A 27-year-old, well-maintained Epiphone Emperor is looking for the new owner. Inspired by Gibson Super 400, Emperor prides herself of elegant body line and rich acoustic jazz tonality. Also notable is the Orange label, affixed by a Japanese manufacturer Terada music from 1987 to 1997, in contrast to Blue (1970-1980), Beige (1980-1987) labels. Compared to the predecessors, orange labeled Epiphone features lighter and thus smaller-looking body. The production by Terada music stopped in 1997 and was handed over to Korean companies from 1998, which in turn tossed the production to Chinese vendors from 2005.

Dating hints: 5 digit serial numbers represent Terada music's numbering scheme, which was used from 1987 to 1997. The first letter indicates the year (0 = 1990), the second letter implies the type of guitar, where number 9 refers to Emperor-J. The rest 3 digits are the production number.

Looking at the specs, maple body balances off the high tension coming from flat-wound string (by default) while soft spruce top enhances full acoustic resonance. Condition-wise, she stays overall in excellent shape with minor oxidation on metal parts but please also take note, the binding of pickguard was taken off, if this concerns you at all. Lastly, this graceful vintage ships flies with a sturdy gig bag to your doorstep within a week.