Peerless is pretty well known in the off-brand market. They did a ton of stuff for Sam Ash, the Latest being the Eddie Durham Signature guitar under the 'Guitar Research' name. Before that it was the big hollowbody's of the Carlo Robelli line/note the headstock similarities. Peerless is also where some Gretches were built as well, primarily before Fender bought it up in 2003. (The Gretsch G-3131 Anniversary model being the last, leftovers and B-stocks were eventually sold off as Robelli RB-55 models) The latest possibility of Peerless doing Gretsch would be the Korean built 5120. Peerless is a great quality guitar builder and there is no reason Fender/Gretsch wouldn't utilize them again I wouldn't think.
They make a great D'Aquisto clone as well (Carlo Robelli:The Manhattan). There is a man named Scott Detweiler who is supposed to be their US rep. Here is a link to his page: I always enjoyed my Carlo Robelli RB-55. I don't own it anymore, had to sell it for the Strat. Here's a shot: (it had 'Peer' tags on it when I picked it up at Sam Ash) PS: It also has the Abalone binding on the body and headstock. They also made or still make Epiphones. P or R serial numbers are made by Peerless.
This is from wikipedia edit 1970-present In the early 1970s, Epiphones began to be manufactured in Japan. From the 1980s, Epiphones were manufactured mainly in Korea by contractors licensed by Gibson. One of these contractors was Samick, which also built instruments under license for other brands and in its own name. Thus, a Korean-era solidbody Epiphone would have been built under license. The brand was primarily used to issue less expensive versions of classic Gibson models, in a manner similar to that of the Squier brand by Fender.
Peerless Guitars Korea
Other Guitars Peerless Guitars thoughts? I even tried emailing Peerless with the serial number to find out what was up and well its been over month and.
Taylor Serial Number Guitar
These Epiphones were sometimes built with different tonewoods from the original Gibson versions, which often resulted in the instruments bearing a visual and ergonomic similarity to the Gibson originals but having a slightly different tone. For example, bodies of the G-400 SG copy were made with either mahogany or alder body, depending on the availability of the wood. Samick has stopped manufacturing guitars in Korea. In 2002, Gibson opened a factory in Qingdao, China, which manufactures Epiphone guitars and no others. The G-400 SG and the Les Paul) Unique Epiphone models, including the Emperor, Zephyr, Riviera and Sheraton, are built to higher quality standards than the company's 'Gibson copy' line.
Epiphone Guitars Serial Numbers
Epiphone also produces a range of higher quality instruments under the 'Elitist Series' moniker, which are built in Japan. The 'Masterbilt' acoustics are manufactured in Qingdao. According to several forum entries, current Epiphone serial numbers give the following information: Korea I = Saein U = Unsung S = Samick P or R = Peerless China DW = DeaWon EA = Gibson/QingDao EE = Gibson/QingDao MC = Muse SJ = SaeJung Z = Zaozhuang Saehan BW = China Japan No letter or F = FujiGen J or T = Terada Czech Republic B = Boh. Time to revive this old thread. I'd never heard of Peerless, don't think they are available in the US yet. Came across one - a Peerless Wizard - used (barely) in a local shop. It's something truly different, ES-5, pre Switchmaster mostly, with 3 P-90s, 3 volumes, one master tone, long scale.
But it's a thinline, maybe ES-335 depth, half of what the ES-5 was. Fully hollowbody, with a strange looking, rosewood type trapeze end piece. Floating, wooden bridge. Plus, it's this gorgeous walnut colored, laminated maple front, sides and back. The pots seem highly effective (usually have to be swapped on Korean made stuff), and the pickups are not at all bad.
Probably the same as the Epi p/us used in their Zephyr Blues Deluxe (Epi's homage to the ES-5). I'm going to swap the bridge and get the pickups rewound. Just as a matter of taste. It's good to go right now, in truth, and has to be one of the most playable, best feeling guitars I've picked up in a long while. Once it hits your hands, you're playing rhthym. Great neck and setup. Way long on quality for short money.
If you can find one of these, grab it.