The Beatles may well be arguably the worlds biggest ever band. Musically from the early 1960's to the end of their career they covered an array of different music styles from the jangly pop of their early days to the psychedelia of their latter albums. To cover all these different sounds they needed a broad range of instruments.
Throughout their career they used a variety of guitars and you can see many photographs of the Beatles with Rickenbacker's (325's in particular) various Gretch, Fender and Hofner. However they are also linked with Epiphone Guitars and often choose Epiphone guitars over all other guitars for recordings and live performances.
The first Beatle to own an Epiphone guitar was Paul McCartney who bought his first, an Epiphone Casino,during 1964. Influenced by the sound of this guitar John and George bought theirs soon after. The Epiphone Casino is a hollow-body double cutaway electric guitar. Although available in a variety of colors, George Harrison stripped his down to bare wood saying that he liked the sound of the guitar being able to breathe.
John Lennon favored the Epiphone E230TD Casino and used a variety of these guitars from 1966 onwards. Lennon painted this guitar and it appeared during the White Album sessions and in the Film ?Let it Be?. During that film Lennon can be seen playing his Casino while rehearsing new material. Lennon's Casino also features during the celebrated performance on the London roof top of their office building. Lennon is synonymous with the Casino, so much so that Epiphone recently re-released a John Lennon signature Casino. This faithful reproduction is of the guitar as John originally purchased it with the vintage sunburst finish and stock hardware.
The Beatles also used Epiphone's acoustic guitars. Paul McCartney favored the Epiphone Texan acoustic guitar and it was used to record the epic track Yesterday. McCartney still uses Texan's to this day.
Clearly the Beatles have been one of the (if not the) biggest influences in popular music over the last 50 years. Their sound was distinct and this was bought about both by their playing and their selection of instruments. Thier Epiphone guitars contributed to their sound and a number of guitars have become iconic in their association with arguably the worlds biggest band.
The company name changed from the House of Stathopoulos to Epiphone, a combination of his name and the Greek word for sound. The change was made official in 1928. It was during this time that the company was active in making banjos, and they even bought out a banjo company in Long Island. After the change was approved, the company became the Epiphone Banjo Co.
Epiphones guitars were launched in 1931. This was a full line of what are known as archtop guitars, a style that is popular with jazz and blues musicians. They quickly became one of the top guitar produces with Gibson being one of their biggest rivals. Notable Epiphone players of that time include Tony Mottola with the George Hall band and two band members of Benny Goodman.
Epi unfortunately died of leukemia and left the company to Orphie, who before his death was the second in command. His other brother, Frixo, became the Vice President. The two brothers later have a feud and Frixo sells his stock. After that, company had some trouble and eventually stopped producing a lot of instruments.
In 1957, Chicago Musical Instrument purchased Epiphone and made them a division of Gibson. Epiphone now still maintains their own line of guitars and the Gibson and Epiphone labels remain separate.
Current Epiphone models include a few Gibson copies (Epiphones version of the Flying-V and Les Paul are a few examples), and a few original Epiphone lines. The original guitars include all the versions of the Casino, Zephyr, and Sheraton, the Wildkat, the Broadway, and the Emporer.
Epiphone has had some famous endorsees. Both George Harrison and John Lennon played Epiphone Casinos. Lennon is famous for his personal modifications to the Casino. Other artists include Bob Marley, Noel Gallagher of Oasis, Lars Frederickson or Rancid, and Chad of Nickelback. For a complete list of artists, visit the Epiphone website . The list is quite extensive.
Here are what some uses have to say about Epiphone guitars (source Harmony Central):
About the Epiphone G-400 Custom
Action was really good. Finish was ok. Definately looks different than the rest of the pack. Gold hardware is gorgeous. The custom logo shined in the stage lights. I had to have it and I had fun with it for a few years.
This guitar is solid. Never goes out of tune. Hardware will dull a bit over the years. Strap buttons are solid. Careful with the neck dive on stage. Very top heavy.
About the Epiphone Flying Vee-Wee
I absolutely love this guitar!!! The VeeWee is the perfect shape for lap you can rest your hand on the upper arm of the V, or put it your hand in the point of the V to pick right near the bridge. The controls and cord jack are in the perfect position for lap style as well. Since it is so small and inexpensive, I carry it with me everywhere. I would not dream of bringing my Les Paul into the office, but this VeeWee is perfect for break time noodling. As I mentioned, the sound is great. I now own 5 guitars, and my lap-steel PeeVee wins the Most Fun award hands down!
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