Epiphone Wilshire Phant-O-Matic Electric Guitar with Gig Bag

No longer available at zZounds
Designed in collaboration with My Chemical Romance guitarist Frank Iero, this Epiphone electric guitar combines vintage style with modern electronics.

What's special about this item?

Feature: What it does:
1960s SlimTaper C neck profile Modern C-shaped neck; comfortable consistent feel
Mahogany body Rich, warm, focused sound; added sustain
Epiphone VariTone 5-way impedance control Adjust voicing from full & fat to narrow & biting
Wilkinson vintage-style tuners High gear ratio for ultra-stable tuning

Designed in collaboration with Frank Iero, guitarist for multi-platinum band My Chemical Romance, the Epiphone Wilshire "Phant-o-matic" combines an incredible array of features that only Epiphone would dare put in one instrument. The result is one of the smartest and most flexible guitars on the market with all the vintage styling that made Wilshire models a behind-the-scenes favorite of Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter, Paul Gilbert, and Steve Marriot.

Classic Form

Like their classic SG design, the Wilshire "Phant-o-matic" features a double cutaway design with a solid Mahogany body. The 24.75-inch scale mahogany hand-set neck has a 1960s SlimTaper profile, a rosewood fingerboard with mother-of-pearl block inlays, a 12-inch radius, and a 1-11/16 inch nut. The neck profile and double cutaway make the Wilshire "Phant-o-matic" a perfect guitar for chunking rhythm or cutting leads. The Antique Ivory finish, black single-ply pickguard, and classic form are eye catching to be sure. But what really sets the Wilshire "Phant-o-matic" apart from the pack is how it sounds.

Premium Electronics

My Chemical Romance have sold almost 7 million albums worldwide -- and know a thing or two about what makes a great, reliable, and cutting edge instrument. Working closely together over several years of research and development, Frank Iero and Epiphone created an axe that puts the sound of a dozen guitars at your fingertips. The result is what you make it -- a straight ahead awesome rock guitar, read more or something completely groundbreaking. The "Phant-o-matic" employs two classic Epiphone pickups: the famous Alnico Classic Plus humbucker in the bridge and an Alnico Classic humbucker in the neck position. To get the most of the wide tonal possibilities from this pickup arrangement, Iero included a mono VariTone, much like the one used most famously by blues legend B.B. King.

About the VariTone

The VariTone uses a six-way rotary switch which engages 5 pre-set notch filters and a bypass. In position one, the VariTone is completely bypassed. As you rotate the rotary switch into positions 2-6, the center frequency of the notch filter shifts from around 1.9kHz down to 130Hz, providing a player with a wide tonal palette unavailable on most other instruments. Positions 2 through 4 offer tonal shaping while still maintaining great clarity. But keep turning and you'll find Positions 5 and 6 shape-shift the Alnico Classic humbuckers into a single-coil style pickup but without the thin quack usually associated with traditional single coil pickups. Add it all up and between the 6-position VariTone circuit and the 3-position toggle switch, you have 18 unique tones available. And if that wasn't enough, Epiphone has included a high quality horn-mounted kill switch which provides an infinite range of staccato on/off effects. A master volume control is mounted with easy access to the VariTone rotary switch for quick adjustments.

More Premium Features

Like many of Epiphone's classic solidbody electrics, the Wilshire "Phant-o-matic" uses their LockTone Tune-o-Matic/StopBar bridge for tuning and intonation accuracy. Machine heads are nickel Wilkenson vintage-style tuners with green keys. And to protect it, Epiphone has included a premium, padded gig bag. As with every Epiphone, every Wilshire "Phant-o-matic" comes with the peace of mind you get from a Limited Lifetime Warranty backed by Gibson Musical Instruments' famous 24/7/365 day Customer Service.
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- Body Material: Mahogany
- Neck Material: Mahogany
- Neck Shape: 1960s SlimTaper
- Neck Joint: Glued-In
- Truss Rod: Adjustable
- Truss Rod Cover: 2-Layer (Black/White) with vintage "E" in white
- Scale Length: 24.75"
- Fingerboard Material: Rosewood with mother-of-pearl BLOCK inlays
- Headstock: Clipped Ear 3-on-a-side with vintage "Epiphone" logo in gold
- Bridge Pickup: Alnico Classic Plus Humbucker
- Neck Pickup: Alnico Classic Humbucker
- Controls:
- Master Volume Control
- 6-Position Rotary VariTone notch filter:
- Position-1: Bypass
- Position-2: 5db at 1950hz
- Position-3: 12db at 1100hz
- Position-4: 16db at 620 hz
- Position-5: 18.5db at 360hz
- Position-6: 21db at 120hz
- Momentary KillSwitch
- 3-way pickup selector with black toggle cap
- Binding: Fingerboard - Single Ply
- Fingerboard Radius: 12"
- Frets: 22; medium-jumbo
- BridgeLockTone tune-o-matic/stopbar
- Nut Width: 1-11/16"
- Hardware: Nickel
- Machine Heads: Wilkinson Vintage style with Green Keys
- Pickguard: Black; Single Ply
- Other: Epiphone Strap Locks
- Includes: Premium Gigbag (940-EPIGIG)

For support or warranty questions, please contact the manufacturer:
Phone: 800-4GIBSON
Web: https://www.epiphone.com/en-US/Support/Contact

Reviewers gave this product an overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars. (4 ratings)
Submitted June 5, 2012 by Peter J in Los Angeles, CA

"Wilshire Phanto-matic"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
This is a nice guitar and it's everything I expected. it's very versatile and will be my all around go to guitar. I got it because I wanted the double humbucker setup and the versatility an SG with something to set it apart. The vera- tone or whatever it's called does just that for me. I like the unique look and the unique sounds while still being clean and pro sounding. Great looking beast and it arrived set up perfectly. Epiphone is worthy of being in the ZZounds stable of availables. Small note....the kill switch is too noisy...gonna have to rewire the little slut. No problem.

Musical Background:

20 years pro

Musical Style:

Indie rock, metal and bluegrass
37 of 45 people (82%) people found this review helpful. Did you?
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No longer available at zZounds

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