Epiphone Japan LPJ-70TV TV Yellow 2002
Epiphone Les Paul Junior, TV yellow, made in Japan 2002. This is a bit of an unusual one. Epiphone made some guitars in Japan in the 70s, before moving everything to Korea in the 80s. Gibson then made their Orville brand from 1987-96 out of Japan, before canning that. This run of Japan-made Epiphone stuff came after the Orville thing, made at the Fuijgen factory from 2002-9 and sometimes called the Elite or Elitist depending on the market it was heading to and the exact year. It's beautifully made: the woodwork is tight and tidy, the frets are excellent and the finish is very well executed. The slim, rounded neck feels great in the hand too, it's very intuitive. The Junior is a simple recipe, but done right, they have plenty of natural resonance and are very responsive, and that's certainly the case here. If I had to describe the sound in one word: strong. It's punchy and powerful, with a creamy complexity through the midrange, weighty lows and a tuneful, gregarious top end. The dark tort guard, classy rosewood board and white button tuners accent the bright yellow finish perfectly too, it looks super cool. Nice to get that proper 'open book' headstock too. Very fun!
Model: Epiphone Japan LPJ-70TV
Made: Japan, 2002, Fujigen Gakki factory
Serial: 204023
Finish: TV Yellow, gloss poly
Body: African mahogany
Neck: African mahogany, Indian rosewood fretboard, 24.75" scale, 12" radius, slim 60s style shape
Weight: 3.805kg
Mods: none
Pickups: Gibson P-90 single coil
Accessories: padded gig bag
Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has small chips on the end, dimples on both edges and some scuffs on the front around the posts. The is clean and smooth in the hands, minor dimples and some rub wear on the back only. The back has minor dimples near the neck join, elbow area and back edge, as well as scuffs on the top horn, elbow area and bottom corner. The sides have dimples on the top horn, some scuffs and small chips in the elbow area, some dents and dimples near the jack and minor scuffs on the bottom horn. The front has minor dimples around the knobs, bridge and elbow area, scuffs along the back edge and some play wear on the guard and horns.
Overall: very good condition (8/10)
Playing condition notes: action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electronics tested and working properly. Wearing fresh 10/52 Moonshiners strings.
Fret Life: 7/10, some normal wear inc some minor pitting, playing evenly with no major buzz issues