Epiphone 1961 full line catalog, page 20. Although Gibson took control of Epiphone production in the late 1950s, it wasn't until 1961 that they started shipping banjos and mandolins under the Epiphone brand. Initially just two models were available, the Epiphone Minstrel banjo EB-88 and Epiphone Venetian mandolin EM-66, with more banjos being added throughout the decade, and even an electric version of the Venetian mandolin (EM-66E) briefly appearing between 1966 and 1967. Both the Minstrel banjo and Venetian mandolin launched in 1961 and remained in the Epiphone line right though until 1969, when Epiphone production ceased at Kalamazoo, in favour of Japan.
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