Epiphone Sheraton II

Natural finish, bound neck, jumbo frets, "short scale", 2006, Grover tuners, stock humbuckers(Gibson, I presume imported), five piece neck, Korean made. Came with minimal documents, just tags etc. and a nice wood hard shell case with great handle.

I wanted to complement my Strat and Tele with the hollow humbucker sound. It does sound marvelous. I use a Roland cube 30 and a Fender Blues Deluxe. My style of play is country, blues and PW. The better the amp the better this guitar sounds. I assumed I would swap out the pickups, but I am thoroughly pleased with them. Front PU is not muddy, but warm, smooth and can be sorrowful. The Rear pickup is also expressive. Together you have some nice dynamic diversity. Of course, the 16 year old boy was amazed at how he got some heavy humbucker thunder out of it. "It doesn't sound like a geezer guitar..."

I really like the short scale. A merciful feature for my arthritic knuckle. The look is super. It is heavy, but the sustain and overall feel is fabulous. The intonation and fretwork is flawless. The tuners are good.

The action was a pinch high for me. It would have been perfect for most. I lowered the action on the treble side to about 2.5/64ths and 3/64ths on the bass side. The PUs were too low, but it sounded great. After adjustment we got all the goodness out of the PUs. We just followed specs for the PUs and they are superb.
Construction detail is worth a look. I compared this to countless Gibsons and never found an American product even close in workmanship. What is wrong with our factories and production gurus? What is wrong with our workers? We used to make the good stuff. Now the Koreans spank us soundly if this is any indicator.
It would be a 10 if they had put better tuner on it. But the Grovers are adequate.

It is tough as nails. It is the envy of other players. Hardware is great generally. Jury is out on the tuners, but Grovers are way better than the tuners way back in the day...
Finish, strap buttons, etc. all seem durable and good.

It should stand live playing well. I am not sure I would like to hold it all night... It is a bit heavy. But we switch 'em up. Mostly Tele playing. The SheratonII comes out for its tone on certain songs. Great for blues.

All finish will wear off with enough playing. But this stuff is poly and should be around for a long time. If I wear it off, that might be pretty cool anyway.

Never do a gig without a backup. That's just dumb. Dumb things happen like thievery, destructions, accidents etc.

Warranty is lifetime.

I use Hoffman guitar in Minneapolis for my work. They make the difference. Gibson/Epi are the insurance. Charlie Hoffman is great for all guitar work. Great work on high end acoustics as well as electrics.

I have been playing since 1967.... wow 40 years. I am getting old.

I own an Olson acoustic. A '76 Ovation. A Martin HD28 (marvelous). A 50th Anniv Strat (Fender). A frankenstein Tele with a alder body (cheap but good), Warmoth boat tail maple neck (SS frets-very nice), vintage type tuners, Fender Vintage PUs.

Stolen or lost. Bummer. Maybe another one. Or maybe surprise myself and find a Gibson without defects and drips and bad workmanship... long shot.

Be careful, they ask musicians to do some addition below. Good thing I finished HS.

I purchased my Epi Sheraton II with a hardshell case about 5 months ago now. Mine is a natural finish with gold hardware. The finish was extremely clean and very sharp looking. No excess finish on the frets as others have claimed. There are seperate volume and tone knobs for each humbucker and one 3 way switch. The knobs and switch definately feel a bit cheap and I suspect I'll be replacing them soon, however it's not expensive or difficult at all to do that. Will probably upgrade the pickups as well, though they don't sound bad at all.

I play classic rock, some free form jams, blues, and a little jazz. I play through a Zvex Porbe Wah>Analogman bicomp>Fulldrive Mosfet>TS-808>EX Polychorus>EH Pulsar>TRex delay>Traynor ycv80q 4x10 80 watt tube amp.

The Sherton is silent, no buzzing or humming at all. It has a darker creamy tone at the neck (some might call it muddy) and a bit more grit at the neck. Both pickups give an astoundingly full soung though, and make it very easy to be versatile in switching back and forth for different tones within a lead.

The semi hollow body style is what makes it shine. It still has that full hollow body tone for jazz and blues, but if you really push it with this guitar it will sustain for miles and won't feedback as much as a full hollow. The feedback that it does produce is very manageable and can be quite musical if you leran how to tame it and use it as a resource.

Here's where the discrepancies really come into play with the Sheraton. I noticed alot of reviews about poor setups, improperly lined birdges, so on and so forth. Many guitar makes and models suffer this same fate. I have played Gibson 335's that sound like crap, play like crap, and generally give the impression that an inebriated man put it together. Same goes for the Sheraton. On the flipside I've played both where they were the butteriest smoothest playing guitars in the world. The Sheraton I bought fell into that category. In fact, I walked into Guitar Center with every intention on spending thousands on a 335 and sat down with the Sheraton II while waiting for the sales rep. My Sheraton sounded and played much better than the Gibson, so I bought it instead. I don't play for the label on the guitar, I play for the sound that comes out of it.

Like I said earlier the switches do feel cheap. Also the pick guard feels and is cheap and the E logo on the pick guard will likely fall off in no time. I might just remove the entire pickguard. I give this guitar an 8 in this category because of these flaws.

With the current switches I am a little leary playing live with this guitar. I do, but I have a feeling it's gonna bite me in the arse if I don't get around to upgrading soon. I have no worries about fit and finish as I take very good care of my babies. As with all guitars I installed straplocks immediately. I wouldn't use any guitar on stage without a backup no matter how good it is.

N/A. Haven't had a circumstance to rate this category.

I've been playing for almost 20 years. I've pretty much summed everything up in this category with the above so I'll just sum it up here.

My guitar is really fantastic IMO, especially considering the price. My suggestion to everyone who is interested in this guitar or one like it is to play before you pay. They do vary quite a bit. If you are determined to get this guitar but can't find one that sounds right or plays right, keep looking. There are perfect ones out there. I would like to give this guitar a 7.5 rating to be fair, but I had to choose either 7 or 8.

I received a black Epi Sheraton incl hard case that I ordered from a website (bad idea, I know but the price of ??420 was very good). The hard case was the best part of the package. The guitar was abysmal. The neck was set at an angle to the body - either that or the bridge was put in the wrong place on the body. Either way, the strings were running across the fret board at an angle, which meant that at the 16th fret the 6th string was further from the edge of the fretboard than the 1st string. How this guitar ever passed even the most rudimentary quality check is a puzzle only Epiphone can answer. In addition, the volume and tone control knobs were put on the put wonkey and there were bits of (presumably) glue residues in left in various places.

It made a sound alright but I didn't go any further in checking it out.

Action was high but that wouldn't have been a problem as it can be adjusted. It just didn't play well - hardly surprising if the strings aren't were they're supposed to be. Finish was inadequate: glue residues in various places (see previous). Having said that, the Sheratons do look good what with the inlaid mother of pearl - but that's where it ends. To me they seem like prettyfied Epi Dots, all impressive when you first see them but once you pay them all the good impressions go out of the window.

Can't comment on this as I sent it straight back.

The distributor was very helpful and they immediately collected the guitar and refunded me once I complained so I can only praise them. I don't think the quality of the guitar is their responsibility - that rests with Epi.

I have been playing guitar for 13 yrs I own an old Japanese Les Paul copy and I recently bought a Japanese Gibson ES335 copy made by Tokai (ES100). If you're looking for a 335 copy, I can only recommend the Tokai. Great quality, tone - leagues better than the Sheraton while the price is not that different. And of course NEVER buy before you've tried a guitar. I've learnt that lesson... Based on my experience I can't recommend the Sheratons. I did play quite a few Sheratons in shops and there I thought they were ok guitars but it only took a comparison with the original Gibson and the Tokais to convince me not to bother with Epiphone anymore.

I got this used on Ebay 8 years ago!!!! So I've had this guitar for awhile now that I'm doing a review. It was $280 dollars. Great Price!!! Some of the pole screws were missing. I never replaced them. The gold hardware was a little worn. The serial number on the headstock was filed off so it's a good possibility that this guitar was stolen. It's a normal two humbucker, two volume, two tone semi-hollow body guitar. I agree with others that I like the sheraton's looks more than an ES-335. The inlay on the Sheraton are really beautiful and I like the gold hardware. I think gold hardware looks snazzy!

I love this guitar and have grown to love it more and more over the past 8 years of owning it. I have been playing for 11 years and went to college for guitar. I have never done anything to modify it. I have set up it myself to play how I like and that is it! I did take the pickguard off though. I have the sunburst and the pickguard hid the beautiful finish. I am a fan of two humbucker guitars. I also own a g-400 that I have modified and put seymour duncans on. I love using both humbuckers on this guitar with a clean sound or slightly broken up sounds. It's gorgeous sounding! The neck pickup is very warm and sounds great for jazz. The bridge pickup has nice bite when distorted and it can handle a heavy distortion very nicely. This guitar will go from beautiful jazz clean to shred metal if you want. Don't let anyone tell you a semi-hollow can't do heavy stuff. I have used this guitar through my peavey classic 50, Mesa Boogie Single Rectifier, and Digitech rp 250 and the other 20 some effects pedals I have had. It reacts great with all the pedals I have had. When I first bought this I didn't love it as much as I do now. It is very comfortable to holder if you are a bigger person. I find my g-400 is a little small and I look funny holding such a small guitar.

It was 8 years ago, I don't remember the action when I got it!!! I have changed sizes of strings since then. I used 9's then and then moved to thick and thins, then to 11's, and now 10's. I have set it up differently for each gauge of course. The pickup selector was noisy for alittle and sometimes would cut out. I was going to get a new one but then it stopped. The neck is very very comfortable. It fills my hands nicely but it's too small or big. Just right!

I think electronically is is reliable. I think it is alittle more of a delicate guitar compared to a bolt on like a tele or strat. Stevie Ray once told about how for "Third Stone from the Sun" he would roll the tone down on his middle pickup and grab the guitar and shake the "wang" bar as he said and that you couldn't do that with an ES-335. He was right. Treat the guitar right though and it will treat you right! I replaced the strap buttons with strap locks which I do for all of my guitar. Remember that part in "That Thing You Do" when the bass player is jumping up and down after winning battle of the bands and his bass strap goes and his bass goes crashing to the floor. That is a nightmere of mine which is why I have the straplocks.

Never dealth with anyone on custumer support on this guitar

I always wanted an ES-335 style guitar since around 1996 when I saw Billy Corgan playing one in the Bullet with Butterfly wings video. I love the Sheraton because of it's fancy looks and great sound! I am not the worlds best guitarist. I have played for a decent amount of time and have impressed some people in that time. I have had the chance to play with some very good musicians when I lived in Boca Raton and one very well known bassist in the area told me he loved the sound of my sheraton. He said it was the warmest guitar he had ever heard. He has been in the business a lot longer than I have so that was nice to hear. I would definitely look for another one if it were stolen. The sad thing about guitars is that everyone is different so it's hard to replace a favorite guitar. I am in love with this guitar and everytime I play it I realize it more. The sound is great and it feels so nice in my hands. I have played on Gibson ES-335 and really enjoyed them but I like the look of the Sheraton more.

1994 Samick made Sheraton II. ES335 style, center blocked body. Natural finish with poly finish, dual humbuckers. Grover-style tuners, 3 way switch. Not too bad stock, but can be on par with Elitists with some mods.

I play mostly blues, some rock. I've been want an ES-335 for years. Bought this used off of eBay with every intention of upgrading, so no disappointments. I liked the stock pickups OK. They sounded better than the ones that came in my Epi Les Paul, but not wonderful. The pots were scratchy and the jack needed replaced. Replaced all 4 pots with CTS 500k's ($3.25), the jack with a Switchcraft ($3), the capacitor with a Sprague Orange-drop.($3) Gibson p'ups were a no-brainer, I opted for the 490/498T Gibsons (with gold covers). I got the pair off eBay for $115 shipped. I left the stock switch since it was not making any noise or dropping out when switched. May install a Switchcraft later. Rewired with Gibson Braided wire (5ft @ $6). Total upgrade: $140. The sound: a Solid 10!

I don't know the history of this guitar. It was set up very good when I recieved. I suspect the previous owner had frets levelled & polished. No buzz, very low action. Nut may be bone, may be plastic. I can't tell. I was playing with the idea of changing hardware to Gibson, but Samick used some weird-assed bridge. I didn't want to take a chance of pulling the studs and drilling holes for the Gibson. There were no issues anyway, intonation was perfect and the bridge didn't rattle like some of the cheap Epi crap out there. (Not dissing Epiphones. My son & I have & do own several. Just an observation). The tuners, however, were another story. This one had some Grover knock-offs. I replaced with genuine Grover minis (gold. Cost:$40. I also didn't like the ugly amber top-hat knobs...replace with real Gibson gold vintage. Cost $12. I still don't like the pickgaurd, but that's minor. May replace with an ES-type someday. I suspet I will have to get one made custom since this isn't a real Gibson. For now, everything is beautiful. All I know is that for less than $650, I have the best sounding, best playing guitar I have ever owned! I have owned Gibsons & American Fenders....I like this one better. I am very seriously thinking about putting a Varitone switch in next.

This guitar is a brick. Very well built, very heavy. With the upgrades, I would take a chance gigging without a backup. The guitar is 12 years old and looks as good as the day it was made. I have the Epiphone TKL-made case. There are better out there, but hey, this one came with the guitar and does it's job well. If you like working on your own guitars, get one of these! They have problems with the stock hardware, but upgraded, these are Worthy of the Gibson name on the truss-rod cover.

Bought it used. Never had a problem with an Epiphone product, so no opinion.

I've been playing for 33 years. I play mostly blues. I own an Epiphone EJ-160 (John Lennon), an American Strat (standard) and a Martin D28. If this thing were stolen, I would cry like a little girl for days, write a song about it an start watching eBay for another. It is a total bitch re-wiring a semi-hollow body guitar, but this one was worth every tear, drop of sweat and curse word that I let out while upgrading it..(If someone knows any tricks to make it easier, let me know!) I play this though a Fender Showman 112 combo, sometimes using my Boss GT3 in between. If you like the classic ES-335 sound, get this guitar, pour some sweat and (a little) cash into it. You will be amazed!

This is a 1997 Samick made ES 335 variation with humbuckers. Most of these details have been covered in other reviews but unlike later variations of this model this is using an "ebony" fretboard and I am about 90% sure these are stock Gibson pickups. Somewhere along the way the pickguard had been taken off but I think it looks nicer without it.

For rock, blues, jazz and country this is a pretty cool set up. For metal, look elsewhere. Even though there were several posts people with people using this for punk but in my opinion I think hallow bodied guitars sound like an angry bee when ran through an amp with high gain.

Through an low watt amp with a small speaker like a Princeton or Super Reverb this is a thing of beauty.

Given it is a nine year old guitar it is imposible to say what the stock set up was like but I do know that I had to make several adjustments for my liking:

1) Lower the action.

2) Adjusted the radius of the pickups pole pieces to more accurately trace the arch of the fretboard.

3) Lower the neck pickup by about 1mm to 1.5mm and then further lowered the "A" and "E" string to balance the pickup's output.

All of these were easy to do with a slot head and philips screw driver.

With nine years of playing the hardware is warn and pitted and there is a small dent on the top. Given this is a backup guitar I am not overly concerned.

This is the backup guitar. I bought it because I didn't want to loose or damage my Guild Bluesbird.

As mentioned in several reviews the electronics are suspect but I am saving up a little cash to R S Guitarworks electronics upgrade kit.

From Epiphone? No.

From Guitar Center? Yes. I bought an additional year warranty. They even gave me a call a week after taking the guitar home to see if I still liked it and to see if there was anything unusual going on.

With any hallow body or semi hallow body it is extremely important to play the guitar unplugged first. If it sounds like a shoe box strun with dental floss now it will sound equally bad when plugged into an amp.

I have tried several Japanese made hallow bodied guitars after purchacing the Samick made Shearaton II and in my opinion the MIJ Epiphones were far superior but given I didn't want to go through the hasle of either selling the guitar myself or trading it in for a loss I have decided to keep what I have. I have also tried non Samick made Korean Epiphones and they are no where near the qc as the Samick made Epiphones. If you can find an upper level MIJ Epiphone grab it if not the Samicks are a good second.

Made in Korea, assemebled in USA. Mine is Ebony (black) with gold hardware. 2 volume and 2 tone controls for the 2 Epiphone humbuckers.
Grover tuners (nice). Jumbo frets (I think that's what they are). No case :( The 3-way selector switch is loose. Sometimes it crackles in when switching.

Sounds very much like a hollow-body (semi) should sould. Fat, warm tones. Smooth as smooth should be. I play mostly blues, along with some classic rock, and some alternative.
I do notice sometimes that the low E and A seem to overwhelm the overall tone. I think it's just a matter of tweaking the amp settings. I play through a Vox DA15 digital amp (which is very tubelike in some respects). I also use a Line 6 Pod XT Live for effects and amp modelling. Overall, the sounds out this beauty are sweet.
Maybe one 'dislike', no markers on the higher frets. Not really that bad a deal. I have read other reviews here which indicate Epiphones poor quality switches and pots. I will give the benefit of a doubt as to how they hold up.

Setup was perfect for me. Low action, intonation and pickup settings are fine for my tastes. I could not find any visible flaws. Not that I expected any on a $600 guitar.

Will this guitar withstand live playing? You bet !!!

Does the hardware seem like it will last? We shall see. Gold hardware tends to wear more quickly than the chrome.

Is the finish good enough to last, or does it seem thin and easy to wear off with lots of playing? Yes, very high quality finish IMO.

Are the strap buttons solid? Yes. Can you depend on it? I certainly hope so.

I don't play in a band or on stage. I'm just a play at home or jam with friends sort of player.

I haven't had to experience Epiphones customer support. I bought mine from Guitar Center. They have great support here.

I've been playing on and off for maybe 10 years. I'm still learning. I traded an Ibanez Artcore AFS75 in black (old style semi hollow electric )for this Epi Sheraton II. I also own an Ibanez Classical with pickups and a cutaway (not great but not bad either). I also own (see review elsewhere) a Schecter S1 Elite (my main axe). I just replaced my little Fender amp with a Vox DA15. Nice....much improved sound and tone quality.

I really researched different models of semi-hollowbodies before I decided on the Sheraton. If it were lost or stolen, I would invoke my right of revenge on the bugger who nicked it. I would replace it with another.

Ebony finish, gold hardware, 2006 MIK. Grovers! That's a bonus and even my "real" Gibson 135 didn't come with 'em. 2 Epi humbuckers which sound just as good as the Gibson ones in my Les Paul - I don't know what these other reviewers are griping about. Has all the features I'd expect in a semihollow.

I could use this guitar for anything from punk to jazz, although I gravtiate towards indie rock these days. Sounds HUGE played live and on tape - I've shoved this through $3000 tube combos and cheap modelers and it consistently sounds great. I'll reiterate - people complaining about the pickups in these either aren't familiar with semihollows or just really like soldering - there's nothing wrong with 'em and I like 'em quite a bit.

OUTSTANDING fit and finish - every bit as well done as instruments I have at 3 times the price. Setup was perfect out of the box and I was pleasantly surprised to be able to "plug and play" without my usual tweaking.

The hardware and electronics are fine - nice solid feeling switch and pots, strap buttons do what they're supposed to. I fully expect this guitar to be as reliable as my other instruments.

Standard Epi warranty, although I doubt I'll need it.

I've been at this for 31 years now and was a keyboard player for years prior to that. I own way too much gear to list out here. I like the Sheraton for lots of reasons, but the standout things are the fact that it's still MIK rather than MIC like the cheaper Epis and that it's not a knockoff of another Gibson model - the Sheraton's been its own thing for years. This is my third semihollow (alongside my Gibson and my Gretsch) and I'm finding myself really gravitating towards them.

GC gave me a fantastic deal on this guitar - $600 including our outrageous (almost 10%) local sales tax and the "deluxe" Epi case, which is leaps and bounds above their normal chipboard ones. I'd buy it again in a heartbeat.

This is my 2nd Blond (see below for reason). It is a nice looking guitar brand new 2006. I got it with the Epiphone case whihc is real nice. Made in Korea (much beter than any Chinese Epiphones).

The sound is OK but I will replace the pickups. they do not have the power of any humbucker type guitar I have ever had and are muddy.

I play Classic Rock, Country, Blues and some Jazz through a Fender Prosonic normally but have used it with a few other Fenders and an Marshall 60 wat combo. JCM60

I have a blond Sheraton 2, my 2nd. I bought one with a 30 day return and found out bridge was in the wrong position and there was no way to set the intonation. I actually like the first one better for looks and it ws heavier but the second one was right on with intonation. I still had to make some adjustments to the action but it plays pretty well. The nut will have to go eventually and the switch is noisy but overall I am happy with the second guitar.

I think the hardware will definately fade and I will eventually replace some stuff besides the pickups but for the 600 I paid I expected I would and will eventually end up with a low budget guitar even after mods that will be close to the ES335 I could not afford right now.

I emailed Epiphone and they told me to bring the first guitar to some repair shops not close to home but Guitar Center let me swith no problem and I am happy with them anyway. The 9 is for Guitar Center

I have been playing 25 years and gig 50-80 times a year. I wish I checked the intonation at the store before I bought the first one.
I wanted a nice 335 type guitar and expected the pickups to be replaced but overall I think once I tweak it this guitar will be just what I want. It is nice looking and feels nice with a reasonable acoustic sound too. In some ways it is better than I expected.

I think it is a lot of guitar for the money but check the intonation and make sure it has enough room on the bridge to adjust.

I posted a review on 05/05/2006 asking at large how people coped with no fret markers beyond the 15th fret. I had only placed this guitar on lay-away and had no real experience in playing it. Now that I have had it several weeks, I have discovered that you don't really need fret markers above the 15th. I will confess that I bought some tiny rub-on markers for model cars and placed them on the binding at the 15th and 17th frets, and while they have held on well and will probably always be there unless I delibertly remove them, I find them totally unnecessary. That's because anybody can find the 17th--its just 2 frets above the 15th, and it just so happens that the body binding ends right at the 19th fret--a bigger indicator no one could ask for, and 21 is just 2 frets higher and I don't play up there very much anyway. In fact, I find it actually _easier_ to play the upper registers with this Sheraton than with my Les Paul because of the actual absence of markers--it's not nearly as cluttered up there where frets get so close together on a 24 3/4 inch scale.

In the event that I won't get a chance to add another comment in this proforma review setup, I noticed that my Epiphone "E" was half unstuck when I got the guitar home. The first thing I did was carefully place some super glue under it and clamp it down hard with a "C" clamp for a couple of minutes. No, the glue didn't run out all over the pick guard and guitar top as many of you might be thinking. I was very concerned that it might, but I was a little bit careful and a lotta bit lucky. I don't think it will ever come off now.

One other thing I will mention here in features in the event I won't get a chance to later in this proforma, is that the guitar stays in tune better than I thought it would but not as well as I would like it to. I put Nickel strings on all my guitars when I brought this home and I find it doesn't stay in tune as well as my others (all high-end guitars-StratReissue, Les Paul Spotlight and Custom Tele).
If this proves to be bothersome, I noticed that the custom gold Schallers I put on my Tele are exactly the same size as regards the holes and mounting screws, so that is an option. BTW, the Nickel strings make a difference on this guitar, which is very bright on both the neck and bridge pickups. The give it a nice bluesy tone.

The Nickel strings make a difference on this guitar, which is very bright on both the neck and bridge pickups. They give it a nice bluesy tone, a little darker than standard steel but not as dark as the Les Paul comes out on Nickel. I will go back to standard Swedish steel on the Les Paul and Strat, but the Sheraton and Tele (which I built 20 years ago and has always been overpowering because of the brass nut, birdseye maple neck and curly maple body and red hot pickups) will stay on "Pure Nickel".

Lousy set up. Can't believe America can lend its name to the set up. It was great if you bought the guitar for slide. Personally don't like guitars whose strings are 1/4 " above the 12th fret. Also, I notice that it is very hard to play on the first fret, which is because the cheap plastic nut has its grooves cut so high. It gets noticably easier on the 2nd, 3rd, etc. I compared it to my Les Paul, and the strings on the Sheraton cross the nut 50% higher than on the Les Paul. My luthier can fix that easily enough, and I really don't think I need to go to a bone nut. BTW, anybody considering a brass nut, which I put on my Custom Tele, be prepared to add a lot of open string dampening to your right-hand technique.
They'll start ringing not only from being plucked, but also in resonance with other strings, having not been plucked at all. This is why the "Pure Nickel" has helped my Tele a lot, because they don't resonate as much.

Would have given this category a zero for the action (all due to poor setup) save for the beautiful fit and finish, which rate a "10" in my opinion.

Have heard many people complain about the gold rubbing off--the same thing happened to my Les Paul in less than a year. Big deal--that's what happens to gold finishes--even to White Falcons.

Don't know.

All mentioned in my 05.05.2006 posting if you are interested.

Sure I'd buy it again--that's why I bought it. It is something I can afford to lose, but without a case I'd be a total fool to try take it with me. Even with a case, I'd have to get a travel container. It's easy enough to take the neck off a Strat or Tele and roll both neck and body in a few towels and put in your suitcase--and put trousers and ties in the guitar case which baggage handlers are anxious to out-sort into their own hands.