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Epiphone 1966 Worn Wilshire £329
Re-creation of a garage rock favourite
Dave Durban (Guitarist), Thu 18 Feb 2010, 12:07 pm GMT
First introduced in 1959, and made in Gibson's Kalamazoo factory, the Wilshire initially featured a symmetrical body with a pair of P-90 single-coil pickups and a symmetrical three-aside headstock with pearl Epiphone inlay.
But around the same time that Bobby Moore and the boys were finishing off the Germans in the World Cup final, Epiphone came up with the final blueprint for the Wilshire – hence the 1966 Worn Wilshire title of this recreation.
Of course, it's now made in the Far East, but in many respects it's just as Epiphone-esque as the original - still affordable and well spec'd. The Wilshire's cutesy Les Paul Junior come SG-style asymmetrical body is just 36mm deep – in contrast to the Les Paul Junior Satin's 45mm bulk – and like the original, has an elongated top horn and soft, rounded edges.
"An inviting and raucous garage rock tone that packs a hefty punch."
Here we have a delightful vintage-style worn cherry stain finish that employs the same 'limed mahogany' filler technique as applied to the original; giving the mahogany's grain a dark fleck effect that's visible through the finish – much the same technique was applied to Gibson's Junior models.
The SG comparison continues with a long unsupported neck that joins the body at the 22nd fret and offers excellent upper fret access. It has a comfortable and familiar-feeling slim-taper sixties neck profile, topped off by a clean rosewood fingerboard with simple, tasteful dot inlays.
One of the more distinctive changes to the latter Wilshire was the headstock. In 1963 Epiphone introduced the futuristic 'batwing' design that we see here. It features six-a-side chrome-plated tuners and Epiphone's vintage-style gold silkscreen headstock logo.
Additionally, the two mini-humbuckers have the same basic specification as the originals that came as standard in 1962. They're both fixed to the body via replica black pickup surrounds and adjusted with two height adjustment screws either side of the casing. The Wilshire's sweeping, Tele Custom-style pickguard houses all other electrics, including two volume and tone controls, with goofy amp knobs to boot, and a rather clunky feeling three-way toggle switch.
Sounds
Hear it in action in the following clips, beginning with the bridge pickup, then the twin pickup mix, then the neck unit:
With its mini-humbucker arrangement we'd expect a brighter and clearer tonality than an SG. And kicking off with a slightly crunchy/clean tone on our low-powered vintage Fender-style test amp, it's evident that this Wilshire captures that vintage vibe nicely.
The clean tones are defined yet effortlessly plumy in the mid-range and offer up some tasty soulful blues and jazz vibes using the dual and neck selections, while the bridge pickup has a little more juice for old-school, classic rock rhythm playing.
And with a driven valve amp, the Wilshire doesn't disappoint. There's a real SG-meets-Tele vibe here, as we get plenty of girth from the mahogany construction, but with some Tele-esque twang. It's an inviting and raucous garage rock tone and packs a hefty punch.
We would imagine that the likes of Jack White or even Biffy Clyro's Simon Neil would enjoy its snappy looks, versatility and vintage rock tones. That said, with some heavier strings and higher action it would make a brilliant low-priced option for slide players looking for some fun but filthy tones.
With a great neck shape, good weight and ample power from its twin mini-humbuckers, the Wilshire should fit a wide variety of rock-based playing styles. If you're into raw rock power, but on a modest budget, it's a fun, affordable alternative to the usual suspects.
Verdict
More proof that some of the charming models from Epiphone's glorious yesteryear can be turned into fun yet highly usable modern rock machines for a price that won't break the bank.
MusicRadar rating:
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User comments (2)
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I paid 218 euro for a worn black late '09 one. I think I've been luckier than jonnyg2 in that it played remarkably well 'out of the box' (other than the top E snapping when tuned to concert). Fresh set of 10s later and a tiny bit of snag on the g-string (easy fixed with a few flakes of 5B) and intonation and neck relief was pretty much spot on. Frets well seated but could use a polish - 'grittiness' played out after a few hours anyway. No buzz/rattle or noticeable dead spots. Nice slab of mahog, feels heavier than my gibson V (subjective observation) but perhaps that suits the mini hmbckrs better anyway. Body 2 piece (join about 2-3 inches above lower bout) and I can't see any join at the neck except horizontally (if standing gtar on strap button) across the widest part of the 'batwing' headstock - strange. I have a chinese LP (badly screwed pup surrounds and irritating low fret) korean casino (dodgy pup selector and couple of big dollops glue inside body but this indonesian wilshire appears exceptionally well constructed - less issues than any of my 3 Gibsons I'm afraid. I like the slightly 'whippy' neck - my first decent guitar was an SG and I love that slightly out of control sharpening of pitch when you really beat the crap out of it. Sounds slightly more in the SG corner of the SG/tele analogy - gritty and chunky yet retains great articulation, not quite as smooth as a P90 equipped SG. Epi pups tend to get swapped out pretty quickly back at my gaff (lack of 'zing', depth and articulation) but to be honest these are the best epi pups I've experienced so far. Perhaps the cheaper heavier mahog suits the cheaper pups, I dont know but it works for me. Also suits fuzz (with vol backed off a little) a lot better than a full humbuggee - agree with Mr Durban that this is a fantastic garage rocker and that makes me very happy. I can swap from a 335 to this thing and enjoy the different flavour as opposed to inferior tone. Any issues are easily solved by just playing it, and it is great fun to play. I haven't looked at the wiring yet (no issues so far after maybe 100 hours abuse) but if probs arise I will probably upgrade the pots jacks and cables anyway - it's definately worth it. Absolute steal for the money, when I think back to what I started on back in the 80s.......
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I bought the worn cherry '66 Wilshire re-issue when they first appeared in mid-late 2009. It was good but not without a few minor teething problems. The truss rod was over tight and the nut needed a little work as the strings were binding. Once that was sorted out it became a great player for the price (I paid £279.00 with a pretty decent gig-bag thrown in). It's very light and the neck is a great shape (for me) being fairly wide but not very deep. Be warned though, the shallow neck is a little "whippy" so if you're the kind of player who pulls back on the neck while playing then this isn't gonna work for you. Upper fret access is great, especially considering the '60's design. The sound is somewhere between a Tele and an SG and I guess you'll either like it or not, but it is "different". While changing the strings I had a look under the scratchplate and the routing etc was all very clean and well done. However, the wiring to the controls had some of the worst soldering I've ever seen. It all works without problems but it's something I might redo in the future.
The only real annoyance for me with this guitar is the position of the pickup selector switch which is too easy to hit while strumming and too easy to knock with your knee if playing sitting down, but it is in the same position as the original. Oh yeah, the switch tip should have been white to be authentic. Overall I'd say that it's a great guitar for the money (better than some I've tried at twice the price and more) and it's nice to have something a little different. The nickel plate hardware looks good too.
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MusicRadar rating
Pros
Price. Weight and neck shape. The original Wilshire flavour.
Cons
Nothing.
Verdict
More proof that some of the charming models from Epiphone's glorious yesteryear can be turned into fun yet highly usable modern rock machines for a price that won't break the bank.
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User rating
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Specification
1966 Worn Wilshire
- Price:
- £329
- Country of Origin:
- Indonesia
dadgad
Fri 22 Oct 2010, 4:10 pm BST
User rating 5 of 5