The company’s shop was located in New York and took full advantage of the celebrities of the era frequenting the store – it became somewhat of a local hangout for big city musicians like Al Caiola, Harry Volpe, and Les Paul, who would sometimes jam on Saturday afternoons as people listened from the sidewalk.Įpiphone continued to innovate and stay current with musical trends. The two companies continued to one-up each other throughout the 1930s.īack in those days, Epiphone actually had a marketing edge on Gibson. In 1931, the company introduced a carved top acoustic similar to Gibson’s L-5 – Gibson being Epiphone’s main competitor. In that same year, Epi started making flattop and archtop acoustic guitars as well. A man fitting the bridge to an Epiphone electric guitar in 1940.
At that time, he began making the most popular instrument in America after the end of World War One – banjos, officially renaming the company, the Epiphone Banjo Company in 1928.
Epi worked at the factory and gained full control of the company upon his mother’s passing in 1923.
