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.
The Epiphone Spirit came in 1 and 2 pickup versions called the Spirit I and II respectively and both had Gibson "Tim Shaw" 1959 PAF reissue pickups. The Spirit II had an extra volume control and a three way selector switch on account of its additional pickup. The Spirit I has a black Les Paul Junior style pickguard - which is absent from the Spirit II.
The Spirits had double cutaway poplar bodies and 3 piece set maple necks. Some of the models have bound figure maple tops. The Epiphone USA logo is silk screened onto the headstock in gold. The truss rod cover is engraved "Spirit". From 1983 this model became the Gibson Spirit and subsequent models were produced as Gibsons in the Nashville plant.