A Near Mint '65 Epiphone Wilshire

This super little guitar weighs in at just 6.20 lbs. and has a nut width of just under 1 5/8 inches and a standard Gibson scale length of 24 3/4 inches. Solid mahogany body, one-piece mahogany neck, and rosewood fretboard with 22 jumbo frets and inlaid pearl dot position markers. Headstock with gold silk-screened "Epiphone" script logo. Six-on-a-side single-line Kluson Seluxe tuners with oval metal buttons. Two patent-number mini-humbucking pickups with outputs of 7.35k and 6.66k, each with a rectangular black label on the underside with "Patent Number 2,737,842." Four controls (two volume, two tone) plus three-way selector switch, all mounted on pickguard. The potentiometers are stamped: "134 6438" (Centralab September 1964). Black plastic ribbed-sided knobs with metal tops and red markings. Three-layer (white/black/white) plasic pickguard. ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic retainer bridge and Maestro Vibrato tailpiece. This forty-one-year-old example is in totally original and exceptionally fine (9.00) condition, with some very minor fading, a small surface mark on the back of the neck behind the 8th fret, and a few small insignificant marks on the edges of the guitar. Housed in the original Epiphone rectangular black hardshell case with orange plush lining (7.50).

The Wilshire, Epiphone's equivalent of the Gibson SG Special, was added to the Epiphone solid body line in 1959 at around $195.00, but by 1962 the price tag had risen to $235.00. Originally it had two white P-90 pickups, no doubt left over from the Gibson Les Paul's conversion from P-90s to metal covered humbucking pickups. The white P-90s were replaced by black P-90s (which were still in use on some Gibson's) in 1961. In mid 1962 the p-90 pickups were replaced with patent number mini humbuckers. Later in 1963 the Wilshire's body shape became asymmetrical with the upper bass horn slightly longer than upper treble, and the headstock received six-on-a-side tuners. The price in 1965 was $265.00.