This is a List of Epiphone players (musicians) who have made notable use of Epiphone Guitar models in live performances or studio recordings. Because of the great popularity of these models, musicians are listed here only if their use of these instruments was especially significant – that is, they are musicians with long careers who have a history of faithful Epiphone use, or the particular instrument they used was unique or of historical importance, or their use of the Epiphone model contributed significantly to the popularization of that particular instrument.


A

  • Brian Aubert (Silversun Pickups) uses a vintage sunburst Sheraton II as his primary guitar. It can be seen in several videos from the "Carnavas" album.

B

  • The Beatles made prominent use of Casinos. In December 1964, Paul McCartney purchased a 1964 Texan FT-79 acoustic and a 1962 Casino; early in 1966 George Harrison and John Lennon followed suit, acquiring Casino E230TDs which they used regularly on stage and in the studio thereafter.[1][2] Lennon's Casino, first used on the album Revolver, became his main studio and stage guitar both with The Beatles and as a solo artist.[1][2] Epiphone produces two John Lennon signature model Casinos: One is a sunburst model resembling Lennon's prior to his alteration of the finish; the second, known as the "Revolution" Casino, is a replica of Lennon's after he had his sunburst Casino professionally sanded down to its natural finish.[3][4] McCartney used his Texan acoustic extensively for songwriting; he also performed the song "Yesterday" on it during an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, and still uses this guitar to perform "Yesterday" in current concerts.[1] Epiphone has issued a McCartney signature Texan replicating this guitar.[5]
  • James Bay
  • Marc Bolan (T. Rex) used an acoustic Epiphone, notably at Wembley in 1972.
  • Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day) used an electric Epiphone, notably he gave it away to a fan during a live performance of the song "Knowledge"

C

  • Al Caiola Jazz guitarist. Has Epiphone signature model named for him.

D

E

  • The Edge (U2) uses a Casino. There are also pictures of The Edge playing a Sheraton II.

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

P

  • Joe Pass uses an Emperor. Epiphone produces a signature model of Pass' guitar.
  • Les Paul used Epiphone guitars for recording from the early 1940s until the late 1950s, even after his signature Gibsons were produced. The Epiphones were highly customized models with his own pickups on them.
  • Luke Pritchard of The State of Things uses a custom ES-335 Dot with fitted frequensator.

R

S

T

U

V

  • Nick Valensi (The Strokes) plays a Riviera which he customized himself with Gibson P-94 pickups; a Nick Valensi Signature model based on it was issued in 2005.

W

Y

References

  1. ^ a b c Crowley, John. "Fab Guitars of the Beatles". TheCanteen.com. Retrieved 15 February 2008.
  2. ^ a b McCulley, Jerry (29 August 2007). "Let It Be: The Beatles and the Epiphone Casino". Gibson Musical Instruments. Archived from the original on 29 May 2009. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
  3. ^ "John Lennon 1965 Casino". Epiphone.com. Archived from the original on 15 February 2008. Retrieved 18 February 2008.
  4. ^ "John Lennon Revolution Casino". Epiphone.com. Archived from the original on 14 February 2008. Retrieved 18 February 2008.
  5. ^ "Paul McCartney 1964 Texan". Epiphone.com. Archived from the original on 11 March 2008. Retrieved 18 February 2008.
  6. ^ "Ltd. Ed. Richie Faulkner Flying-V Custom Outfit". Epiphone.com.
  7. ^ "Epiphone | Explore the les Paul Collections".
  8. ^ The Ed Sullivan Show. Season 18. Episode 832. 2 May 1965.
  9. ^ Guitargeek.com
  10. ^ Bell, Graham. "Tools of the Trade: Steve's Electric Guitars". Humble-Pie.net. Archived from the original on 31 January 2008. Retrieved 18 February 2008.
  11. ^ Naser Mestarihi: Rock hard, play harder.
  12. ^ "Lucero: Live From Atlanta". www.epiphone.com. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  13. ^ Markham, William. "Django's Epi #3442". The Django Reinhardt Swing Page. Retrieved 18 February 2008.
  14. ^ Wyman, Bill (2002). Rolling With the Stones. DK Publishing. pp. 126, 130, 132. ISBN 0-7894-9998-3.
  15. ^ Di Perna, Alan (2002). "Heart of Stone". Guitar World, October 2002, reprinted (2006) in Guitar Legends: The Rolling Stones. p. 48.