Joe's Vintage Guitars - Preserving History One Guitar at a Time

Joe's Vintage Guitars Blog

Vintage Guitar Resource Center: Authentication & Selling Guides

Model-by-model authentication guides, serial-number dating help, and honest advice on valuing and selling vintage guitars, written by Joe Dampt from real instruments handled at the shop.

Close-up of a 1961 Epiphone Crestwood headstock featuring the early symmetrical three-per-side tuner configuration and the raised metal Epiphone logo plate.
Specific Model Highlights

The Epiphone Crestwood: A Guide to Its Vintage Solid-Body History

The Epiphone Crestwood comes from the “Golden Era” of electric guitar design. Introduced in 1958 as Epiphone’s first original solid-body model, the Crestwood, and its later incarnation the Crestwood Custom, offered a sleek, asymmetrical alternative to Gibson’s double-cut offerings. From the early “New York” pickups to the mini-humbuckers and the “batwing” headstock of the 1960s, these instruments are popular with collectors for their lightweight feel and high-output snarl. If you have an early Crestwood Deluxe or a 60s Custom, knowing how the specs changed over the years helps you identify what you’ve got.

Read more

Talk With
Joe Today

Have a vintage guitar to sell or a question? I’m here to help.

Best way to reply: (optional)

*If you have photos, you will have the option to upload them after clicking submit