Related Tags
Is the Epiphone Coronet about to make a serious comeback?
Online leaks suggest the Epiphone Coronet, a new Riviera, a Nancy Wilson signature and a slew of other models are about to drop.
Images: AmericanMusical.com
UPDATE (18/11): Epiphone has officially launched reissues of the Coronet, Wilshire and Crestwood.
The Epiphone Coronet could be poised to make a comeback after more than 20 years out of production, according to leaks that have surfaced online.
A US retailer, American Musical, has posted images and details of the purported new guitars on its website. Besides the Coronet, they include its bigger siblings the Wilshire and Crestwood, as well as a new Riviera, a Nancy Wilson signature model, an ES-335 and a US-made Casino.
Epiphone’s last reissue run of the Coronet ended back in 1999. According to a product listing on American Musical, the latest version of the Coronet will draw from the “earliest Coronet models” to include features such as a “symmetrical double-cutaway mahogany body” and a “three-on-a-side reduced sized Kalamazoo headstock”.
The Coronet will be priced at $459 and is expected to arrive tomorrow (30 October), as indicated on the American Musical site. The Wilshire and Crestwood, on the other hand, are priced at $549 and $649, respectively.
All these guitars were the topic of much discussion over at the EpiphoneTalk.com web forum, with users appearing highly receptive of the new instrument models.
The timing of the leaks coincides with Music China 2020, a massive trade show in Shanghai that kicked off yesterday (28 October) and ends on Saturday (31 October). A number of Gibson Inc. brands, including Epiphone and Kramer, are appearing at the show.
A press release sent by Gibson to Guitar.com today (30 October) about its Music China presence made no mention of the Coronet, Wilshire or any of the other alleged new models.
In July this year, Gibson locked horns with San Diego-based Satellite Amplifiers over the latter’s use of the Coronet design in a range of guitars. On 11 July, Satellite founder Adam B. Grimm, who claimed that his company has a federal trademark for the design, issued a statement via Instagram: “Gibson Guitars is attempting to invalidate my federal trademark for the Coronet.”
Gibson issued an official statement in response to the allegations made by Satellite Amplifiers. The guitar titan said, “Based on heightened demand from guitarists and dealers, the Epiphone Coronet has been, and will continue to be, a key guitar in the Epiphone Originals Collection.”
For more guitar gear news, click here.