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EpiphoneSuccessFactor by Scott Precher

The Epiphone story is definitely not a straight and narrow story by no means. For more than a century it has hit both dizzying highs and crushing lows. In 2007 Epiphone is one of the most successful and respected instrument manufacturers on the planet. In the beginning it all started in the workshop of a man named Anastasios Stathopoulo.

Anastasios was the son of a Greek timber merchant and would not follow his father into the family trade. He began crafting lutes, violins and traditional Greek lioutos in 1873. A few years after, Anastasios sailed across the Aegean Sea with his family to begin a new life in Turkey. By 1890, his talent and reputation had allowed him to open an instrument factory and start a family. First to arrive in 1893 was a son, Epaminondas, followed later that decade by Alex, Minnie and Orpheus.

By 1903, the persecution of Greek immigrants by the native Turks had forced the Stathopoulo family to move again; this time to a residence in the lower Manhattan neighborhood of New York. With Anastasios crafting and selling his instruments on the ground floor, and the family living directly above, the line between work and home life became increasingly blurred. Epaminondas (known as 'Epi') and Orpheus ('Orphie') were soon helping out in the shop and learning the business from the ground up.

Business was good by 1903 when Anastasios and his family were forced out by the native Turks and found themselves in the lower Manhattan neighborhood of New York. And business was good. It was Anastasios' good fortune to arrive in New York at the height of the mandolin craze, and this dovetailed with the popularity of his traditional Greek instruments amongst the city's bustling community. But all that changed in July 1915, when Anastasios died at the age of 52 from carcinoma of the breast.

One of Anastasios son's named Epi was just 22 when he took charge of the family business. He inherited many of his father's strengths - including a keen business sense and fierce pride in his work - but combined this with an awareness of the changing times that would prove vital in the years to come. Crucially, Epi was not just a luthier or a businessman. He was also a keen musician and socialite.

Epi respected the tradition of his father's instruments, but recognized the importance of moving with the times. By 1917, he had changed the company's name to the 'House Of Stathopoulo' and began adapting the product line. Mandolins were falling out of favor. In the post-war era, banjos had started to boom along with jazz, and Epi, with his ear to the ground, recognized this early and armed his company to deal with it. Not only did Epi introduce a line of banjos, but he also developed the instrument's design, patenting his own tone ring and rim construction. It was a sign of things to come.

In 1924, Epiphone released the Recording Series of banjos to universal acclaim.

In 1928, banjo's had lost popularity due to the depression so now he had introduced the Recording series of guitars, each one identified only by a letter ('A' through 'E') and notable for their unusual body shape. The Recording guitars were a combination of spruce and laminated maple, with either an arched or flat top, depending on the price.

Lack of celebrity endorsement faltered recording guitars success. The Recording guitars were also too small and arguably too ornate, particularly in comparison to the mighty size and volume of the Gibson L-5. At least Epi was taking notes. It wasn't hard to see the L-5's influence on the new Epiphone archtops that followed in 1931, with the Masterbilt Series sharing similar f-holes, pegheads, and even a similar name to the Gibson Master Model range. Despite taking inspiration from Gibson, however, the Masterbilts had their own identities. Their intention was not to emulate the Master Model range, but to destroy it.

Throughout the 1930s, Epiphone and Gibson became fierce competitors. Slighted by the introduction of the Masterbilts, and having emerged from its commercial slump at the start of the decade, Gibson returned fire in 1934 by increasing the body width of its existing models and introducing the king-size Super 400. Epi then replied the following year with the Emperor, which raised the stakes with a slightly wider body and a provocative advertising campaign featuring a semi-naked woman. In 1936, Epiphone struck again, increasing the size of its De Luxe, Broadway and Triumph models by an inch thus making them 3/8" wider than the Gibsons.

By this point, Epiphone guitars were considered to be amongst the best in the world. Epiphone wasn't just gunning for Gibson. Growing aware of the success of Rickenbacker's electric models since 1932, Epi made his move on this new market with the introduction of the Electar Series in 1935. The design included individually adjustable polepieces on the master pickup giving optimum output, and while Gibson had evidently been thinking the same thing, the Electar line seriously hurt Epiphone's rivals. By the summer of 1937, Epi reported that sales had doubled.

Before the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, Epiphone had been riding high. When the last of the fighting ended in 1945, the company found itself without its greatest asset. Tragically, Epi had died of leukemia during the war, meaning that Epiphone was handed down to younger brothers Orphie and Frixo, who would respectively be responsible for the financial and mechanical running of the operation.

Epiphone continued to clash with Gibson with the introduction of cutaway versions of the Emperor and De Luxe, and raised the bar considerably with the arrival of the electric cutaway De Luxe. Pickups continued to be refined, and famous players continued to appear onstage armed with Epiphone guitars. From afar it seemed to be business as usual.

The Epiphone factory moved from Manhattan to Philadelphia in 1953, but the fact that many of the firm's craftsmen refused to leave New York resulted in a drop in quality and the very real danger of bankruptcy.

While Epiphone's problems got worse during the1950s, Gibson was growing stronger. Its main competition now came from the California-based Fender Company, creator of the Telecaster and Stratocaster models. So when Gibson's general manager, Ted McCarty, received a call from Orphie asking whether he'd be interested in buying out the Epiphone bass business, he didn't need asking twice. McCarty paid the $20,000 asking price and Gibson took control of Epiphone in May 1957.

The grand unveiling of theEpiphone line took place at the NAMM trade show in July 1958, with an electric Emperor as the flagship model. The show itself would generate orders of 226 guitars and 63 amps, but over the next few years Epiphone would get into a swagger, shifting 3,798 units in 1961, and accounting for 20 of the Epiphone/Gibson market share and closed many companies down entirely.

Then Gibson manager Ted McCarty stepped down, the quality of the product was thought to have slipped, and union problems were simmering again. In its weakened state, Gibson's parent company CMI was bought in 1969 by the Ecuadorian ECL corporation and Epiphone found itself in a predicament - perceived to be secondary to Gibson, but too expensive to compete with the foreign imports.

The idea of moving Epiphone production to Japan had actually been floated before the ECL takeover. By 1970, it was a reality, with American production grinding to an abrupt halt and a new line of Epiphones being exported from the Japanese town of Matsumoto. But these were not Epiphones as the world knew them. On the contrary, they were just rebadged versions of models that were already being produced by the Matsumoku Company - with little imagination or respect for the company's pedigree.

Things had improved by 1976, when the Epiphone line was bolstered by the appearance of models like the Monticello, a series of scroll-body electrics, and the new Presentation range of flat tops. There was also the Nova series of flat tops and three new solidbodies named Genesis. By 1979, the Epiphone product list was gathering speed, with over 20 steel-string flat tops, and plenty more besides.

Just as Epiphone Far Eastern operation seemed to be finding its feet, three bombshells dropped in quick succession. The first was the rise of the electronic keyboard. The second was the rising cost of Japanese production, which led to Epiphone's relocation to Korea in 1983, and collaboration with the Samick Company. The third took place in the Gibson boardroom at the start of 1986, with three Harvard MBAs (Henry Juszkiewicz, David Berryman and Gary Zebrowski) taking the company off the hands of ECL/Norlin. Reviving Gibson was the priority for the new owners, and with Epiphone making less than $1 million revenue in 1985, there seemed a danger it would be swept under the carpet and forgotten.

But Epiphone was still a strong player. Soon enough, Juszkiewicz had identified it as a sleeping giant, and made the trip to Korea to decide how it could be pushed to match the success of other Asian brands like Charvel and Kramer. As he absorbed Epiphone's pedigree, Juszkiewicz started getting results, and soon sales were growing again.

Sales weren't the only thing on the move. By 1988, the Epiphone product line was evolving. Epiphone now listed a new PR Series of square-shouldered acoustics, along with an interpretation of Gibson's J-180, several classical guitars, a banjo and a mandolin. There was also a solid selection of Gibson-derived instruments and the Sheraton II.

Epiphone was arguably just as successful in the late-90s as at any point in its history. With confidence booming, this era saw the launch of the Advanced Jumbo Series and the release of several important signature models. The John Lee Hooker Sheratons from the USA Collection were tasteful, toneful and utterly authentic. The Noel Gallagher Supernovas had some of the most iconic designs of the time. Then there were the John Lennon 1965 and Revolution Casinos. With their US birthright, unbeatable authenticity and sense of aspiration, these models reunited Epi with the greatest artist of all time, and underlined the company's own re-emergence as a rock legend.

The momentum continued, as Epiphone introduced the Elitist range and strengthened its position in the acoustic market with the acquisition of veteran Gibson luthier Mike Voltz. Then came the introduction of the Masterbilt range, which - along with the subsequent 2005 release of the Paul McCartney 1964 USA Texan - consolidated Epi's acoustic credentials and reacquainted the firm with two big names from its past.

In 2007, Epiphone became all things to all players and still is today. Collectors of vintage guitars started snapping up the authentic Elitist reissues of the Emperor, Casino and Excellente among others. Recording artists turn to the Epiphone US range for quality that rivals any guitar manufacturer in the world, while rock 'n' roll fanatics delight in the company's signature models, which include everything from the Nick Valensi Riviera to the Zakk Wylde Les Paul Customs.

Epiphone has retained the pioneering spirit that was always Epi Stathopoulo's calling card. Whether through the 2006 'Guitar of the Month' scheme (offering a different collector's model each month) or through its unending quest to challenge tradition, this is still a firm that thrives on the risk while always delivering the result.

Let me show you how Epiphpne retained the pioneering spirit that was always Epi Stathopoulo's calling card at guitarsupplysource.com

Article Source: http://www.earticlesonline.com/Article/EpiphoneSuccessFactor/1026762