This is my 2nd Epiphone Emperor. Just like the last time Emperor equally surprises me again. Excellent design, inspired by Gibson Super 400 body line and rich acoustic jazz tonality outperforms its its rival, let alone half the cost.

This one is again Orange label. My findings about this particular label from Japanese Epiphone forums is that Orange label was introduced from a Japanese manufacturer Terada music, from 1987 to 1997, following the Blue (1970-1980), Beige (1980-1987) labels. Compared to the predecessors, the Epiphone with orange labels feature 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.

This guitar features amazing specs, all detailed below. Using maple body can be explained by balancing off the high tension coming from flat-wound string (by default) and enhancing full acoustic tone from soft spruce top. Condition is in near perfect except one minor ding at bottom left body, diameter being 0.7cm. Photo taken for this, so please look. I have a sturdy gig bag to ship along. Lastly, budget-concerned US buyers can take advantage of Paypal's Bill Me Later feature - which allows you pay to 6 months. I put their banner below. Clicking will take you to the detailed page. For your reference last time the same guitar I had sold at $1,890. Hurry, this is a highly sought-after guitar.