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EPIPHONE | SOLID BODY GUITARS | WILSHIRE

Epiphone Wilshire

SB432 solid-body electric guitar

Epiphone Wilshire specifications

Model Wilshire SB432
Available 1960-1969
Pickups 2 P90 single coil pickups or (after 1964) 2 mini humbuckers
Scale 24 3/4"
Body Mahogany. 12 3/4" wide (lower bout), 15 5/8" long, 1 3/8" thick
Neck One-piece mahogany, rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays. No binding, 22 frets. Early models had a double sided headstock, changing in late 1963 to the Epiphone batwing one-sided headstock
Hardware 2 volume and 2 tone controls with 3-way selector switch. Tune-o-matic bridge. Optional Maestro vibrola (early examples were shipped with Tremotone vibrola)
Finishes Cherry, Red Fox, and custom colours: Sunset Yellow, California Coral, Pacific Blue

The Epiphone solid body guitar range was launched in 1959, with the Coronet and Crestwood models - with the Wilshire added a year later in 1960. All guitars were built at Gibson's Kalamazoo plant in Michigan, USA, side-by-side with many Gibson solid body models. Like 1960s Gibsons, vintage Epiphone Wilshire guitars are great playing, highly collectable instruments. They are lightweight with great fret access, well-built, and quite unique in design - no wonder they are so desirable.

Epiphone Wilshire construction

The Epiphone solid-body range could be directly correlated to the Gibson SG range sharing many features; hardware, pickup configurations, body and neck woods, construction and controls. They were all made at Gibson's Kalamazoo factory, so this is not surprising. The Wilshire (particularly the early P90 model) corresponds to Gibson's SG Special. Both had a mahogany neck and body with a 22 fret rosewood fretboard, a 24 3/4" scale length, a translucent cherry finish, two pickups, each with a volume and tone control, and a pickup selector switch.

Across nine years of production, a total of 2640 Epiphone Wilshire were shipped. This total includes 183 12-string Epiphone Wilshire. 1964 was the peak year, with 1045 guitars shipped. See shipping stats.

Other than the Olympic Special, all 1960s Epiphone solid body guitars and basses had the same body style (almost symmetrical pre-1964, with a shortened lower horn thereafter), they are the Epiphone Crestwood Custom, Epiphone Olympic and Epiphone Coronet guitars, and the Epiphone Newport and Epiphone Embassy Deluxe basses.

Headstocks were initially the same style as the pre-Gibson Epiphone models, i.e. two sided, and not that different to the Gibson headstock profile. Perhaps this was the reason that in the second half of 1963, Epiphone solid body headstocks were redesigned with a single-sided batwing design.

Two versions of the Epiphone Wilshire from 1963: the SB432 (with stop tailpiece) and the SB432V (with Maestro Vibrola)Image Heritage auctions

A twelve-string version, the Wilshire-12 or SB432-12 was launched in 1966 - with no vibrato and a double sided headstock, 6 tuners per side. A total of 183 were shipped between 1966 and 1968.

Epiphone Wilshire and Jimi Hendrix

The Wilshire was one of the guitars Jimi Hendrix used in the early 1960s, when playing with Don Covay and Little Richard. As usual, Hendrix used a right handed guitar, flipped upside down. Left handed Epiphone solid bodies were not listed as available, and if any were produced, they were certainly not widely available. It seems the only lefty Epiphones manufactured in the 1960s were those that used existing tooling from the pre-aquistion models, or the same tooling as Gibson equivalents, e.g. the Epiphone Casino (which had the same body as the ES-330). With it's perfectly symmetrical body, and deep double cutaways, the Wilshire was the perfect guitar for flipping around and playing left handed.


Epiphone Wilshire catalogue appearances

Epiphone 1961 full line catalog

1961 'guitars, basses, amplifiers' catalogue

A truly sensational solid body guitar with features that win it top rating from professionals who appreciate its tonal range, instant response and easy action for professional performance

Epiphone 1962 full line catalog

1962 'guitars, basses, amplifiers' catalogue

Handsome Honduras mahogany body in a modern contoured design... all 22 frets above the cutaway

Epiphone 1964 full line catalog

1964 full line catalogue

This is the first catalogue to show the new-style asymmetrical Wilshire, with six-a-side tuners

Epiphone 1966 full line catalog

1966 full line catalogue

Epiphone is proud to present solid body instruments that offer the depth, the sharp treble, the biting tone and the virility that all guitarists seek from a solid body instrument


Epiphone Wilshire shipping statistics

Epiphone shipping statistics have to be read with caution: although total numbers are broadly accurate, the data for the different variants of this guitar can not be regarded as absolute: in some years guitars were lumped together, others separated out. For example, between 1960 and 1965, the basic SB432 model was without vibrato, though between '66 and '69 all Wilshires had a Maestro vibrato, so even though models SB432 V and SB432 MV are not listed, all had vibratos. Furthermore all Epiphone publicity from 1962 list the Maestro vibrato as optional, yet some were certainly shipped with the Epiphone Tremotone version. It would seem that many of the SB 432 V guitars were actually shipped with the Maestro rather than Tremotone. The model listed as SB432 RF is in 'Red Fox' finish. Interestingly this finish was first listed in the 1963 Epiphone price list, and last listed in 1965 - yet shipping figures only list this finish separately for 1967. As no other finishes options are listed (and the Wilshire was available in other custom finishes), it can only be assumed that prior to this date Red Fox finishes were included in the SB432 and SB432 V totals. An inference that only 16 guitars were shipped in Red Fox, or 1965 was the only year that the Maestro vibrato was fitted would be incorrect.

  1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 total
SB432 59 186 180 92 246 129 398 123 44 18 1475
SB432 V 24 42 101 305 472
SB432 MV 494 494
SB432 12 135 43 5 183
SB432 RF 16 16
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Epiphone Wilshire for sale

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1964 Epiphone Wilshire Rare Custom Color Blue w Hard Case

1964 Epiphone Wilshire Rare Custom Color Blue w Hard Case

New York, 100**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

$5999

Vintage original Epiphone 1964 Wilshire in super rare blue finish.
We have taken the guitar apart and it appears the finish is completely original. It is our understanding Epiphone did a rare batch of this model in a orange and some in blue.
Neck is straight and plays great. It has a small, thin profile. Great for someone with smaller hands. It plays with a good action and no buzz or issue. Beautiful Rosewood fretboard. No cracks or breaks. Serial number on back of ... more
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1970 Epiphone WILSHIRE Flame Thru Body!

1970 Epiphone WILSHIRE Flame Thru Body!

La Quinta, California, 922**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

$996

Purple Haze Music
Description: 1970 Epiphone WILSHIRE Flame Thru Body!
Built in Japan in 1970, the first year of production there, this 54 year-old beauty features a vibrant flame thru body in front and back, a two-piece bolt-on rosewood neck with block fret markers and original electronics. Comes with original hardshell case
Condition: In great condition for a vintage guitar, I had a luthier replace the original bar stop and bridge because they were really corroded. I purchased an ... more
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Epiphone 1962 Cherry Wilshire Body & Brazilian Neck

Epiphone 1962 Cherry Wilshire Body & Brazilian Neck

Glassboro, New Jersey, 080**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

$1800

Gibson Dependable
Home of the most First and most Dependable Gibson parts on Ebay
U S.A. and Worldwide Bidders Welcomed
How many of you guitar enthusiast out there have always wanted to build yourselves that awesome project guitar, but didn??t want to spend the money on a full guitar only to dismantle it. Well, here is your opportunity do so. We sell high end name brand parts and project guitars specifically for the purpose of building your own custom one off guitar
Description: ... more
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1965 EPIPHONE WILSHIRE - Made in USA - SUPER LIGHT

1965 EPIPHONE WILSHIRE - Made in USA - SUPER LIGHT

COLOGNE, GERMANY

£2500

1965 EPIPHONE WILSHIRE - made in USA :
* finished is stripped, original inverness green still visible in cavities
* small patch of wood on back=check pic 6
* serial number is faint
* no other parts included
* A FEATHER WEIGHT !
... more
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1965 EPIPHONE WILSHIRE - made in USA

1965 EPIPHONE WILSHIRE - made in USA

COLOGNE, GERMANY

€2998

1965 EPIPHONE WILSHIRE - made in USA :
* finished is stripped, original inverness green still visible in cavities
* small patch of wood on back=check pic 6
* serial number is faint
* no other parts included
* A FEATHER WEIGHT !
++PLENTY of PARTS for SALE ++
ATTENTION! OVER 1000 more
GUITARS-BASSES-AMPS-PARTS
in our OTHER AUCTIONS !!!
CHECK OUR SHOP OUT -------------->>>
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1966 Hagstrom 'worlds fastest playing neck' catalog (Merson USA)

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1965 Hofner President

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1963 1964 Fender catalog

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