The Epiphone Company is a musical instrument manufacturer founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos. Epiphone was bought by the Chicago Music Company, which is also owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation, in 1957. Epiphone is Gibson's main rival in the archtop market. Professional Archtops them, including the Emperor, Deluxe, Broadway and Triumph, rivaled (and some argue beat) those of Gibson. In addition to their guitars, Epiphone also made bass guitar, banjo, and other stringed instruments. However, the weaknesses of the company in the aftermath of World War II allowed Gibson to absorb it.
The name "Epiphone" is a combination of Epaminondas Stathopoulo owner's nickname "Epi" and "phone", Greek for "sound".

Epiphone history begins in 1873, in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire (now Izmir, Turkey), where Greek founder Anastasios Stathopoulos made his own violin and lute (oud, laouto). Stathopoulos moved to the United States in 1903, and continues to make original instruments, as well as mandolins, from Long Island City in Queens, New York. Anastasios died in 1915, and his son, Epaminondas, took over. After two years, the company was known as The House Of Stathopoulos. Only after the end of World War I, the company started making banjos. The company produces the Recording Line of the banjo in 1924, and, four years later, took the name "Epiphone Banjo Company." They produced their first guitars in 1928. Epi Stathopoulos died in 1943. Control of the company went to his brothers, Orphie and Frixo. Unfortunately, they are not able to as Epi owners. In 1951, during the four month long strike forced the relocation of Epiphone from New York to Philadelphia. The company was purchased by their main rival, Gibson in 1957. In the famous "dueling banjos" scene in the 1972 film Deliverance, actor Ronny Cox play an Epiphone acoustic guitar.

Epiphone casino
The most famous Epiphone model introduced by Gibson after taking over was the Casino. The Casino was created in the same shape and configuration as the ES-330 Gibson guitar. Has a very heavy sound and excellent guitar because the sound is thick enough when picking. This is a genuine hollow body electric guitar with P90 pickups, a single-coil, non-humbucking construction. The Casino is famous for its use by the Beatles. Paul McCartney was the first to acquire one and John Lennon and George Harrison to follow soon after. Paul McCartney used to solo in Taxman and the Casino sound is very prevalent throughout the Revolver and the later albums. John Lennon makes Casino one of the main guitar and use it for the rest of his time with The Beatles and into the 70s. Paul still uses his Casino, which has a Bigsby vibrato tailpiece, in concert and studio today.

1970 to present
In the early 1970s, Epiphone began manufacturing instruments in Japan. From the 1980's, especially Epiphones made in Korea but also in Japan by contractors licensed by Gibson. One of these contractors was Samick, which also built instruments under license for other brands and in its own name. Thus, Korean era solidbody Epiphone would have been built under license. The brand was mainly used to issue less expensive versions of classic Gibson models, in a manner similar to that of the Squier brand by Fender. It is estimated Epiphones sometimes built with different types of wood from the original Gibson version; some players speculated that this resulted in the instruments bearing a visual and ergonomic similarity with the original Gibson but has a slightly different tone, but it was always thought to be based on prejudice more than empirical reality . Samick has stopped manufacturing guitars in Korea. In 2002, Gibson opened a factory in Qingdao, China, which manufactures Epiphone guitars exclusively. With few exceptions, Epiphones now built only in Qingdao factory.
Epiphone model is unique, including the Emperor, Zephyr, Riviera and Sheraton, are built higher quality standards than the company's "Gibson copy" line. Epiphone also produces a variety of high quality tools under the "Series elitist" moniker, which was built in Japan. The "Masterbilt" acoustics are manufactured in Qingdao.
According to several forum entries, current Epiphone serial numbers give the following information:
Korea
I = Saein
U = unsung
S = Samick
P or R = Peerless
K = Korea
China
DW = DeaWon
EA = Gibson / Qingdao
EE = Gibson / Qingdao
MC = Muse
SJ = SaeJung
Z = Zaozhuang Saehan
BW = China
Japan
There is a letter or F = FujiGen
J or T = Terada
Czech Republic
B = Bohemia Musico-Delicia
Indonesia
SI = Samick
Example: U8034853 U = unsung, 8 = 1998, 03 = March 4853 = manufacturing number.
Some of the Epiphone guitar has been manufactured in the United States since 1971. The Epiphone Spirit and specially produced in early 1980 in Kalamazoo. In 1993, three historic Epiphone acoustic guitars, in Texas, Frontier, and Excellente, produced by Gibson Acoustic in Montana. Paul McCartney Texas, produced in 2005, and in 2009, an Historic Collection Epiphone created, beginning with the 1962 Wilshire, which was built by Gibson Custom. Several other models, such as Sheraton and John Lennon Casinos, built in Japan and assembled and finished by Gibson USA.

Imperial Series and elitist
During the mid-1990s Epiphone released a series called the Imperial Series. This is a remake of the classic Epiphone archtops from the 1930's and 40's. Each instrument is hand made in FujiGen Workshop in Japan. Short lived series was discontinued in 1993, after only 42 Emperor made. Several other models, including the De Luxe, Broadway and Triumph models, are also produced in varying quantities. When the Japanese yen gaining strength against the USD and Japanese production costs became forbidden, production was moved, rather unusual, returned to Nashville and Bozeman to perform the same instrument limited (250 each from the Emperor, Sheratons, Rivieras and Texas) this guitar is " Centennial Series "in honor of one hundred years of Gibson, and the last number of American-made Epiphone guitar [1]. Epiphone guitar elitist then released a series called the series (originally called the Elite but changed to avoid confusion with Ovation's Elite model). It made for a very high specification in Japan, but some parts made in other countries, including the United States and Germany. This guitar costs more than twice the Standard Epiphone guitar. Standard Epiphone and Gibson guitars have an open book headstock, but the elitist model has a more curved style dating back to the Epiphone Masterbilt series guitar. The elitist series discontinued in 2008, with the exception of the casino model.