Epiphone Masterbilt
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Anastasio Stathopoulos founded Epiphone in 1873, though it didn't yet have that name, as a company that manufactured musical instruments. The name comes from Anastasio's son, Epaminondas, who took the company over in 1915, and the Greek word for sound, which is phone. Early on the company produced instruments like lutes, fiddles and mandolins, thanks to Anastasio having made his own instruments in Smyrna before immigrating to America in 1903. These electric guitars were still years away.
When Anastasios died and his son took over in 1915 the company was soon dubbed The House of Strathopolous. Banjo production began after the end of World War I and the company became more prosperous than ever. Banjos called Recording Line banjos were released starting in 1924, and within a few years the name became the Epiphone Banjo Company. The first guitars came in 1928 in what was called the Recording Guitar line, a far cry from their later electric guitars.
These guitars were not a commercial success for a variety of reasons. They had a different shape than other guitars, were very small and highly ornate. Gibson dominated the marketplace, and Epiphone had no endorsements from musicians. Epiphone released its Masterbilt series in the early 1950s to rival Gibson's Master Model series, and one of the biggest music industry rivalries was begun.
Epiphone guitars became known as some of the finest in the world. Their first guitars were introduced when they decided not only to take on Gibson, but Rickenbacker, the creator of the first electric guitars. In 1935 the Electar series was introduced. They had beaten Gibson to the punch by introducing an electric. Within two years, Epiphone sales had doubled thanks to the new electric guitars.
The rivalry between Gibson and Epiphone continued, with similar releases, and one releasing a bass when the other released a violin. It was one of the grandest competitions of the time, and continued until World War II. Epi died of leukemia in 1943, leaving the company in the hands of brothers Orphie and Frixo. While competition with Gibson continued and for a few years things seemed to continue as usual, the brothers did not have a good relationship.
While they were still producing electric guitars and other instruments, Frixo sold his shares to Orphie in 1948 to be free of the business. By now, the electric guitars were suffering under the strain of the company's management, with less top-notch production and craftsmanship. And those hired to produce the electric guitars were increasingly pushing for unions, as unionization was a huge theme in post-war America. To escape the union pressures, Orphie moved the company from Manhattan to Philadelphia in 1953. But many of the craftsmen who had been making the Epiphone electric guitars refused to move, and the quality fell.
During this period of lower quality Epiphone guitars, Gibson's reputation had grown stronger with the introduction of the Telecaster and then the Cadillac of guitars, the Stratocaster. Gibson had been producing basses before the war and not restarted. When Orphie offered their bass department to Gibson for $20,000, he accepted and Gibson absorbed the company. Because Epiphone had previously been some of the most-respected instruments on the market, Gibson didn't lose the brand name, instead incorporated it into their own.
Epiphone electric guitars now became quality instruments that were sent to dealerships who hadn't won a contract to sell actual Gibson's. Competition was fierce for Gibson guitars then, and only certain sellers were even allowed to carry them. So those who wanted them but hadn't yet earned the right would get to carry these electric guitars instead. By 1958 Gibson revived some of the classic Epiphone guitars. Eventually stars like Ernest Tubbs and 3 of the Beatles used Epiphone guitars, pushing them on to greater success.
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