Epiphone’s Inspired by Gibson Custom range is growing with the arrival of six new vintage-inspired and well-spec'd acoustic guitars.
Each model in the sextet has been closely developed at Gibson’s Custom Acoustic facility in Bozeman, Montana, and comes complete with ‘open book’ headstocks, rosewood fingerboards, and vintage gloss finishes.
The Inspired by Gibson Custom range is essentially a more premium line of guitars that stay within Epiphone's price range, but add a little more panache than some of their other accessibly priced guitars. The new additions include the 1942 Banner J-45, 1957 SJ-200, 1960 Hummingbird, 1963 Dove, Hummingbird Deluxe EC, and the Pre-War SJ-200 Rosewood.
The 1942 Banner J-45 Reissue ($1,299) draws lovingly from Gibson’s iconic workhorse acoustic. It features a thermally aged solid spruce top and scalloped X-bracing, and mahogany has been employed for its back and sides. Vintage chic comes from a teardrop pickguard and open-back tuners, and the playability is aided by a V-shaped mahogany neck.
However, it’s not all about nostalgia, as an onboard L.R. Baggs Element Bronze VTC pickup system offers contemporary amplification – a feature seen across the board here.
The 1957 SJ-200 Reissue ($1,499), meanwhile, takes its cues from what Gibson calls the “King of the Flat-Tops.” The SJ-200 was first built in 1937 and has been used by the likes of Brian May and Jimmy Page as it found itself in the hands of rock royalty.
More thermal aging, this time for its Sitka spruce top with scalloped X-bracing, is on display here, with figured maple chosen for its back and sides. Its neck is flame maple, it has a walnut stringer, and its bound Indian rosewood fingerboard gets mother-of-pearl graduated Crown inlays. The instrument's look is complete with a Moustache bridge, and the crown inlay also features on the headstock.
Moving on, the 1960 Hummingbird ($1,299), favoured by Keith Richards and Thom Yorke, gets a thermally aged solid spruce top with scalloped X-bracing, solid mahogany back and sides, and a one-piece mahogany neck with a rounded profile.
The 1963 Dove ($1,399), meanwhile, is built similarly, though the square-shoulder acoustic gets figured maple back and sides instead. They both feature mother-of-pearl split parallelogram inlays and rosewood bridges, and engraved pickguards.
The Hummingbird and SJ-200 also come in deluxe formats. The Hummingbird Deluxe EC ($1,299) nods to the Gibson Custom cutaway version of the acoustic, with a thermally aged solid spruce top and solid rosewood back and sides on hand for “enhanced resonance, deeper bass, and sparkling highs”.
The acoustic’s one-piece mahogany neck has a C-profile, and it's joined by gold Grover Rotomatic tuners, a reverse belly ebony bridge, and a gold-etched Hummingbird pickguard.
As for the Epiphone Pre-War SJ-200 Rosewood ($1,499), the recreation of a rare, 1930s build, the same body woods combine, though it offers a two-piece maple neck with a D-profile. Old time looks see a Moustache bridge and ornate SJ-200 pickguard get in on the act.
“In close collaboration with the Gibson Custom team, we’ve reissued a new wave of era-accurate acoustics,” says Lewis McKinney, Brand Manager at Epiphone. “Rebuilt from the ground up with precision and care, these guitars embody our ongoing commitment to quality, accessibility, and innovation. This launch marks a fresh chapter for Epiphone acoustics, and we can’t wait for players to experience them.”
Head to Epiphone for more.
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