Epiphone Sheraton

[telechaser]

I wish to get some comments from Epiphone owners and people that have tried it. I've tried a few semi-acoustics today (Crafter, Shecter, Epi Dot, Yamaha) and it came out the best out of the lot so far.

Anything I need to know about? Anything around the price range that might be better? I'd like to try a MIK Hamer or Washburn but there are no dealers around close to me. Any comments on the Hamer and Washburn would be great.

Waiting for the big sale in November to find out whether the price will drop on a drastic level.

[metulmykul]

Have you thought about any of the Ibanez in your price range?

I just bought an AF75 and was extremely surprised at the build quality, especially for the $500 price tag.

The higher spec'd AF105 or AK95 may be worth a look.

[telechaser]

Sorry, forgot about the Ibanez.

The lower priced guitars that I tried just didn't cut it. I compared the Dot and Sheraton side by side and there's a big difference in tone and feel. I think the heavier body of the Sheraton contributed to the tone a bit. The hardware of the Sheraton has better hardware as well.

The Crafter I tried had good tone as well but the Sheraton still has better feel and tone. I don't mind paying a little bit more for a guitar that give me a better feel. I'll still give the Ibanez Artcore a try, maybe tomorrow.

[Chris Callahan]

I had one in the early nineties. It was well built and felt good. Could have used some decent pickups.
Magic Frank in his Gigologist column in 20th Century Guitar mentions them specifically as a good quality, inexpensive guitar (once the pickups have been upgraded).

[eryque]

I owned one for a while and thought it was a great guitar. I don't think you can go wrong, particularly if you get one for a good price. I only sold it because I just couldn't get used to the feel of the neck.


As for comparing it to a Dot, they should weigh about the same. The shape of the neck and body on the Dot is closer to an actual 335

[Tdot]

The Sheraton's were good enough for John Lee Hooker.

[boneyguy]

I haven't owned a Sheraton but I presently own a Wildkat and '56 Goldtop LP and both are great guitars that I will be holding onto for a long time.

As far as pickups go the quality has improved immensely over the last couple of years. Both my Epi's have P90's though and I'm not familiar so much with Epi humbuckers. I did play a Epi ES 137 recently and thought the humbuckers sounded great. I would imagine they use the same p/u's in the Sheraton.

As far as the Ibanez Artcore's go I have owned 3 and still have one that I am selling. I think that in terms of build quality they are probably the best buy out there. However I also feel they lack the tone mojo that many of the Epi's seem to have. I don't know why that is but the Artcore all sound sort of sterile to my ear without any real unique sound of their own. They do play great though.

Anyway, my 2 cents worth. Good luck

[dobrodoc]

Wide, flat neck---I love mine! All electronics original and intact, as is the "Made in Korea" sticker !

[Tim73]

The singers of my current & last band both owned Sheratons. They are suprisingly heavy as they are not hollow bodied. Nice looking guitars with good tone. I own a Casino that is vastly superior in my opinion. That said, I never play it as I reverted back to telecasters after a short while. I like the Epiphone acoustic range - the semis are good but a lot of the solid bodied Epi's are a bit lacking pickup wise. Sheartons do sound good with a tele as a twin guitar thing going on.

[AZMIKE]

+1 on the Sheraton. Mine is '99 Samick-made in natural finish, bone stock except for straplocks. Weight is not really that bad, but it is a very big guitar. Then again, I am big so it doesn't bother me. Pickups are decent, hardware is solid, and it is a beautiful. Not a whole lot of grain on the front, but the backs is all birdseye maple. Kind of like one of those jazzboxes with the plain-ish top and fancy back.

Got mine on eBay fours years ago for $390 with case shipped to my door. That said, I think the new price of $599 at most of the catalog stores is reasonable. A very nice semi-hollow for the money.

Mike

[eryque]

Originally Posted by AZMIKE

Kind of like one of those jazzboxes with the plain-ish top and fancy back.

I think that most of those jazzboxes you're thinking about actually had spruce tops (carved from a solid block, not press formed plywood) and maple backs and sides.

[johnnytronics]

Sheraton is a good guitar. Well built, nice neck, good tone.

[bluehonky]

Love mine.Play it all the time. Bone stock.

[Joe-Bob]

If it's a Gibson ES-335 you really want, you'll never be satisfied with anything else.

[jazztele]

nah, the sheraton's it's own thing-- big block inlays, "tree of life" headstock. epiphone made 'em back in the day too. the Dot is a more apparent 335 clone.

[eryque]

Actually, the original Sheratons were made in the Gibson factory. The key differences were that the Sheraton had a frequensator tailpiece and mini humbuckers. The other differences are merely decoration.

As for how close a Sheraton II or a Dot come to the tone and feel of a real 335... I don't know aout that. I've never been supremely impressed by the 335s I've tried.

[David Barnett]

Originally Posted by eryque

Actually, the original Sheratons were made in the Gibson factory. The key differences were that the Sheraton had a frequensator tailpiece and mini humbuckers. The other differences are merely decoration.

And the cheaper Riviera also had the same differences -- Frequensator and mini humbuckers. The difference between the Riviera and Sheraton boiled down to rosewood vs. ebony fingerboards, and fancy inlays.

[Telarkaster]

Originally Posted by Joe-Bob

If it's a Gibson ES-335 you really want, you'll never be satisfied with anything else.

Sorry, I tried a MIJ Sheraton back to back with a ES-335. The Sheraton won hands down. Better feel of the neck, not as sticky, nicer inlay, felt like home. The ES-335 had a slight, and I mean very slight edge in tone, in that it was a bit richer and complex, but what's the point if it doesn't play as well?

I was so nervous about playing a $3000 guitar that I couldn't even enjoy myself. The Sheraton allowed me to play what I was hearing in my head, no struggles to get the message from my brain to my fingers.

It's not one of those "well the MIA is better but you get better value for your dollar with the MIJ" arguments (although I believe that is true in general). The Sheraton was actually better than the ES-335.


"Anything I need to know about?": Yes, you might just play a Sheraton and can't stop thinking about it months after.

[RollingThunder75]

I don't think you can go wrong with the Sheraton. I played one over the summer that I thought was really nice. I also liked the Casino I played. I think the Epi humbuckers sound much better in a semi-hollow than they do in a solid like a Les Paul.

Over the summer I shopped for semi-hollow electrics. I thought I'd end up with a Casino. In the spirit of trying everything before I settled, I ordered an Ibanez AGS83BTKF. I ended up keeping the Ibanez and never looking back. It looks great with a transparent black satin finish over lightly flamed maple, plays very nicely, and is much more resonant than the Epis I tried. The pickups have a surprisingly nice sound. I'm sure a pickup change would help the guitar reach its fullest potential, but so would a different player. I have no complaints about the pickups and don't plan on changing them anytime soon.

I wouldn't say the Ibanez is any better or worse than the Epis I tried, just different. I'm happy with it, and I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything on the semi-hollow front. Again, I don't think you can go wrong with the Epi, just give the Ibanez a shot first so you don't have to wonder "what if."

[Ray G]

I had a Dark Sunburst Sheraton. Pretty darn nice guitar and the stock humbuckers were just fine and didn't need replacing. The frettwork left something to be desired but was easily fixed for not a lot of money. Yep definately a nice piece but 335 style guitars just are not my cup of tea and I wound up trading it. With the exception of some minor flaws with the frettwork it compared favorably to a Gibby and beat the Epi Dot hands down.

[eryque]

Originally Posted by David Barnett

And the cheaper Riviera also had the same differences -- Frequensator and mini humbuckers. The difference between the Riviera and Sheraton boiled down to rosewood vs. ebony fingerboards, and fancy inlays.

Wasn't the Riviera a full hollow? Or did it have the center block?

[boneyguy]

Originally Posted by eryque

Wasn't the Riviera a full hollow? Or did it have the center block?

I borrowed one for a week a few years back and I remember it being hollow.

[boneyguy]

Originally Posted by boneyguy

I borrowed one for a week a few years back and I remember it being hollow.

Oops! I was wrong. Just did a little research and the Riviera is semi-hollow.

[studio1087]

I had a mid 90's Sheraton and an early 80's Rivera. Great guitars. Great clean and great overdriven. Warm and rich tone.

My Sheraton.....

[octatonic]

I can't comment on the current crop of Sheratons, but I had one in the 90's and a dot 335.
There was no real comparison between the two- I found the pickups to be the biggest let down in the Sheraton. It could all of changed though.

Tried a Dean Palomino? They are another budget MIK semi-hollow that are worth checking out. Or the Hagstrom's.

Musicians Friend have blem Gibson 137's on for around $1370 at the moment.
More money I know, but nice guitars.
Certainly worth a look.

[David Barnett]

Originally Posted by eryque

Wasn't the Riviera a full hollow? Or did it have the center block?

Center block. Essentially a 335 with skinny pickups, a Frequensator, and a funny headstock. Casino is fully hollow, it's just a 330 with a funny headstock.

Epiphone painted their sunbursts different too. On a Gibson, the burst pattern is oval and doesn't continue up into the micky mouse ears, on the Epiphones the burst pattern follows the outline of the guitar.

[telechaser]

Thanks for all the input guys; much appreciated. I bit the bullet and got a used/refurbished Sheraton. It should arrive sometime next week. I just hope that its close to sound and feel from the ones I've tried.

My next one would most likely be a Gretsch 5120, then a Crafter for the acoustic stuff.

[1293]

Originally Posted by eryque

As for how close a Sheraton II or a Dot come to the tone and feel of a real 335... I don't know aout that. I've never been supremely impressed by the 335s I've tried.

Every Epi I've ever played felt as good, or better, than any 335 I've played.