Epiphone

In 1873, Anastasios Stathopoulos opened a small instrument shop in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire, crafting traditional Greek instruments like ouds and laoutos. His son Epaminondas, nicknamed Epi, took over after Anastasios died in 1915 and moved the business to New York City's Lower East Side. In 1928, Epi renamed the company Epiphone, fusing his nickname with the Greek word for voice. The timing was rough, the first guitars debuted just as the 1929 stock market crashed. But Epiphone survived by pivoting from banjos to archtop and flattop acoustics, quickly becoming Gibson's fiercest rival in the 1930s and 1940s. The two companies traded blows with bigger, more luxurious instruments, and Epiphone's New York shop became a hangout for jazz musicians and celebrities who'd jam on Saturday afternoons.

Gibson bought Epiphone in 1957 for $20,000, after the company had fallen on hard times. Production moved from Philadelphia to Kalamazoo, Michigan, where Epiphone models were built alongside Gibsons, often with comparable quality. In the 1970s, manufacturing shifted overseas to Asia, letting Epiphone offer lower price points while Gibson focused on premium American-made instruments. The brand became known for affordable versions of Gibson classics like the Les Paul and SG, but also kept its own original models alive. The Epiphone Casino, a thinline hollowbody, became legendary when Paul McCartney and John Lennon played it on Beatles records and during the famous rooftop concert.

Today, Epiphone operates from Nashville, Tennessee, under Gibson Brands. Its 150th anniversary in 2023 came with improved quality and new models like the Inspired by Gibson series, which narrows the gap between budget and premium. The brand sells electric and acoustic guitars, basses, banjos, mandolins, and amplifiers worldwide. While some purists miss the pre-1957 craftsmanship, Epiphone's role as an accessible entry point for new players and a respected instrument line in its own right has only grown. [edit]