Designed for the discriminating musician, the new Elite line from Epiphone combines over 125 years of instrument building experience and expertise with the finest materials and craftsmanship. The Elite line represents a significant "step-up" from the standard Epiphone line and at a price point that is still well below its sister company, Gibson. All of the Elite instruments are made in Japan and share features such as Epiphone USA pickups made by Gibson, premium book-matched tone woods, one-piece necks, Grover' machine heads, nickel-plated or 24k gold hardware, stamped serial numbers, bone nuts and saddles, solid tops and backs on acoustics, USA strings and meticulous attention to detail and set-up. Every instrument also includes a premium hard case. The Elite line represents a full line of instruments including solid bodies, archtops, basses and acoustics. The line-up includes 16 different models including the Les Paul Custom, Standard Plus, Standard and Standard Lefty, the '61 SG, the EB-3 and Thunderbird bass, the Sheraton, Riviera, Riviera-12, '63 Dot and '65 Casino, the J-200, '65 Texan, J-45 and L-00. (Other models are expected to be added later.) To view the complete line-up on-line and to download the new Epiphone Elite catalog, visithttp://www.epiphone.com/news/2002/sept3a.html. The Elite line is expected to be available beginning in November or December 2002.