Welcome to the second installment of our ongoing ToneQuest series on secret great buys and tone-enhancing tips for exceptional player guitars. This month we’re introducing you to the Epiphone Spirit – one of the last Gibson Epiphones ever made at the factory in Kalamazoo. The Spirit is essentially a Les Paul Junior with a few modifications from the original Gibson design, developed as part of an effort to rehire union workers that had previously been laid off during the latter stages of the demise of the original Gibson Kalamazoo factory.
The Spirit was produced in the early 1980’s in both 1 and 2-pickup models. Exact production numbers are unavailable, but certainly no more than 25,000 instruments could have been produced during the brief time that these guitars were built in Kalamazoo. Spirits are very cool full-scale little guitars, but they have not achieved collectible status (or prices) by any means. They clearly meet our criteria for affordable, if not downright cheap player instruments that, with a few simple upgrades, can be quickly transformed into exceptional instruments for the cost of a new “reissue.”
The body shape of the Spirit is identical to the original double-cutaway Les Paul Junior, and the body on the Kalamazoo-made models was made from poplar (also called yellow tulip.) This wood typically possesses a prominent, spiked vertical grain similar to maple, and it highlights the Spirit’s uniqe dark mahogany/cherry sunburst finish very nicely. The 3-piece slab body would be considered extremely light for a Les Paul, but somewhat heavier than the original mahogany Juniors. The neck is 3-piece maple with dot inlays and a 24 3/4” scale joining the body at the 22nd fret. The Epiphone logo is silkscreened on the headstock in gold, and the serialization scheme follows the typical Gibson 8-digit system in which the 1st and 5th digits indicate the year of manufacture, 2-4 indicate the day of the year, and 6-8 the rank of the instrument on the day it was made.
All of the Spirits were equipped with Gibson “Dirty Fingers” humbucking pickups, and we considered these cream-colored, coverless, over-wound brutes to be pretty lousy in all respects; more wire does not necessarily equal better tone. The tone and volume control layout is very useful, however, with separate volume controls for each pickup and a single tone control for both. With the pickup selector switch in the middle position, both pickups can be mixed, similar to the more standard 4-control design. The original chrome-plated bridge is a fully adjustable “tuneomatic” type made in Germany, mounted on 2 studs, and the bridge saddles are made of brass. Tuning keys are the familiar plastic-knob, tulip-shape common to many models of Gibson guitars. We were unable to confirm their origin, but we suspect the tuners were manufactured by Schaller, and their quality is better than average.
We literally stumbled upon 2 Spirits at a local Atlanta guitar shop during a search for an inexpensive guitar that was to be used to test various after-market pickups. After playing various used SG’s and Les Pauls, we had resigned ourselves to the fact that we would have to spend $800-$1,000 on a decent used solidbody guitar, or buy one of the budget-priced used reissue copies made in Korea. The double-humbucking Epiphone Spirit we found had been played long and hard. The finish was completely worn away to bare wood from the previous owner’s right arm resting on the body, the original chrome-plated bridge, studs and saddles were heavily corroded from sweat, and the original frets were badly worn and needed replacing. The truss rod had never been adjusted, and the neck had developed an exaggerated bow that made the guitar really challenging to play over the entire length of the neck. The fingerboard resembled a washboard, with lots of uneven wear, but it was clear that this well-used axe still had considerable potential, and at $350.00, we couldn’t pass it up!
First to go were the “Dirty Fingers” pickups. Once removed from their cream mounting rings, we carefully unsoldered them from within the cramped rout for the controls in the back of the guitar and replaced them with Harmonic Design Z90’s. These pickups are Scott Petersen’s stellar version of P90’s, created to fit in a standard humbucking rout, and an added plus -- they matched our now-clean cream pickup mounting rings perfectly, creating a very cool look with the deep cherry sunburst finish of the Spirit. Appearances aside, the tone of these pickups is not to be believed. TQR advisory board member Peter Stroud and I used the Spirit as a reference guitar for several consecutive afternoons of tube evaluations in Fender and Marshall amps, and we were both mightily impressed with the range, depth and characteristic “exploding guitar” tone that P90’s are known for. Back off the volume a tad and that classic Leslie West roar mellows to a single coil sparkle that no humbucking pickup can deliver. NEED SPECS HERE.
With our new pickups installed, we sent the guitar to Jay Riness for some much-needed fret work and a setup. Jay echoed our initial observation that the neck was in awful shape, but it “snapped right back” after he planed the fingerboard, installed new ??? frets and adjusted the truss rod for 1/6000 of an inch of relief. He also replaced the badly corroded studs and original bridge with a BadAss that we had ordered from Parts is Parts.
The neck on our Spirit was a particularly appealing aspect of the guitar. The Les Paul Junior double-cutaway design provides unencumbered access to the all but 2 of the 24 frets. Our neck was not as clubby as a vintage Junior, but still very comfortable and extremely easy to play. Overall balance of the guitar is excellent too – better by far than most LP’s, although a straplock system is strongly advised. As with most Gibsons, the placement of the upper strap button makes carefree guitar slinging extremely risky.
We now had a spectacular sounding, one-of-a-kind solidbody guitar that is equally well-suited for clear, glassy rhythms, roaring, overdriven leads and effortless slide work (right up to the 20th fret!), all for a total investment of $780. As Peter commented during our tube evaluation sessions, “that’s a killer-cool little guitar.” And that it is.
We found 2 Epiphone Spirits listed on Gbase for $635 and $1,200. Both guitars were described as having carved maple tops and mahogony bodies, similar to a Les Paul. While we haven’t actually seen any of these models, they would have been produced in Nashville during the later stages of the Spirit’s production in 1983. Our Spirit being a Kalamazoo edition, conversations with the former manager of the Kalamazoo factory at Gibson confirmed that the early models were made exclusively of poplar and maple as we’ve described. If you’re craving an inexpensive and unique solidbody guitar with typical Gibson appointments that will deliver signature tone beyond the ordinary, The Epi Spirit properly customized will do the trick, and then some.
Attention ToneFreaks! This Epiphone Spirit guitar – yep, the very one reviewed and upgraded for this article is available for sale as of 4/11/00. We’d love to keep it, but we’ve got more review pieces to acquire and we can’t keep them all! You’ll get the $300 Harmonic Design Z90’s, plus the original Dirty Fingers pickups, Jay Riness’ incomparable fretwork and setup, new pots, new cloth-covered wire thruout, a new Badass bridge, a new Epiphone hardshell case, and Tone that is not to be believed. $900 plus shipping, all major credit cards accepted, postal money orders, or bank drafts. Personal checks will delay shipment until your check clears. Please call 1-877-MAX-TONE (toll-free). Please – serious inquiries only email at tonequest1@aol.com.
Sources: Harmonic Design Pickups, Bakersfield, CA 661-321-0395 pickups@harmonicdesign.net
. Parts is Parts (American Guitar Center), Wilmington, VT 1-800-590-0014 info@guitar-parts.com
. Jay Riness, Rhyne Guitars, Marietta, GA 770-928-5971
