After the Gibson SJ-200 was launched in 1937, it quickly earned the title "King of the Flat-Tops" due to its superior sound, physical size, exceptional projection, and majestic appearance. The earliest model years of the SJ-200 featured rosewood back and sides, a specification that was changed to maple in 1947. Due to the harsh economic realities following the Great Depression, demand for the top-of-the-line SJ-200 was limited, resulting in relatively low production numbers. Rare pre-war rosewood SJ-200 models are highly prized by modern collectors, driving up their prices significantly on the vintage guitar market. Now, Epiphone has partnered with Gibson Custom to create an "Inspired by Gibson Custom" reissue of this vintage icon, making it more accessible to today's guitarists. The Epiphone Pre-War SJ-200 Rosewood Reissue is packed with vintage-inspired details, including solid rosewood back and sides, a thermally aged solid spruce top with traditional scalloped X-bracing made of quarter-sawn solid spruce, and a two-piece maple neck with a rosewood center strip and a Round D profile, attached to the body via a glued-in dovetail joint. The ebony fretboard is adorned with graduated Mother-of-Pearl Crown inlays and features 20 standard frets. The SJ-200 style pickguard features vintage-style graphics, and the ebony SJ-200 open two-bar Moustache™ bridge includes Mother-of-Pearl inlays. The nut, compensated saddle, and bridge pins are all made of bone. The Gibson "open book" headstock features a vintage Epiphone logo and a Gibson Crown inlay in aged pearloid, along with a stinger and an "Inspired by Gibson Custom" Double Diamond logo etched on the back. Catering to the needs of modern musicians, it comes pre-installed with an under-saddle L.R. Baggs™ Element Bronze VTC piezo pickup and an active preamp with soundhole-mounted volume and tone controls—making it stage- and studio-ready right out of the included Red Line-inspired hardshell case featuring "Inspired by Gibson Custom" graphics.
