Elitist Basses

http://www2.epiphone.com/elitist

The Elitist Series was made at the Terada and Fuji-gen factories in Japan. Originally called the Elite Series, Epiphone was forced to change the name because of a conflict with an Ovation line of guitars already bearing the Elite moniker. The same Terada and Fuji-Gen guitar factories that made all of the Orville by Gibson and Orville guitars were used to make the Gibson/Yamano Gakki Epiphone Elite and Epiphone Elitist series with the Terada guitar factory mostly making the semi acoustic models and the Fuji-Gen guitar factory mostly making the solid body models The Elitist guitars were made to very high specifications. Most of the parts were made in Japan but some parts were made in other countries, including the USA and Germany. These guitars cost more than twice as much as a standard Epiphone guitar. The Elitist series was discontinued in 2008, with the exception of the Casino model. The Epiphone Elitist Series includes features such as real Abalone and Pearl inlays, bone nuts and saddles, hand-rubbed finishes, USA strings and meticulous adjustment and set-up. Japanese Domestic Market Elitists use the Gibson-style open-book headstock instead of the Tombstone-shaped headstock. The Epiphone Elitist guitars are not related to the Epiphone Les Paul Elite, which is a Korean-made semi-hollow guitar similar to the Les Paul-ES.

See Also:

• Elitist Archtops
• Elitist Archtops (Japan)
• Elitist Acoustics
• Elitist Acoustics (Japan)
• Elitist Electrics
• Elitist Electrics (Japan)

Contents 1 Models 1.1 Elitist EB-3 1.2 Elitist 1960's EB-3 (Japan) 1.3 Elitist Thunderbird 1.4 Elitist 1960's Thunderbird (Japan)

Models

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Elitist EB-3

• 2002-2005

Body:

• Mahogany body
• Book-matched African Mahogany top

Neck:

• 1-piece, set mahogany neck
• Rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays
• Tombstone headstock with pearl crown inlay
• 2-ply truss rod cover with "Gibson" engraving
• Bone nut
• 30.5" scale
• 1.68" nut width

Electronics:

• USA EGBR Humbucker & EGBT Mini-humbucker pickups
• 2 Vol. 2 Tone controls
• 4-way rotary selector switch

Hardware:

• Nickel hardware
• Open-back Gotoh tuners
• 3-point bridge
• 4-ply black pickguard with thumbrest
• Black reflector knobs

Colors:

• Cherry (CH)
• Ebony (EB)

See Also:

• EB-Series

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Elitist 1960's EB-3 (Japan)

• Japan Domestic Market only
• 2002-2005

Body:

• Mahogany body
• Book-matched African Mahogany top

Neck:

• 1-piece, set mahogany neck
• Rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays
• Open-book headstock with pearl crown inlay
• 2-ply truss rod cover with "Gibson" engraving
• Bone nut
• 30.5" scale
• 1.68" nut width

Electronics:

• USA Classic Humbucker & Mini-humbucker pickups
• 2 Vol. 2 Tone controls
• 4-way rotary selector switch

Hardware:

• Nickel hardware
• Open-back Gotoh tuners
• 3-point bridge
• 4-ply black pickguard with thumbrest
• Black reflector knobs

Colors:

• Cherry (CH)
• Ebony (EB)

See Also:

• EB-Series

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Elitist Thunderbird

• 2002-2005

Body:

• Mahogany body
• Book-matched African Mahogany top

Neck:

• 1-piece, set mahogany neck
• Rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays
• Thunderbird headstock
• Bone nut
• 34" scale
• 1.50" nut width

Elcetronics:

• USA ETBR & ETBT humbucker pickups
• 2 Vol. 1 Tone controls
• 4-way rotary selector switch

Hardware:

• Nickel hardware
• Open-back Gotoh tuners
• White pickguard with Thunderbird logo engraving
• 3-point bridge
• Black reflector knobs

Colors:

• Vintage Sunburst (VS)

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Elitist 1960's Thunderbird (Japan)

• Japan Domestic Market only
• 2002-2005

Body:

• Mahogany body
• Book-matched African Mahogany top

Neck:

• 1-piece, set mahogany neck
• Rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays
• Thunderbird headstock
• Bone nut
• 34" scale
• 1.50" nut width

Electronics:

• USA Classic Humbucker pickups
• 2 Vol. 1 Tone controls
• 4-way rotary selector switch

Hardware:

• Nickel hardware
• Open-back Gotoh tuners
• White pickguard with Thunderbird logo engraving
• 3-point bridge
• Black reflector knobs

Colors:

• Vintage Sunburst (VS)

See Also:

• Epiphone Japan

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