FUQ (eff -yu - cue) - FAQ's with an EDGE

Tagged As: Epiphone Guitar History

Question:
I bought an Epiphone guitar in 1975 from a local dealer. I always thought I had a Gibson guitar but I was told by a expert recently that it is not. I have the warranty booklet, and it mentions Gibson. Could someone help clear that up for me. It has a label inside describing it as a Cabellero, Ft-130. The plate on the back of the guitar has a serial number and indicates that it was made in Japan. I paid $140.00 for it then. I'm thinking about buying a Seagull acoustic/electric that will run around $610.00. I'm thinking about trading in the Epiphone. Since I know nothing about the value of my Epiphone today, I don't want to be 'taken' by the dealer. In the last 25 years it has been played less than 10 times and has always been in the case. Is it still worth $140.00?

Answer:
An FT-130 would have been made in Japan by Matsumoku, and it has a laminated top. You might get $100 for it today, if it isn't all dinged up. They were decent enough guitars -- I had one before I worked for Epiphone, and I used to inspect them and their relatives. A dealer's not gonna give you $100 for it, though. (The history lesson is: Gibson owns Epiphone since a long time ago, and used the brand name for their less expensive instruments. Starting in the early 1970s all of Epiphone's production moved offshore to Japan. More recently, it's moved to Korea after a brief [and frankly disastrous] flirtation with Taiwan. Anyway, that's why your warranty booklet mentions Gibson.)