Epiphone Sheraton II

Mine is a late nineties, left-handed, sunburst, made in Korea. Great guitar. I bought it used out of ebay, and it came with a beaultiful Gibson brown tolex case. Nice block inlays with multiple binding all over the body and neck. The pickguard I replaced for a custom crafted in the shape of the 335 guard (the original guard with that big "Euro" sign is just too ugly). The vine inlays in the headstock are too fancy in my opinion. Anyway, that's how the guitar was in late sixties, and it is supposed to be a recreation of that instrument. I also have a heritage H535 and a Gibson ES335. The hardware and craftsmanship of the Epi is clearly inferior as compared to these guitars. Bindings are not as tightly matches as in the american counterparts. But it costs 2 to 3 times less. Soundwise, however, the difference is not that big.

Veeerrrry sweet sound. Beaultiful. Pick-ups have the right amount of output (perhaps close to the classic gibson pafs). The action and intonation came just perfect (I don't know if the previous owner did it, or if it is a factory thing). Guitar has the traditional thin-hollow-body sound. I play the guitar through a Mesa Boogie 50 caliber and a fender blues Deville. The guitar sounds awesome with both.

Very good action, no fret buzz whatsoever. Crafstmanship is a little sloppy in some parts (bindings, nut). Also, every once in a while the pick-up selector key troubleshoots when I turn to the bridge pick up. I also have the same problem with an Epi Les Paul a long time ago. So I think the guys at Epi should improve the quality of their pickup keys.

Hollow bodies are more vulnerable to road hazards than solid body guitars. So the Epi would certainly not stand the amount of punishment that strats and teles are used to bear in the hands of less careful players.

This is my second Sheraton as I liked the other one so much. I had this one customised and will rate it accordingly. Please compare this review with the review of my other Sheraton (2 or three reviews back).

This Sheraton came with Grover tuners fitted, which I?m pleased about as I planned to fit these myself any way. The electrics (pots ? 2 volume, 2 tone) have all been upgraded to Gibson parts as they are more reliable and are of better quality than stock Epiphone electrics. The pickups have been replaced with Seymour Duncan Antiquities. I have had a Bigsby (B7) tremolo unit fitted and to accompany this I have changed the tunomatic bridge to be a Schaller roller type bridge. All metal parts are gold on a black/ebony finish.

All features work perfectly ? hence the rating of 10.

OK this where I start waxing lyrical! My other Sheraton had Seymour Duncan SH1?s fitted which, I thought couldn?t be improved. The Antiquities are the most amazing pickups ever made (and I?ve heard a few!). They do exactly what it says on the tin ? er ? box. They really do sound just like (actually even better than) original pickups found in an ES335 from 1960 or 61. All the things you dream about happen, hairs go up on the back of your neck, other guitarists look and take note and start asking the questions like ?whassatt!? etc.

The output is not as much as modern day Gibson pickups but then their magnetism has been reduced due to the ?aging process? but they sing, preach, howl, moan, cry and wail without ever getting stressed and merging notes ? bloody superb!
With Epiphone pickups this is a very good guitar indeed ? with the Antiquities this is the best guitar I have ever played by a long, long way and I?ve played more classic 335s, 345s, 355s strats, teles etc etc. than you can shake a stick at. This is my main guitar in preference to a ?78 strat, ?79s strat, ?52 Tele, classic 335, Les Paul and various others.

Simply the best sounding guitar I?ve ever heard and played ? played through a Twin Reverb, Pro Reverb(1971) or a Blues Deluxe (depending on venue). It is most suitable for blues, jazz, melodic rock but you could use this for almost any style ? except monster metal.

Please read my previous Sheraton Review as the same thing applies here.

This Epi is new but I have three others and they?ve never let me down yet!

I?ve emailed Epiphone with a few queries in the past and they?ve always been prompt in getting back to me and have always been very informative ? thanks guys! I?ve never needed to complain though.

If I could go to 11 I would. Some people might ask ? why spend so much money (#1300) on customising an Epiphone when you could buy a new Gibson 335 or Heritage for a similar price. The answer is quite simply that the Epiphone is better! Really!! ? with the upgraded electrics and pickups that is. Now, I confine these comments to Epiphone archtops as all my Epis are archtops (two Sheratons, a Casino and a Zephyr Blues Deluxe). Maybe it?s me? But Epi necks feel and play better than Gibsons, the workmanship is easily as good as Gibsons and Heritage (in fact I?ve heard some dealers say they are better) and the materials are the same (except the electrics of course).

To put my money where my mouth is ? again ! I?ve just ordered two Seymour Duncan Antiquity P90s to fit to my Casino. Same as before ? great guitar let down by the pickups. I?ve actually asked Seymour Duncan to wax pot these P90s to reduce microphonics especially as the Casino is completely hollow. I?m assured that this won?t affect the tone.

If I lost a ?61 Gibson 335 it might be irreplaceable. If I lost this Sheraton I could get my guitar guru (Bob at Kingfishers) to get and customise me a new one. Would I replace the guitar if it was lost? What d?you think?

Just to quickly answer Harmony's questions:
- Been playing for almost 30 years
- I love everything about this guitar - EVERYTHING!
- Favourite feature is THE SOUND
- I compared it a dozen or more classic 335s, 345s and 355s,
Heritage 535, Yamaha SA2200. Chose this one because, with the
Antiquities, its better than anything I've ever played.
- From what I've been hearing (both in the UK and in the USA) there
is a growing trend for buying and upgrading Epis.

Mine is a '98, finished in sunburst. Stock everything. Features have been covered in depth previously. Bought it with a Gibson hard shell case.

I use this guitar primarily in a 60's / 70's rock and blues band. Run it through an RP2000 into either a Fender Stage 100 or a Marshall vs65. I've found the bridge pup to have a nice, clean tone that sounds nicely transparent. The neck pup tends to sound a bit muddy with no effects, but can get a really fat, Santana-like tone with some tweaking and the proper effects added. Played clean with both pups engaged, the tone is well balanced and picks up fingering, hammer ons and pull offs within chords nicely. If I didn't run this through the pedal, I would probably switch the pups as have others. With the pedal, it's extremely versatile and requires no modification for the stuff I do. Others have mentioned feedback. I find this only to be an issue with heavy drive, which I don't use it for, nor what it is intended for. It is pretty much the only guitar I use practicing with the band. Occasionally at gigs I'll switch to my Les Paul Studio (P-90's) for any heavy drive stuff we do. In those situations, the pup output difference between the two is very noticable. The P-90's are way hotter, and noisier. Volume adjustments at the pedal or the amp are required. All in all this is a very good sounding guitar, with a lot of range.

Don't know about the factory set up, as mine was purchased used. It was set up perfectly when I received it. I love the neck on this guitar, low, fast, and thin. My Les Paul feels chunky by comparison. I totally agree with the guy who said it practically plays itself. As has been mentioned many times, the finish on this guitar is virtually flawless, and beautiful. It is a classy looking piece, one that looks great on stage. No noise switching pups. A few minor complaints: the pick guard is thin and cheesy feeling, and the toggle cover broke. And yes, the gold plating is subject to ruboff, but that's the case with most of the gold hardware out there. The bridge needed a bit of filing, and I still seem to break more strings at the bridge than I'd like. I guess some folks feel a little ashamed of the Epi logo on the headstock. Not I, I think it's gorgeous. Even with the minor flaws mentioned above, I have to give it a 9. It is one of the prettiest, most nicely finished guitars I have seen.

I've gigged over 100 times with this guitar, with no problems (other than the string thing I mentioned). The gold is wearing off, but that was expected. The finish is bullet proof. I need a back up for broken strings, I average probably one broken string a night playing out. It stays in tune well, no noise, very durable. What more could you ask for?

N/A.

I really like this guitar a lot, particularly for gigs. I've been playing almost 40 years, and haven't found a neck I like better than this. In addition to the Les Paul mentioned earlier, I currently own an Epi DelRay and 4 acoustics (two Guilds, a Martin, and Takamine 12). I've owned or played l00's of others. The Sheraton has less personality than say a strat or a les paul, and consequently is far more versatile. For stage work, the combination of great looks, versatility, and low price make it ideal for my purposes. I'd replace it in a heartbeat.

I bought my one in 2003, or should I say my wife bought it for my birthday!As with many budget guitars mine was made in Korea. It's vintage sunburst with gold hardware, it has Gibson plastered all over the pickups and Gibson logo on the truss rod cover.
I don't usually buy without playing the guitar first but on this occasion did.It was supplied by Aire guitars via Ebay at a cost of #350.On opening the box I was surprised at the overall condition being perfect, when I played it I was very pleased to find it needed NO adjustments at all.I have played many guitars over the years including Gibson versions of this guitar and it stacks up well.

The pickups may have a slightly lower tone than the Gibson's but really for the money this is a superb instrument.I play mainly rock/blues style now and with just a little reverb it sounds great.I personally dislike the pick guards so I remove them as I've done with my Les Paul. The only problem I've encountered so far is the jack socket coming loose but other than that nothing!I'd expect the gold of the hardware to come off in time, but this can happen to a much more expensive instrument.
All in all I'd give this 9 because of that plug.

As I said before this guitar was set up well, it has a low action no buzzing and no need for tinkering.
Close your eyes and run your fingers over it and you'd think it was a Gibson.

I don't gig much these days but I play at home a lot, composing and recording my own songs, would this guitar survive live? I don't see why not. The finish is superb but I've found gold hardware does tend to come off (maybe it's my sweaty hands), time will tell how it stands up but as I said before it stands up well against it's big brother.

Can't comment on this as I've not had to contact them yet.

I've been playing for nearly 30 yrs now, although in the beginning I played bass (see my Rick 4001 anon review)I played guitar as well and even taught others!I play through JD cry baby & Digitech GNX1 FX into my recorder. This guitar has a sound of it's own and I find great pleasure playing lead of chords on it, and yes I'd get another.

Mine is a mid 1990?s vintage sunburst model Sheraton II made in Korea. It has laminted maple top, back and sides and laminated neck (making it very strong and reliable). Controls are 335 standard ? 2xtone, 2xvolume and pickup selector. In short ? it?s a 335 style guitar.

I give a rating of 8 here as all features are functional but 2 points dropped as the hardware is not as good as, say, a Gibson and the pickups leave something to be desired.

I play pretty much all styles but mainly blues and jazz nowadays and use Fender amps (a 70s silver face Pro Reverb and a new-ish Twin)

The stock pickups are a bit dull and lack character ? certainly wouldn?t turn any heads (or rather ears), They?re also microphonic. However, after fitting a pair of Seymore Duncan 59s everything I ever hoped for was there. Sounds a bit dramatic doesn?t it, but the improvement is really that significant ? The killer tone has arrived!
Played clean the sound is perfectly balanced (you can here all the strings equally) and full. When cranked up these symores make the guitar wail, cry, sing - whatever your desire without breaking up or sounding harsh. Judging from other reviews on this site it seems obvious that Sheratons are crying out for Seymore Duncans or Gibson 57s to be fitted. If you?re looking for a classic, crystal-dripping tone from a 335 style guitar and you?re not a Gibson elitist/purist this IS the way to go.

I?ve owned a new Gibson 335 on approval and gave it back to the shop (much to their surprise) as it just didn?t feel right. I?ve also made a point of trying out as many classic 335s, 345s, 355s (60?s & 70s models) as I can because I can still hardly believe that my Epi is better ? but it is! 0- for both feel and sound (maybe it?s just a personal thing).

So I?d like to have given two ratings here ? one with stock pickups and hardware (I give 8) and one with replacement Seymore Duncans and Grover tuners (definitely 10!).

These Epis might not be handmade by craftsmen but they are put together to perfection. I can find no signs of poor workmanship at all. All the joints are perfect and if you touch them with your eyes closed you just can?t tell where the joints are! All the binding is excellent. Every fret is finished to perfection ? really! I also have an Epiphone Zephyr Blues Deluxe and a Casino and the quality is just the same. All my Epis have a marvellous set up and feel like old friends. I feel I must point out that Sheratons do actually look classier than Gibsons as well (if you can get over the name on the headstock that is!). No doubt about it 10 out of 10 here!

I gig with this Sheraton regularly ? it?s never let me down yet!

Don't know. Havn't had any contact or need to.

I feel it only fair to review this guitar as stock rather than after what's becoming a defacto upgrade. So, all in all, I feel this Epi warrants a 9. The stock pickups aren't bad - just not brilliant and the hardware could be better. But the feel and playability of the guitar is better than any Gibson, PRS, Fender etc I have ever played.

I?ve been playing semi-pro and pro for about 28 years now and played so many guitars I can?t remember! I?ve had to play all different styles but I?m now mainly a blues and jazz musician/teacher. My main electric workhorses now are this Sheraton, a USA Reissue Tele, a 70?s Strat and the Zephyr. The Sheraton is my favourite by far! (Taylors and Martins used for acoustic work). I always play through Fender valve combos (new-ish Twin and early 70?s Pro Reverb). No effects used ? well maybe a tubescreamer where necessary.

As for the question - would I replace the Sheraton if it were stolen ? ? of course I would ? and make the necessary upgrades (Seymores and Grovers). In fact I?m about to pre-empt this potentiality and will be buying another Sheraton quite soon (a black one I think) and will again fit Seymore Duncans, Grovers and for the next one I?ll put a Bigsby on it too ? just for variety! All brand new this will cost me about #800-#1000 ? just over half the cost of a new 335 ? but much superior. Why isn?t everyone switched on to this?

2003 Sheraton II Maple Laminated body and neck, rosewood fingerboard with decorative box and triangle inlays pretty. Head stock has decorative vine design - also very pretty. Body, neck, head, and F-holes are very nicely bound. Two Gibson Humbuckers. Gold Hardware. Gloss urethane Vintage Sunburst Finish. Tune-o-matic bridge, stop tail piece. Epiphone Tuners (grover style.) This is a 335 style and size semi-hollowbody. No trem, no coil splitting.

Wonderful sound. I play jazz. Great depth and tone. Fairly bright but with full low-end. Bridge pickup can be a little bitey but it can easily be tamed with the tone control. Neck pickup is noce and mellow sounding. I find I play quite a bit with both pickups selected (especially for lead or it there is an emphasis on melody) -full on the neck PU and backed off about 50% on the bridge PU. The pickups are very quiet. They also seem to be fairly high output. The sustain on this guitar is..FOREVER! For the type of music I play - pretty traditional jazz and some blues - the sound of this guitar is great. Perosnal taste, I would like to have seen coil splitting capability -would have been neat but not essential. There is absolutely nothing that I dislike about his guitar...well I did remove the metal "E" from the pickguard becuase I liked the unadorned look better. With a good amp, this guitar realy shines. I play this though an Ultrasound - no feedback issues, the amp has notch fiter and shape controls.

The fit and finish on this guitar is nothing less than incredible. There are absolutely no flaws anywhere. The setup was nearly perfect. The finish is a deep Vintage Sunburst the shine on which looks about a foot deep! The neck inlays were prefectly aligned, tasteful and pretty. Nice cream and black binding. I'm always a little squeemish about gold hardware (given a choice I'd probably avoid it), but I also treat my guitars gently and clean right them after playing - so I don't expect to have problems. The pickup selecter feels a bit light and I'm not sure how trustworthy it will be, based on reviews I've read, but it works fine now - so I can't complain about it. The action on this guitar is absolutely amazing for an archtop - very low! and playing is effortless. The neck is straight as an arrow and has a nice shape that inspires 'proper playing position' - very comfortable fingerboard seems to be about 1 11/16". It has medium frets - very comfortable and well finished with no rough edges and nicely polished. Great intonation on my guitar. I bought this guitar at my local Guitar Center - love at first sight.. from across the foom... The week before I had purchased a Gretsch Country Classic Jr. for $1,000 more than this EPI was selling for (!!!!) - after playing the Sheraton II, I took the Gretsch back exchanged it for the Sheraton II! It blows me away that this guitar could actually have cost me $1,000 less - and I like the Sheraton II much better. The guitar did not come with a case - bought the Epiphone hard shell case for another $70 ...$549 for the Guitar and $70 for the case (plus tax of course) WOW! If this gutar cost more, I'd still love it.

It feels solid and substantial. I expect that it will last. I'm also pretty easy on my guitars.

Don't know. Havn't had any contact or need to.

I've been playing for about 30 years with off time. My current setup is the Sheraton II, and Ultrasound amp, Boss Loop Station, Monster Jazz Cables. For Jazz, this combination is perfect and the guitar sounds fantastic. I usually play with just a little reverb or chorus. Over the years, I have owned Schecter, Godin, Fender, Cordoba, Ovation, Ibanez, and I even had a Kalamazoo made Epiphone Casino that I bought in 1966 and sold in 1970 (boy do I wish I still owned that one!) I recently sold an Ibanez semi-hollowbody that I thought was very nice but not equal to this EPI. At this time I just have the Sheraton II and an Ovation that my daughter plays (I don't like the Ovations skinny neck.) I Have used Fender and Tubeworks amps - I love the Ultrasound for the stuff I'm playing now. I can't believe the quality of this guitar for the price. If this guitar were lost of stolen, I definitely replace it.

2001, semi hollow, korean, natural finish - looks amazing! (so much better than the sunburst) very fancy with the body, fretboard and headstock binding as well as the inlays and design on the headstock...looks great! fancier than any 335

Great sound, very versatile, being semihollow. Great for blues, jazz, rock and anything inbetween. the pickups aren't amazing but they do the job, being epiphones. i intend to upgade them eventually.

This guitar plays really well the fretboard and neck are amazing, just the right size. Does not stay in tune very well however. Needs some grover tuners. The toggle switch tends to cut in and out from time to time but when all is working well it is a great guitar for shows. if hardware and tuners were upgraded, there would be no need for a backup. The gold on the hardware tends to wear of however, because it is not real gold but for an epiphone you can't complain!

i love this guitar it is very versatile for several styles of music. it also has a good weight to it so it feels like a good solid, well made guitar. It looks amazing! with upgrades to PU's, hardware and tuners, this guitar will stay with me for life!

Mine is a 1994 or 95 Sheraton 2 with vintage sunburst finish. the rest has been well covered in the other reviews. Bought used on E-bay for $430.00 w/Epi hard case and Gibson 57 classic pu and a 57 classic plus pu.

Sounds very warm and jazzy. As it came used with 57's pups already in it ( along with receipt for pups and installation) i cant comment on the stock pups sound.

This guitar came perfectly set up for me. fast and low with no fret buzzing using .010 strings The quality of the finish is superb and still looks brand new. It has stock tuners that work quite well and stays in tune for ages. The gold plating has held up very good and actually still looks new, contrary to some of the other reviewers. The only problem I've had is the nut came off of the cable jack, and was a real bear to get back on because the jack fell back inside and the only way to put it back in place is through the f-hole.

This guitar is very reliable and can be used as your main axe. The strap buttons are solid but straplocks are always a smart addition.

Overall I love this guitar and would definitly buy one again if lost or pinched. I also own a 1969 Epi Riviera made in the USA. It has a bigsby trem and Demarzio pups with cherry color finish. Says Kalamazoo, Mich. inside below the f-hole. I would put the Sheraton up as an equal to the Rivierra although the Sheri is prettier

Korean built in 1994 and bought in 1995
Came with a plush hardshell case
High gloss poly natural (blond) finish on laminated Maple body
Fancy 3-layered binding on body and neck,
22 fret fat, U-shaped maple neck with double skunk-strip
25 1/2" scale neck with fat frets on rosewood board
'Gibson' engraved on truss rod cover on headstock
Fancy vine-style inlays on headstock
mother-of-pearl (?) triange-in-square fret markers
Original gold hardware throughout, sealed tuners
2 tone, 2 volume, 3-way toggle sw, 2 (cheap) HBs
red-tortose pickguard with 'e' logo
Essentially cheap hardware but good looks are the key here

Original cheap PUs, neck was muddy and bridge harsh and piercing. However they are relatively quiet like humbuckers and are more or less useful as is. I liked the neck PU the most for jazzy mellow tunes. The bridge PU was really nasal and harsh but could be tamed by rolling off the highs with the tone knob. For a clean sound with the HBs you will want an amp that can handle the low end. My Fender Deluxe with a 12" Jensen does well. My practice amps don't fair as well. The stock PUs are LOUD.

Last year, I replaced the PUs (see overall rating comments below for full descritption). With original PUs a 7, with new PUs a 9. I have developed a taste for single coils so I don't play this guitar out much and it stays in the case. I might sell it.

Factory setup was great. Neck and Bridge PUs were balanced. Intonation was good. The poly finish is indestructable. Workmanship is near perfect- the Koreans really have the 'finish department' covered. The tuners are okay but I replaced them with grovers.

The maple body is HEAVY and also sturdy. It can really take a lot of punishment. The poly finish is rock-hard and looks everybit as good as it did about 8 years ago. I have left the guitar out on a stand during all seasons and the action stays about the same. I have never played it out much but it appears to be a very solid instrument.

I have never contacted Ephiphone.

I play my guitars straight into the amp with just a hint of reverb and overdrive. I am not a cruncher and/or effects freak. For me this guitar is good for Larry Carlton-style easy listening jazz, standards, Robbin Ford-style blues and perhaps 50s-60s R'n'R. Aferall, if you want serious overdriven distortion and crunch why not go for a LP or Jackson?

Essentially, this guitar is a Gibson ES-335 knock-off. It is a lot cheaper than the real thing. Note that Epiphone is now offering the Elite series with better hardware but you don't have to go that route. With about $200 you can upgrade your Epi Sheraton II to the 'Gibson ES-335 class'. I made such changes as follows:

1 - changed out the PUs to Seymour Duncan Seth Lover PUs neck and bridge. They were about $75 each ($150 for the pair). They are about a good as you can get for that vintage PAF HB sound. The neck PU is lush but with definition for great jazz tone. The brige is bight but not as harsh as the stock PU and you can even emulate the Tele sound to some degree.

2 - changed out tuners to Govers. Took all of 10 minutes to switch out with no extra holes to drill. The guitar tunes and stays in tune. The Grovers cost $50.

Note: The new PUs and Grovers are nickel and chrome respectively.

Cosmetic change:

3 - sanded the 'e' logo off the pickguard and used a little acetate to smooth the finish back to a semi-gloss. Changed the bracket to chrome.

As you can see, I am trying to move away from the gold hardware to chrome/nickel. Unfortunately, the Gibson tune-o-matic bridge and tailpiece do not fit the mounts on my Epi. I may try to get some chrome replacements from Epiphone someday.

One more personal fix. This is not for the faint of heart and there is no going back. I added a master volume knob to the lower treble bout. Being a Fender-guy, I like having just one volume knob. This mod is not easy, but I can send you instructions. You will have to tap the signal with a 500K pot just before the output jack.

If anyone wants to try any of these mods, especially the PU mod, contact me at weblazer@cs.com. It is tricky, but I learned from StewartMac on how to deal with the pots with only the F-holes to work with.

Overall rating for guitar as is, is 8. (With mods it gets a 9 because the guitar is now essentially as good as the Elite or maybe even the real Gibson ES-335.) It will never be a Gibson ES-335 so no 10 here.

1994 model in vintage sunburst which I bought new. Made in Korea.You know the rest.

I play mainly blues and classic rock and found this guitar to be great for both. Many reviewers complain about, and change, the pickups- but I've never had a problem with the stock ones.

Guitar came with a great factory set up- probably the best I've ever experienced. Much better than on any Gibson I've played since. More on that later. Pickups were well adjusted for balanced sound. The finish was perfect and the neck straight as an arrow with low action and absolutely no buzzing or fretting out anywhere on the board. Very Impressive. No for the down side. The saddle for the high E string had a burr on it which kept causing string breakage whenever the string was bent. A small file took care of that. The toggle switch is garbage. Started crackling out about 6 or 8 months after I bought it. Other than that no problems. All in all, very impressive for a guitar in this price range.

With a better toggle switch- rock solid. Played literally hundreds of gigs with this guitar with no problems whatsoever.

N/A.

I loved this guitar and like an idiot I sold it to buy a Gibson ES 333 which is without a doubt THE worst single piece of total crap I have EVER wasted my money on. After almost $300 worth of fret work it still buzzes all over the neck. I've played many new Gibsons since and they were mostly the same. Poor finish work, necks with humps at the neck joint, loose bridges, too low nuts, you name it. So much for American workmanship. Gibson stinks.

I'm now looking to find another Sheraton, but I hear there have been some production cutbacks during the last year or two- for example I understand they are no longer using the beautiful triple neck binding, and now using single binding. And they are no longer printing the E on the pickguard, but using those cheap plastic or tin E's that fall off immediately after purchasing (like they did on my Dot model). I may just have to try to find another '94 model.

I have been playing for 38 years, and also (among others), have a '96 American Standard Strat (great guitar), a Jorge Montalvo Cypress Sr. Hauser Flamenco guitar with cutaway (amazing guitar), a Dreadnaught, Fender Hot Rod Deville 410 amp, and a plethora of pedals.

The only other thing I'd like to share is that there are some very nice instruments coming out of Korea these days- don't write them off. And don't buy Gibson!They are overpriced junk from a company purely living off of it's name! They may own Epiphone, but the workmanship on the Gibson's is definately sub par!