Certainly, a bold statement to make. But since it's introduction in 2003, the Epiphone Elitist line has received nothing but praise from both reviewers and players alike. Already winning two Guitar Player magazine Editor's Pick awards as well as a Guitar One magazine GuitarOne award, Elitist's are showing up in the hands of many of the top guitarists all over the world.

Designed for the professional musician, the Elitist line from Epiphone combines over 125 years of instrument building experience and expertise with the finest materials. The results are instruments of impeccable quality and beauty.

The Elitist Wood
At the heart of every great instrument is the wood itself. That's why every piece of wood used in the Elitist line is hand-selected. It is then slowly and painstakingly dried to perfection in custom kilns until it is at the ideal moisture content.

As the father of Epiphone, Epi Stathopoulo said, "Great musical instruments do not just happen." Since 1873, Epiphone has been perfecting the art of wood selection.

The Elitist Necks
All Elitist necks are cut at a 14 -grain orientation from one piece of wood for optimum strength, stability and tonal response. As done with all great instruments, the necks are then carefully and individually fitted to the body using a hand-glued, dovetail neck joint.

One-piece Mahogany necks: hand-shaped for all night long playing ease and comfort.

The Elitist Bodies
All Elitist bodies are made from the finest tone woods such as real Mahogany and individually selected for their weight and tonal qualities. They are then cut and book-matched to perfection.

Book-matched Hard Maple tops with real Mahogany backs combine for the perfect tonal response. Each Elitist LP typically weighs in at an ideal 8-10 pounds for seemingly endless sustain and monster tone.

The Elitist Pickups
All Elitist instruments are equipped with custom-wound pickups "Made in the USA" exclusively for Epiphone by Gibson Musical Instruments for legendary tone and feature such uncompromising features as:

High Quality Cover Materials - All pickup covers use quality German silver with vintage Nickel or real 24K Gold finish. Four-Conductor Wiring - Allowing for all possible wiring combinations. Full Wax Potting - Every pickup is potted in a special wax bath to insure that microphonic feedback due to internal vibration is eliminated. All covered models receive a second wax bath to further protect the pickup. Specially Made Magnets - All magnets are magnetized by Gibson to ensure the total reliability of each magnet's performance. Critical magnetic flux is maintained for the perfect combination of output without sacrificing tonal characteristics.

The Elitist Hardware
All Elitist instruments feature the finest hardware including precision Grover machine heads for precise tuning accuracy and stability.

Quality begins with great hardware. The Elitists features precision Grover machine heads for unsurpassed tuning stability.

The Elitist Details
It's all about the details. That's why Epiphone Elitist guitars feature real Abalone and Pearl inlays as well as bone nuts and saddles and are set-up to perfection using USA Strings.

The quality and beauty of the Elitist guitars is undeniable.

What They're Saying about Elitists

"Kudos to Epiphone for bringing such quality and attention to detail to an instrument that will "street" for under four figures."

" A flawless instrument in every respect."

Guitar One Magazine

"The LP Standard sounds wicked for heavy crunch tones, and its sweetness also makes it a great choice for blues and old-school rock. I love the look of this guitar, and the "Les Paul" on the headstock is no mere boast. The Standard is pure Paul - it just costs a lot less."

"The Sheraton can also cruise in a warm jazz groove on the neck pickup, or snarl like a wild animal when you get down in the bridge setting. What a cool, soulful guitar."

"You pay for the fun in the time it takes to tune this guitar (or any 12-string, for that matter), but once all the wires are humming harmoniously, the Riviera-12 is an awesome thing to behold."

Guitar Player Magazine

To experience the quality of the complete Epiphone Elitist line for yourself, visit your authorized Epiphone dealer today.