Whitstable Guitars
A selection of good quality, used guitars and specialising in imports from Japan since 2008
1998 Epiphone Japan LPS-80 Gold Top & new fitted hard case
£819.00 + shipping
JAPAN IMPORT
What a lovely guitar this is! Recently imported by me from Japan, this stunner, built at the Fujigen factory in 1998 is in fantastic condition. The Fujigen and Terada factories made the Orville brand up until 1996 & then they re-badged the guitars as Epiphone & continued making them well into the 00's when they changed again to Epiphone Elite & Elitist. Apart from the name on the headstock, they were exactly the same as the Orvilles. Unlike USA, Korean & Chinese Epiphones the Japanese made guitars have the Gibson shaped headstock
This guitar is listed as an LPS (Les Paul Standard) 80GT (Gold top)
The condition of the guitar I would describe as excellent for the year. Yes, there are a few scratches around the body but these are light & minimal. There are a couple of chips in the back edges. The frets show little signs of wear with no indents. The guitar is completely original.
The guitar plays really well. Straight neck which is a little thicker than some Japanese necks but definitely not "baseball bat" style! Low action and good pickups which are Fujigen's own PAF model with readings of 7.1k for the neck & 7.2k for the bridge. At 4.6kg (around 10lb 1oz) it’s a good weight for a non weight relieved Les Paul. These guitars were only ever made in small numbers making them quite scarce & sought after, particularly outside of Japan.
1998 Epiphone Japan Les Paul Standard LPS-80GT Specifications
Body:
Non-weight relieved body
2-piece Mahogany body with a Maple cap & “Gold Top” finish.
Weight 4.60kg
Neck:
Mahogany neck
Rosewood fingerboard with trapezoid inlays
Long tenon neck joint
Open-book headstock with "Les Paul Model" script
17 degree headstock angle
2-screw bell truss rod cover
Bone nut
Scale Length 24.75"
Width at 1st fret 42 mm
Width at 12th fret 52 mm
Cream single ply pickguard
Electronics:
PAF humbuckers
7.1k Neck & 7.2k Bridge
2 Vol. 2 Tone controls
3-way selector switch
Hardware:
Chrome hardware
vintage style tuners
ABR-1 bridge
1-ply elevated pickguard
Black speed knobs
Colour:
Classic Gold Top
New Thomann/Gator fitted hard case
Hard Case Policy
As said many times, all my guitars come shipped in a new black hard case which is included in the price. I find this is the safest way to avoid damage in transit. Alternatively, if you are collecting the guitar and, like some buyers have cases coming out of their ears, that's no problem, I'll adjust the price (usually around a £50 discount) and I can usually find you an old gigbag to take the guitar away in. The only hard and fast rule I have is that I won't ship a guitar in a gigbag.
If you are further interested in this guitar, you can either email me with any queries & I'll do my best to get back to you within 24 hours.
Or, you can buy quickly and safely using the PayPal "buy now" button and I will ship to most UK addresses the next working day. Highlands and Islands can be slightly dearer but I'll keep the cost as low as I can.
I can accept credit card payments by phone and will also offer a small discount to purchasers using bank transfer payments.
Overseas customers are very welcome but please email me first for shipping quotes.
