for a run of Rivieras and Sheratons from Gibson’s Nashville factory and Excellente, Texan, and Frontier models from Montana. The positive reaction prompted Rosenberg to reissue more classic designs, and NAMM 2004 saw the reintroduction of legendary models such as the Casino, Riviera, Sorrento, and Rivoli bass. Soon, a diverse range of stars, from Chet Atkins to Noel Gallagher, were onboard as signature artists – confirmation that Epiphone was a major player once again. In the late 1990s, the John Lennon 1965 and Revolution Casinos reunited Epiphone with one of the greatest artists of all time, underlining the company’s own re-emergence.

In 2000, Epiphone introduced the Elitist range and strengthened its position in the acoustic market with the acquisition of veteran Gibson luthier Mike Voltz. Voltz contributed greatly to Epiphone’s redevelopment, overseeing the reintroduction of the Masterbilt range along with the 2005 reissue of the Paul McCartney 1964 USA Texan. International demand for all things Epiphone was so high that the company opened a new factory in Qingdao in China in 2004, the first time that Epiphone had its own dedicated factory since Gibson acquired the brand in 1957.

The two decades since have seen Epiphone blossom into a company that truly does offer an instrument For Every Stage of the journey as a player progresses from beginner to hard-rocking musician, singer-songwriter, or social media star. Epiphone’s list of signature artists is as impressive as it is diverse, with Slash, Adam Jones, Tony Iommi, Jared James Nichols, Emily Wolfe, Jack Casady, Joe Bonamassa, Billie Joe Armstrong, Matt Heafy, and more proudly representing the brand.

When Gibson’s new management team arrived in Nashville in 2018, it soon became clear that they had big plans for Epiphone. With CEO James "JC" Curleigh and Brand President Cesar Gueikian at the helm, the catalog was sensibly reorganized into Original and Modern Collections. In 2020, new Inspired by Gibson models were equipped with the “Kalamazoo” peghead that was both a callback to a historic Epiphone design and a move closer to Gibson’s “open-book” headstock style – something that the guitar-buying public had been clamoring for since the 1990s.

2021 saw Epiphone back in the USA again, with high-end versions of the Frontier, Texan, and Casino being manufactured in Bozeman and Nashville, respectively. At the other end of the price spectrum, 2022’s Power Players targeted younger players, with versions of the SG and Les Paul trimmed down to cater to their specific needs.

Moving into 2023, Epiphone has grand plans for its 150th Anniversary year, including a raft of exciting new product releases, special events, activities with signature artists, and much more besides. Here’s to the next 150 years – the House of Stathopoulo has never been in better health.