Description
Epiphone EA-250 Hollowbody Electric Guitar – Cherry Red MIJ Matsumoku Era
The Epiphone EA-250 is one of the most distinctive and historically interesting guitars from Epiphone’s early Japanese-production era. Built in Japan during the early-to-mid 1970s after Gibson moved Epiphone production overseas, the EA-250 was manufactured by Matsumoku and represents the beginning of the MIJ Epiphone period that would later become highly collectible among vintage import enthusiasts.
Finished in classic Cherry Red, the EA-250 takes obvious visual inspiration from Gibson’s ES-style hollowbodies, but it has its own unique personality and construction. Unlike a traditional Gibson ES-335, the EA-250 uses a bolt-on maple neck and a fully hollow thin-line body design with a small internal support block beneath the bridge rather than a full center block. This construction gives the guitar a lighter, more open and resonant acoustic response compared to center-block semi-hollows.
Verified Matsumoku-era specs consistently point to a maple laminate body construction with a three-piece maple bolt-on neck and rosewood fingerboard featuring rounded block inlays. The guitar uses a 25.5″ scale length — longer than most Gibson designs — which contributes to its slightly tighter string feel and brighter attack.
Electronics varied slightly through production years, but the standard EA-250 configuration featured dual chrome-covered humbuckers, individual volume and tone controls, and a 3-way selector switch. Many examples from this era are believed to have used Maxon-built pickups, which are known for their warm but articulate vintage response.
The tone sits somewhere between a traditional hollowbody and a quirky vintage Japanese garage-rock machine. Clean sounds are airy, woody, and resonant, while overdriven tones develop a raw midrange character that works exceptionally well for indie, blues, garage rock, post-punk, and vintage-inspired alternative styles. The fully hollow construction also gives the guitar a lively acoustic presence even when unplugged. Owners and players frequently describe the EA-250 as having more personality and resonance than its original budget-oriented reputation would suggest.
Hardware on the EA-250 included chrome appointments, multi-binding throughout the body and neck, a raised black pickguard with Epiphone “E” emblem, and either a vibrato tailpiece or trapeze-style setup depending on production year. Earlier versions carried a somewhat eccentric vibrato design that has become part of the guitar’s charm among collectors of vintage Japanese instruments.
What makes the EA-250 especially appealing today is that it does not feel like a copy of an American guitar as much as it feels like its own unique product of the early Japanese import era. These guitars were once dismissed as low-cost imports, but they’ve gained a strong cult following thanks to their unusual construction, unmistakable aesthetics, and authentic vintage MIJ character.
Features
- Epiphone EA-250 hollowbody electric guitar
- Made in Japan by Matsumoku
- Early-to-mid 1970s production
- Cherry Red finish
- Maple laminate hollow body construction
- Bolt-on three-piece maple neck
- Rosewood fingerboard with block inlays
- 25.5″ scale length
- Dual humbucker pickup configuration
- Individual volume and tone controls
- Chrome hardware
- Fully hollow thin-line body with internal bridge support block
- Vintage MIJ Epiphone construction and styling
A seriously cool piece of early Japanese Epiphone history with unmistakable Matsumoku-era charm, lively hollowbody resonance, and the kind of quirky vintage character modern guitars simply don’t replicate.
