A question for the Epiphone Experts Amoungst Us

[teleguy]

Greetings, I just received an Epiphone Bluesmaster in natural, pretty good condition plays & sounds just like it should. My question is this: I understood that the "Bluesmaster" was built from '95 - '97 and then it was the "Songwriter" from '98 - '99. Mine has a serial number of "S 9805XXX" which looks like it was built in May of '98?

I know the dates are not always clear breaks, but I was a little surprised. Also the head stock on this one (this is my third Bluesmaster) is more elongated than previous ones I have seen - I will post a pic later. Did the Songwriter have a different head stock than the Bluesmaster? Is this some kind of transitional hybrid? Just curious.

Anyways, any comments would be welcome, thanks for your time.

VR