Epiphone Guitars

The company that eventually made the Epiphone acoustic guitar was founded in 1837 by Anastasios Stathopoulo. He was the son of a Greek timber merchant but did not follow in his father's footsteps. Instead he chose to craft violins, lutes, and a traditional Greek instrument called the lioutos. Eventually his handiwork carry his name, A. Stathopoulo.

The name of the company was changed to The House Of Stathopoulo in 1917 by Anastasios' son Epimanonodas, or Epi as he was known. For reasons of necessity Epimanondas took over the business at his father's early death two years earlier. He was only 22.

Epi decided that his company was to begin making banjos in the post World War One era mainly because the company's mainstay, the mandolin, was not as popular as it once was. The increasing popularity of the banjo was what prompted his decision to adapt his product line to fit the changing times. The same high standards of craftsmanship that the company was known for continued in the manufacture of this new line of products.

In 1924 the name Epiphone was officially registered. Epimanondas, now president and general manager, used a mix of his nickname Epi and phone, the Greek word for sound, to create a name that reflected change in the identity of the company.

The first guitars Epiphone manufactured, the recorder series, were not very popular. Production began on them in 1928. Sales were poor because the guitars were considered excessively ornate, a bit small in size, and lacked volume. The essential endorsements from celebrities were also definitely nonexistent for the series.

The new archtop guitars, in contrast, introduced just a three years later in 1931 became very popular. Earlier problems were not a consideration as the guitars had sufficient volume, were larger, and had an abundance of celebrity endorsements.

The change to making guitars came at the ideal time as the popularity of the banjo began to wane. Thus Epiphone avoided the fate of other banjo manufacturing companies. This was due to the business sense of Epimanondas Stathopoulo. In fact it was one of the few banjo manufacturing firms to successfully make the transition to guitars.

Epiphone acoustic guitars that were made from 1937 to 1956 are the most desirable to collectors today. They are the foremost vintage factory manufactured archtop guitars that were ever produced. The most desirable of these are the professional grade models. The guitars that the company had built its reputation on.