NY Epi Reg

The Unofficial New York Epiphone Registry

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  • Database
  • Timeline
  • Models
  • Catalogs
  • Close-up
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The Unofficial NY Epiphone Group

Featured contributors
Dutch Archtop Guitar Museum
Archtop.com
Gruhn Guitars
Gryphon Stringed Instruments
Lark Street Music
Mass Street Music
Olde Town Pickin' Parlor
Players Vintage Instruments
RetroFret
Rivington Guitars
Schoenberg Guitars

Instrument history websites
Epiphone – History
Fox Guitars – Epiphone History
Bassmonkey – Epiphone Bass History
AcousticMusic.org – Vintage Catalogs
Vintage Guitars Info – Epiphone
UMGF – The Vintage Corner
Mandolin Cafe – Forum: Vintage
Pre-War Gibson L-5 Owners' Club
Banjo Hangout: Epiphone Banjo SNs
Vintage Cases – by Steve Kirtley

Recent updates (March 2023)

  • Latest 20 additions to database:

  • 1947 Triumph SN 56686
  • 1950 Triumph Regent SN 61060
  • 1955 Dreadnaught Amplifier SN 1082
  • 1949 Triumph Cutaway SN 59326
  • 1948 Zephyr Amplifier SN 35034
  • 1953 Zephyr Regent SN 65869
  • 1949 Triumph SN 59335
  • 1945 Triumph SN 53774
  • 1941 Zephyr DeLuxe SN 5553
  • 1949 Duo Console SN 100126
  • 1949 Zephyr Hawaiian SN 7922
  • 1949 Zephyr Spanish SN 25685
  • 1936 Model M Amplifier SN 310
  • 1948 Zephyr DeLuxe Cutaway SN 85081
  • 1937 FT 37 SN 11903
  • 1938 Model M Hawaiian SN 2376
  • 1956 Strand SN 69497
  • 1951 Zephyr Regent SN 62652
  • 1938 Olympic SN 13402
  • 1937 Spartan SN 11769

BLOG: Close-up

  • Notable items discussed in detail:

  • 2022
  • Jul 12: Labels and serial numbers, part 2
  • Jul 1: Labels and serial numbers, part 1

  • 2019
  • Mar 3: Pickups, part 2 / 1946–56
  • Feb 24: Pickups, part 1 / 1935–42
  • Feb 11: Tuners, part 2 / 1940–52
  • Feb 10: Tuners, part 1 / 1931–39
  • Feb 3: Archtop bridge evolution

  • 2018
  • Dec 13: "E"-logo cases and their makers
  • Oct 31: Trapeze tailpiece evolution
    Apr 22: Cutaway archtops – how many?
    Feb 11: Reconstructing the 1931 lineup
    Jan 27: The flat-top Olympic
    Jan 26: Pickguard evolution 1931–1935

    2017
  • Mar 31: The early Ritz
  • Feb 25: The 1949 Byron
  • Feb 11: The Benny Jackson DeLuxe
  • Jan 29: The Torres Seville
  • Jan 28: The post-war Duo Console
  • Jan 6: The short-lived Royal
  • Jan 2: The odd SN Kent Spanish

  • 2016
  • Dec 29: The $295 Zephyr Deluxe Regent
  • Dec 20: The speculative Asta Amplifier
  • Dec 11: The birth gift Emperor Concert
  • Dec 6: The prototype Adelphi
  • Dec 2: The shipping disaster Triumph
  • Nov 21: The obscure Howard
  • Nov 20: The Klunker #3 Zephyr Spanish
  • Nov 19: The tiny Empire Tenor
  • Nov 18: The Jimi FT 79
  • Nov 15: The special Number 4
  • Nov 14: The last f-hole mandolin
  • Nov 13: The F T Number One
  • Nov 11: The Kent Volpe
  • Nov 6: The family Olympic
  • Nov 5: The modded Broadway
  • Nov 4: The last pre-war Emperor
  • Oct 30: The Aug–39 Century Amplifier
  • Oct 29: The golden Model M Hawaiian
  • Oct 22: The two-label Olympic Plectrum
  • Oct 21: The black Blackstone
  • Oct 14: The first-batch F.T. Cutaway
  • Oct 9: The lefty Electric Cutaway Tenor
  • Oct 8: The 90th birthday Zephyr Deluxe
  • Oct 7: The mystery Triumph
  • Oct 6: The Hardrock Emperor Regent
  • Oct 5: The special Spartan
  • Oct 2: The all-original Tudor
  • Sep 22: The November 1940 Blackstone
  • Sep 21: The Hula Girl Olympic
  • Sep 18: The Vibrola Zenith

Epiphone headstocks

NY Epi Reg – the project

The name "Epiphone" has been part of American music history since the 1920s when Epaminondas "Epi" Stathopoulo (1893–1943), the young president of a family-owned instrument manufacturing company based in New York, introduced a successful line of banjos with this brand, soon followed by guitars. Over the following decades the quality of Epiphone's archtop guitars and other stringed instruments gained a high reputation, leading numerous top players to choose Epiphone instruments for performing and recording their music. Today these fine vintage Epiphone instruments continue to be of interest to musicians, collectors and historians. Many rate the quality of these instruments on a par with competitors of their time such as Gibson, D'Angelico, or Stromberg, to name just a few.

The era of the original NY-based Epiphone company ended when, after a long decline, it was sold by the Stathopoulo family in 1957 to Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI) – the parent company of their main competitor Gibson. The new owners continued to produce Epiphone-branded instruments, first in Gibson's Kalamazoo MI factory and later in East Asia – to this day (read more about Epiphone history).

Compared with other leading manufacturers like Gibson or Martin, there seem to be more gaps and puzzles in the history of Epiphone instruments of the NY era – especially regarding production figures. Why is that? Fact is: No Epiphone factory ledgers or other official production documents from the pre-1957 years are known to have survived. Therefore no "official" production figures are available for any of the original Epiphone models. Epiphone's serial number systems and the rationale behind them still bear some mysteries; and the production year of an Epiphone instrument can be only approximately derived from its serial number.

The only way to get more knowledge in this field is to gather and analyze information on as many surviving Epiphone instruments as possible. Jim Fisch and L. B. Fred, authors of the outstanding reference book Epiphone: The House of Stathopoulo (Amsco Publications, New York, 1996) had started a list of documented instruments (serial number/model) – a few hundred in total.

The Unofficial New York Epiphone Registry (NY Epi Reg) project aims to continue and deepen the research started by Fisch/Fred: by collecting additional data on surviving instruments, with the help of the worldwide "Epiphone community", i.e. players, collectors, dealers, luthiers and historians who own and appreciate Epiphone instruments.

Since the launch of this project website in July 2014 the research data has constantly grown. Key achievements of our research in a nutshell:

  • Registry database: We have documented more than 5300 instruments and amps of the 1930–50s period – approx. 11% of the estimated instrument production! – listed with model name, serial number, and approximate production year. Most entries include a photo (currently 1 pic per item, although our research library includes >70’000 instrument photos in total).

  • Model history: Read our detailed descriptions of each model’s features and changes over the years – with links to photos showing the described detail. Our Timeline offers a chronological overview of developments from 1931 to 1956, again with photos illustrating described features.

  • Serial number research: Our research provides an in-depth analysis of Epiphone’s various serial number systems used between 1931 and 1956. See our revised charts for dating serial numbers of Epiphone acoustic + electric instruments, and amplifiers.

  • Production figures: Based on our registry data and serial number research we provide examples of model production estimates, using our own approximation (interpolation + extrapolation) algorithms.

  • Historic catalogs, price lists and adverts: PDFs of Epiphone sales literature from 1930–50s are available for free download. 

We hope that this data collection will continue to grow as Epiphone instrument owners all over the world keep contributing info.

This research project was inspired by similar projects covering other brands and types of vintage musical instruments – such as the Mandolin Archive, Banner Gibsons Registry, Gibson J-35 Registry, Larson Brothers Guitar Registry, Unofficial Martin Guitar Registry, Vintage Les Paul Guitar Registry, and last but not least, Kalamazoo Gals: A Story of Extraordinary Women & Gibson's 'Banner' Guitars of WWII.

NY Epi Reg is a private, non-commercial research project driven by my personal interest in vintage Epiphone instruments – as a player and collector of fine guitars and mandolins. The project's sole purpose is to learn more and share info about the great musical instruments of Epiphone's New York era.

A big "thank you" to all you contributors out there who made and make this project fly!

Felix Wiedler
Winterthur/Switzerland


Portrait Felix+Jane
Walk On Boy

Jane+Felix Felling Good Again
Feelin' Good Again

NY Epi Reg is not affiliated with companies mentioned on the website.
The companies' names, logos or other products are the trademarks of their respective owners.
Photographs copyright of their respective owners.

Copyright © 2022 Felix Wiedler. All rights reserved.