Epiphone mando on Nashville CL

[jhammond]

http://nashville.craigslist.org/msg/4861977218.html

Recently posted on Craigslist. I'm not familiar with this model. Anybody know what it is and what it is worth?

129528

[jhammond]

Wow. Thanks to all! I have been overwhelmed with the response. Lol

Seriously tho, I'd appreciate if anybody has any comments or advice.
It looks like an epi masterbilt but I cannot find anything even similar searching the www. I think I am going to check it out this afternoon. Seller is interested in a fender MIM p bass I have. Maybe it's an extremely rare model or a prototype. Or maybe it's just a Franken-mando. We'll see.

[MikeEdgerton]

Wow. Thanks to all! I have been overwhelmed with the response. Lol

Seriously tho, I'd appreciate if anybody has any comments or advice.
It looks like an epi masterbilt but I cannot find anything even similar searching the www. I think I am going to check it out this afternoon. Seller is interested in a fender MIM p bass I have. Maybe it's an extremely rare model or a prototype. Or maybe it's just a Franken-mando. We'll see.


From the headstock shape I'm going to guess that it was at least part of the Epiphone group that was imported a few years ago. That same headstock shape and logo found its way to a half dozen Epi guitars. prototype? Maybe. It's not an old Epi Windsor model.

[allenhopkins]

Well, almost certainly an Asian import; Gibson only made one Epiphone mandolin in the US, apparently, and that was the Venetian, similar to Gibson's A-40 or A-50. Not an F-model.

Concur with Mike E that it's not one of the current Epi series, which have "curl" headstocks like their Gibson templates. Pre-Gibson Epiphone made a very few "scroll" Artist mandolins, with a similar headstock, but the bodies didn't look at all like this one (check out this thread (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?96061-1930s-Epiphone-scroll-mando-on-the-bay-Artist-model)).

This 1989 Korean-made Sheraton guitar (http://mandoweb.com/Instruments/Epiphone-Sheraton+II+semi-hollow-1989/2234) has a very similar headstock. Impossible to ID what 25-year-old Epi mandolin model you have here, so can't say whether it's solid or laminated, carved or heat-pressed, etc. etc. My SWAG* is 20-30 years old, made in Korea, maybe worth trading your Mexican P-Bass on, maybe not.

Good luck

*SWAG = Sophisticated Wild-A*sed Guess