Olympic

For over a decade from 1959 through early 1970 Epiphone solid body guitars and basses were produced in limited numbers right along side some of the greatest Gibson's of all time. These Epiphone guitars represented some of the highest quality and best sounding instruments of their generation. They provided unique shapes, pickup arrangements, and tonal signatures not seen on comparable Gibson models of the day.

The Epiphone Olympic started out looking similar to a ***Les Pauls Special Doublecut*** From 1960 until 1962. In 1963, Epiphone redesigned the Olympic to match its other solid body guitars such as the Coronet and Wilshire. The original Olympic body shape became the Olympic Special with slight modification to the lower horn, which was shortened and re-angled slightly.
The ***Olympic, Crestwood, Coronet*** and ***Wilshire*** guitars are often confused with the ***ET-Series***, which were a Japanese-made amalgamation of the older Epiphone body shapes and designs.

## Models

### Olympic

* Model SB722

**Body:**

* Mahogany body
* Single-cut LP-style body (1960-1962)
* Asymmetrical Coronet style body (1963-1970)

**Neck:**

* Set Mahogany neck
* Rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays
* Melody Maker-style 3x3 headstock (1960-1962)
* Open-book style 3x3 headstock (1963-1964)
* Batwing 6-in-a-row headstock (1965-1970)
* 24.75" scale
* 1.68" nut width

**Electronics:**

* One Single-coil pickup
* 1 Vol. 1 Tone controls

**Hardware:**

* Nickel hardware
* Wraparound bridge or Maestro Vibrola
* Celluloid Tortoise pickguard (1960-1962)
* White pickguard (1963-1970)

**Colors:**

* Sunburst
* Cherry

### Olympic Double

* Model SB722D

**Body:**

* Mahogany body
* Single-cut LP-style body (1960-1962)
* Asymmetrical Coronet style body (1963-1970)

**Neck:**

* Set Mahogany neck
* Rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays
* Melody Maker-style 3x3 headstock (1960-1962)
* Open-book style 3x3 headstock (1963-1964)
* Batwing 6-in-a-row headstock (1965-1970)
* 24.75" scale
* 1.68" nut width

**Electronics:**

* 2 Single-coil pickup
* 2 Vol. 2 Tone controls
* 3-way selector switch

**Hardware:**

* Nickel hardware
* Wraparound bridge or Maestro Vibrola
* Celluloid Tortoise pickguard (1960-1962)
* White pickguard (1963-1970)

**Colors:**

* Sunburst
* Cherry

### Olympic Special

* 1962-1970
* Model SB721

**Body:**

* Mahogany body
* Symmetrical body (1962-1964)
* Asymmetrical body (1965-1970)

**Neck:**

* Set mahogany neck
* Rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays
* Melody Maker style headstock
* 24.75" scale
* 1.68" nut width

**Electronics:**

* One Single-coil pickup
* 1 Vol. 1 Tone controls

**Hardware:**

* Nickel hardware
* Celluloid Tortoise pickguard
* Wraparound bridge or Maestro Vibrola

**Colors:**

* Sunburst

### Olympic 3/4

* Model SB722¾
* 1960-1963

**Body:**

* Single cutaway
* Mahogany body

**Neck:**

* Set one-piece mahogany neck
* Rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays
* 19 frets
* Melody Maker style headstock
* 22.75" scale
* 1.68" nut width

**Electronics:**

* One Single-coil pickup
* 1 Vol. 1 Tone controls

**Hardware:**

* Nickel hardware
* Celluloid Tortoise pickguard
* Wraparound bridge

**Colors:**

* Sunburst

### Olympic (Japan)

* **Japan Domestic Market only**
* 1975-1979

**Models:**

* Olympic
* Olympic Custom

**Body:**

* Double cutaway
* Maple body
* Deep German carve

**Neck:**

* Set maple neck
* Rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays
* 3-screw center-dip truss cover
* 24 frets

**Electronics:**

* Two humbucker pickups
* 1 Vol. 1 Tone control
* 3-way selector switch

**Hardware:**

* Chrome hardware
* Adjustable wraparound bridge
* Optional tune-o-matic bridge with tremolo tailpiece (Olympic Custom)
* Die-cast tunerss
* Black speed knobs with pointers

**Colors:**

* Blonde
* Walnut