Epiphone Genesis

The Genesis was only made for a couple years 1978-1980. They are essentially a Les Paul style guitar and were probably the biggest reason Gibson had to buy out Epiphone. From the factory they came with a versatile set of features including a 5 way selectable toggle, a coil tap, two volume controls and one tone control... not to mention a hefty mahogany frame that resonates beautifully.

I have removed the original pickups from both my standard and deluxe editions (saved them of course!) and replaced them with Seymour Duncan SH5 (bridge position) and SH2N (neck)pickups. The change has been well worth it! The original pickups in both guitars were beat up and noisy.

I play in a hard rock band so this heavy beast of a guitar works really nice. I run it through a Vox Tonelab floor board into a Peavey 5150II. My deluxe is actually a little noiser than the standard (noisy volume pots) but this is probably because the deluxe has seen more hours of use than the standard has. The tone as I mentioned above is huge and thick, yet the coil taps enable this guitar to play almost any style including twangy country! In my opinion, this guitar is one of the best sounding guitars I've ever played. The standard version simply lacks the 'fancy' moldings and fret inlays that the deluxe comes with. Also, my deluxe is a sunburst, while I believe standards were only manufactured in solid black, red or white.

I have no idea how well these guitars were set-up when they left the factory, but my two are great now... which I guess says a lot considering they are about 30 years old!

Yes this guitar will withstand playing live and sounds great recorded as well. This thing is a tank and if more guitars were built this well today, I would probably have bought a newer guitar instead of a second Genesis. Neither one of my Genesis have let me down or quit on me while touring or in the studio.

I've never dealt with Epiphone or Gibson and certainly not back when Epiphone was it's own company!

I've been playing guitar for 14 years and piano for 22 years, so I do know a little bit about music/writing/tone etc and this guitar is a gem. If it was stolen I would be on ebay the next day trying to find another Genesis, all the while wishing ill on the son-of b*tch who stole my current one! If you can find an Epiphone Genesis in decent shape, buy it.

My grandfather bought the genisis for my father when he was ten it was his first guitar. He recently gave it to me, it happens to be made the first year of production 1979 and it is also the 130th one made. this guitar has been beat up and been refreted but it still sounds good. I play it every ounce in a while and it sounds good whith my distortion pedal. I plan on keeping this for a long time maybe the rest of my life and i am only fourteen. I hope i have a long time left with it.

it goes out of tune every ounce in a while but it has withstood thirty years of playing and it still sound good epiphone has reliably guitars

no warranty

i have played four years and have three other guitars and one is a epiphone les paul i really love that guitar and as you can see i love epiphone i also have a alverez and a fender strat

I got this guitar at a garage sale for $70 bucks. It looks great and sounds Ok. I'm sure with new pickups this thing might sound pretty good. I mostly use a PRS Hollowbody w/ two 7's ,Ans an AMmerican Tele with a Antiquity bridge PU. This guitar plays well and looks great...it just sounds too muddy and the resonance never wants to "open up"...kinda boxy.Might be better if modded

I TRY TO play mostly lead. I'm into very tranparent tones, that blossom into vocals shapes rather than a buzz that's amplified. This guitar sounds OK. It's way better than a cheap squire or some junk like that, but still lacks any real great tone. Very muddy....even split to single coils.

Good...I can see a seem through the finish of when they glued the body pieces together...

Seem solid as a rock

NA

People get so excited about guitar when companies stop making them. The old Japanese stars are even worth a fortune...but for a good reason. They sound good and are made of good wood. This guitar if built today, would not gain to much attention..it sounds muddy as hell, and it weighs a ton! Maybe some $200 pickups might fix the tone but then I'm ruining the vintage vibe and still don't know if it will sound any better. There a reason people pay money for good guitars...wood is expensive and so are nice pickups...throw on some quality hardware into a custom nicely finished neck and body, and match it all up...$$$ This guitar lacks good wood, pickups, and sound

I bought a Genesis Bass used in 1982. At the time, I had only been playing for 3 years and had just gotten a Rick 4001 to add to my Fender Jazz bass. I showed up a gig with it and pulled it out at the start of the third set. The guitarist flipped out over how good it sounded. He insisted I play it everywhere for the rest of the time I was with them. A few months after that band broke up, money became tight and I sold it. I have owned a few Les Paul basses, several Fenders and a couple Ricks, but I have been looking for a black Epiphone Genesis bass for years. I switched to guitar about 10 years ago and would like to pick up a guitar version as well. This coming from a long time Strat guy. If anyone knows where I can get them email me reverendmsa@hotmail.com

Thanks

Mark Archambault
www.MySpace.com/TheMarkArchambaultCombo

Made somewhere between 1979-81.
I've got the deluxe model.
2 humbuckers with a coil split switch,3 way pickup toggle switch, 2 vol knobs per pickup and a master tone knob.

Weighty solid mahogany monster!! Unbelievably heavy.. this thing just oozes tone.

Tuners are very reliable (I just got it in today and was I surprised to find out that the original tuners were feeling tight and very stable for an instrument of this age! Excellent quality hardware.

The neck feels like it's between the 59 and 60's neck. It feels awesome.

I'm giving this a 10 here due to this guitar having all the features I need in a gigging guitar.

Here is where this guitar shines.

Have only just gotten the guitar in today from a vintage dealer so I haven't gotten to measuring how hot the pickups are but let me tell you this, this guitar flat out Floors the new Gibson Les Paul's I've tried out at the store.

The pickups on this guitar sound like gold to me. They provide what myself and most people are seeking these days the vintage tone sublimely. Words cannot describe my feelings when I plugged it into my amps.
If I had turned the volume up any louder, a guitar enthusiast would probably break into my house to steal this guitar.
This is what I would feel like doing if I heard my neighbors axe sounding as sweet as this.

The volume knobs and tone knob are extremely responsive and it really adds to the dynamics of your playing style.

The coil tap switches are amazing. This guitar is no strat and I wasn't looking for a strat either but let me say this, the coil taps bring out what I call a tone that's edgy, bitey and has a feeling of an old friend coming up to you and greeting you with a smack on the back.

If I were in a shop and I hear someone plugging it in, I'm sold!

I'm really not being over the top when I say this guitar sounds as good if not better than the les paul standards that Gibson is making now.

First of all if some of you are wondering why I compared this to the les pauls in stores and not my own, this is because I'm sorry but I do not like the looks of les pauls. This is the only reason why I don't owe one.

A few examples of my guitars are an ES-339, Blueshawk(the Gibbys).
(Yes I have a fetish for F-holes and horns)

I love any guitar with f-holes and guitars with horns.
This genesis, which I'm very fortunate to be able to obtain, is my answer to getting the les paul sound. I tried getting the fat warm les paul tone with many other guitars but to no avail.

Okay guys,
this is not factory setup (I doubt anyone cares what the setup was like 30 years ago..)

The action is awesome.
Plays like butter.
Fit and finish is superb.
I've seen many vintage ibanez and yamaha guitars with dreadful finish checks and even scarier are the finish checks on their necks.
This guitar however had no finish flaws even after 30 years.

I wonder if the luthiers who worked on this guitar know that their work is this amazing.

NO scratchy pots!! I repeat NO scratchy pots even at this age! All original!

Tuners are amazingly stable. So tight (tighter than the ones on my damn les paul florentine..). Holds a tune for as long as I did not bend 4 to 5 semi-tones in a song. I doubt any guitar holds a tune well after being consistently bent 4 - 5 semitones anyway.

Saying anything more than what I've said above would only be redundant..

30 years later.
Never dealt with epiphone before

I have been playing for awhile and I own a couple of gibson's custom shop models and standard models, some ESP Standards and well 2 Epiphones.
One is this Genesis and one is a Les Paul ES(sounds worlds apart from the Genesis but also very sweet)

If it were stolen, I would be very sad. I would chase the thief to the ends of the earth not to put him through hell but to get my baby back!

I love this guitar.

Made somewhere between 1979-81.
I've got the deluxe model.
2 humbuckers with a coil split switch,3 way pickup toggle switch, 2 vol knobs per pickup and a master tone knob.

Weighty solid mahogany monster!! Unbelievably heavy.. this thing just oozes tone.

Tuners are very reliable (I just got it in today and was I surprised to find out that the original tuners were feeling tight and very stable for an instrument of this age! Excellent quality hardware.

The neck feels like it's between the 59 and 60's neck. It feels awesome.

I'm giving this a 10 here due to this guitar having all the features I need in a gigging guitar.

Here is where this guitar shines.

Have only just gotten the guitar in today from a vintage dealer so I haven't gotten to measuring how hot the pickups are but let me tell you this, this guitar flat out Floors the new Gibson Les Paul's I've tried out at the store.

The pickups on this guitar sound like gold to me. They provide what myself and most people are seeking these days the vintage tone sublimely. Words cannot describe my feelings when I plugged it into my amps.
If I had turned the volume up any louder, a guitar enthusiast would probably break into my house to steal this guitar.
This is what I would feel like doing if I heard my neighbors axe sounding as sweet as this.

The volume knobs and tone knob are extremely responsive and it really adds to the dynamics of your playing style.

The coil tap switches are amazing. This guitar is no strat and I wasn't looking for a strat either but let me say this, the coil taps bring out what I call a tone that's edgy, bitey and has a feeling of an old friend coming up to you and greeting you with a smack on the back.

If I were in a shop and I hear someone plugging it in, I'm sold!

I'm really not being over the top when I say this guitar sounds as good if not better than the les paul standards that Gibson is making now.

First of all if some of you are wondering why I compared this to the les pauls in stores and not my own, this is because I'm sorry but I do not like the looks of les pauls. This is the only reason why I don't owe one.

A few examples of my guitars are an ES-339, Blueshawk(the Gibbys).
(Yes I have a fetish for F-holes and horns)

I love any guitar with f-holes and guitars with horns.
This genesis, which I'm very fortunate to be able to obtain, is my answer to getting the les paul sound. I tried getting the fat warm les paul tone with many other guitars but to no avail.

Okay guys,
this is not factory setup (I doubt anyone cares what the setup was like 30 years ago..)

The action is awesome.
Plays like butter.
Fit and finish is superb.
I've seen many vintage ibanez and yamaha guitars with dreadful finish checks and even scarier are the finish checks on their necks.
This guitar however had no finish flaws even after 30 years.

I wonder if the luthiers who worked on this guitar know that their work is this amazing.

NO scratchy pots!! I repeat NO scratchy pots even at this age! All original!

Tuners are amazingly stable. So tight (tighter than the ones on my damn les paul florentine..). Holds a tune for as long as I did not bend 4 to 5 semi-tones in a song. I doubt any guitar holds a tune well after being consistently bent 4 - 5 semitones anyway.

Saying anything more than what I've said above would only be redundant..

30 years later.
Never dealt with epiphone before

I have been playing for awhile and I own a couple of gibson's custom shop models and standard models, some ESP Standards and well 2 Epiphones.
One is this Genesis and one is a Les Paul ES(sounds worlds apart from the Genesis but also very sweet)

If it were stolen, I would be very sad. I would chase the thief to the ends of the earth not to put him through hell but to get my baby back!

I love this guitar.

I bought my Epiphone Genesis brand new in 1982. The Genesis model only ran for 3 years, making it rare. The run times were from 1979 through 1981. It is made of a solid mohogony body that as you know weighs a ton. You have a volume dial for each of the Humbucker pickups, a tone dial, the 3 way switch for the 2 pickups and a coil splitter switch, which is a unique and great feature! The 1979 model was made in Japan and the 80 and 81 models were made in Taiwan. There were 3 models. The basic model had small round inserts on the frets; the cheapest color was the solid black model. Mine's a base model but is Wine Red in color. The deluxe model had rectangular inserts and more white striping around the neck and body and finally was the custom model. Also with the extra striping, it had more decorative inserts. This guitar was built using mostly Gibson Les Paul parts. The strings were comfortably low to the neck making it easy and great to play, well. The pickups are lound and crisp giving it a great sound. It is thought that Gibson stopped production because the price was very low as new, which is why they moved production from Japan to Taiwan, as an attempt to reduce cost of build. They originally designed this unit to draw more players to the Epiphone brand. If your Genesis is in good condition with all its original parts, take good care of it and keep it for a while. The value is only going to go up further! Hope this helps.

Your serial numbers are on the back of the headstock towards the top. Actually I am on this site trying to get some info. I have a Genesis with a serial # that I want info on. Its 9000001 and I wonder if it has any significance. Does anyone know where to find this kind of info out?

have an genesis aswell own it for 25 years.. love it :-)
but i can't find a serialnumber on it...where do I have to look ?
was it a sticker ore stamped in? are there guitars made without the serial???

at the time in de 70"s they were sold inclusive with a case..

I own 2 genesis, or genesi? I bought what I believe is a custom in around 1980. It is a brown gold sunburst, binding everywhere, and trapazoid inlays. I loved the shape as it was not the common double cutaway, but resemble the lower half of a LesPaul in both directions.
The long headstock and HEAVY body give this guitar legendary sustain. The tuners are excellent, ratio is small and exact and they hold after almost 30 years of playing. I had always thought this was a USA made guitar but recently I have read that they were first made in Japan in 78 and in Taiwan 79-80. I bought it with some use so maybe it is a Japan model. Mahogany body/maple top. The most versatile pickup/electronics I have ever had with a 2humbucker guitar. split swtch.

It sounded good through my first amp which was a peavey pacer112. Also sounded good through fender twin, and now my exclusive amps are Tubeworks tubedrivers (amazing hybrids).
This guitar never makes noise, although the pots have been cleaned.
Full/warm sound, and hot/overdrive sound ala santana.
I like everything about this guitar.

The wood and finish on this guitar is a work of art. The burst is repeated on the back, the sides, the neck right up to the back of the head stock! The hardware is showing lots of signs of wear, it is not uncommon for my guitars as I have an acid skin and my hardware corrodes, but for 30 years of play it is good.

For any gig where I would take only one guitar, it would have to be a Genesis. The guitar had 2 bad falls, one where it fell off a flat bed and the neck stuck in the ground, it didn't even go out of tune. The second, it dropped from around my neack (the strap-lock was not fully engaged) and cracked the neck right at the headstock. That has been glued - recracked- and glued again. Even still it has perfect intonation up and down the neck.
I searched for years and bought a second Genesis in 2000. It is a standard black with dot inlays, and binding on the top only. It is in every way superior to my epi LesPaul standard. over the years I have owned a lot of guitars, and they have all come and gone, this is the best production guitar I have ever played, and I would buy another if I saw it.

I had the neck of the custom glued 2 times, it is very good now.

I have been playing for 31 years.
Guitars: 2 Genesis, Epi Les Paul standard, LP100, SG400, a customized hamer.
Amps: 2 td752 45 watt, td714 30watt.
Effects: Boss pedals, tube screamer, crybaby.

It's not likely they would both be stolen...but, I would replace if I could, and as I said I will buy another as soon as I find one. As far as I can see, this had to be the best produced, worst marketed guitar in history!