Epiphone Dove Studio B-Stock

The Epiphone Dove Studio - which incidentally gets its name from the dovetail joint used to join the neck and body together and was originally marketed as the Dove Pro - features a Fishman Sonicore pickup and preamp system, the latter of which is mounted inside the soundhole so that the volume and tone controls don't taint the guitar's classic looks. The 6.35mm output socket in turn is discreetly housed in the strap button on the bottom edge of the guitar. As one would expect from a dreadnought, the relatively large body size makes the Dove Studio a fairly loud, full-sounding instrument that combines a punchy low end with plenty of presence and a bright-sounding treble response.

Today, Epiphone is known only as the Asian budget offshoot of Gibson. Yet both companies were once independent, equal, and also bitter rivals. The roots of Epiphone go back to the 1870s and to Anastasios Stathopoulo, a Greek instrument maker, who emigrated to America in 1903 with his son Epaminondas (“Epi” for short). Epi changed the name of the firm to the "Epiphone Banjo Company" after taking over the family business in 1928. During this year, Epiphone also began to manufacture guitars, which rapidly came to dominate their sales. In 1957, Epiphone was taken over by C.M.I., which already included Gibson, but continued as a separate brand until 1970, when manufacturing was outsourced to Asia. Well-known Epiphone models include the Casino, played by the Beatles, and the Sheraton, John Lee Hooker's instrument of choice.