However, Samick was kept on as a contractor and still builds Epiphones to this day, only at their newer Indonesian factory. Samick became the near-exclusive manufacturer of Epiphones (save for a few special models) until the mid-1990s, when Epiphone began contracting out to a number of different manufacturers. Samick began building Epiphones in 1984, as they were previously being produced in Japan by Mastumoku, and the prices of Japanese guitars were increasing. To learn more about Epiphone, see The Unofficial Epiphonewiki. Because of this subsidiary relationship, many of the instruments are based upon the more expensive Gibson versions, but at a more affordable price point. Epiphone is now a subsidiary of the Gibson Corporation. The company's weakness in the aftermath of World War II allowed Gibson to absorb it.
Their professional archtops, including the Emperor, Deluxe, Broadway and Triumph, rivaled those of Gibson. Epiphone was Gibson's main rival in the archtop market. Epiphone was bought by Chicago Music Company, which also owned Gibson Guitar Corporation, in 1957. Epiphone is a musical instrument manufacturer founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos.
