Epiphone Sheraton II

made in : 1997 (I think, if I understand Epi's Serial # system) in Korea
Pickups 2 Humbuckers
Hardware Gold
Scale 24.75"
Nut Width 1.68"
Neck Joint Set
Neck Material 3-piece Maple
Fingerboard Rosewood/Block & Triangle
Binding Body/Neck/Headstock
Body Material Laminated Maple
Top Laminated Maple


I believe the finish on mine is "vintage sunburst" though to my eyes it looks more like "tobacco burst". Second hand axe, so I "inherited" a hard shell case, a padded Levis strap & gold plated straplocks.

So if one is looking for features like gizmo-splittable-super distortion pickups and locking trem systems, this ain't it. However if one is looking for a good looking, playable, good sounding guitar, this is it my friends.

I was concerned that the treble pickup would sound too mushy, that the neck pickup would sound too muddy ... when am I going to learn to give The people at Epiphone credit? The neck pickup sounds full and warm, the treble pickup has a nice bite ... if a bit nasal on its own. Both pickups combined give out a nice, balanced sound.

Agreed, the results one gets from a headphone amp will vary from those in a genuine amp. I have yet to connect in my recently acquired Marshall JTM-310. Chances are I'm likely to get microphonic feedback (then again I may be surprised). Updates to this review are to come, but played through my Zoom 503 amp simulator, the palette of sounds is pretty amazing. If I wanted to have a "shredder" guitar, I would have gotten one. But this delivers a sweet overdriven sound.

I've seen some reviews where the neck inlays were improperly fitted, glue blobs, etc. Agreed, the gold plating has a tendancy to wear off, but I see no flaws with this guitar.

If I am to believe the reviews on this guitar, yes! As it's been mentioned previously, the gold plating does have a tendancy to rub off but the finish on this guitar is spotless.

The previous owner replaced the stock strap buttons with strap locks, y'know what? Take care of your axe and it'll take care of you, 'nuff said!

Never had the opportunity.

There a story behind this guitar(and believe it or not, it's true - well, sort of!): some 8 years ago, I was visiting Steve's Montreal location and had fallen in love with ... an Epiphone Sheraton (can't remember whether it was an original or a II), which I had to pass due to lack of funds. It was with some regret that I walked out of the store, without that classy looking guitar.

Just last week I walk into Steve's Toronto location, and I see this Sheraton II, exact same finish, at the amazingly low price of $600.00 ... (agreed it's second hand but still!) as I enquired on financing this sweet looking axe, I was expecting to spend an extra $80.00 - $90.00 on a hard shell case. Guess what, for the same price I got a hard shell case, a padded strap & straplocks ... what a deal!

Part of me wants to believe that my guardian Angel sent that guitar my way, giving me a second chance at it ... while I doubt it's the same guitar, it does make for a better narrative doesn't it?

All poetic notions aside, this was one sweet deal. Sweet enough to have me put my Dano and Epiphone Les Paul Studio up for sale. Really, no lie.

For songs that require a solid bodied humbucking sound I have my home made, very playable DC Les Paul. For songs that call for a sweet single coil tone, I have my Mexi Fender Stratocaster. For those other bluesy, jazzy, rockabilly-esque (don't laugh, the tones are there!)tones, I have my Epiphone Sheraton II.

The part where I say I had to pass buying it 8 years ago (in Montreal) is no bull. I feel a great sense of satisfaction knowing that I finally own one, and woe is the creep who would try to steal it (or any of my gear as far as I'm concerned) from me, he'd better pray the cops find him first ... no bull!

No lo se!! 2nd hand purchase from UK music store where it's blind leading the blind. Just a 'king amazing guitar for the price!!
22 frets. Natural finish. Usual set up.

Into blues heavily bordering on jazz (Clapton, BB King, Ford).
Playing via Tech 21 Trademark 60. No effects.
Amazing range of tonality from biting treble to mellow comping jazz chord style. Couldn,t believe it...spent 4hrs in a music shop comparing it to a genuine 335 thro a Marshall 100w valve amp.
Rate it 9 cos nothing's perfect..

Action highish, pickups well balanced, top one piece of maple. Few scratches and dints, scratch marks on back from a belt buckle. All adds to the patina (as does the gold rubbing off but only cosmetic ....it's the SOUND that matters).

Looks cool. Think I'll take the scratch plate off though.

Yes. It already has by all appearances. Feels like a rock. Neck slightly flexible as other folks as commented but no different to other guitars...it't all this "there's something wrong with my guitar" parinoa (spelling?)

No comment.

Rate this guitar HIGH. It was a bargain. Been playing for 20 years. Didn't know anything about Epis before tonight...went out shopping for a 335 but through pure objectivity went for this Sheraton OVER the Gibson on saved over 1200 quid for a better sounding instrument.

Switch a bit loose and the tone pots crackle a bit but these are easily remediable. Bulid quality and tonality of constuction are everything electrics are changable and/or mature with age.

Wish I'd found this instrument 15 yeatrs ago.

Otheer guitars...Fender Tele (US standard), Fat Strat Delux, Yamaha APX 9, APX 5, Aria Pro PE420, a wacky old Antoria LP custom copy.

This is just an update to those who care....check everyone elses stats

This is why I felt like doing another review. In my last one, I stated that the stock pickups are mediocre at best (as you can see by everyone elses reviews). Now I have just recieved my guitar back after replacing the toggle switch and the pickups. I changed the neck to a seymour duncan '59, and the bridge to the SH-5 duncan custom. What can I say. Unbelievable sound. The bridge selection gives lots of bite, but not too trebley. Mid range is strong and very pronounced. Not muddy at all.
The neck '59 gives a deepy, definitely more rich texture, much like a fender neck p/u does. It still sings in the highs, just not as predominant as the bridge custom. I could not ask for a better selection of p/u's. I have to thank all the other reviews here for aiding me in my choices. Before I think I rated this a 7. It is definitely now a 10.

Still holding up, 3 years in. the gold finish continued to wear, but since I replaced the pickups with double blacks, the tarnished gold PU covers are no longer a hinderance. I plan on replacing the tuners with shaller satin chromes. That finish not only looks sweet, but won't tarnish.

Ditto here. Guitar hasn't let me down yet. I've left it in the car over night in the fall (oops. I prayed to the guitar gods not to warp the neck) and it didn't screw up the intonation at all. The gold still continues to wear off, but since the replacement of the pu's and toggle, (and soon the tuners) the only thing left gold is the bridge, which seems to be holding the gold finish better than everything else.

The toggle was covered under warranty. Free.Just dealt with my music store for that, though. Hafta give it a 10, just cuz I was gonna pay for it, but they actually reminded me of the warranty.

Rig has changed a bit. And I'm almost totally satisfied. Just running the epi into a Mesa Bottlerocket into a '79 musicman 2 X12" combo.
I think I'm a little tonally limited by the amp, but It's gonna take me awhile to save up for a really nice amp. A lot of trying out to do....Mesa?.....Rivera?.......I wonder.....
My rating before the changes I think was 7 or 8. With the new hardware and pu's, this guitar definitely gets a 10. I tried it out as soon as I got it back, immediately went down to a friends place who has a es-335, and I swear, I think my baby sounds sweeter, warmer, tonally more responsive. All I can say is, yum.

Same as all the others. It's a es 335 style guitar. I bought it the year it was made used. It's a great guitar for the cash! I love this guitar the neck is wonderful. Pick ups might not be as good as others it could have but good for stock cheepies.

I play blues/alt/rock mainly but I mess around everywhere. The sound is good but I think could be better with new pick ups. I play through a OK amp a peavy sold state. This guitar is good for blues and jazz I think. I like the sound of the pick ups personally but I am thinking about changing them. I want a better distorted sound.

This is where my guitar shines. The action is awesome. I have a friend with a gibson es335 and my guitar blows his away. All the people that have played the two have said the same thing. The Sheraton just has a better feel. Now don't get me wrong, not all epi's are made the same! His pick ups sound better...

I have had this guitar for over 5 years and no problems to speak of, moreover, I have played it almost every day in that time. It holds up good. I would think about strap locks on this guitar if your playing live. It's not as strong as a solid body but I don't like most solid body guitars so thats ok with me. Really a good guitar!

I bought it used so I don't know about this.

I have had this for over 5 years and it holds up great. If it were stolen I would shop around and try and find one as good as mine, so YES I would buy it again. If you need or like the es335 sound and don't have the cash for one this is your ticket. Hell some gibsons don't even feel as good as mine. Just play before you buy.

This is a 1999 model, natural in color, made in Korea. Same specs as quoted by other reviewers

Ok, here''s the reason for my review. As noted by many others, the stock pickups are mediocore at best. As a result I really wasn't playing this guitar much. I even tried to sell it on Ebay but didn't get any good offers. So I decided to try some new pickups. I has a pair of Seymour Duncan '59s installed. The improvement is the sound of this guitar is unbelievable!! If you're interested in giving your Epiphone a true old Gibson PAF tone, STOP READING right now and head to the music store. You won't be disappointed. You will be glad you didn't spend $2400 for a Gibson 335. (My '5' rating is for the stock pickups.)

Fit and finish was good when I got the guitar. No complaints after changing the strings. As noted by others, the cheesy gold coloring on the hardware does tarnish and wear quickly. When I had the new pickups installed, I also got some new gold pickup covers (the Duncans did not come with covers, but I think you can order them with covers.) Also, as mentioned by others, the pickup selector switch is of poor quality; it was making a crackling noise when I switched it. I was going to have it replaced when I had the pickups installed, but the guitar tech just cleaned it up and resoldered the connections. It sounds OK now, but still feels sloppy.

Seems as good as anthing in this price range.

Haven't had to contact the company

Generally, I think this is a terrific guitar for blues and classic rock AFTER you put some decent pickups in it.

I have been playing guitar for 25+ years and have had a few guitars that I could get the sound out of that I wanted. This is because I am not very good. I have had a Fender Mustang (first guitar) Aria 12 string, Ventura hollybody, Yahama accoustical, Fender american Strat,
Epiphone Sheriton II, and a Vox Super Lynx, Fender's both had great sound and playability. I just got the Epiphone and was enjoying it, It was a gift from an old friend that used to play, and gave it up due
to time constraints. I bid on one on e-bay and won it so while waiting
for it to be delivered I played the one he gave me I was impressed with the guitar. It has a great sound, plays good and both through the
sears twin 12 amp and the fender prinston chorous amp. The company I
bought the epiphone from shipped me the wrong guitar, they called and
asked if I would ship it back and they would send me the right one. I
agreed to return it. When I got it I opened the box and it was a Gibson 335. I had never played a Gibson and that is what I wanted in the first place, so I pluged it into my amp and tried it. I know now why everyone wants one. I makes the epiphone sound like a cigar box with strings. I love the looks of the Epiphone but the sound of the Gibson was awsome. Now I am in a fix I own two Epiphone's and want a Gibson. I don't know but I think the first thing I will have to do is
get a set of Gibson Classic 57 pickups, or call TV Jones and see what
he would recommend out of his lineup. If I can't get the sound of the
335 nothing will do but buy one. I am just glad that they did not send me a Gretsch (way out of my price range). If your considering an
Epiphone over a Gibson because of price forget it save your money and
buy the Gibson, there is too much difference in sound and playability.

With stock pickups sounds like a cigar box with strings

Factory setup, not bad but could use lower string set up. Beautiful finish, dark brown to black burst, inlay head done well looks great, gold hwd looks good except neck pickup rubbing off on edge's, finish is great no flaws or scratches

Very solid guitar, Yes I would gig with this guitar, finish on gold plating too thin, I think this would be a great guitar if it had the right pickups and pots.

Never delt with any company for warranty work. I think that the dealer is the best place to go.

If I can get the sound out of it of a Gibson 335 then I will keep the Guitar. Like I said before I have played and owned Fender, Vox, Yahama, Aria, and Ventura. Mostly knockoff's of great gutars except Fender. This Epiphone is no different great price, great looks, Nice action, but IT'S NOT A GIBSON or Gretsch. I won't know if I will Keep it until I change the pickups out to Gibson Classic '57's and get it set up to get the same action of the Gibson 335.

An ES-335 copy.

I play jazz, blues and fusion and it sounds Okay. The neck pickup suits for jazz well. Bridge pickup could be quite better - it will be the first thing I am going to replace.

The guitar was set up well.

Golden pickups and bridge lost their color in few days (If you touch them few times, they?ll get silver). I have serious problems with pickup selector - I had to repair it just a week after I bought the guitar.
The original Gibson-strings are bad...
An Epiphone original case for Sheraton is very very and once more very bad. If I bought this guitar once more, I would rather have it made from a case-maker. Price of the case is very high.

???
Is there any Epiphone customer support in Czech Rep.???

I was looking for that kind of guitar, but Gibsons and Ibanez are quite expensive for me. There was not any other chance to get an 335 copy in Czech stores than Sheraton II.
A lot of musicans (esp. rockers that are selling guitars in strores) told me to not buy that guitar. Most of the things they talked about, were false. Later I found out, that most of them never did not play that guitar for a longer period of time than 5 mins. And most of them were just trying to tell me that I will never play Deep Purple on it...
An excellent guitar for jazz and blues beginners.

Purchased new in November, 2000, but I think it was made in 1999. Features are as described below. Has a nice natural finish. Great neck with nice inlays and binding.

The sound is okay. I have to agree with the other reviews that say that the pickups are fair, as best. I intend to replace them down the road when they discolor enough (see below) to justify replacing them for both the sound and the finish.

The action was okay, but I took it to the Guitar Factory here in Orlando, Florida (an Epiphone service center) and they filed down the neck nut to make the action really nice, since it was too high originally. They did the work for free-"under warranty" -when I took it in for a problem described below. The gold hardware has some oxidation problems, which is kind of disappointing, but I knew that ahead of time from reading the reviews here.

As mentioned above the gold hardware's finish is the most disappointing part of the guitar, but can be replaced down the road. The finish on the body is very good. The guitar seems well built, overall, with a neck that is very comfortable to play-and nice and straight. It should last a long time.

The one problem I've had is apparently with the pickguard. When I play for awhile, if I touch the big Epiphone "E" on the pickguard I'll get a snapping/clicking sound through the amp. It doesn't happen all the time, but it seems to happen in spurts. According to the Guitar Factory, the pickguard is probably picking up static electricity from the strumming and the "E" is acting like a capacitor, collecting the charge until I touch it and "discharging" it through the amp. Their only suggestion was running a wire from the bottom side of the pickguard and grounding it inside the body. I didn't have that done because it might make it unsightly and was hoping someone here could recognize this problem and offer me some other solution. Any suggestion posted here would be appreciated. Otherwise a nice guitar for the price.

I have been playing guitar, on and off, over a 30+ year span, playing stuff from the Beatles, Eagles, Clapton, and, most recently, chord/melody and light jazz. My other guitars are an Ovation Custom Balladeer and 12-string Balladeer.

The same as most here. think it's a '99, Korean made, gold hardware,lam-maple, blah blah blah. It had everything I was looking for, and not costing me an arm and a leg. Nice antique sunburst finish, semi-hollow body....you know. It's no Parker Fly, but I wasn't looking for that anyway...

Got this guitar a couple of years ago. This guitar filled a hole in my sound I was looking for. Running a Danelectro Daddy-O crunch through my'79 Music Man amp, I'm getting close to the sound I'm looking for. My other guitar is a strat. I play rythmn and find the strat not "chunky" enough for the part, even when I switched the bridge pickup with a Duncan hotrails mini-bucker. This guitar fit the bill.Lots of chunk (when selecting bridge position anyways). Gets extremely muddy on neck position, though. The band I'm in jumps around in style, from the buggles to alice in chains. With a little pedal tweaking, I'm able to achieve pretty much a full scope of distortion, nice distortion. I'm sure if I replace the pickups with, say, classic 57's, it would be even sweeter.....

When I recieved the guitar (it was ordered in), the strings that were on it had divets, or creases where they pressed against the frets. How hard did they pack the guitar down? After swapping the strings though, it played nicely. The action was nice and low, intonation was in...I did have to raise the neck position humbucker, since the bridge position was WAY hotter than the neck.
The toggle, like other people have said, is crap. Haven't switched it yet, but will very shortly. Finish was flawless. I actually don't mind the pickgaurd. The gold hardware is wearing considerably off, but it is an aging process. I like to think that it is from use, and am proud that I'm wearing it out. (Even though it looks a little cheesy).

Haven't had a problem playing this guitar in two years of gigging. It has become my main axe, the fender is the backup now. If you move around or jump around on stage, MAKE SURE you put strap locks on this puppy. I almost dropped it 3 or 4 times the first gig I did with it, as the strap kept popping off in mid leap! I trust this guitar much more than my strat.

Haven't had to deal with them.

I ordered a casino, but was told it would take 6 months to come in (not easy to find a lefty casino). The Sheraton was given to me as a loaner til the casino came in. I played this one for a month, and decided to keep it. I liked the looks and the playability of it. A little cheaper than the casino, too. I am now pretty close to the sound I want. A pickup upgrade and maybe the mesaboogie V-twin giving the distortion, and I gotta feeling I'll be in heaven.

Purchased March 2001, 1999 John Lee Hooker "Boogie-Man" Special Edition; ebony/gold hardware; made in Korea (I think); "Boogieman" inlay at 12 th fret; humbuckers; 3 way switch triangle/trapezoid inlays; gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous; I could live without the gold hardware (the tuners are taking on a green tint in some spots) and the Boogieman inlay, but this thing looks great

Cream meets the delta blues, this thing will tear your head off! You can fingerpick it in clean mode and it sound great.

Would be a 10, but the factory strings and set up seem more for jazz. $80 for a setup and strap locks and now it is a 10

the selector switch is a little iffy, replace it and put on some strap locks and you've got a 10

Gibson hotline 24 hours 1-800-4-gibson, very nice

Awesome, awesome, awesome, the neck is great, the guitar is beautful and sounds awesome. This thing is like a Cadillac with strings. Log off your computer and go buy one ....now