What year is my Epiphone Wilshire?

[BluesBlaster75]

Just bought a vintage Epiphone Wilshire at a small shop in NY. The dealer estimated the year at 1975 but could not tell for sure because, strangely, there is no exposed serial number on the guitar. I have not taken it apart to see if there is a number on anything internal, but I'm hoping someone can help me date this guitar by appearance. I'm fairly sure it's Japanese (it's got a bolt-on neck and Epis were outsourced to Japan in 1970...thanks Wikipedia). Anyone have a clue? Is this a specific type of Wilshire? Anything at all you can tell me about it?

Thing plays like a dream and looks great. Now all that's left is finding out exactly what it is!

Here's a link to some pics. Thanks in advance.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/45817336@N03/?saved=1

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[Spud1950]

Can't help on the exact date, but here's some other info. Yes,it's Japanese made. The guitar was referred to as Crestwood, not Wilshire, made at the Matsumoku factory for Arai(Aria) who supplied them to Gibson. Here's the Epiphone page from the Matsumoku Guitar Gallery site. Click on "Crestwood - Black with Arai Trem". Same exact guitar.As you can see,besides the trem arm,yours is also missing the trem cover.


Here's a 1974 catalog page. The model is a ET-275.




Edit - I checked all the available 1970s Epiphone catalogs in the Vintaxe collection. The earliest one is 1971.This model is not in there. No 72 or 73 catalog.Next is the 1974,which as we know, it's in. No 75 catalog. The next one is 1976 and this model is no longer listed.

[BluesBlaster75]

This is awesome! Now we're getting somewhere. FYI< i do have the trem arm. it's just missing from the photo. no trem cover tho. any idea on how i woud go about dating it?

[BluesBlaster75]

Any feasable way to replace that trem cover? Know a good web site for that stuff? thanks again.

[Spud1950]

I have no idea of how to get an exact date on it. The fact that it has no serial number is not strange at all. That's real common on Japanese made guitars of this time period and earlier. You could open it up and see if there's any label or stamped numbers inside. Even if there were, unless it clearly stated as an actual date, I highly doubt you'll find any info on what the numbers would actually mean. Most Japanese makers at this time didn't bother putting anything on the guitars that can help date them.Most of the time you can only get an approximate production range by the dates of catalogs that they appear in. As you see in the link to the Matsumoku info site, as highly informed as they are about these guitars, even they have a question mark on the chart as to the exact production dates of this model. As to the trem cover, there's really no specific place to get one. The best you can hope for is to luck out and run across one for sale on eBay, but it could be a very long time,if ever, that you find one.

[cheepaxes]

GI don't think you're going to be able to narrow it down to the year. These Japanese guitars generally can't be dated by serial numbers or codes on pots. FWIW the music store where I took lessons '72-'73 sold these, as well as the bolt neck Epiphone acoustic that was my first guitar. IIRC the serial number on my acoustic was stamped on a paper label that peeled off within the first year or two. I suspect yours is from '72-'74 and that's about as far as you'll be able to narrow it down.

Scott