The Epiphone American Series was introduced in the early 1980s, partly as a response by Gibson to low priced but high quality Japanese copies of their guitars. The Epiphone American Series guitars were built by Gibson at their Kalamazoo Michigan plant from 1982 to 1983. The Kalamazoo plant closed in 1984 so these Epiphone American Series guitars were some of the last ones made there. The American Series consisted of the Spirit model - a Les Paul double cutaway guitar, the Special - based on the S.G. and the Map guitar - with a body shaped like the contiguous United States. These American Series models were still relatively expensive, however, and for this reason did not sell well. The Epiphone Spirit became the Gibson Spirit model and production moved to the Nashville factory.
EPIPHONE SPECIAL (American Series)The Epiphone Special (American Series) was an SG style electric made in the Kalamazoo factory from 1982 to 1983. The Epiphone Special came with either one pickup (the Special I model) or two pickups (the Special II model). The American made Epiphone Specials were supposed to be a low cost model to fight back against the imports from the far east that were hurting sales, however they were not cheap enough to compete with these Asian imports - the Special II sold for over $500 dollars! | |
EPIPHONE SPIRIT (American Series)The Epiphone Spirit, made from 1982-1983, was one of the last guitars built by Gibson at their Kalamazoo Factory. The Epiphone Spirit is like a Gibson Les Paul Junior double cutaway with a few minor differences like modern pickups, and cutaways at the 20th fret rather than the 22nd. Various motives have been proposed for the introduction of the Epiphone Spirit - some say that it was an attempt to find work for the workers at the Kalamazoo plant, others that it was in response to cheaper Japanese Gibson copies. | |
EPIPHONE USA MAP GUITAR (American Series)The Epiphone USA Map guitar was made by Gibson in their Kalamazoo, Michigan factory from 1982 to 1983. The USA Map model has a body shaped like the 48 contiguous United States. They could have had Alaska as the headstock with Hawaii island control knobs - but chose to go with a standard Epiphone peghead. These USA map guitars had two Gibson "Tim Shaw" humbuckers, controlled by 2 volume and 2 tone controls. The bridge was a wraparound Schaller 455 unit. The Epiphone map guitars, although not made in great numbers, were popular leading Gibson to issue a Gibson map model in 1983 |
Specifications:
Model | Image | Made in | Number of strings | Finish colors | Finish effects | Scale length |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
EPIPHONE SPECIAL (American Series) 1982 to 1983 | USA | 6 strings | - | - | - | |
EPIPHONE SPIRIT (American Series) 1982 to 1983 | USA | 6 strings | black finish, natural finish, red finish, white finish | sunburst finish | 24.75 inches scale-length | |
EPIPHONE USA MAP GUITAR (American Series) 1982 to 1983 | USA | - | natural finish | - | 24.75 inches scale-length |
Model | Pickups configuration | Pickups brand and model |
---|---|---|
EPIPHONE SPECIAL (American Series) 1982 to 1983 | 2 humbucker pickups | - |
EPIPHONE SPIRIT (American Series) 1982 to 1983 | 1 humbucker pickup, 2 humbucker pickups | - |
EPIPHONE USA MAP GUITAR (American Series) 1982 to 1983 | 2 humbucker pickups | Gibson Tim Shaw PAF pickup(s) |
Model | Body style | Body shape features | Pickguard material | Body material |
---|---|---|---|---|
EPIPHONE SPECIAL (American Series) 1982 to 1983 | SG-style body | - | - | - |
EPIPHONE SPIRIT (American Series) 1982 to 1983 | - | double cutaway | black pickguard | - |
EPIPHONE USA MAP GUITAR (American Series) 1982 to 1983 | map shaped body | - | - | mahogany body |
Model | Bridge | Hardware color | Tailpiece |
---|---|---|---|
EPIPHONE SPECIAL (American Series) 1982 to 1983 | Schaller 455 bridge | chrome hardware | stop tailpiece |
EPIPHONE SPIRIT (American Series) 1982 to 1983 | Schaller 455 bridge, stop-tail bridge | chrome hardware | - |
EPIPHONE USA MAP GUITAR (American Series) 1982 to 1983 | - | chrome hardware | - |
Model | Fingerboard material | Fingerboard position markers |
---|---|---|
EPIPHONE SPECIAL (American Series) 1982 to 1983 | rosewood fingerboard | dot fingerboard position markers |
EPIPHONE SPIRIT (American Series) 1982 to 1983 | rosewood fingerboard | dot fingerboard position markers |
EPIPHONE USA MAP GUITAR (American Series) 1982 to 1983 | rosewood fingerboard | dot fingerboard position markers |
Model | Neck joint | Neck width | Number of frets | Tuner layout | Neck material |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
EPIPHONE SPECIAL (American Series) 1982 to 1983 | set neck | - | - | - | - |
EPIPHONE SPIRIT (American Series) 1982 to 1983 | set neck | 1.68 inches wide at nut | 22 fret | three-each-side | - |
EPIPHONE USA MAP GUITAR (American Series) 1982 to 1983 | set neck | 1.68 inches wide at nut | 22 fret | three-each-side | maple neck |
Model | Tone controls | Volume controls | Pickup selector controls |
---|---|---|---|
EPIPHONE SPECIAL (American Series) 1982 to 1983 | - | - | - |
EPIPHONE SPIRIT (American Series) 1982 to 1983 | 1 tone control | 1 volume control, 2 volume controls | - |
EPIPHONE USA MAP GUITAR (American Series) 1982 to 1983 | 2 tone controls | 2 volume controls | 3-way selector switch |