Vintage-inspired Tribute to Epiphone’s Garage-rock Classic
In honor of Epiphone’s century-and-a-half anniversary, Sweetwater is thrilled to present the Epiphone 150th Anniversary Wilshire — a vintage-inspired Wilshire that might as well have rolled off the original Gibson/Epiphone Kalamazoo, Michigan, factory floor! This guitar’s asymmetrical double-cut mahogany body, wavy pickguard, and signature 6-in-line “Batwing” headstock all pay direct homage to the Wilshire’s reimagining in 1963, supplying you with a wild garage-rock-ready vibe that’ll have you kicking out raunchy power-chord rhythms in no time. Next, the mahogany neck’s skinny ’60s SlimTaper “D” profile and superior upper-fret access make it breeze to lay down all manner of fuzzed-out lead ferocity, while the Indian laurel fingerboard’s 12-inch radius is ideal for wide, bluesy bends. Lastly, a pair of searing Gibson-made mini-humbucker pickups grant you a full-bodied single-coil-on-steroids punch, complete with rich lows, hard-hitting mids, and crystal-clear highs.
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Premium Gibson-made mini-humbucking pickups
To celebrate a century and a half of instrument-making expertise, Epiphone dug deep into their history, all the way back to the days when Gibson and Epiphone instruments were built in the very same Kalamazoo, Michigan factory. The Epiphone 150th Anniversary Wilshire is clearly a visual tribute to that lauded era, but two Gibson-made mini-humbucking pickups seal the sonic deal with a vintage-inspired tone straight out of the ’60s. What do they sound like? Gibson mini-humbuckers split the difference between the full-bodied warmth of a humbucker and the sparkling, defined top end of a single-coil. It’s a remarkably versatile hum-canceling pickup design that many Sweetwater guitarists liken to a hot-rodded T-style pickup, equally at home dishing out snarling dirty tones, sparkling cleans, and everything else in between.
Fast-playing ’60s SlimTaper “D” profile
The Epiphone 150th Anniversary Wilshire’s mahogany neck sports a vintage-correct ’60s SlimTaper profile — a thin and speedy shape that facilitates fervent fretwork from the base of the neck all the way up to the 22nd fret. The neck is capped with a smooth slab of unbound Indian laurel in a 12-inch radius, sporting simple dot inlays to reflect this guitar’s no-nonsense rock ‘n’ roll pedigree. Finally, the Epiphone 150th Anniversary Wilshire’s deep set-in neck joint ties it all together with unimpeded access to even the highest register notes.
Inspired by the Wilshire’s 1963 reimagining
While the Wilshire’s original run ran from the late 1950s to the early 1970s, the Epiphone 150th Anniversary Wilshire is an aesthetic tribute to model’s 1963 makeover. Instead of the clean-cut symmetrical vibe of the earliest Wilshires, this guitar sports a cresting pickguard, 6-in-line “batwing” headstock (supposedly meant to mirror an “E”), and dual asymmetrical horns to mirror the wild 6-string experimentation of the mid-’60s. A LockTone Tune-o-matic bridge, stop tailpiece, and Wilkinson tuners complete the package with a formidable sustain and top-notch tuning stability.
Epiphone 150th Anniversary Wilshire Electric Guitar Features:
- Vintage-inspired Wilshire, celebrating 150 years of Epiphone excellence
- Double-cut mahogany body offers full access to the mahogany neck’s 22 frets
- ’60s SlimTaper “D” neck profile offers a fast, speedy feel that allows you to glide up and down the neck with impunity
- Indian laurel fingerboard in easy-playing 12-inch radius
- Dual Gibson-made mini-humbucker pickups unleash a fiery humbucker-meets-single-coil punch, with crystalline highs and full-bodied lows
- LockTone Tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece for rich sustain
- Premium Wilkinson tuners to keep your tuning lock tight
- Vintage-inspired aesthetic appointments, including a 6-in-line Batwing headstock, swooping pickguard, and asymmetrical body horns
