Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Epiphone Del Rey

One of the most unusual and rare of all guitars made. A 24-fret Epiphone guitar made from late ‘90s to very beginning of 21st Century. I’d love comments on production years for those who know, especially Gibson employees who could tell stories about this, and the Gibson double-cutaway, which is the same guitar at three to five times the price.


OBL pickups with distortion sound. I did not know until 2009, after nearly 10 years of having mine, that you can pull the tone knob and have single-rail, or Stratocaster, sound. I have a rare Ibanez RG 570 that plays two single rails, but has two humbuckers (can not be played at the same time as you can with Del Rey). Pulling the pot up on the Del Rey gives the Ibanez sound and I still have 24-frets like the RG 570. Wonderful.


What makes the Del Rey special is its finish. It has white binding, mahogany body, 24-fret rosewood fretboard with dot inlay, and a spectacular flame maple top. You can see by some of the photos how it reflects light, especially stage lights.


I’ve had this up on Ebay several times, but no one would pay the $500 I have in it. Since I found out about the push/pull feature, it has become one of my most used guitars. If anyone wants to donate a Gibson or Epiphone Les Paul case, I don’t have a case for this beauty.

5 comments :

Anonymous said...

i have two of them.one original and one with s-duncan JB,s.the one with the s.d.have a serialnumber and the original have no serialnumber.greetings frits -the netherlands

Anonymous said...

This is the best guitar I've ever played in my life. SERIOUSLY! If not the best guitar in the world it is the most resilient for certain.

Unknown said...

Hi,
I have a delrey for about 15 years. I sent it to maintenance a month ago. the seller asked me if I intend to sell it! He very liked it, but had not been able to find one. Woooow... 'didn't know my old beginner guitar was sooooo nice.

BTW, this guitar-shop man found a warwick's case that is well-suited for my honey.

Anonymous said...

Came across A Del Ray w/ orig.case as a trade for another Guiter at a Pawn Shop, Excellent workmanship and Play..wouldn;t sell it for a Thousand Bucks its so Rare and Beautiful

Bruce said...

I just picked one up today, transblack finish, needs a little TLC (cleaning, setup, etc.), thought of giving it to my son, but Junior might be out of luck!

Seller listed it as upgraded pickups, buy these clearly say OBL -- aren't those the original, stock ones from the factory?