Recently a couple of fine examples of Matsumoku made Epiphone Les Pauls have popped up on the Bay and I thought I would highlight them for those that are interested. I do not own the images, if you do, and would like them taken down please contact me and I will do so.
I will try to follow up with more blog posts if any more of these appear on eBay - if nothing else it will serve as a decent collection of images of these fine instruments, hopefully documenting what features they all have.
First one, serial 206274*:
This one has had its bridge pickup swapped out and its pickguard removed. Serial: 206275*
As evidenced by the photos there are several distinguishable features that all of these Matsumoku Les Pauls share:
Epiphone branded sealed tuners
Reflector knobs
Vintage variant of Epiphone logo on the headstock (matches other confirmed Matsumoku builds for Epiphone at the time - such as the Riviera, although not the Sheraton)
Reddish hue inlays
Brown hue cavity covers
Set neck construction
Metal input jack plate
2 screw truss rod cover
Teardrop shaped sunburst top
These are all superficial however under the hood there would be other defining features that can help determine if the guitar you are looking at is one of these Matsumoku Les Pauls. We can see examples of this in this collection of images from Reverb off a completed listing. This example has had its pickguard removed:
Teardrop shaped sunburst on a very plain top
Tenon that follows through almost to the leftmost side of the neck pickup cavity, and held together by glue and a screw. Also revealed is the MMK 61 humbucker. Observe the set of numbers that is stamped under the lacquer of the tenon - this is also common to all of the Matsumoku Epiphone Les Pauls I have come across.
Those reddish hued inlays, the easiest identifier
Handwritten number on the base of the bridge pickup cavity
Thick maple top with a deep carve, likely to vintage USA specs. You can see it peeking through under the binding, this is also observable on most R8/R9 however not always present on a lot of older Asian made Epiphones.
Reflector knob and metal input jack plate
Asian origin potentiometers and electronics (likely Japanese, alhtough I have not researched it). Plastic covered wiring.
Asian origin switch (also likely Japanese)
Epiphone branded sealed tuners. Also visible is the barely legible stamped serial number, the serial numbers on all these guitars are difficult to read because the ink seems to fade away after some time. I believe these have a 3 piece neck as well.
Japanese hardware
MMK 61 pickups loaded in both neck and bridge positions
Old Epiphone logo, 2 screw truss rod cover
Another closeup of the screw on the tenon
Despite the rarity, I don't think these will ever be collectors items in the same way vintage Gibsons are or even MIJ lawsuit Les Pauls are. That's okay, because these are great guitars and their profile or price does not change that fact.
If they remain affordable, pick one up and you will not be disappointed - I've played the Gibsons, Gibson Custom shops and the Grecos, Burnys and many other Les Paul variants and in my honest opinion these are up there with the best I've ever played - that's why I own 2 of them. I also own an R8 and they do give it a run for its money however it does fall short on the electronics side.
If you are able to pick it up cheap, you have a vintage guitar that you can either keep as stock or perform mods on.
For some of my earlier research/opinions on these guitars, refer to these links: