Coronet

The Coronet was first manufactured by Epiphone under the Gibson brand in 1959. It was priced at approximately $120, and was seen as a reliable entry level guitar.

Originally the Coronet came with a single Epiphone New York pickup in the treble position. In 1959 Epiphone began shipping new Coronets with a P-90 pickup and began offering the Coronet with its signature cherry red finish.

Some Coronets manufactured in 1964 were made under the Dwight brand. Dwight was a house brand used by Epiphone for Sonny Shields Music in East Saint Louis (Illinois), which was owned by Charles “Dwight” Shields. These Dwight-brand Coronets were identical to other Coronets of the period with the exceptions of a "Dwight Model" inscription on the truss rod cover.

In the 1970s, production of the Coronet came to a halt when Epiphone packed up and left its facilities in Kalamazoo, Michigan to move overseas.

There was a short run of Coronets in the late 1990s, which were made in Korea. These featured OBL model pickups, a single coil in the neck position and a humbucker in the bridge position, with a pull-out tone knob to tap the humbucker.

The shortlived USA Coronet of 1990 had a similar pickup layout and matching electronics except for the addition of a two-octave rosewood fingerboard with rectangular block markers and a reverse Explorer-style headstock. The USA Coronets came with the choice of gold hardware with stop tailpiece or black hardware with licensed Floyd Rose locking tremolo.

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. The ET-Series are easily identifiable by their full-size humbucker pickups and bolt-on necks.

## Models

### Coronet

1958-59 Epiphone Coronet

1960 Epiphone Coronet with metal peghead logo

1960 Epiphone Coronet with silkscreened logo

1961 Epiphone Coronet

1963 Epiphone Coronet with Batwing Headstock & Vibrato

1964 Epiphone Coronet with Wrap Around Tailpiece

* 1958-1969

**Body:**

* Mahogany body
* 1.75" symmetrical body (1958-1959)
* 1.375" symmetrical body (1960-1962)
* 1.375" asymmetrcal body (1963-1969)

**Neck:**

* One-piece mahogany neck
* Rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays
* 22 frets
* 24.75" scale
* 1.68" nut width

**Headstock & Logo:**

* Open-book headstock with metal Bikini logo (1958-1960)
* Open-book headstock with pearl Epiphone logo (1960-1962)
* Open-book headstock with gold silkscreened Epiphone logo (1962)
* Batwing headstock with gold silkscreened Epiphone logo (1963-1969)

**Headstock Pitch:**

* 17 degrees (1958-1966)
* 14 degrees (1967-1969)

**Electronics:**

* 1-New York pickup (1958-1959)
* 1-P90 dogear pickup (1960-1969)
* 1 Vol. 1 Tone

**Hardware:**

* Nickel hardware (1958-1965)
* Chrome hardware (1966-1969)

**Bridge:**

* Smooth, angled wrap-around tailpiece (1958-1960)
* Compensated, straight wraparound tailpiece (1961-1969)
* Vibrato optional (1962-1966)

**Pickguard:**

* Asymmetrical pickguard (1958-1959)
* Symmetrical pickguard with embosses "E" (1960-1969)

**Colors:**

* Cherry
* Black
* Silver Fox
* Sunset Yellow
* California Coral
* Pacific Blue

### Dwight Coronet

Epiphone Dwight Coronet

Epiphone Dwight Coronet Headstock

* 1964

**Body:**

* Mahogany body
* 1.375" asymmetrcal body

**Neck:**

* One-piece mahogany neck
* Rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays
* Batwing headstock with gold silkscreened Epiphone logo
* 2-ply truss rod cover with "Dwight Model" inscription
* 17 degree headstock pitch
* 24.75" scale
* 1.68" nut width

**Electronics:**

* One P-90 dogear pickup
* 1 Vol. 1 Tone

**Hardware:**

* Nickel hardware
* Compensated, straight wraparound tailpiece and Vibrato
* Symmetrical pickguard with embosses "E"

**Colors:**

* Silver Fox

### Coronet Reissue

Epiphone Coronet Reissue

Epiphone Coronet Reissue with Vibrotone

Epiphone Coronet Reissue with clipped-ear headstock

* 1995-2000

**Body:**

* Offset double cutaway
* Maple body

**Neck:**

* Bolt-on maple neck
* Rosewood fingerboard with pearl block inlay
* Batwing headstock on early models
* Modern Clipped-ear headstock on later models\* 24 frets
* 24.75" scale
* 1.68" nut width

**Binding:**

* Single-ply neck

**Electrronics:**

* 1 OBL humbucker & 1 OBL slanted single-coil covered pickups
* Active electronics with coil tapping
* 1 Vol. 1 Tone controls
* 3-way selector switch

**Hardware:**

* Chrome hardware
* White pickguard
* Tune-o-matic bridge with stopbar tailpiece
* Black barrel knobs

**Colors:**

* Black Metallic (MB)
* Metallic Midnight Blue (MMB)
* Metallic Green (??)
* Metallic Purple (MP)
* Metallic Red (RM)

### USA Coronet

Epiphone USA Coronet

* 1991-1994

**Body:**

* Offset double cutaway
* Brazilian Mahogany body

**Neck:**

* Set maple neck
* Rosewood fingerboard with small block inlays
* Reverse Explorer-style headstock
* "USA" on truss rod cover
* 24 frets
* 24.75" scale
* 1.68" nut width

**Binding:**

* Single-ply neck

**Electronics:**

* 1 open-coil 500T humbucker & 1 open-coil NSX single-coil pickups
* 1 Vol. 1 Tone controls
* 5-way rotary selector switch
* Active electronics with variable loading

**Hardware:**

* Black or gold hardware
* White pickguard
* Floyd Rose locking tremolo
* Optional Tune-o-matic bridge with stopbar tailpiece
* Black barrel knobs

**Colors:**

* Black (BK)
* Cherry (CH)
* White (WH)
* Sunburst
* Pacific Blue
* Sunset Yellow
* California Coral

### Sturgis Buffalo Chip Coronet

The Sturgis Buffalo Chip, motorcycling’s largest music festival, will once again bring music to the masses for the 71st annual Sturgis Rally held this August, and Epiphone Guitars will be front and center for the massive event. 2011 marks the Sturgis Buffalo Chip’s 30th anniversary and Epiphone is pleased to take part by offering Sturgis music fans a chance to get in on the action. Epiphone will not only provide Chip attendees with an exclusive opportunity to test drive some of latest Epiphone products, but are also providing fans the exclusive opportunity to own their very own piece of Sturgis history with the Limited Edition Sturgis Buffalo Chip® 2011 Epiphone Coronet

* Promotional Guitar for Sturgis Buffalo Chip music festival
* Custom designed with the Sturgis Buffalo Chip logo
* Signature of Chip owner Rod Woodruff

**Body:**

* Mahogany body

**Neck:**

* Bolt-on mahogany neck
* Rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays
* 24.75" scale
* 1.68" nut width

**Electronics:**

* One 700T humbucker pickup
* 1 Volume control

**Hardware:**

* Chrome hardwarre
* Compensated wraparound bridge
* Black speed knob

**Colors:**

* Metallic Black (MB)

***See Also:***

* ***Promotional Guitars***

## References

1. ↑ http://www.buffalochip.com/NEWS-INFO/News/Buffalo-Chip-Announcements/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/152/Epiphone-Guitars-Take-Center-Stage-at-the-Largest-Music-Festival-in-Motorcycling-for-the-71st-Annual-Sturgis-Rally