Epiphone Sheraton II

I bought mine used for $450 with hardshell case. It was a beautiful earthtone brown burst. I researched the serial # and found it was manufactured in mid '90s. I spent ALOT of time playing it when I first got it. It was VERY comfortable to play sitting down. However, when standing with a guitar strap, I found it top heavy and the headstock tipped downward. I had to keep adjusting it while playing and that's EXTREMELY annoying.

Shortly after I bought it, I had occasion to sit with a Gibson 335 standard. The comparison was inevitable: there was no comparison! The Gibson practically played itself in my hands. It was a very fine instrument and clearly the Sheraton, although a very nice guitar and a good deal for the dollar, is NOT in the same category.

I coaxed some very nice tones out of this guitar in live setting. It was more prone to feedback than my LP-style solid body guitar, which is expected, but it was controllable. I would have liked very much to pop a couple of gibson '57 classics in it for comparision to the original pickups, but in the end, I decided to sell the guitar outright. I had other priorities. It hurt to see it go and I felt like I owed it an explanation ("It's me, not you.."), but all things considered, it was the right decision for me. I got what I paid for it so I guess they hold their value. Plus I got free play time on a new guitar! I still want a 335 style, but I think I'll hold out for a Gibson 335 Standard.

Overall, I'd say the Sheraton II is good value for the money if you buy it used. I couldn't see spending $800+ Canadian for new one. That's what they're listed for nowadays....

My Epi. Sheraton II: 2006 Made in Korea,Ebony Finish, Semihollow Body, Maple Center. Block, f-holes, Laminated Maple Top, Sides, Back, Multi. Ply Set Neck Maple and Rosewood I believe, Rosewood Fingerboard. Abalone and Mother O' Pearl inlays and Binding all around. Gold hardware: Grover Tuners, Tune-O-Matic style bridge, Stop bar tailpiece. Three way switch, Dual Alnico Epi Classic Humbuckers.

I like to play Blues, Alt/Indie Rock, some Funk, and Rock n' Roll. I think this guitar suits my needs to cover and blend these tone territories. My setup is pretty simple: My Sheraton II into a BOSS Tuner pedal into my Mesa Boogie Express 5:50 2x12 all tube combo, and occasionally I'll use a BOSS CE-2 Chorus pedal the effects loop. Okay as for the sounds I get on the neck pickup: full, warm, mellow at times when rolling back tone knobs, great sustain overdriven, and sweet resonant clean tones. As for the bridge pickup: seems not as full as neck pickup,(could be the height adjustment) it gets trebly but not too harsh, good rock sounds, but still has a nice sustain and harmonics for screaming leads. In my opinion, the Sheraton II sounds are pretty versatile, although I don't think it would suit best for styles with really high gain, it might produce too much feedback. I like the sound of this guitar in stock form, but like every guitar I've owned, I may do a few mods. to it, just to add more personality that suits me. But I'm in no rush to overhaul it.

I got this guitar in a trade, so when I tried it out it there wasn't a factory setup. I was surprised how well it was set up with low action to it's smooth rosewood frets with well detailed inlays. The neck bindings could be a bit smoother at the edges, but playing it over and over I think will naturally erode them. It does have some oxidizing goin on the gold hardware, which I like it's aging look. The input jack loosens, but I just retighten it. The 3 way switch makes a little noise sometimes but doesn't bother me. The finish and detail of this guitar is excellent! The Grover Tuners are smooth and stay in tune really well. The strap buttons are bigger than my old Gibson SG's, and they work fine with my movement. This guitar feels well-built, and seems like it will age nicely.

I have not gigged with this guitar yet, but I think it will last and become my "workhorse" down the road.

Never dealt with em.

I've been playing almost 15 years now and throughout I've owned a few guitars (Gibson, Fender, BC Rich, Charvel), and this guitar's sound and vibe suits me. I love that I found this guitar, it really inspires me-

Guitar was built Unsung Korea in April 2009 - Vintage Sunburst finish; comes with 3 piece maple neck, 2 PAF styled humbuckers, laminated maple body, 3 way PU selector switch, 2 tone and 2 volume for each pick up, gold hardware and grover tuners, stunning pearl/abalone inlay and double bound body.

The finish of my guitar is absolutely stunning, I may have gotten lucky but as many others have since commented, it's the sweetest looking Epiphone Sheraton II due to the incredible flame maple figuring on both the top and back of the body. The finish is poly and is extremely durable.

The neck is not too fat and not too thin ... I love the feel of the Sheraton II neck - it is extremely fast and comfortable to play. After a set up the guitar stays in tune beautifully. Solid features all round and a ten from me as it's what I wanted.

This guitar has excellent acoustic projection even before it is plugged in. The pick ups are not great but ok and while they are fine for now I will be replacing them with something hotter in the bridge and perhaps a PAF 57 in the neck.

There is nothing to dislike about this guitar sound wise ... once you get some upgraded PU's and replace the pots et al this guitar will equal any Gibson 335. I tried quite a few Gibsons side by side with the Sheraton - pound for pound the Sheraton is the equal of the Gibson with the only factor being that pickups. The fit and finish of the Epiphone was generally superior, but for small items, like the Gibson has a bone nut while the Epi has a plastic one - easily fixed.

Apart from these little things the Sheraton is a class act ... I played the Sherry through an AC30 for about 3 hours and this guitar just ripped - I nailed country, rockabilly, blues, rock and jazz riffs all day long; what can't this guitar do? Side by side with the Gbison 335 the feel of both guitars was about the same ... the Epiphone is a perfect platform for upgrades and once done you won't look back.

I'll also be adding a Bigsby to mine ... soundwise it will be a 10 when upgraded but out of the box it's a 7. I give it a 10 because it WILL sound a 10 with new PU's.

This is where I was really impressed ... the Sheraton I selected is just stunning. The bound body, the vine inlay headstock, gold hardware which I usually hate on any guitars - looks wonderful on this guitar. The neck is 3 piece maple with two skunk stripes ... the frets all smoothed off - inlay is perfect on the fret markers. Of all the guitars I played the Sheraton II was the best for fit and finish, better than the Gibsons I played and $2000 cheaper.

You gotta ask yourself ... is a Gibson $2000 better than this? No! Once upgraded this guitar is THE guitar.

I have not gigged it yet but it feels very solid and sturdy to me ... the finish is pretty bullet proof if I can draw that bow. The reports are that the hardware tarnishes pretty quick and that suits me just fine as I like that aged look. Overall this guitar will last.

Stunning guitar ... buy one!

Made in korea. laminated top, to epiphone humbucker pickups, It has grover gold tuners that came stock. Holds perfect tune. 3 way switch. archtop guitar. I bought the VS and it looks amazing. like a million bucks...I love the inlay on the headstock!

Well this is my first arch top guitar i did alot of looking around before i bought this one i almost bought a Dot, But then i got an amazing deal on this sherton that i could not pass up. I use only tube amps no solid state amps , 1 vintage 1 new fender. I love this Guitar i had know idea what i was missing I TOTALLY DIG THIS ARCHTOP HUMBUCKER MONSTER!
Its a great Rock Guitar Great blues guitar great jazz guitar what the hell its all you need it even sounds desent unpugged and you can play through and amp clean and do the singer songwriter thing if need be. its my go to guitar now...My get up in the morning before work and play come home after a long day and write a song on...Ive Been reborn I see the light!
Its all about my SHERATON NOW! and this is not my first day of owning if ive had its for 6 months and were still in love...Thats saying alot when these days theres so many guitars to choose from its hard to bond with a guitar...THis sheraton sounds amazing

THis one has no flaws and its a factory second...it looks perfect sounds even better than it looks...

One Word( strap loks when you play live).....yes this is a professional grade instrument only thing i plan on changing is the 3 way switch..

Ive Been playing and singing a hundred years back when johnny rotten was king..I own bunch of guitars and some may say im a gear junkie and they would be right...I dig this epi and it is staying in the family for sure.

You know the features. My story is as follows: I'm a full time musician and make a living with a guitar in my hand. My first guitar was an Epiphone, so I've always had a soft spot for 'em. I've had a few since, but none that I've been satisfied with. (I also own several american strats and teles, Gibsons, and some high end Martins.) I've wanted a 335 forever, but just never found one that I thought played quite as well as the price tag said it should. I've also browsed the Epi hollow bodies over the last few years, and had pretty much written them off until I found this particular Sheraton II. I assume it is the newest model, since it's made in China, but it plays MUCH better than the ones I've tried in the past. Sounds similar.

My buddy was lookin' for a guitar at a local shop and I was just along for the ride, checkin' out some microphones and such. He asked me to play it for him and see if it was worth-a-count while he played a tele, because it looked so cool.

A Deluxe reverb and 30 minutes in the booth, and I was ready to take it home. It's not the best guitar in the world, by any stretch of the imagination, but it's superb for the money. I ended up paying $700 otd with tax and the matching hardshell case.

I'd rate this a 6 for features because it really doesn't have anything past the basics, however it does come equipt with nice Gotoh tuners that work very smoothly, and a pretty nice vintage sunburst finish for a foriegn made instrument, so I'll give it an 8.

The tone is not bad at all. Not made in USA quality, but it's close. I've found the bridge pickup to be thin sounding in comparison to the neck, no matter how they're adjusted. It's not so bad that it's unusable, and there are still a lot of sweet sounds to be had, they just aren't '57 classics.

Freddy King tones are easily dialed in on the bridge with my BiValve juiced up a bit, and with a switch to the neck and a couple of knob turns you can nail the Jazz sound. And of course, B.B. is just right there, anytime. The Sheraton into a vintage Princeton is absolutely amazing for Wes Montgomery type licks, and into anything with a shade of Marshall you can get early Clapton easily. The sustain is impressive with or without gain, and as you'd expect, you get that great woody tone from the semi-hollow body.

I give it an 8 here too, because it's seriously close to a new 335, but a step or two away, overall.

Best Epiphone I've ever played, and it certainly rivals many, (and shames some), of the Gibsons I've had and tried. The fret work is very good, and the setup was nearly spot on. All I did was install some heavier strings and raise the action just a bit. Intonation was on from the get-go, and the neck is just right. No buzzes or dead spots and the inlay is sweet.

The finish is also good for what it is. Again, it's not a U.S. made, solid wood instrument, but it has no real blems or corners that were cut, and the vintage burst looks great with the gold hardware, and pickguard with the kewl Epi "E" symbol. The knobs work well and smoothly and the headstock inlay is a little much for me, but looks very nick with the classy outline and old school logo. The nut looks and feels like a piece of crap, plain and simple. I will likely have this replaced soon.

I'm rating this a 9. However, this is only in comparison to other Epiphone and Gibson guitars. I'd have to say 7-8 if you bring out some American Fenders for direct scrutiny.

I've not had it toooo long, but I suspect the electronics will need replacement before anything.

Overall, this is a GREAT guitar for the price. Get's you right there with the 335 crowd for half the price. The nut and electronics are the weak points here, but with a little bone or coriander and a set of '57 classics, I'm sure it'd be nearly indistiguishable from the "real deal".

Mine is built in the mid 90's which are reportedly of a very good construction quality (which i can affirm)

It's a standard semi-hollow body Epiphone Sheraton II with 2 humbuckers.
As it's a very versatile instrument in my opinion, it gets a 9 for features.

I like the full, round sound of this semi-hollow body guitar. Acoustically it sounds like an es-335. When amplified, the stock pickups give the guitar away as a copy - they sound veiled, although well balanced. But i miss the articulation. Also the distortion coming from them is not very pleasant - not enough bite and highs. I'mplanning to change them either to Gibson classic 57's or SD Antiquity's - haven't decided yet. That should make it quite indistinguishable from an es-335. Non the less, this Epi is very versatile and fits well for many styles - rock'n roll, rock, blues, heavy stuff and even jazz.
For what it is now, i give the sound an 8.

I bought it used a year ago. Previous owner had set it up very well. No issues.
The finish is good. Don't know if it's normal or it is just my guitar, but the block inlays on the neck are surrounded by a broader frame of glue stains than i usually see on such necks. But i'm not sure if they came like that from the factory and it's nothing that is very apparent.
A volume pot is a bit loose - but that's probably a question of age and use.
The overall finish is beautiful. When it comes to looks - this is the most beautiful guitar i've seen. With its vintage sunburst (which is in a different color than the Gibsons and the new production Sheratons - it is darker, a bit more on the red/brown side) and the well designed pickguard form it is visually a very balanced design (although a bit on the fancy side - maybe to fancy for some tastes).
The action took me some while to get used to, because my primary axe is a strat - so the neck is quite a bit thicker and wider. Once you get used to it, it plays well, although, i still prefer the neck of my strat.

i give this an 8 because as a semi-hollow guitar it will never be as durable as solid bodies. Other than the aforementioned little flaws - everything seems to be fine on this guitar - even after the 10+ years of use.

no idea. but i think i'll never have to find out.

I'm very pleased with this instrument. Visually it's just stunning - great for shows. Soundwise ithink it has no reason to hide from a real es-335 (provided you upgrade the pickups). For this price (450 euros used) i think this is the best way to get good es-335 sound and looks (to my taste the looks are even better!)
I would buy it again if it would be stolen - it's so versatile and fun to play. I would recommend to look for the used ones - especialy from the 90's - beginning to mid. The wood is drier and the instruments will sound more balanced (provided they have been properly handled by the owner) and they have the most beautiful finish. I've heard that the pickups on the newer ones are improved - but they don't come close to proper PAF copies, so you probably will have to change them anyway.
I relaly like it for many reasons - so it gets a 9.

This is a 2007/08 Made in "Korea" Epiphone Sheraton II. I've been around guitars about 36 years, sometimes playing a lot and sometimes not at all. I've always wanted an ES-335. Well finally I bit the bullet and decided to at least take a look at them even though I knew they are fairly expensive. Plan "B" was to also look at some of the knock off's like the Sheraton II because I've owned Asian made guitars in the past and they are built quite nicely. Long story short, after playing and getting the feel of the ES-335 in comparison to the Sheraton II, and the fact that there was about a 3k difference in price, the Sheraton II WON hands down. It played better, looked much better and the detailing blew away the full fledged Gibson. although Epi is now back to being a subsidiary of Gibson. The finish work on the Epi was unbelievable and even the smallest detail in the binding etc. was incredible. Now for the not so good part. The overall "plugged in" sound. The Gibson of course had better tone range and especially clarity and could get dirty very nicely whereaqs the pups and pots on the Sheraton II left a lot to be desired. This is probably where the Epi is saving the manufacturing cost. On the hardware. The bridge on the Epi was fine as well as the tailpiece. I was concerned with the machine heads because the guitar easi;y went out of tune quickly but after a set up, now it's just fine. I did make some mods though after contacting Gibson directly. After doing my research I decide to change the pups to Gibson Burstbuckers # 2 & # 3. I also bought matching pots rated at 500 ohms or better. I changed out the nut to a bone nut. Now? Let's just say that this guitar should now be called an Epi-TUDE !! The enhancements that were made gave me exactly what I was looking for and then some!! This guitar SCREAMS when you want it too and MELLOWS to rival ANY hollow body out there. The tone range is now absolutely unbelievable. Sustain? HA...Don't even go there !!! I think it actually holds sustain even better than my '64 SG Custom !!

I play anything from simple Blues shuffles to Hendrix and most anything in between and this guitar can now deliver any of it. I typically use a 50 watt Marshall and there again, I can get the cleanest "cleans" to the "dirtiest" dirties in a heartbeat. Sounds are rich and full and encompassing and it seeems like every note, particualrly with chords is very punchy and clear as heck.

Factory set up was ok I guess. i played it out of the box for a good 6 months before any mods and even a set up. I wanted to be sure of exactly what I wanted done and did my homework before wasting time and money. From what I can see, I can't fnd any flaws anywhere but then again, this is a Korean made guitar and not the newer Chinese made parts which I've read were pretty bad. Don't forget though that the final assembly as I hear it told is actually made here in the U.S. by Gibson.The Korean components then are meticulous except for the pups and pots and nut.

I don't see any reason why this guitar won't last a lifetime or 2. One of the things I really love about the guitar's finish is that whatever they use on the neck is absolutely fantastic. Normally, especially with the new "laquered" guitars, the necks get gummy and binding and need constant attention as the laquer is still "curing". Not so with the Epi. You can play it for hours and never does the neck feel dirty or gummed up. The only thing that I'm not sure about, and only time will tell, is if the finish on the bridge and tailpiece will hold up or fade or flake. It has a gold finish but even if it did "wear" in looks that wouldn't concern me. Gig without a backup? Most certainly. This guitar is solid in feel and build and again, I found it rather impressive next to the ES-335's in this respect.

Never had to use it except for asking hardware questions to Gibson directly and they were very helpful.

Like I mentioned, I've been around guitars for quite some time and can normally spot quality when I see it. I tend to like the finishing touches on the higher end guitars and to me, tonal range is very important. I also own a Yamaha Accoustic which introduced me to lower cost, but higher quality workmanship of guitars made in Asia. My other guitar is a Gibson Les Paul Double Cutaway Plain Top along with the '64 SG Custom that I have. This Epi-Tude is now my main player and if it were stolen or something? I would totally replace it with the mods that I made because it's such a pure joy to play.

I Have a (what i believe is) a 2007 lefty Epiphone Sheraton II, Vintage Sunburst..I changed the stock pickups to Seymour Duncan SH-1 on the neck and SH-4 JB on the bridge, also got a 335 assembly kit from Mojo Musical Supply to replace all the electronics (pots, switches, etc) and got Gibson gold speed knobs to top it off. the grover tuners that it came with were fine and so was the nut (Im not sure if its bone but definitely not plastic)so no changes there...

First off, don't assume that i made these mods because i didn't like how the guitar sounded or played. I was already happy playing the stock guitar at numerous gigs and got nice compliments from a lot of people on the looks and sound of it...These mods were more about my curiosity if this guitar could be (significantly) better than it already is, and if it's worth spending that extra $300...well, the answer is YES!! In my opinion the guitar now sounds and looks BETTER than an ES-335, which i don't even consider buying anymore even now that i have the funds for it...warm, mellow, and distinct on the neck, and trebly but full on the bridge. endless sustain and a wide range of tonal possibilities, maybe the assembly kit with the gibson pots and vitamin t capacitors had a hand on that..my rating is after the mod. I still would say the pre-mod guitar was worth a 9, and 1 point difference does not seem SIGNIFICANT, but like i said the stock guitar sounded great already..I'm just surprised how much better it is now and im glad i did it....

Action,fit and finish were fine and playable out of the box...only needed to do sone fine tuning on my part....finish was flawless, cannot find any blems anywhere...

I've had this guitar for less than a year now, still looks new..but then i take good care of it. i have not needed to use a backup with this guitar..even with the old electronics installed..

so far i have not yet the need to call epiphone/gibson

Been playing for 22 yrs, i have worked at music stores, played and owned LOTS of guitars over the years, righty or lefty guitars i've tried them, all...this guitar is something special to me and i have grown attached to it, i try cycling through all my guitars for gigs whenever i can, but for the important ones i take this one. simply put it just brings the best out of me. one of the best value guitars out there, and sfter the mods, it can go against any 3k guitar out there any day...i highly recommend this guitar with or WITHOUT mods.

All of the other reviews are right on target. Mine is a 2007 model.

I play all different types of music. Mainly in the style of the White Stripes, Pink Floyd (Barrett and Gimlmour), the Beatles, Steely Dan, Frank Zappa, RHCP, Zeppelin, the Doors, the Who, Cream, Hendrix, Weezer, and so on. You get the picture. It works for all of them and more.

If you play anything from jazz to rock to blues and back, this is awesome. It does it all. If you are a funk player, maybe you should look elsewhere. It is not a bad funk guitar, but it's not the best for funk.

I plug it into: EHX MicroSynth> Digitech Whammy> Digitech Space Station> Seymour Duncan Tweak Fuzz> Vox Clyde McCoy Wah> Boss DS-1>EHX Small Stone> Digitech TurboFlange> Digitech DigiDelay> Ernie Ball Volume> Vox AC-15.

This guitar is very quiet. This is as long as you don't on super high gain. Yes, it is semi-hollow, but at such levels of distortion its no good. This is NOT a metal guitar. It barely does RATM. But, for what I play it is great.

The tone is incredible. It's very rich and full. A lot of overtones come out of it. Its got a fat and warm tone. It is very distinctive, so you will stand out in a mix. It can carry a large range of tones, whether you like more bass, treble, or mid. As for the pickups, they are also great. The neck pickup is pristine and sings. The bridge pikcup is slightly muddy, but there is no reason to spend the time or money replacing them, they are great. If you want a classic semi hollow tone, but with a little more uniqueness, look no further.

It has great action low, but not low enough so it buzzes. The pickups were positioned precisely, just the right tone for anyone. The routing was fine, I couldn't find a single factory flaw.The tuners are Grovers also, which in my book is a huge plus.

The guitar itself is beautiful. I have it in natural, and let me tell you first hand, it is one of the most great looking guitars ever. The inlays are like no other, a great design with great materials. The binding was also of that caliber, and the hardware accents it well.

The guitar is a live machine. I have played around 35 shows with no problems using only this guitar. The strap buttons were nice and strong and held the strap well, but just for the extra security I ut in the DiMarzio locking strap.

The hardware sometimes gets dirty of foggy but its nothing that is uncleanable. the hardware is also very durable and I haven't seen any signs of wear within my year of owning it.

I doubt the clear coat will ever wear off and anyway, the guitar is natural. Well mine is, but the finish on the others seem nice.

If I had to gig for my life, this guitar would not let me down. It can probably go through hell and back. I have gigged with no backups and had no problems.

I have never needed to use them and probably never will.

I have been playing for maybe 4 years or so, I have all the gear listed above, along with a Strat, a Washburn Idol, and a Washburn Acoustic.

If it were stolen I would buy it again. Maybe if it were stolen I would buy the Elitist, which has better tone, but not better looks. I love everything about mine. My favorite feature is the fact that it is semi hollow.

I would compare it to the Hagstrom Viking. This is a very close competitor. But, Hagstroms aren't as readily available. Hags also don't compare looks wise. The tonal capabilities are almost equal though.

Truly this is a great guitar for anyone looking for a guitar with beauty and tone. It also is a great conversation starter and is great to take with you to jams.

Made in Korea Sheraton II. Had it for about 15 years. Gold hardware. Sunburst etc. Everything that you would expect from this type of guitar. It does look the mutts nuts. My brother recently bought one new and epi have slightly changed the design. The sunburst finish is a slightly different shade and they've changed the headstock design.

I replaced the pickups donkeys years ago for a set of beefed-up Kent Armstrongs. This helped a lot. Apparently the pickups that are in the newer models are a lot better but I found my original ones a bit weak. It sounds great now. A nice fat semi sound. I've got 11s on it as well, which probably helps.
I'll give it 7 because I had to change the p.u.'s

It was well set-up when I got it. It's had the odd bit of tweaking but nothing drastic.

This has been my main guitar for over 15 years. In that time, I've played in soul bands, rock bands, blues bands, alt. country bands and it's coped with the lot.
I've had to change the selector switch for a brass one as I kept breaking the plastic ones.
It's been on countless gigs without a back-up and (touch-wood) never let me down.

Never needed them

Like most guitarists, I have amassed a ton of gear over the years but this guitar gets used more than anything else. I also own a USA strat and tele, dobro and various acoustics and basses but this is the workhorse.
I used to play it through a Marshall plexi, then a JCM800 and now I've down graded (volume wise) to an Orange Tiny Terror; and I've never had any bad feed-back issues.
I really can't see how this guitar is so much cheaper than the USA 335.
If it got stolen, I would cry. . . and cry. . . and then cry some more.

I bought the Sheraton II new in March of 08 from PNS in Blawnox, Pa. at their March madness sale. Got it for about $549 not counting the case and tax. I think it is a late 07 model. It has a 22 fret 5 piece maple neck with 2 of the pieces being about .125 thick pieces of mahogany running the length of the neck vs a Gibson ES335 being an all mahogany neck. It has 2 "57" CH(G) humbuckers which I believe is probably Epiphones version of the Gison "57" Classic pickups. It's a 5 ply laminated maple body with solid center block. Great abalone / MOP block inlays on a rosewood fretboard and a beautiful MOP inlay on the headstock as well as Grover tuners. Full body and neck bindings. Excellent high gloss finish, I believe polyurethane. 3 way pichup selector. Mine is the natural finish. By the way, I don't think you can use a standard ES335 case due to the large headstock.

I'm an old cellar dweller and not a gigging musician although more years ago than I care to talk about, I was and we did a lot of six night a week stuff. That's when it became a job and wasn't fun anymore.

Anyway, I went into PNS Music looking for a low wattage tube amp and of course I had to look around the store first. I just happened to see this beauty hanging right under a $3200 Gibson ES335 in natural. I had to try it. I plugged it into a Fender Blues JR. and I knew I had to have the Sheraton, so I bought it. A month or so after I bought the Sheraton, I picked up a Palomino V32 head and the matching 212 cab when places were unloading them for dirt cheap. Glad I did. I run a Digitech RP500 through the V32's clean channel and with the stock pickups it has a reasonably tight bright sound with decent note definition and very good sustain. For the most part the guitar is very clear and reasonably articulate. The higher registers can be a bit trebly and may get a little spikey depending on amp and effects but does had a nice sparkle. I also have a Vox AD60VTH with matching 212 neo-dog cab as well as a couple others. The guitar sounds good through all of them. I mess around with a little classic / hard rock, blues, some metal stuff and even try my hand occasionally at some jazz. I did say try jazz. With the right set-up this guitar can probably cover almost any style. If you're really into heavy metal, you probably want to look elsewhere. This guitar stock is well worth the money.

Now it just so happened that I did run across a couple new Gibson "57" Classics for a great price and had a tech from an authorized Gibson / Epi service center install them as well as CTS pots, a Switchcraft pick-up selector, a Switchcraft jack and I believe he also used orange drop caps. Since the mods, this guitar can now most definately run with the big boys. The Gibson 57's are definately smoother and to my ears more dynamic, but tone is a very subjective issue. It all depends on what you want. So now I have a Gibiphone. Please don't think that you need to modify this instrument, because you don't. It's a fine guitar and I would buy another one without hesitation.

Let me add by saying that the stock Epi electronics were very good. The pickups are good and I may install them in my Ibanez artcore. The pots that were in mine were very responsive and worked well. Didn't really need to change them. The only part that was really suspect was the pickup selector. It was definately a little on the noisy side. My rating is based on stock guitar and its' repective price range. I gave it a 9 but with the mods, a 12. Ha Ha!!

I absolutely love the feel of the neck.
The set-up from the factory was probably a standard factory setup, but it was pretty good. Since I like my string height very low, I did reset the string height at the 14th fret from the bottom of the string to about .06 on the 6th string and .03/.04 on the 1st string. No fret buzzing. The frets were dressed extremely well. Not a burr to be found. Beautiful grain in the wood. Inlays were well done with no filler material to be found. All joints are tight. Finish is virtually flawless. I hate to say it, but better than the $3200 Gibson. Bindings for the most part are tight although I did find one or two small spots that appear to have a a hair-like gap, but you can't feel it. One on the binding in one of the F holes and one in the binding on the lower horn. You really need to look hard to see it, but hey, you are working with wood. Could definately use a better quality pick-up selector. Stays in tune very well. There was one small mark / dent adjacent to the first fret where it looke like the tool being used to install the fretwire or when they were finishing the fret slipped and put a slight depression in the fretboard. Once again, you really for it.

I don't think there is a problem here other than the pickup selector. Other than that, this guitar should last a long time with proper care and handling. The finish is excellent and should not be a problen. The gold plating on the bridge will definately wear off. Strap buttons seem solid but I don't use them since I'm generally sitting down when I play.

Epi has a limited lifetime warranty. I think it's 1 year on the electronics. I have a Limited Edition Epi SG Les Paul Custom with the 3 pickups and a maestro trem that I took to the tech that did the Sheraton Mods for me and problem was taken care of no charge.

This is a terrific guitar with or without MODs. It became my favorite go to axe. I really enjoy playing it. Like I said earlier, love the neck. I also have a Schecter C-1 Classic which I really like, an Epi SG Les Paul Custom 3 pick-up with the Maestro trem, an Ibanez Artcore, an acoustic-electric, a bass and sold a few others. The natural finish is absolutely beautiful and it is a great souding guitar. You pay $800 extra to get natural on a Gibson ES335. If you're in the market for an archtop, you owe it to yourself to give one a try. You won't be sorry. I have about a $1000 into mine after the MOD,s and that includes a new case and Uncle Sam's extortion money. I'll put it up against anything. So, if your heart is set on a Gibson, Framus, etc, then that's what you should buy. But, if you're not worried about the nameplate and want a good guitar for a reaonable price, this guitar needs to be on your list of choices.

previous reveiwers have listed this great guitars features and they are all on the money esp the last couple..all tho made in korea this guitar has no flaws what so ever for a guitar in this price range..when i found this guitar at sam ash i was not expecting much..krean made epiphone,fiqured to be cheaply made,bad electronics,playabilty,sound feel..etc...man was i wrong!!!!this is one solid all around made guitar..very surprised and happy too. only draw back was the case was not included..and no gig bag either ,,if the was case included then a solid ten all a round

i was in the middle of purchaseing a gretch 5122 from sam ash in the 600 dollar range..i had been there several times to check it out and went back to purchase the gretch..while the salesman was cleaning up the gretch. i spotted this epiphone its beautiful sunburst finish caught my eye..i got it down off the wall and was blown away the sound and feel..played clean and dirty thru several amps was amazing i had several other good players in the store play this guitar and we all agreed..this shereton had it...warm ..fat..alil twang.. i told the salesman to put the getch back on the wall and that i was taking the shereton instead..he agreed that the epihone was much guitar then the gretch and cheaper too !!!i will not be swapping anything out of this guitar electronics wise ..no need too..illsave that money to get another shereton in black instead..

the finish was beautiful..tabacco burst gold hardeware. some woodfleck goin on ,,nice wood grain..and the guitar set up off the wall was amazing,grover tuners are keeping this guitar in tune all the time..and the headstock has a great look to it as well...very nice

i was expecting not a whole lot from this korean made guitar..and was blown away..by its workmanship straplocks,fretboard, fretwork,finish switches. all solid..i querss i got it before a lot of people mis handeled her at the store..shes in good hands now...

no reason to call them all tho i should to thank them for making a great guitar at this price...529.00

this guitar is on par with my 20001.gibson 335 in every way. my next purchase was gonna be a custom shop gibson 335..and was gonna bite the bullit and go for it...but after finding this guitar i see no reason why i should spend so much money,especialy in this day and age for a guitar when i can get this much value in a guitar ,reguardless of where its made..3000 plus virsus 600..no brainer..go check out epiphone shereton ii for ya self..i think you will be very happy ..i know iam and i saved my self alot of doe re me..

You can read the other reviewers; they covered it well.

I've been playing a used Sheraton II with tobacco sunburst finish whenever I visit a store that specializes in reselling used gear (can I say Atomic Music (Beltsville, Maryland)?). It was in near-perfect condition.

Had I not purchased a Fender Strat a few weeks ago, I would have bought THIS guitar with a Fender Hot Rod Deville or Blues Deluxe Reissue--in either case, this guitar and these amps produce the tone I've been on a holy quest for, for nearly 30 years. It's on my wish list, and I will buy both by the end of this year...I'm that motivated and that convinced, but I'm buying it new. I'm still intoxicated with the knowledge I now know what to buy.

It was in near-perfect condition.

Don't know.

Don't know.

Not fair to rate good or bad without owning the axe for a long time (at least a year), so I'll come back here after I've purchased and played it.

I have a 2006, Korean-made natural-finish model.

The electronics on a Sheraton II are standard "Les Paul" style with a 3-way switch and two humbucker pickups (with volume and tone control for each). 22 frets.

From a distance, people have mistook it for a 2000+ dollar E-335; it is an attractive instrument in both look and sound.

The Sheraton II has some of the most useable volume and tone controls that I have encountered; at gigs I play southern rock (Skynrd, Marshall Tucker), 90s alternative rock (Dishwalla, The Flys), and country (Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash) and this guitar never leaves my hands.

Clean and set to neck pickup, the guitar has a nice, "woody", almost acoustic character. On bridge pickup you can get a nice country twang or (with some gain) a sustained lead rock sound.

I tend to leave it in the middle setting at most times and blend the two pickups together. The guitar is semi-hollow and has a nice air-y guality to sustained notes.

Complaints (not many): Before you get used to the guitar it can seem a little limited dynamically, not very subtle. I think this is more of an adjustment to the character of the guitar than anything.

I don't really play metal or excessively loud/hi-gain stuff but I'm not sure this would be the guitar for that kind of music; mostly due to the semi-hollow body. It can and will produce screaming feedback if you aren't careful.

Gold(?) (plated) hardware, nice Schaller tuners.

The nut is plastic which is maybe my one biggest complaint with the whole guitar.

I've had the guitar for a year now, it was 8 whole months before I decided to tinker around with pickup height and the string height has never needed to be adjusted for intonation or playing comfort. In other words the set up was pretty good. Probably miraculously good considering I pulled it straight off the wall at Guitar Center.

The finish still seems flawless after a year (knock on wood) and the hardware is rust free.

I haven't gigged too much with this guitar (on account of not gigging very often) but the 3 or 4 shows I have played have been very solid. On all occasions I played the entire 4 hours with this axe and never had any sort of problem other than the output jack coming loose once, a quick adjustment with a socket wrench and it was back to rocking.

I wouldn't gig without a backup for the simple fact that that's terribly irresponsible and trying to change a string mid-gig kind of kills the mood. ;) That being said I would never expect to actually -need- the backup.

Never dealt with them. (Worth noting I've had a 1998 Epi Les Paul for 10 years and never had any problems with it either.)

600 bucks for this guitar and I've played guitars 3 or 4 times that price that I would trade for. Great value, great tone. I wish it came with Bigsby trem and a bone nut, hence the 9.

Mine is the natural Maple colour made in 2007 with standard features. Bought it new from the US on Ebay for $US480 with hard case and had it shipped to Australia.

These guitars are the best value for money hollow bodies available IMHO and are excellent guitars out of the factory but you can greatly improve them with a few inexpensive mod's. What I did was

1) replace the PUP's with Gibson 57 Classics. Put a slightly hotter 57 Classic Plus in the bridge position. Gives much better tone on all settings but particularly the bridge and mid positions.

2) replaced the plastic nut with a graphite one. Gives fuller tones, the guitar stays in tune much better.

3) replaced the metal saddles with graphtec one's. Improves tone and tuning, and you'll never break a string.

4) replaced the difficult to read tone and volume pots with classier ones that are easy to read.

These mod's cost $US250 & also almost eliminated the guitars tendency to feedback as well as greatly improving tones. It also stays in tune much better. I made before and after mod recordings to compare the differences. Before the mod's I'd give this guitar a 6 as it was a little on the bright & trebly side for me. After the mod's it gets a solid 9.

After the mod's this guitar sounds almost as good as a Gibson ES-335. A buddy has one and we can't tell the diff when you play the Epi on its neck PUP.

It's great for many styles of rock, jazz, blues, pop, country. Very versatile but it's on the neck PUP that this guitar shines. It has a great fat smooth tone there. The bridge and mid settings are too bright and trebly for me although the mod's I made improved them greatly. The neck is chunky and smooth and the guitar blaances well when standing or sitting. It's obviously not a heavy metal guitar so don't whine if you get one and it doesn't work well for head-banging.

I also have a Strat Plus, a Gibson SG deluxe and a Gretsch Jet 6131. After the mod's the Epi is comparable tone wise with these great guitars. The Epi sounds equally great clean, OD or heavily distorted.

No prob's at all with set-up.
Tuners are just fine but were improved further with graphite nut and saddles. I really like the natural Maple finish and the headstock inlays.

I gig with it often.
As durable as any hollowbody will ever be.
I always play with 2 or 3 guitars so no issue.

hope I never use it.

Been playing professionally for over 20yrs in many rock, blues and jazz bands and have made many studio recordings. With mod's done this is an excellent guitar for around $US750. It would have cost me over $2500 if I'd bought guitar and the parts for the mod's in Australia. It sounds like a $2500 guitar now though. Be even better if it had a Bigsby as a standard feature.

This is a 1995 Epiphone Sheraton II, made by Samick in Korea. It's a twin-cutaway thin archtop electric guitar, with 22 medium frets on a 24.75" scale, two passive humbucker pickups, and Gibson-style controls consisting of a three way pickup selector switch and volume and tone controls for each pickup.

It's all maple on the outside. The neck is laminated maple and mahogany; the body (as seen in the pickup cavity) is 5-ply maple/mahogany/maple/mahogany/maple. Mine has an attractive, if thick, transparent coat of glossy polyester. The body has a maple center block, which has made this guitar style very popular since the first Gibson ES-335 in the late '50s: you get the acoustic look with solid body tone and (relative) lack of feedback.

The bridge is the tun-o-matic type with a stop tailpiece. Grover style tuners are used and all hardware is gold colored. The knobs are "amber" which is a copper color, and the switch knob and pickup rings are black plastic. Strap buttons are on the butt of the guitar and at the heel of the neck, which is Gibson practice.

The neck is a comfortable size and shape for me. It's not skinny and not chunky, middle of the road. The peghead is nicely inlaid with a "vine" inlay derived from Epiphones from the '30s, and the position markers are mother of pearl blocks inlaid with an abalone vee, at the I, III, V, VII, IX, XII and XV frets.

All in all, quite an attractive guitar for the price.

A good way to evaluate an electric guitar is to play it unamplified. Mine has a trebly sound, which contrasts with a friend's darker Gibson ES-340. It sounds better with a mellow amp than with a squawky one.

The standard pickups were nothing special, and the switch and one pot were noisy. I made the decision early on to swap out the pickups: in the event I bought Seymour Duncan's "Silver" set, which consist of a Jazz neck pickup and a JB bridge pickup. I installed new wiring, pots, switch and caps, and it was quite a challenge. Everything goes in through the treble f-hole, which at its largest point is 1" x .75". This is not a job for the impatient or stumble fingered -- in fact, my local tech refused to take the job, and that with the owner standing next to him!

While I was at it, I replaced the amber hat knobs with gold speed knobs, and the black plastic parts with creme items. To my eye, this lends a much more integrated look to the guitar. I have read of using oven cleaner to take the gold finish off the hardware (leaving the chrome shining through) but I won't do that. I bought this to play in church on those occasions when we use amplified instruments, and the gold looks fine for that.

The pickups made it much louder but still very bright through my more trebly amp. Through a Super Reverb it sounded great: present and jazzy and raw when that's what was wanted.

Even with the pickup swap, it doesn't sound as good as the aforementioned ES-340, but considering the price difference, that's hardly surprising.

Using it close to my tube amps (usually a good spot to pick up hum) it's dead quiet. Of course, I used shielded wiring and made sure everything was grounded properly. It was quiet with the standard wiring also.

So far, I like it best with both pickups on, and the tone rolled off on the bridge pickup.

I'm not into "versatile" so maybe I can't judge that. I like to find the sweet spot for any given guitar and use it at that setting, but it's now a pretty good sounding git.

I got this one used, and the former owner was a guitar tech, so naturally I can't speak of factory setup. The fact that it was nicely set up implies that there are no structural issues, of course.

Epiphone uses unfigured maple for these models, and there are a couple of "flaws" in the wood -- I mean, not integrity problems, but coloration inconsistencies -- and from the audience it looks very nice. Construction was as good as I have come to expect from Samick made instruments (I have owned several guitars and basses, including another Epi, from that factory). It's a blessing of our modern age that inexpensive guitars can be so nicely finished.

There are no other issues. Nothing loose, broken or out of place.

It stays in tune and plays in tune. I changed the strings (whatever had been on it) for Thomstik-Infeld Superalloys, .011-.052, with a wound third. My experience is that archtops, even those with center blocks, like heavier strings. I note that many players put flatwounds on, and I may try that to tame the top end.

Well, this little darlin' is twelve years old, and looks brand new. The poly finish is famous for not showing wear, but the "gold" is steadily wearing off (can't complain, I had a '63 Gretsch Chet Atkins Country Gentleman with the same problem). It mostly lives in its case (but it's so pretty that it also stays on a stand where I can see it) and doesn't get knocked around. I expect it to outlast me.

Although the position of the upper strap knob isn't my favorite, it is in a structurally strong spot.

I'd certainly gig without a backup.

No experience, but Gibson/Epiphone maintains an active discussion forum that has a lot of useful information.

I started playing 1970, and I play electric, acoustic, Dobro, bass and harp. I have owned quite a few instruments over the years, and, until I spotted this one, had settled on a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe as my one and only electric. The Sheraton showed up at the local shop in the midst of me horse trading a bunch of old tube amps for lighter gear, and I got it for a small amount of cash as part of the trade. It has a hard case, by the way.

I have several amps, but I'm waiting on a Fender Jazzmaster Ultralight that's on order (more horse trading in store). Other instruments are fretted and unfretted Fender Precisions, a 1984 Dobro and a '30s Regal resonator, a couple of acoustic flat tops and the Les Paul. I have a digital recording studio and too much gear.

My take on the Epi is that it's a lot of bang for the buck. For a couple of hundred bucks and another couple hundred for pickups and parts, I've got a honey of pretty guitar that'll look right at home at our church.

I have a 1990's Sheraton 2, made in Korea. It has 22 frets, mother of pearl inlays, two volume knobs and 2 tone knobs. Black finish, red pick guard, I replaced gold hardware with black Wilkinson hardware which looks so hot!

I took out the cheap humbuckers that Epiphone puts in most of there guitars and installed a 500t super ceramic humbucker and it sounds so fierce with the Semi hollow bosy givein' it tons of low end and the pick up just adding so much mids and highs, it is rippin'! There is no feed back unless I want it to feed back. On top of that I play out of a 1990's dual rectifier rackmount need I say more? I play Punk rock n roll and It is a heavy hitter. My only dislike is that the frets are a little on the small side now because I got them buffed because they were gettin' worn. I give my guitar a 10, not all sheratons.

The set up was fine when I first got it. but I had to do some adjustments. I gave my truss rod more relief so I could lower the action and not get fret buzz. Not to much relief because you'll lose intonation if you do that, so be careful. I only use the bridge pick up and I have it up pretty high and it is awesome.

I mainly use this guitar for my live gigs. The hardware I have is tuff and keeps looking great. I try to keep my guitar clean, but I play alot on tour, so I'm always sweating on it. I try to keep the finish lookin' good. I changed the strap buttons and put dunlop strap locks on it. It is a hard working steed with huge ***** that clank, so it is way dependable. I usually use it with no back up, thats how reliable i think it is.

Never delt with the company.

I've been playing guitar for eight years. I've had my guitar for 4 years. I also own a viper 301 which is reliable and has seen different parts of the world with me. If it was stolen I would want to kill the person that did it. You don't **** with someones guitar, ever. I wish the guitar had slightly bigger frets. Not X jumbo or scalloped ****, thats for cheaters and *******!

i have an epiphone by gibson...it has both logos sheraton II
natural yellowish color, paid 500 bucks in 93...

my opinion is related to a somehow vintage guitar,not sure if all of it could be applied to the newly made epiphones...


i've been playing it for 15 years and its the best guitar ever!when i got it it had everything set(action /LOW and fast,etc...)had a few adjustments made by me every once in a while but nothing serious...

i use 11 to 50 (or mixed sizes)d'addario jazz light gauge strings(flatwounds,are there any other strings anyway at least in the jazz playing :)

and its sounds REALLY good...i have tried any possible similar guitar including the gibsons...i dont know if i was just lucky but this guitar its just more playable and has better sound then anything semi hollow out there...i believe there is a certain level in serial made guitars once u are over it its just fine...well this one is well over it and has the price tag four times less then gibson for example...

it has great look and it sounds even better!

one thing i have had problem with is the jack!it moves a little...but this is quite minor since it could be changed without spending too much.

also to consider is its weight,its not a light one!

Excelent!
one of the most versatile guitars out there...jazz,blues,rock etc...it delivers!

of course this is a subjective matter so one should try for himself...

as i sad,mine came with really low action allowing (very!)fast playing both single line and chordal...and all this without any buzzing

as a matter of fact for me its sets the standard on action and playbility...any other guitar its judged in relation to this one!

ok,mine has more then 25 years and before i got it i has been played a lot!then i put a lot of mileage too yet it seems quite new!
its solid!


on a "serious" gig i take this one!something i can trust!

the only thing is the jack to be changed...but hey after so much time things could have some problems...nothing is eternal...

just asked for information on the serial number lets see how long it takes...but reading around seems they are quite good people :)

if it gets stolen or damaged i will be a VERY sad cat...
will try to find another epi..thats for sure!

1990s Black Sheraton, Made in Korea. These guitars look very flash, with gold hardware and lots of mother of pearl.
I bought mine brand new in January 1995, when I was 17. Wanted a Gibson ES-335, still do! However, the Sheraton was, and is, a bargain. Try not to compare it directly to the 335, they are different beasts. The Epi is a bit brighter, and has a slightly wider neck.
The original tuners were not very good, I replaced them with Grovers which are much better in my opinion.
After many years, I decided to upgrade the pickups. It made a huge difference to the sound and I wish I had done it sooner. I went with Kent Armstrong humbuckers, with a neat push-pull pot switch added to one of the tone pots so I could have both humbuckers on, out of phase. I love the sound - kinda like Peter Green from the early Fleetwood Mac.
Over the years the Gold paint has tarnished on the hardware, but the paint has remained in tip top condition.

Very versatile guitar. I have played it in many bands across many styles including Blues, Jazz, Rock and Funk. I have always used Fender valve amps and currently own a Deluxe Reverb 65 re-issue.
I can't overstate enough how much of an improvement it was to add the aftermarket pickups. I was going to put Gibson 57 classics in, but went with Kent Armstrongs and they are superb. The original pickups from Epiphone around this time were not particularly good. I believe that in recent years, the pickups that ship with Epiphones have improved consierably.

I only give this a 6 for sound because of the original pups.

I have to say that this guitar plays beautifully. It always has. I have it well set up and the action is superb. Nice and low, with 0.11 guage strings.
The finish from new was very impressive, especially for the price! Lots of binding, good finish on the neck and frets.

This guitar has been my main gigging guitar for 13 years. It is very dependable, and I feel comfortable gigging with it as it is not worth as much as other guitars out there. When I bought the guitar I also bought a Hiscox lite flite case which I can't recommend highly enough. Both the guitar and case have been through the wars a little but they are still going strong today.

Personally, I think modern paint finishes are almost too good! If you polished up my guitar it would look like new (apart from the tarnished hardware). There are a couple of dings here and there, but that's life.

Never had to deal with them.

I do love this guitar because it is part of me and we have been on a journey together. Many gigs, many beers, a few too many tequilas. Now I have reached my 30s I can finally afford a 335. When I do get the Gibson I probably won't sell this baby. I will keep it for my Grandson or use it as a spare.
I have other guitars, including another Epiphone (a Zephyr Blues Deluxe ES-5 style archtop) and a couple of Fenders. The Sheraton still remains my number one axe though. If it were stolen I wouldn't buy another one, I'd just be extremely gutted.

I give it a 10 overall because for the money you can't do much better. I think in modern times, the over-the-top bling of the guitar won't be to everyone's taste, but that doesn't stop the fact that it is a fantastic instrument. Highly recommended.

2005 SHERATON ll simi-hollow body guitar $500 new

I play alot of styles of music but as of late I'v been playing punk and post-punk. (Misfits,Buzzcocks,Stooges)stuff of that nature. This guitar in stock form is a 5. for what i like to play. It sounds thin, almost weak with the stock pickups and with any kind of overdrive it would feedback like crazy, but the weight and feel of the guitar feels good. I felt very little differance between the Gibson and the Epiphone,in terms of feel. I upgraded the pickups with Gibson 57 classics and it made a world of diffrance. I can now play rock,rockabilly,punk,jazz,and metal but if metal is all you play i would go with a diffrent guitar. I highly recommend this upgrade you wont be disappointed.

I always get my guitars setup after i buy them so i cant say anything about the setup. The neck is nice and smooth no sharp fret edges. the body and paint are eye catching. The guitar looks more exspensive then what it is. I think if you play a sheraton ther is no stigma like ther is with a epiphone les paul. To bad i had to sale mine but its not a question of would i buy another one it when I'm i gonna have the cash to by another one. This guitars worth the money.

I think dropping your guitar and banging it around once in a while gives it character. This guitar is a trooper.

N/A

I'ved owend alot of top end and low end guitars in my 18 years of playing, but i would not put this guitar in the low end category, only in price and pickups. If you upgrade the pickups you will have a winner in your hands. I had mine for three years and sold it about 3 weeks ago.:-( Its true you never know what you have till its gone!

I thought i would write a review of my Epiphone Sheraton 2. Mainly coz im bored but also to voice my opinion. My epi vintage sunburst was built in october 2004 and has all the same features as everyone elses (i guess)I first played one about a year ago in a music shop and fell in love with it, not just the sound but also the look...its gorgeous! Recently bought at the end of 2007 on ebay for ??300 and is in mint condition!

I play in an Oasis tribute band and needed a semi acoustic mainly for the look. I toyed with a epiphone dot and thought it was shite and used to use an epi les paul until i found this on ebay. I really dont understand why everyone slags off the electrics in these guitars, i play it through my laney vc30 2x12 and it sounds amazing the pick ups dont need replacing neither do the controls or pots etc. I think its tone purists that decide they need to, which is a personal thing, so i cant see why they would review a guitar that everyone else can buy purely to their own specs.

The Fit and Finish on this guitar is amazing, i have no problems with it at all. The action was a little high when i first got it but this was second hand so i cant moan. Even brand new guitars need setting up no matter what make they are (gibsons and all).

As i siad before, i play in an Oasis tribute and im constantly gigging around 2-3 times a week and this is my main choice of guitar. I also use a 2000 les paul (which is amazing too, the 57 pus in it are great) but only use that for capo'd songs really and play the sherry the rest of the time. Although i know this guitar would never let me down, i always take a back up coz there is nothing worse than breaking a string mid set and having 300 plus people shouting at you while you change it. All my guitars have straplocks, dont rely on strap buttons. you will only drop it once.

Never dealt with epiphone, i guess they are a bunch of nice people in their own right.

I have been playing about 16 years and kicked it all off with nirvana moving onto oasis and beatles plus lots of other shite. I have owend so many guitars since i started but the Sheraton is by far the best (i can hear my les paul crying in the background but f**k it). The look and the sound is enough to turn anyones heads and i love getting this out of the case at a gig and people staring at it. Its a beautiful guitar and if i could have sex with it i would...i guess it would be a little dry....Go and fuc*ing buy one you C*nts

This is just another review, because I'm bored, I doubt it will add substantially to the countless reviews already done here, but what the heck...
Mine is a sunburst Sheraton, that I bought secondhand in 1992. My guess is it was produced in the 80ies, but I'm not sure. Probably Japanese-made, but there is no serial-number, sticker in the body or any indication what so ever on the guitar. But it has a black plastic topnut and a photograph-tortoise pickguard different from the ones on the recent production models, so I concluded it is made in Japan.

First, I did upgrade it, but only recently. I bought it with a changed neck-pick up. The salesman said he thought it was a PAF. Yeah right... (of course it was not). The bridge PU was stock. Back then I used .010 strings. It sounded ok to me, bluesy, never too sharp, solid tone. I played jazz, soul, funk and rock on it. A very ES335-like tone. I never could tell the difference from a real ES335 anyway. But the neck-pickup started to get microphonic which was very anoying, so I bought a set of Seymour Duncans (Classic 59s), just because they were available at my local music store. I think the guitar now even sounds somewhat better with those, it breathes more. I can do from clean jazz, to rauchy blues to more straight rock, all very convincing. My set-up is a 7ender Blues Deluxe amp, with some pedals (Boss Bluesdriver, Vox V847 wah, Boss tremolo, Behringer phaser).

I bought the guitar well set-up. I always fiddle with set-ups, my likings seem to change over time. It now has 012 flatwounds because my style of playing is mainly jazz-orientated. With the 012s I was able to adjust a smooth action, with sufficient 'resistance' from the strings. The neck feels comfortable, thin even. It will need a re-fret soon, because the frets are pretty worn over the years. The new frets will probably be medium to jumbo-sized. The finnish is a thick polyester coating. I prefer nitro, I think it has better tonal qualities but I doubt if this guitar would really benefit. No complaints in this category.

Between 1992 and 2000 this guitar has probably done some 30 gigs a year and countless rehearsels, lessons and jamsessions. I never did and do gig with a backup (too much trouble) and it has never ever let me down. After 2000 I got different guitars that I wanted to play on stage (archtops), but recently I find myself playing this one more and more because it delivers a convincing jazz-tone without feedback and it's the only guitar with humbuckers I have. Also, because of it being a relative cheap guitar, I prefer bringing this one to sessions and gigs where I don't dare to bring my more vulnerable archtops. Also, it works better in noisy situations where the archtops are prone to feedback. Futhermore, I replaced all the pots and the input-jack because they were worn. I changed to thick 012 strings bacause I mainly play jazz (mainstream, bebop, hardbop, and groovy clubjazz-stuff) and blues (old school T-bone stuff) and feel I need heavy strings for my playing. It's still as reliably as it ever was. A well built instrument. I have never even broken a string on it!

No information, never needed repairs.

A poor man's Gibson? Probably! Though I've played on Gibsons that played and sounded worse. Recently I had a chance to A/B it with a recent (2004 or so) wine-red ES335. Playabillity and feel was about the same. The Gibson sounded somewhat different, not necesarily better, just different. The Gibson had a little more 'air' and brightness in it's sound, where the Sheraton stayed somewhat 'in the closet'(don't know how else to discibe it..). The Sheraton on the other hand has a pleasant mellow-ness that suits jazz. The price-difference is exeptional as we all know. Justified? Not for me, but when I would be a professional player at a high-level wanting to play an ES335-model, who knows. When I bought the Sheraton I was still a student and couldn't afford a Gibson so my budget made the choice for me.

Semi-hollow ES-335 archtop, manufactured by Samick in Korea, 2 humbuckers, 2 vol / 2 tone pots, black.

My style is swing/bebop but this type of guitar is popular for rock, pop, blues, funk, reggae, country, punk, whatever... All kinds of sound from warm bubbling jazz arpeggios on the neck pickup, slightly overdriven bluesy riffs, singing rock leads, twangy rock'n'roll from the bridge PU or funky ringing sounds in the middle position. It is an allrounder, maybe not for heavy-metal or anything with very high levels of distortion. I have no complaints about the pickups and see no need for replacing them. It is rather a solidbody guitar that looks like an archtop. I'd be perfectly happy with the sound of a Paula too, but this one is much more comfortable when sitting on a chair.

Of my four Epiphones (all from different factories) this one is the only one that had no initial flaws. Neck is straight, frets well finished, which makes for a nice low action. Bindings, inlays, f-holes are fine. Only the pots started making scratching noises after a while. Cheap to replace them yourself but it takes a while to get everything properly in place with an f-hole guitar. If you are a jazz player you should not use the heaviest flatwound strings (.13, .14) or you might run into intonation problems because the adjustment range of the bridge is limited. This guitar does better with roundwound or halfround strings up to .11 in my opinion.

Pots and switches and tuners are so-so but should last a while if the guitar is new. I would use this for a gig but would never play without a backup, no matter what kind of guitar it is.

I have no idea.

I have been playing for 20+ years and own a couple of Korean guitars of different brands. What I like about Epiphone guitars in general is their looks and sound. What I don't like about Epiphone is their inconsistent quality.

Epiphone 2007 Sheraton II, black with gold hardware. I went to GC to buy a Gibson 335 and came home with the Epiphone Sheraton II. I've owned several Martins, D-28, D-35, D-41, Taylor 814, Two Gibson Les Pauls including a Frampton and a Fender Strat U.S. Deluxe. The Sheraton is the biggest bargain in guitars. The fit and finish was just as good, or better than any of the Gibson's that I saw at two different GC stores. I thought I would never buy an Epiphone, as it has had the stigma of a discount guitar. Nothing could be further from the truth. To pay four or five times as much for a Gibson is insane.

I play jazz, blues, a little country and classic rock for over 40 years. Very Good, but not great sound/tone, which is very subjective. In order to improve the sound/tone, I just ordered today from Mojo a complete new prewired ES-335/3 way boutique assembly that includes 4 new Gibson Pots, 2 capacitors (Mojo Vitamin 'T"), one Switchcraft straight three way toggle switch, one Switchcraft jack, along with two new Gibson pickups; one classic 57 gold, one Classic gold Plus. Epiphone from what I have read has crap for electronics and so I have spent just a little over $325.00 for the electronics with a new bone nut, new strings, lowered action and I will now have a first class guitar for less than $925.00.

The fit and finish was close to perfect, but only after I went through and cherry picked the best Sheraton located at two stores. With the exception of a scratched and mauled nut on the jack that should have never left the factory, the guitar finish on the body, neck, frets and back, is one of the best I could possibly imagine for a sub $2000.00 guitar and better than most $2,000 plus guitars.

With the exception of the questionable electronics, the guitar should last a lifetime like any instrument, only if you take care of it properly.

From what I understand the support if needed is there.

Playing for over 40 years, I defintly would by another one if stolen. Fabulous fit and finish at any price, but sup par electronics and doesn't come with a case, but you really should expect it for a $500.00 guitar. It simply amazes me how they can build a guitar of this quality, ship it over here, Epiphone takes their profit, GCenter takes their profit and can sell it for only $580.00. Truly a real bargain in today's market.

Finish is impressive. Unfortunately, superior to any Gibson 335 I found new at retail dealers, including GC. Great inlays, fret dressing, and overall look. But I bought because of the playability. I was comparing this with much more expensive guitars and preferred the Sher II. All were similar 335s or clones with the block in the body and short scale. Of course, the neck is a very nice five piece construction with a rosewood, or striped ebony fingerboard. The controls are vintage-like. Pickups are humbuckers which seem tamed to suit the hollow body and its likely uses.

It suits the blues and general uses very well. I use it with a Blues Deluxe Fender (40+ Watts, One 12" spkr) and a Roland cube. It can get pretty wild and heavy, but is smooth and warm for the blues and classic stuff. The hot pickups push considerably more volume than my Tele or Strat.

The size and weight are a problem for long stretches. But hey, that's what it is, right?

The wood selection was good. No flaws, drips, bare areas etc.

The guitar was not set up from the factory. In fact, the wood was relatively dried out. I carefully humidified the guitar throughout the winter. It was set up in the fall 2006, and by end of spring 2007 I needed another setup. The wood has become more adequately humidified (it took a few months) and the neck needed adjustment. Now the action is back to 3/64s on the low E, and the high E at 2/64s without buzz or slap. More than good. I suspect the humidity issue is done. I have not had an issue prior with the many guitars in the home.

The pick ups were WAAAY out of spec. I had to raise them quite a bit, and BOY: all thought of replacing the pickups went out the window when we heard them.

I would have full confidence in this ax. The parts and the construction appear to be on par with any comparable guitar made. I think this particular guitar is a huge leap forward from the Dot and in an entirely different quality category than the Ibanez options (however, some Ibanez are quit nice, but they are quite different from the Sher II).
The finish is hard and thick. Strap buttons are very good.

I don't have the shoulder strength to do a long set with this style guitar. But that is no problem. I switch back and forth with my Tele anyway. So that's a non-issue.

Life time warranty. I presume the warranty work is as good as the shop involved.

I have been playing since 1967. I have played more in some seasons of life than others. I play more now than in the early nineties (kids were young...) I own a Tele, just sold a great Strat (rats), Olson D acoustic, Martin HD28, Ovation balladeer (1976), Fender Blues deluxe amp, Roland cube, Roland Micro cube. And like every guitar lover, I only need one more.

Favorite features: tone and short scale.

I only paid 650 bucks for this guitar. They are still cheap and I wonder if I would get it re-fretted when it is due for that when that costs so much... Maybe I would get a new one....

It has what a Gibson ES-335 has, except nicer inlays on the fretboard and headstock. Gold plated metal hardware.

Paid $525 for it new. I just bought it, so presumably it's a 2007 or 2006 model.

Seven years ago I was looking for a semi-hollowbody with humbuckers. I didn't like any of the ES-335's at Mars Music, and I ended up with a Lucille. Now, the Lucille is a beautiful instrument, but I never fell in love with it (fat neck, lack of balance for rhythm playing), so there was still an ES-335 sized gap in my collection of guitars.

After reading some reviews of the Sheraton, I tried it out at the local GC. Even though the one I preferred was poorly set up (more below), the sound was perfect. I compared it with a new ES-335 priced at $2,700 and the only real difference was the action.

The neck pickup is warm and buttery, and the neck pickup is aggressive (a little too much, but not a big problem). I played both the Sheraton and the ES-335 through a Fender Tweed Twin; they both sounded very round and defined at low settings. With the amp cranked, the bridge pickup was great (think "Crossroads"). The neck pickup was a little muddy on the same settings, but cutting the bass on the amp resulted in a nice Clapton "woman" overdrive.

When I got the Sheraton home and played it on my Fender Bassman 59 RI and Cyber Twin, my impression was more than cnfirmed. Wonderful. There's something very nice about feeling the body resonate on the right notes, and there's an element of feedback (easily controlled) that stands out more than a solid body guitar.

Why did I mention the Lucille? Because I'm selling it and replacing it with the Sheraton. I guess that says something.

The action at the store was poorly set up, with too much relief on the neck and a high action. It took about thirty minutes to fix that at home. The Epiphone uses a hex nut for the truss rod adjustment (like a Fender) instead of the Gibson lug, which is convenient. The bridge height is easier to adjust than some Gibson tune-o-matics, because you can use screw slots as well as the thumbwheels.

After adjustment, the action is exceptionally good. Low and fast, not a buzz in sight.

Interestingly, the other Sheraton at GC had the opposite problem to the one I bought; the action was too low and the strings were buzzing on the frets.

My rating is for the action AFTER it was fixed. If I rated the action at the store, it would be a 4.

It's too soon to say anything about reliability. I've read bad things about the switch, jack, and pots. We'll see. Works fine now.

I can't comment on customer support yet.

I've been playing guitar for forty years, part of the time professionally. I play blues, rock, classical, and some jazz and country.

I have a number of other guitars, including a '71 Les Paul Standard, a Strat and a Tele (American made), a '72 Martin D35, and a '65 Rickenbacker 450 12-string. At the moment, I can afford good instruments, and I could have bought the ES-335 if I had liked it a lot better. The Sheraton, however, was the obvious choice. It's at least 95% of the guitar (if not more) for 20% of the price.

I think the Epiphone Sheraton is an excellent guitar at any price, and a fantastic buy at $500-$600. I don't see how Gibson can go on charging the differential they do just for the label.

2003 Epiphone Sheraton II. Natural finish, gold hardware, awesome mother of pearl fretboard inlays and nice abalone vine inlay on the headstock.

its a really good weight, i changed out the knobs for some riviera style top hats. looks alot cooler.

i play funky/groovy/experimental/ambient indie rock with classic rock and heavy blues influence. basically its really cool indie rock thats pretty diverse. its kind of in the realm of portugal.the man, brand new, the blood brothers, etc.

anyway, i have a squier jagmaster with a seymour duncan phat cat p90, a standerd tele with 52 ri pickups, and the sheraton. i have a pretty diverse group here, and i get tons of great tones out of them.

i have a big pedalboard, but its got lots of electro harmonix and boss stuff. i use alot of delay and reverb, some tremolo, and i love my big muff. i run everything into a 1972 fender bassman ten and a usa made fender hot rod deluxe.

i love my rig, and my guitars bring out the best of it. especially the sheraton. ithought i might be changing the pickups out but damn, they sound great. not muddy or anything. i must have got two out of a good batch.

AWESOME LOOKING.

sexy durability.

can eat.

makes me wanna.

I bought the my Sheraton II in 2003. The features are well advertised, as this guitar has oodles of reviews. I like the guitar, and generally agree with many of the other reviews. I want to point out what I don't, or no longer like about the guitar. I also made some modifications to the instrument and want to share them for the benefit of other readers.
I originally liked the thick shiny finish and all the little sheraton extras (mother of pearl inlays, gold hardware, etc). The mop inlays are nice, but look at PRS instruments to see how this is more appropriately done. The thick poly (glue) finish is easy to keep shiny, but it inhibits tonal output. I have come to prefer a lighter finishes for tonal reasons. I bought the guitar with the intent of replacing the electronics. I'm not a big fan of the stock PUs wiring harnesses, and hardware.
I had the frets crowned and polished and the neck adjusted, as well as had the action set by a competent luthier. Nice improvement, making the instrument playable (better than some 335's).
Additionally, I have grown tired of the mass-produced poly finish. Be careful not to bump the finish. It is brittle and chips easily. I replaced all the gold hardware with nickel hardware and like that better. I wish the sunburst pattern on the sheraton was the same as the elitist and american made patterns. I am wishing for an older 335 or a nice Lennon Casino. My sheraton lacks both the tone and the aesthetic vibe I expected.

This is not a subtle instrument. It lacks harmonics, depth, and bass response. The guitar is powerful and works well for a blues tone (think harmonica). Jazz players should fault it for lack of a smoky tone. My stock strat is a tone monster (my friend tells me that I can make it 'breathe') compared to the Sheraton. The sheraton is a bit of a workout to play compared to my other guitars. It is beefier, and takes a little more left-hand strength.
When I bought the guitar a local luthier convinced me to replace the stock PUs with Gibson burstbucker pro's, as well as cts pots, orange caps, and a switchcraft. The burstbucker pro's seem to me like great PUs for a vintage les. It surprises me that PAF pickups were used on Les Pauls, 335's and super 400's -- pointing to the versatility of PAF pickups. The burstbuckers get that old school les paul sound, but they overpower my sheraton so that it lacks the basic versatility of a 335. I find the guitar and the burstbucker pros not to be a good tone match. Running both the pickups simultaneously with the volumes rolled-back yeilds a good jangle if you know how to set the parameters just right. Rolling the volume pickup back on the neck only gives a nice acoustic sound. The bridge pickup is well suited to rock or blues.

Stock electronics are what you would expect for a $400 price tag. I bought the instrument because I liked all the dressing and gloss. I repaced all the electronics, and had the instrument professionally set up shortly after the purchase. Bindings are pretty, but dont expect the kind of quality you would get with a from a custom les. Japanese instruments seem to have US level fit and finish. Koreans arent quite as good. The wood on the top is slightly less 'figured' than a vintage 335. There are a few flaws in the base color on the back of my sheraton. No big deal I guess. If you look at the cavity in my sheraton, you can see the flamed side of the ply. I wish the inside was flat black. I wish they would use a classier looking truss cover. Nothing is hidden, you can see all these things for yourself. I would be hard pressed to buy one on ebay. Too much can go wrong to trust the Samick factory quality checks. I played a Lennon Casino. I liked every aspect of the guitar.

Wow. So much glue is used that I doubt it will ever fall apart. All that glue inhibits the sound a little. Finish is too brittle.

If you get good customer service from Epiphone, then good for you. If you don't, what can you really expect for a $400 instrument. If you buy one of these babies and hope to rework it with new electronics and a good setup, be prepared to give it to a luthier. It's tough to get into it. Im crafty, but I quickly gave up. I spent $200 on pickups and $400 on electronics and neck work. PRICEY additions to a $400 guitar. I wish now that I had just bought a Lennon Casino.

Played for 20+. Not a professional by any means. I also own a tele and an american standard strat. The strat is my baby. Loved it when I brought it home, no issues ever. The Sheraton has been a lot of work.

Simply amazing guitar!

Gibson/Epiphone stands by their products!

I recently had a fantastic service experience with Epiphone that I would like to share.

I just purchased an Epiphone Sheraton II guitar that is now my new favorite Guitar.
I was rather unhappy though, with the way the guitar fit in the case and sent a series of e-mails to TKL (the case manufacturer) and Gibson Epiphone.

I sent both of them pictures of the case fit and measurements of both the guitar and case, and after listening to my input, Vince Wynne of Gibson stepped up to the plate, and shipped me a brand new case free of charge for my guitar!

The case was beautifully crafted, and fit my Epiphone Perfectly!

Needless to say, I was blown away by their dedication to customer service!
It???s not too often that a company goes above and beyond the call of duty these days, but when they do, I feel they should be recognized for it.

I would like to publicly thank Vince Wynne and Gibson/Epiphone Guitars for their outstanding customer service to me.

Sincerely,
Big Rand
Traverse City MI.

35 years playing experince, pro.

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.

Made in korea assemebled in usa etc. mine is black and everything is stock I have not customized it in anyway, I love the 4 knobs but I just leave them all turned up, the 3-way selector switch is nice but sometimes it crackels in between stages but not a problem, nice looking guitar but the gold-trim is a little cheesy but ah who cares and this guitar did not come with a case :(

Great sound! I read the reviews here before purchasing it and though I understand why so many hate the pick-ups on this thing its not like you cant build great tone from these pick-ups, I love the warm muffled sound of this thing its not as punchy as my tele but I have heard worse, much worse, though I may want to geek it out sometime in the future, its not like im not enjoying it now, my amp is in the shop so right now im using a 15 watt squier SS amp and to my surprise it sounds nice through this thing but I have tried it through a 212 fender HRD just like mine and oh man love the hollow body rosewood sound going through tube amp not bad not bad at all for the kinda of mellow rock I play but nice clean and handles distortion very well, nice sustain that keeps going even though your already changing chords...

Ok great neck feel great inlays and I can see why people would want to change the nut on this thing because it just doesnt look right on it but what I didnt like is how when I changed my strings the bridge came off but oh well all it means is purer tone, I love the way nothing gets in the way when I PALM MUTE! comfortable, I dont want to damage my rosy palmer hands but overall the best thing is the action I mean the strings cant get any closer to the fret board :)

Ive only owned it a couple weeks now but it seems a little fragile to me because this is my first REAL hollow-body I have owned an ibanez acoustic electric and telacoustic (crap) but i am used to solid bodys so im a little leary of it but its probably all in my head but i know its not all hollow because of the solid block of wood inside so it seem very durable in that sense but im not in a band so I cant say weather its gig worthy or not but I dont see why not...

Been playing 11 years and Ive been looking for an Epiphone anyway and it just so happens to cost less than Gibsons (I say F*ck Gibson and there prices) I saw it in a local shop and it was love at first sight, I had to have her, nice black looking hollow-body, sounds great, feels great end of story.

Just bought an Ebony model. Tried it out just for the feel because I used to own one in 1961. That one was heavier, blond, and if I remember correctly cost atout $700 in 1962 dollars.

This one sounds better than any Gibson I've ever played or owned.

I am writing this because I have a question for everybody. I have never seen a guitar that only has markings up to the 15th fret. My near vosion is getting bad even with glasses, and I often have trouble overshooting the 17th fret on my les paul and Custom Tele, which are marked. With this I am flying blind (no pun intended). How do you cope with it? I have contacted my luthier who can put on side markers but he's not equipped to handle these fancy things. I suggested dots but he recommended not--would ruin its value. But, this is an inexpensive GOOD/Great guitar and its value is its value to me--not to somebody I might sell it too after 25 years. I think what I may do is tape off the rosewood behind the fret, tape off the top of the fret on 17, 19, and maybe 21 too, and just put a coating of silver-to-white fingernail polish on the back of the fret itself so I can see it. How stupid does this sound and why am I the only person who ever remarked about this? I will have enough trouble seeing the side markers, which I have noted I only use when standing up. When seated, my eyes always go to the fret markers when I make a long jump.

6 frets in a line on a shortened 24&3/4" neck without markers make it hard to land correctly in the upper registers.

playing 47 years
''87 '57 reissue strat, custome tele, les paul, gave away the rest--jap/strat, tele, jazzmaster.

amps--1954 pro 15" jenson--tweed--perfect condition, 78 super reverb,
88 super 60, 89 twin.

yeah, 3 more fret markers

2004 Made in Korea. Laminated top with std. 2 p/u, 2 vol. and 2 tone controls. Gold hardware and tobacco sunburst finish. I paid $259 in a pawn shop and it still had tags on it. I can't argue the price. No case but I have a new case on order.

This is a hot guitar, even with the stock pickups. It really pushes a Fender Deluxe Reverb but I have a blackface Twin Reverb, '66 Bandmaster, Line 6 and several other amps. I got little response from the tone controls until I turned the volume all the way up. The pots need to be changed and I will do this myself. I've owned a '67 ES-335 and liked it. I will probably like this guitar also.

There was sticker on the guitar saying it was set up in the USA. It had a pretty good set up but I tweaked it a little. The pickups are adjusted about right for me. The neck is great. Even with low action, there is no buzz on any string, all the way down the neck. I can't complain about the finish. Probably the "prettiest" guitar I have ever had. This guitar was used but there was not a mark on it and it didn't have a case. It had only been out of pawn for about 30 min. when I walked in and bought it.

I haven't played it enough to say for sure but so far, it seems very reliable and durable. I think it would be fun to play live. The finish and workmanship are wornderful. The strap buttons are about standard for any other guitar. Using with at a gig without a backup - I always take a Tele along. I will hate to put the first scratch on it.

I only emailed Gibson with my serial number and they emailed me immediately with the age of the guitar and told me where it was made.

I've owned a guitar since 1964 but really started playing a lot in 1975. I own several Fender Tele's, one '69 Tele with an original Parson's - White B-bender and 3 Strats and 3 P-basses. Mostly Fender blackface amps (a real 1965 Twin Reverb and a '66 Bandmaster)and a few silverface Fenders. 2 Gibson amps and 1 Epiphone from the 60's. 2 Leslie tremolo units. Lots and lots more other stuff. I've owned over 200 guitars and 200 amps since 1975. I haven't decided if I will keep this guitar but I like it a lot now. I own lots of nice guitars to be an old bass player

This is a follow up to my 12/25/05 review below. I have a 2001 Sheraton II that I bought used and it was in very, very good condition. Sunburst, with two Epiphone ?57 Humbuckers. I changed the pick ups a few weeks ago and put in a bone nut and wanted to update my review. In that first review, I noted that I had all the pots and wiring and the input jack and pick up switch changed out as part of the purchase price. This was a very good move and it?s a fairly cheap but important upgrade. My rating is based on my upgrades.

With regard to the original pick ups, they were pretty good. Mine were Epiphone ?57 Humbuckers and on the back of them, it notes they are also used on Epiphone Dots and Les Pauls. However, after a lot of thought, I put in a Seymour Duncan Custom Custom (SH 11) in the bridge and a Seymour Duncan Jazz (SH 2N) in the neck. Wow. The Custom Custom is an astounding pick up. BB King Live at the Regal Hotel. Sweet, sweet, singing, sustaining, fat, creamy, biting mid range and high end tones. In the D, G and B stings from the 8th fret up to 18th fret it?s almost a trumpet kind of sound at times. Incredible. If you overdrive the amp a little, it also reminds me of Neil Young?s work with Buffalo Springfield at times too. But, you have to adjust the height of the pick up to get the most out of it. When I got the guitar back with the new pick ups, they were both set too low and the difference in sound from the original pick ups was negligible. Fortunately, I read about this common adjustment oversight on this website (why do techs do that?) and it was another easy fix. When I raised them to the recommended height, it made a profound difference. The Custom Custom is a killer. The Jazz pick up is also great. A very different sound altogether. It removes the edge from the higher strings at the higher frets for a meatier, less piercing sound. A true jazz / blues sound. Between the two pick ups, there?s a great range of individual sounds. Together, there are even more possibilities. Re the new bone nut, it added a little more conduction of sound and sustain. I just don?t think a plastic nut can do much for a guitar - - other than to save costs for the manufacturer. My rating is based on my upgrades.

As noted in my 12/25/05 review, action, fit anf finsih are great.

After reading a lot about the Sheraton before I bought it (and confirmed by music store staff) the weak link for Epiphones are the electronics; switches, tone controls, volume controls and, to some extent, the pick ups (they were a little muddy but not horrible). Structurally, this strikes me as being a very solid, durable guitar. I have had no problems in that regard.

No contact with customer support so I can't say.

I've been playing a long, long time. I like this guitar a lot. Re buying another one if it were stolen, etc, by buying this guitar used and at a good price, my upgrades have still kept this guitar in a reasonable price range. Even a beat up Gibson 335 would be way, way, way more expensive than what I have invested so far and the tone and playability of this guitar is now really great. It?s a poor man?s 335. However, it?s a shame that Epiphone is so close to having a really great guitar right off the rack. What would it cost them to put in better electronics? In comparison, I got a used USA Strat in great condition and at a great price and I haven?t had to put a dime into it.

2005 Korean made, 22 fret, lam top, 2 vol, 2 tone, 3 way, 2 humbuckers.Grover tuners, tune-o-matic/stop tail, 5 piece neck.
No case.
With some small, fairly inexpensive upgrades, this guitar could really be a contender.
All guitars should come with a case, no guitar should have a plastic nut.Pickups are no more than a refrigerator magnet, and the pots/switch are overseas junk.
The actual guitar is great though, well made..

Unplugged, it sounds awesome. Nice midrangey tone. Loud and clear. A few tweaks and it played great.
Plugged in, the electronics were quiet, but the pickups were muddy as hell. I planned on changing them anyway, and knowing that it sounded great UN-plugged, I knew it would sound fantastic with a good set of pickups.I did my homework and decided that the Seymour Duncan "Phat Cats" were the pickup for this guitar. I ordered them with the gold covers, and installed them. Upon removing the electronics, I noticed the 3-way switch is pretty cheesy, so that will have to be replace, as well as the pots.Also, I looked at the back of the Epi pickups, and found they were both Epi Les Paul 57 bridge pickups..
After installing the Phat Cats with the Epi springs and rings, the guitar just came alive! Great cut and clarity with excellent midrange punch. Just enough power to make it scream under heavey gain, but retains the "hollow tone" with the volume rolled off a little. Seriously, these Phat Cats fall somewhere between a hot mini-bicker, and a P90.. No, and I mean NO singlecoil hum...
Now this somewhat inexpensive guitar sounds like a FINE instrument!
My rating with the Phat Cats is a 9, stock is as below...

Action was acceptible. A little tweaking and it's almost as good as mu Les Paul...I see no flaws in the finish at all. It's stellar!
Wiring was a little sloppy, but I fixed that myself..The nut is plastic, and needs to be replaced with a bone nut for sure.
Grover tuners are a nice feature.

I think it will hold up well.Hopefully the finish will wear off some. I like my guitars used looking. This is my first Brand New guitar.Holds tuning well through a set. I can even change to open G without any problems.I never gig without backup. I always have my strat and Les Paul anyway. This guitar fills a different niche for me.
First thing I did was put Schaller straplocks on it, as all my other guitars...

Have not tried...

Been playing since 1980. I have a 1976 Les Paul Custom, a 1998 USA strat with fat 50's pickups, a Charvel Model 4. I run them through my Mesa Boogie Mark III simulclass head and 2 thiele/EV loaded cabs all in Imbuya/wicker, and a 1968 Gibson Hawk 1-10" amp. For effects I use an analogman TS9/808, crybaby 95Q, TR2, EHX Deluxe Memory Man, A/DA Flanger.
If it was lost or stolen I'd replace it with another. I love the looks, and the way it plays, I hate the plastic nut and cheapo electronics including muddy pickups. I looked at the Gibson hollowbodies, and may someday get a 335, but for now, this serves the purpose.
For the cost of the pickups/bone nut/pots, switch/jack/case...$250
So, for $799, I have an awesome blues machine that's pretty versatile.
I'm really pleased with it. All in all, it's a great guitar for the price. It certainly won't replace my Les Paul or strat, but does it's own thing really well, and looks great doing it.

Well, my Sheraton II was made in Korea, i think it's a 2005 model, i don't know exactly, but i think so because the serial number starts with "U05...". Maple laminated top.

2 volume pots and 2 tone pots. 3-Way selector like all hollowbody's guitars, i really don't like the selector, it's just seems to cheapy!

It has 2 humbuckers, i like the sound of both but can be much better for the price of the guitar.

The finish of this guitar is just excelent...i love it. It's a kind of tobacco sunburst, but it's not that shiny. I don't know if u get the color I'm talking about...imagine mixing the tobacco sunburst with the vintage sunburst...just GREAT.

The headstock of this guitar is just EXCELENT...it seems like a 2000 dollar's guitar. It has a real nice "life's tree" on it...cool!
Has also Grover tuners (i didn't know it come with those tuners!) so it was a big surprise when i saw it.

The hardware (the tune-o-matic bridge, grover tunes, pickups, etc...) is gold. I like it.

I give it a 9, because the 3 way selector sucks. I will replace it by a brand new one when i have the money to.

I play rock, and some punk rock too. Including lots of bands:

Rock like: The Beatles, Oasis, U2.
Punk Rock: Green Day

Well let's see. I bought this guitar 4 days ago, so I'm getting used to it in these days. I like both humbuckers sound, but maybe i will replace the neck humbucker by a Seymour Duncan 59 and the bridge one with a Seymour Duncan SH-4. It will sound GREAT for what i play.

But the stock pickups are really nice. Incredible for jazz or blues!!

You know i think that this guitar will sound terrible with some distortion...it is WONDERFULL. I love the sound of it! Even with the stock pickups.

The guitar set-up was great...no complains.

The wood of the Sheraton II is great...just great. The finish is wonderful, like i said before, it seems a 2 thousand dollars guitar.

The strap buttons are solid, but i'm getting used of how to hunging my guitar strap correctly right now...it's quite hard to figure out if you are used to play a Stratocaster, a Les Paul or a Telecaster guitar.

I will definitly gig without a backup...but I would like to carry my Yamaha Pacifica 412 too, just in case...
The golden strap buttons are wearing off...they will get completely silver with a couple of days more.

Never deal with them.

I love it...it's just wonderfull, but be careful, it's not PERFECT.

I bought mine about 6 years ago, so a 99-2000 model. Bought it new from a Sam Ash store. Went in looking for an Epi Dot and walked away with this one. Korean made. Everything else already covered here.

The sound through my Marshall AVT50 amp is wonderful. Deep, rich ... loads of tone and sustain. I play whatever strikes my fancy on this guitar and have yet to be disappointed.

Scrap the electronics. I had the switch and pots replaced immediately after buying it. Also had a bone nut installed. Gold hardware is very cheap. Gold disappeared within a couple of weeks, but it adds character to the guitar. The fit and finish is superb.

This guitar travels with me everywhere I go. I'm not at all concerned with it being dinged up or damaged. It's a horse and should be ridden hard.

Never contacted them

Yeah, I'd definitely want to replace it if lost or stolen. At varying times I had considered replacing it with an ES335 or ES137, but then I play it and forget all about replacements ...

Hey cum on gold h/ware all throughout, gorgeous blonde natural finish with no flaws to talk about,the binding around the body and neck is very classy and gives feel of solid and secure not to mention sumptuosly finished. The neck is absolutely adoreable, fast,solid, and an answer to my prayers as my hands are akin to that of shovels Gorgeous grover tuners that again feel safe and solid

this guitar is suited to any style or genre I chuck at it it
sound is tops thats being compared to my les paul and Ricky 360 It really is spot on the sounds starting from deep, warm and resonant up into the thick rock tones L P alike also easy to coax a bright glassy arsenal of sounds

here where's you could say the only negative aspect being the fact that this axe really does need to be set up properly obviously to suit yourself then again what axe does not!

absolutely ROCK SOLID but with all the finesse of a dreamy curvacious babe

12 moon warranty ----same as all else these days

2005 model, natural finish with gold hardware, 3 way switch with alnico humbuckers, gloss finish, tune-o-matic bridge, Grover tuners.

I play a a lot of styles, mostly modern rock and harder rock, some pop, some metal. The guitar plays out well through my Vox AD50VT amp. This thing really chunks up more than I expected. Semi hollow body is prone to feedback at high volumes. Loud enough to strumb around acoustically and get a decent sound to practice vocal melodies to.

This one is nearly perfect. Two gripes:

1. My guitar has a strange knot in the wood, very small, very unnoticable at first. I am being very picky.

2. Slight buzz on low E when I got it. Intonation/bridge adjustment fixed right away.

I have had no problems whatsoever in the 8 months I have had it. I have banged it here and there, and every time I look painfully for the scar, and every time I am surprised to find no damage in it's place.

Never needed any assistance that my local GC guy couldn't provide.

Been playing for about 7-8 years now, this is my first "real" electric guitar. I had a Washburn Lyon ($99 special) and a Korean Fender Tele FMT that treated me well, but this is in another league. I am happy to sit this guitar next to my Larrivee and my Tacoma. We will see how it stacks up to my Elitist SG '61 reissue when it comes.

it was made in korea and i dont know what year it was made but i've had it for ten years -bought it second hand.

this guitar sounds great and i use a roland jazz amp

i have never bought a guitar that is this perfect and i do own a couple of gipsons-if i have to complain about this guitar i'll be a bloody fool!

after ten years of abuse it still looks brand new with a little weae and tear on the pick ups but so what it will most probably outlast me!

what is this?

i have been playing for 33 years and boy if someone steels this guitar i will not replase it,it is already replaced.i bought a couple of other guitars and this is my favourite.not many other guitars has the same quality.

2001 Sheraton II, made in Korea, etc, etc, same stats as already mentioned by the others. Fit and finish is great.

After many years without an electric guitar I decided to buy another one. For the last few years, I would check music stores to see what was available at a reasonable price but nothing really moved me enough to buy. A friend let me play his PRS SE ( he set it up beautifully) and I liked it enough to consider buying one. However, when I played PRS SE?s in stores, the action and sound were not so great so I had my doubts. I subsequently went on to try a lot of other guitars in a very disciplined, methodical way. Since I always liked the Gibson 335, I looked at Epiphone DOTS. Although the price was good, they just didn?t knock me out. Then, by chance, I spotted a black Sheraton II and tried it. My reaction to the guitar was immediate. I loved the way the guitar played. The action was truly remarkable. The sound was great. Incredible range between the two pick ups. Super sustain. Rather than respond to the initial euphoria, I put it down and came back to it a few days later. It was still a terrific playing and sounding guitar. And, just to make sure the first Sheraton wasn?t a fluke, I tried them at several places and every one of them played great, right off the floor. I also went on the net and read a lot of reviews on the Sheraton and noted their shortcomings (primarily switches). Within a week, I found a used one in mint condition for $450 with the case. As per the reviews I read, the volume and tone controls on the used Sheraton were indeed ?scratchy? and the pick up switch made a lot of nosie. As part of the purchase price deal, I had all the wiring, switches and input jack taken out and replaced with Gibson parts. Of note, the tech who worked on it showed me the original switches, wiring and jack; they were all coated with what seemed to be polish that was probably sprayed on as the last part of the manufacturing process. While this wouldn?t be a problem with a solid body guitar, the ?F? holes in the Sheraton allowed the polish to enter the body of the guitar and coated the switches and wiring, etc, which probably caused the problems everyone was noting. The other problem I noticed (and which was noted by others), is that the guitar went out of tune after some hard playing. However, some research in to the problem consistently produced the same answer: the most common problem with strings going out of tune lies with the nut, so, before you go to the expense and hassle of changing the tuners, check the nut. I was skeptical but the truth of this became very clear to me after I had a bone nut made for my acoustic guitar. Being very new, the strings would bind in the newly cut nut slots. So, it was hard to keep the guitar in tune and the tuners that worked very easily with the old nut, suddenly worked very hard. So, I bought some nut lube (?Big Bends Nut Sauce?) and the problem disappeared. I applied this fix to the Sheraton and I can now bend the living daylights out of my strings and they don?t go out of tune. It seems almost too simple to be true, but it is. After these pretty inexpensive ?fixes?, the Sheraton is, in my opinion, a terrific guitar and a genuine bargain. I am extremely happy with this guitar. Friends who have played it, love it. I like the stock pick ups. Super for blues and rock and very, very credible for jazz. I?ve toyed with putting in Seymour Duncan?s but, honestly, I think the sound is fine. I think this is a great all around guitar at a great price. I'm rating the guitar after the inexpensive "fixes".

As noted above, this guitar was beautifully set up - - as were all the Sheratons that I played . Pick up adjustment was fine. The finish on the guitar is terrific. The fret board and head stock are really nice (inlaid Abalone shell). This used, 4 year old guitar shows some wear on the bridge pick up (the gold coating is worn away where your hand rests on it while you play) but I think that just goes with any gold coating. The wiring issue is covered above and is cheap to fix. I'm rating this after the fix.

I?ve been playing this guitar a lot and it?s great. I think the basic structure of this guitar is very, very solid and of good quality. The only weak link was the polish coated wiring and switches, etc, and, again, it was a cheap fix.

The Epiphone web site is pretty good. Since it's a used guitar, there's no warranty issue. And, I've had no reason to call them, etc..

Many of the final rating questions have been addressed above. If it were lost or stolen, I would probably replace it. It?s a great guitar for the money. A few months after getting the Sheraton, I bought a used, mint U S A Strat which I also love. I think they?re each very good examples of their particular guitar type (single pole vs humbucker, etc). These are two very different guitars - - a real apples and oranges thing - - but each broadens my appreciation for the other.

Left Handed Korean, was vintage sunburst (more in a moment....), laminated maple top, usual frets, pickups etc blah blah blah.....

Play in 2 bands - covers band and blues band - play through Fender Custom Vibrolux, Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, Fender Bassman 10 and Fender Champ (did I say I like Fender Amps?)

I took out the stock pickups because, well, they were shite! I have an old Ibanez twin neck from around 1972 with the original Super 70 pickups - these are Jap ripoffs of Gibson Humbuckers. Thought I'd give them a try before buying some others - what a difference - this now sound exactly how I thought it should - it nails BB King, Cream-era Clapton, Freddy King, Alvin Lee et al - loud, honky, full - fabulous with both pickups flat out together - wow! If you can get hold of a pair of these old pickups - bang them in and stand well back! Lovely clean tone which breaks up nicely as it's cranked - put through a Digitech Bad Monkey and Dod OD 250 - this is a sound of some beauty.

Action is superb - i use Rotosound Reds - 13 - 56 gauge. Had to recut the nut but plays like a dream now. Now - the finish..... Superb, flawless but I always disliked the Tobacco Burst - so I got to work with some sandpaper and wire wool and stripped It back to it's natural honey coloured maple. I wanted an old appearance so It's been french polished - beautiful satin dark honey colour which is now wearing beautifull where i sweat on it. Back and sides are still the lovely dark mahogany colour which complement the front nicely. I replaced the horrible knobs with a set of old Gibson black top-hat style and replaced the really shitty tuners with Grovers - now it stays in tune for a whole gig! Like all Sheratons the inlays are lovely and the neck is a dream.

I usually play my old strat and pick this up for a different sound where needed - however, at a recent blues gig I played with another strat player, I used this for the whole 2 sets - clean tones, dirty tones, heavy, the lot - i was delighted!
Gold plated finish shouldn't be allowed on guitars anyway - even the vastly inflated-priced Gibsons wear and fade with use - adds character in my opinion.... Replace strap buttons for locking ones - this is a HEAVY guitar. I never play without a backup - i'm heavy on strings - but I would use it for a full gig again.

Yeah, right......

Been playing in bands semi pro for 27 years. Other guitars are a custom bodied Strat w/right handed neck, Tokai USG30 (Jap Lawsuit model), Custom Telecaster, Tanglewood acoustic. Amps are all Fender (see above), Pedal board - Dunlop Cry Baby (70's model)- Dod OD 250 (clean signal boost)- Cheap Aria Distortion (turn the tone down - awesome)- Digitech Bad Monkey Overdrive - Boss Chorus - Boss DD5 delay. I also have a Boss GT6 programmed like the pedal board for backup - not too keen on digital reverb however).
This is the second time I've owned this guitar I'm sure - i sold it cos it wasn't great but regretted it cos I liked the way it looked (apart from sunburst front). Since the mods it's the guitar i leave out of the case around the house - and It's getting used more and more in gigs.

This guitar just arrived at my door from Mus. Fiend..., er, I mean friend. So, I assume it's relatively new. Now, this is not a John Lee Hooker Sheraton II. But only, as far as I can tell, because of a few things. It has two Gibson mini-buckers; Gold stop-tail and all real Gibson parts (ABR-1 bridge, etc.). But (interestingly), it does NOT have a 3-laminate Spruce-Maple-Spruce top. Instead, it has a 5-ply maple-birch-maple-birch-maple laminate on the whole thing, just like they are using on the Elites. Now, I should point out, that a guy I know has an "official" JLH, and his ALSO has a 5-ply throughout (ahh, Gibson...what a tangled web...) Also, mine came with a (cheapo) Gold-Plated import toggle switch like they use on their regular production stuff (unlike the Elites!), and a plastic nut (ditto).Rosewood fingerboard, Abalone inlays, etc. More on this below...

Aside from the above rant, this thing sounds phenomenal...sustains for days. Put it through a TopHat Club Royale, and a new Vox AC30 CC1 and, try as i might, couldn't get anything less than stellar tones from it!

Action, Fit & Finish (on mine, at least...) is a 10 , with some figure in the Top. Much better than a Historic 335 I saw recently(the Japs probably ARE making it, with is really fine with me; after all, we're paying 3,4, and 5 grand for new Japanese made Gretsches, aren,t we?

Who knows, should be fine; After all, Korean-made stuff is pretty damn durable now, too (DeArmond Starfire Special, anyone...?)!

Never hold your breath with these guys, ya know?

I did a bit of digging, and it seems the story is thus: Gibson's (Epiphone) arrangement with the JLH Estate was up and they were left with a bunch of guitars; (some completed/others not)so they decided to get rid of the stock on hand and blow them out to Musicians Friend (their # one connection, since Gibson has alienated everyone else in this quadrant of the Universe) The parts were sent to Gibson and...well, I don't know Anyone who has any more backstory on this (for sure) please let us know! But gang, c'mon: For $999., this thing is truly a bargain.

This is a 2005 model, made in Korea. Ebony finish, rosewood fingerboard with block inlays. Two humbuckers, two volume controls and two tone controls. Three way switch. All gold-tone hardware. Grover tuners. I gave the features a 9 because the epiphone "E" symbol kept peeling off the pickguard. I eventually quit sticking it back on and got rid of it.

My musical style is blues-based with Sabbath-like, heavy edges, and this axe does it right. I run this guitar (and all my others) through a Vox ToneLab and into a Samson Expedition 300 compact PA system. All kinds of amp sims from Soldano SLO-100 to Marshall Plexis. I do not have any noise issues with this guitar. In fact I have more noise problems with both of the real Gibson guitars that I own. This guitar produces the whole range from sweet seduction to searing agony.

I love the looks, sound, and quality of the this guitar. Since it was designed for jazz players, the neck is very stable and very straight. Once I got the relief where I like it, it has stayed right on the money ever since (if you have this situation, put a set of .012 guage on it and let it sit for a few days). Plays like a dream.

The factory setup was excellent. It was medium height and setup for a very straight neck. Good for jazz-style flatpicking. The pickups were adjusted properly and have not been adjusted. You can see a length of wire through one of the f-holes.

This guitar can gig. The hardware is gold-tone, so will eventually get ratty looking and be replaced. I dunno what the finish is gonna do over time. The strap buttons, like those on every guitar I own were suspect by default and propmptly replaced with locking replacements by Dunlop. This guitar has yet to let me down or freak me out. I would use it on a gig without backup if the material allowed it. In reality it does not.

I have been playing for 30+ years. I own two les pauls, an epi les paul, the Sheraton II, an Ibanex EX dedicated to synth work, Vox Tonelab, and a few amps. If this guiatr were lost of stolen I would replace it unless I had the cash for a an ES-335 laying around. I love pretty much everything. I hate the output jack being on the front.

According to an online serial number decrypter, my guitar was made at the Samick Plant, Korea, in October 1996. So its a good nine years old.
335 style sem-hollow body with solid centre block.
Laminated maple top and body, 3-piece set-in laminated maple neck, ebony finish.
Multi-ply cream binding on body, headstock, neck and pickguard, single-ply cream binding on f-holes.
22-fret rosewood fingerboard with block/triangle mother-of-pearl inlays up to the 15th fret.
2 stock epiphone humbucker pickups, 2 volume controls, 2 tone controls, 3-way selector switch.
Tune-o-matic bridge, stopbar tailpiece.
Non-locking no-name tuners.
Gold harware.
Mother-of-pearl Epiphone logo on headstock with M-o-P vine inlay.
Nut: 1.68"
Scale: 24.75"

This is my dream guitar! As I will explain, I replaced the stock humbuckers with p90s, making it just what I want.

My music style is blues/rock. Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Allman Brothers Band, etc. The sheraton suits this style perfectly. You can get some really mellow blues sounds from it, yet you can still rock out with it.
Im using it with a Fender Champion 300 solid-state amp, a Marshall Compressor, a Marshall Bluesbreaker, a 7-band EQ and a Boss SuperOverdrive. I keep the amp on clean with a little reverb and chorus, use the Bluesbreaker for all my overdrive, the EQ for a mid-boost, and the SuperOverdrive as a solo boost. My overdrive tone is that warm, smooth, creamy mid-heavy tone.
The stock humbuckers give pretty much no hum (just as the name implies!). You do get quite alot of feedback from this guitar (especially using overdrive and compressor pedals) as it is semi-hollow... but I like this. It is not screechy ear-splitting feedback, but sweet feedback which can be easily manipulated by vibrato and positioning of the guitar/amp. But if you are going for a clean jazz sound of something, feedback aint a problem, its just when you 'rock out'.
Unplugged, it sounds great! The stock humbuckers are a little muddy... but they are usuable. But you will probably want to replace them after a while. After I got this guitar, I fell in love with single-coils, so bought some Seymour Duncan Phat Cat p-90s to go in it. Now it sounds truly amazing... almost like a strat, unmistakeably single-coil with all the cut and twang. The stock humbuckers are a bit flat and bland, get some new pickups to improve the sound. Get some single-coils to really bring the guitar to life!
With the p-90s, clean and using the fender with a little reverb/chorus it sounds really beautiful. Sparkling, balanced cleans. STUNNING. Overdriven it sounds raw but smooth, nice and punchy. Very full and rich-sounding. Mellow but bright (is that possible?).
The guitar can make loads of different sounds - through manipulating the selector switch and tone/volume controls you can easily find what you are looking for unless its high-gain metal. But still I can get some good distorted hard rock, and even some heavy Black Sabbath sounds out of this.
It is wonderful for blues. I don't play jazz, but can tell it would be great for that, once you have upgraded the pickups to something clearer.
The volume and tone pots are not perfect, but they are predictable enough to use. One day I might replace them, but there is no hurry.
The Sheraton has loads of sustain - further improved by a compressor pedal!
You can get loads of attack, twang and cut from the bridge, and smooth, rounded leads from the neck.
I give it a 7 for the stock pickups, but I will up it to 8 as it can really be improved with good pickups (I give it a 9 with the phat cats!).

Ok, I got this second-hand, so I don't know what the factory set-up is like. During the 9 years this guitar has been played, the set-up could have been vastly improved or ruined. I don't know what it was like originally. I got it set-up myself by a tech.
You can get a really good low action from this... it plays really smooth and easy. It DOES have a bit of fret buzz... but looking closely the frets seem a little worn and could do with a good seeing-to. But when I play at loud volumes, fret buzz does not bother me!
The finish is excellent! Beautiful gloss black, with real nice multi-ply cream binding. It looks really classy. I found one small flaw in the binding... but this is hardly noticeable.
The pickguard is a cheap flimsy thing.... its translucent tortoise-shell, quite nice as it looks very dark against the black finish, with cream binding. Looks good anyway. I tightened the screws and it seems secure. It had that hideous epiphone E on it... but I found that can be pulled off real easily, and it looks much better without!
I thought the amber knobs did not look too great against the black, so I replaced them with black ones. Looks SO much bette now, much more classy.
The plastic nut seems fine, but one day I may replace it with a bone one.
The pickup selector is fine - not noisy. (But perhaps the previous owner replaced the original?)
I don't know what make the tuners are, but they are real good, really easy to tune and they stay like that for ages. I really don't think I need to replace them with grovers like I thought I did! (But again, maybe these aren't the stock ones)
The mother-of-pearl inlays are really nice! The work on the headstock, with the epiphone logo and the vine design, are really beautiful. Wow.

I don't go smashing my guitars against walls. Yes this guitar will withstand live playing unless your really abuse your instrument.
The gold hardware, as people have said, wears off real easily. It hasn't on the tuners, but has noticeable on the bridge and tailpiece. But not that much - it gives it a nice vintage look. Remember this guitar is 9 years old, so if you don't mind a little vintage wearing it is good! The pickups were pretty seriously worn though, but they got replaced.
The finish has lasted fine for 9 years so far! The cream binding is a little worn on the edges in places, but this isn't really noticeable and adds a little vintage class.
Strap buttons seem solid.
Hell yeah I can depend on this, and would gig without a backup!

Never dealt with Epiphone.

Fantastic guitar. Mine is 9 years old and used, so I don't know if they come like this from the factory.
You might want to do a little work on it, get a good proffesional set-up, replace the pickups, replace tuners and pots... but the end result is a fantastic guitar.
If it was lost or stolen, I really don't know what I'd do as I couldn't afford another good guitar. But if I did buy another, yes it would be the same black sheraton II with phat cat pickups. As I said, this is my dream guitar.
What I LOVE is the appearance... black body, cream binding, gold hardware, block inlays... a real classy guitar, the sort I love. The mother-of-pearl work on the headstock is BEAUTIFUL!
Probably the only thing I wish it had was inlays on the 17th, 19th and 21st frets. But I've got used to playing without them now, so no worries.
I give it a 10 overall... this is with the new pickups. If you are a gear snob who plays loads of gibsons.. this won't interest you except maybe for the unique appearance. But if you are a guitarist on a budget, interested by the ES series, a lover of gold hardware and all that class, and not worried what it says on the headstock... GET THIS GUITAR.
I love it.

By now you all know the deal. This is my second Sheraton as I mistakenly sold my first - duh - the Grovers are a welcome addition although even the tuners on my first Sheraton worked well. This guitar can do anything really - a Freddie Green chunk-chunk sound, to BB King, to jazz, to straight up rock and high gain with gobs of sustain. In regards to the latter, some have had problems with feedback but i have not. I cannot honestly fault the intrument in regard to features.

I give it a nine because only that imaginary sound in my head gets a 10. Of course, the amp makes a huge difference too. Run it through Mesa LoneStar and you will have to change your britches.... I have about 7 or 8 gigable guitars and acoustically this is he best sounding by far. Even acoustically the sustain is remarkable and the sound is natural and even. That translats to electirc also. Through an amp it captures somewhat of the acoustic - hollow - sould and it still has cojones..... The pickups are voiced a little bit darker than some but they are very musical. Guys - you can turn up the treble a notch and scoop the mids a bit on the amp - that is why you have all those dials!

Set up was very good but I know a fellow at the shop (Lauzon Music - Ottawa) does a good job with everything coming through the place. Nothing hits the floor with buzzes or rattles - nothing. i was impressed that the nut was cut so that 12 to 54s could go on and not choke at the nut. Bravo!

The gold will wear - who cares - and the pickguard is cheap and maybe the jack is loose at times but overall it is solid. the switches are fine and the pots are not even making noise unlike most of my other gutiars.

I have been playing 31 years (yikes) - gone through jazz, pop, alternative, classical, south american you name it. Back to jazz and blues mostly and trying to go deep in that regard. i had a Sheraton before - sold it - and regretted that so bought another. I am stilled married though. This guitar just feels right... although.. of course,,, I find myself looking at others (sound familiar?).

bottom line - a very good - working instrument - that can do practically everything one could need - and besides - it is the performance that counts not the "tone" necessarily... although having "tone" is nice.

199? Model, made in Ko-rea, junk hardware, junk electronics,two junk humbuckers, superb inlays and binding, great case, ok finish, it's a K-mart ES-335 copy. REALIZE: You will have to spend at least another 400 rocks to replace the crap parts, THIS IS MANDATORY! Unless you play in a church band.

Calling the stock sound of this guitar whimpy would be cutting it a break. It totally sucked. I said sucked, as in past tense, because I have since replaced the PU's with Gibson 57' Classics. What a difference a day makes. Now, I have a beautiful ass kicking machine claimed for a nominal price. The stock PU's aren't fit to be used as fishing weights. I am going to rate it by the stock sound, although now it is a monster. My band Aintry plays a hybrid mix of pop/alt-country/jangle, I play this through a Boss MX-80 processor into a mesa Boogie Mark IV combo, and it really does kick ass. I normally play a Ric 620, but now I am wavering.

I could have bought a Gibson, but i really like the inlay and binding job on the Epi. It plays great as well. Giant cool inlay in the headstock. The "gold" hardware finish is eroding at a break-neck pace. Will replace the hardware as soon as I can squirrel some dough away from my wife. It is a unique looking axe.

Haven't gigged with it yet, but that time is coming. At practice, I have set aside my Ric 620 in favor of the Sheraton. The new PU's have made a world of difference. I never gig without a backup, that would INVITE disaster. Once the hardware has been swapped, I can't see any issue with this guitar.

Dunno

This is the tricky part. In it's stock state, it is a borderline cricket bat. But once the electronics (and soon, hardware) are replaced it is a really great axe at half the cost of a Gibson. I will give it a six, because of the factory sound, but now it is a nine. I own a literal army of guitars, Gibsons, Rics, Fenders, et al, but this Ko-rean refugee has cracked my top five and is still climbing (with the Gibson PU's!).

Bought it in 1997. Blonde twin-humbucker 335 copy....but personally I think of better quality.
I've made a lot of changes to it, but I'll review it as I bought it.....no use giving it a 10 for sound & then saying "I changed the pickups, bridge & controls"!!!
It came to me blonde now it has a leopasrdskin finish courtesy of MP designs. The P/Us are now Kent Armstrong vintage & the controls have been changed for US pots & switches. It's unique!!

The sound is really good. I changed the P/Us but to be honest I can't tell much difference.
I had a Gibson 335 & compared it with this one but I REALLY couldn't tell any difference......& that was before I changed the P/Us!!
I sold the Gibson & kept this one.

Reasonably well set up.
Much better than my Gibson 335 & had no glue-runs inside which the Gibson had lots of.

Big, solid & durable. I guess the gold finish will wear off.....but then that's gold hardware for you!!
I ALWAYS have another guitar for a backup......have you never broken a string?

Never contacted them

Lots of guitars & amps.
This is a good 335-type guitar. As good as the Gibson equivalent (especially after a P/U & control change) for 20% of the price. I owned a Gibson 335 but sold it & kept this one. Don't be fooled by the "made in the USA" snobbery......your guitar will be made by minimum wage workers, not "craftsmen" in whichever country!!

Typical 335 type guitar features. Korean Made 2005 model. 2 Epiphone USA Humbucker Pickups with Alnico Magnets, Enamel Wiring and doubly dipped in wax. 2 Volume controls, 2 Tone controls. Spectacular Vintage Sunburst finish, rosewood fretboard with triangle on block inlays. Tune-O-Matic Bridge. Grover Tuners. Included Epiphone Hard Case. If this had a bigsby I'd give it a 10

I've read many mixed reviews on the sound of the stock pickups. I've had this guitar for a while and I am overwhelmed at just how crisp and defined the tone from the Epiphone pickups really are. The Clean Tones are so rich and lucid you could melt butter with it. With the bridge pickup on distortion, if I close my eyes I can almost hear the bite and mid range umph of my Seymour Duncan SH-5 I have fitted on my Squier '51, which i suppose is a slight turn off since its not quite a traditional 335 tone...but luckily for me it suits my music style (Brit-Pop, Classic Rock n Roll....check out www.krish-online.co.uk to see what kind of music I mean). The neck pickup has a beutiful mellow clean tone and creamy yet defined distortion. It could well be even more crisp if you put in a duncan '59, but for the price of the guitar you get a lot more than you paid for with stock pickups.

The overall setup out of the box was immaculate. The action was set at the same height as my squier '51 making switching between the guitars effortless. Strings were all gleaming and actually very close to being perfectly in tune. The reason it loses 2 points is down to slight finish flaws. There is a small brown mark next to the bridge which in fairness is hardly noticeable but still not something you should have to put up with.

REPLACE THOSE STRAP BUTTONS WITH SCHALLER STRAP LOCKS IMMEDIATELY. My guitar very nearly came to a crushing end within a week of me buying it because the strap came off from the button on the underside of the neck joint. Luckily I just caught it before it hit the ground, but never again will I take the risk of not fitting strap locks. On the bright side, the guitar does feel very well built with solid construction throughout. I've played a #2000 John Lennon Casino that creaked when i just rested my elbow on the side whilst playing...didn't fill me with a great deal of confidence.

I've been playing for just over 3 years, and I own a Modified Squier '51 (with a Seymour Duncan SH-5 in the bridge and Seymour Duncan SSL1 in the neck), an ovation shallow bowl copy, a Custom made Telecaster, Marshall MG30DFX amp, Line 6 Pod XT Live, Boss DD6 Delay pedal, Marshall Supervibe + Jackhammer pedals, Digtech Screamin' Blues pedal and a Cry Baby Wah pedal.

The guitar is sensational value for money, I simply havn't played any 335 copy that quite measures up to how brilliant this is, and I've tried a VERY large number. 2 things I would change...put in a bigsby tremolo (which I may well do at a later date) and put the selector switch in a slightly more accessible position. If this were stolen I doubt I'd be able to afford another one, but if I could I certainly would give it serious consideration. The only thing holding me back would be the fact that I've had my eye on a Japanese made Tokai Les Paul copy for a while that quite takes my fancy, might save up for that one. I compared this directly to an epi dot, which was so so, an epi riviera which didn't really suit my music at all and a supernova...which I was very tempted by since Noel Gallagher is my all time hero, but I couldnt justify spending #100 more than the sheratons price for it when they were incredibly similar.

2002 model

you can get the specs via other reviews/websites/etc.

i play rock, progressive metal, jazz, blues, and mainly jam band (which is a combo of every genre) and this guitar molds to the occasion. i can't tell you enough how well this guitar can scream, cry, sulk, thrash, and whisper. every comment on the sheraton i've ever received has been absolutley positive and enthusiastic. EVERYONE loves the tone, and the tone is out of this world.

i ordered mine from elderly instruments (elderly.com--great dealer!) in '02, but they set-up every guitar you buy to there 'favorite feel,' and i have to say it was great. there was absolutley NOTHING wrong with this guitar when i first got it out of the box. it played just perfect. the only thing that fell off within a week was the cheap epiphone 'E' on the pickguard--but i was happier when it came off. looks much better now.

i've gigged it for three years as my main axe--it hands down beats any guitar i've ever played. perfect feel, weight. i can totally depend on it, the only problem i've ever had was a wire came out of the input, but with a little soldering it was just fine.

haven't had any problems to have to deal with epi

It's a great guitar, and it rises to the occasion. i'd go so far as to say it will satisfy any genre.

a grade-A perfection of a guitar--plus it's less than $600

Korean (2004?) made, semi-hollow with 2 humbuckers, independent volume and tone controls and a three-way selector switch. This one came with Grover tuners and hardware that appears to be exactly like the hardware on my Epi Les Paul Custom (TOM bridge and stop tailpiece). All hardware is gold colored. The pickups seem to also be the same ones that are in my LP Custom. The neck is pretty fast and I had no clue what woods were used in constructing this instrument.

This guitar suits my blues style just fine. I mostly record so I run it through a Vox ToneLab alot. Usually a fender twin simulation. The guitar is not particularly noisy. The sound covers the range from way bright to way deep. I adore the neck pickup on this thing.

The guitar can do B.B. King, Steve Howe, and even Ted Nugent with the right amp simulations. Its not exactly an ES-335 but for the money, it does great.

The setup was bordering on okay for a factory setup. I had to tweak it some after I got it home. It had some kind of custom guaged string on it. LIght on the bottom, heavy on the top. I switched those out for D'dario .009s. The neck was almost dead straight when I got it home. With a light touch, this was great but I have a medium touch which provided some occasional buzzing. After two small, counter-clockwise tweaks of the truss rod, I got about .005 relief and the guitar was much more receptive to my playing syle. The action at the 12th fret was really low (3/64") and I tend to like it at 4/64" - 5/64", so I adjusted that too. In short, the thing needed to be set up the way I like it. For a light picker, the facory job would have sufficed.

The pickups were adjust pretty well. Again my personal preference is a higher bridge pickup so I adjusted it. Now, the guiatr feels surprisingly like a Les Paul.

The guitar has no visible flaws that I can detect. The pickup selector is mechanically loud and will probably get replaced in the future.

I haven't had this instrument long enough to field test it. It seems that the strap buttons are designed to hold on to the strap rather than letting it slip off like some older button designs. The hardware and finish look like they would survive a gig.

I have been playing for many years (on and off). If this guitar was lost or stolen I would probably replace it eventually. I like everything about it sans the noisy pickup selector (CLICK!). I love the look of this thing. I compared this guitar (for hours) to Epi Dot, Dot Studio, Dot Deluxe, Casino, Joe Pass Emperor, Several Ibanez Artcores, and a mexican telecaster (strange right?). I was looking for something to play the blues on. I chose this one for the look, the feel, and the sound.

2004 fairly standard from Korea from Guitar Center. Two humbucker pickups with a three-way switch and individual volume/tone controls.

It has a very long sustain, and very little microphoning or internal noise. The pickups do pickup electrical noise. I primarily play a mixture spanning from classical style (which works surprisingly well on this instrument) through jazz/blues and the guitar is really nice for these. The long sustain is important to me when playing in a combo with a piano and acoustic guitarist because it lets me play with them rather than 'against' them. With light strings (9 gauge supplied by factory) the only problem is that the tones tend to bend if your fingering technique is sub-optimal. You also have to be careful placing a capo so you don't detune it. On the other hand the light strings make a lot of neat effects possible and other than the (relatively) close spaceing between the strings it feels like my rather nice classical. The range of sounds is quite broad, from nearly acoustic to very funky (body pickup only, max amplitude, min tone). If you have a long electrical path to the sound board, you may need a preammp (in the church combo I can just get by with max amplitude). The tuning is also a little bit finicky, but once set it tends to stay in tune (hint - don't try to retune until the guitar is at room temperature because the tuning is temperature sensitive).

The setup was almost perfect. The action was how I like it, low and fast, but the bridge was miss-set for the g-string which took a little while to fix (and new strings). No buzzing. The finish is fine except for a few very minor flaws in the staining on the fret board.

The guitar has withstood 6 months of fairly constant practicing and weekly performances without problems. I think it will last. By this time I was wearing grooves in the frets of an ovation and I don't see them on this one. It is worth getting a guitar polish as the high gloss finish will look crappy if it isn't cleaned.

No basis for comparison. I haven't needed to get it serviced and the instrument has worked fine.

I've been playing about 30 years. Started with classical and have moved to more modern styles in the last 4. I tried 5 different makes in the store and this was clearly the one I like best. Much fuller tone than the Ibanez artcore. I also liked having a fixed rather than floating bridge. The Epiphone dot wasn't quite as bright in tone. I also tried a fully hollow guitar (forgotten which one), which had a better location for the switches, but microphoned very easily and didn't sound much better than my ovation balladeer. I would definitely replace this one. It is a very flexible and fun instrument.

Same as other reviews. Nothing different except for pickups and electronics. Replaced stock with Burstbucker pros, and tapered american pots, as well as big orange caps. Replaced all the cast parts with Schaller and Grover chrome parts. Looks and works better.
One thing, I paid $400 for this and it came with an SKB case. It took me another $400 in work and parts to get this the way I like it. Chunky neck.

The pickup replacement made all the difference in the world. Some people say the stock pickups are dark. Maybe. Whatever they are they sound dead when you roll them back a little. Dull and lifeless. Burstbuckers got bite. No two ways about it. They roll back nicely and are very useable. Full volume is gritty, but not too harsh. I keep them a decent distance from the strings, and they work well. With the volume rolled back, I would say these have a rich sound. Especially the neck pickup. The bridge is loud and honkin' full volume and sounds nice and fenderish when rolled back. Lots of spank and sparkle with a little tele bite. It never really gets dark, but hey, it's a bridge.
The neck is much more versatile. Everything (except for 10's or 1's on tone or vol) is useable. In fact, the mid (vol, tone) is downright fantastic. Clean, driven or distorted it sounds great. Complex. Bell-like in places. These may be the best Gibson pickups made. Good for rock or jazz, just like a good paf should.
When I close my eyes, I like it better than a 355. When I open my eyes and see all the cash left in my wallet, I weep.

Same as any other Sheraton. Pretty. Solid. Korean. Neck needs a little help. Nothing that a good luthier can't make exactly the way you want (action-wise). Intonation is fine. With about two hours of my tech's time, this baby stands up to a 335. Same complaints as everyone else, I just had everything fixed. Pulled off all the gold Korean crap and replaced it with Schaller Chrome. Much nicer. Added a bone nut.

Seems like a brick shithouse.

Who knows?

Great value for the $$, but be prepared to spend more on electronics improvements and tech work. I paid 400 for it, and put another 400 in it.

Made in Korea.22 frets.laminate.3-way pick-up selector, 2 volumes and 2 tones
Gibson designed Alnico's. 3pc maple fingerboard with nice abalone and mother of pearl inlays (block shaped). Vintage Sunburst. epiphone hard case included.

This axe suits my style of playing perfectly, which is indie rock. eg: strokes
I use with it a Marshall 30DFX amp and just a boss super overdrive pedal.
It makes a great clean sound, sounds amazing when used with overdrive effects.
it makes a great guitar when not plugged in as an acoustic guitar. It's really like a les paul without the solid body. I have nothing wrong with the sound, it's great, but i've heard that it can be improved with Gibson pickups.

the guitar was fine, strings didnt break for over a month or so, everything was in the right place. although the input socket came off twice while i was playing, but was easily fixed by putting it back together, and hasnt done it at all since, and ive been the only case where it has happened.

This guitar without doubt will last me my whole life. everything now is solid, i can rely on it in a gig 101%

No need to deal with them

The only other guitar I have is a yamaha pacifica, which was great for a start.
I have tried les pauls, SGs, telecasters, even Gibson archtops like the ES-335 block, and I feel more comfortable with this than any of those. It will be for me even better when I apply gibson pickups. I *heart* my Epiphone Sheraton II

This korean-built 335-style guitar features a traditional laminate maple acoustic body (non-bookmatched top with f-holes) and central block, angled back peghead, two full-sized humbucker, two volume and two tone controls and a three way selector. Not gibson-like is the three piece maple neck (mine features also an extra piece of wood on the neck-body joint). Arched top and back plus lots of inlays and the natural finish on my guitar wraps it up. A classic guitar.

I play mostly blues and jazz plus some eventual classic rock. This guitar runs through a Vox wah, Barber LTD and Direct Drive, and a cheap danelectro tremolo (which sounds surprisingly good - I've bought it as a temporary but hey, it's staying indefinetly), feeding a Marshall AVT amp.
The secret to this guitar is to learn how to work with it's tone and volume controls. I personally dislke the two hb combined sound. I think it is dull for most adjustments, lacking punch and personality.
Other than that, you can get anything you want. Hell, I even play SRV-like tones with the bridge pickup. This pu is very harsh and rough on the edges. With clean sound it does not sound very good. It's a bit too thin and slim. Kick in a mildly saturated, crunch sound and you'll hear it burn like a strat. Adds up to wonderful high voltage tones. Go hard on distortion and you'll get lots of an annoying out-of-control feedback. Huge downside.
Neck pickup is great. Clean-wise, it has a very distinctive tone. Bass frequencies pop up like hell, but the highs are never far apart. You can even play those swinged pop-funk guitars, without loosing your bass tones. Move volume and tone down and you'll hear jazz tones up and down. Want to keep that punch on treble? Work on the tone pot alone. Want that muffled jazz tone? You'll get. Use any type of saturation from mildly crunch to smooth, creamy distortion and there's wonderful guitar tone all along. Try a George Benson sound, try Mark Knopfler's Brother's In Arms, try Larry Carlton, try Robben Ford. Any way you want, this guitar will get there.
Incredibly versatile, this guitar will help you through any kind of vintage tones and even some modern ones. I guess it could benefit a lot from a change of pickups, specially the bridge one. Try a more balanced and less prone to feedback pickup on the bridge. I'm certainly considering this mod. There's tons of pickup suggestions on the web.

I bought it used, but I tested a new one at the store some time ago. It had a playability much like mine. Relatively low action, but a little hard to play when compared to a smooth-real-low-action 70's Gibson ES-345 w/ .011 strings. But nothing you can't get used to. I use .011 in mine, the store probably .010.
All hardware works fine, tuning machines keep the guitar in tune, intonation is easily set up with the solid bridge and is quite good (some would say that's an Epiphone commom flaw - not on that guitar, frets are well fit on their positions), nut is plastic but okay although treble gauges are a little wider than should (that does not mean too much trouble, 'cause the peghead design tension the strings on the side of the nut holes). Frets are very confortable (but that's personal), a little wide. It has very smooth edges. Here's why: frets are flat cut at the point they meet the binding, so its edges are shaped from the plastic binding (by the way, a few of these "artificial" edges fell out, with no harm done to playability).
This guitar does not have a "modern" and "fast" neck. But is very confortable, with a relatively thin neck (than one would expect to find) and a almost flat fingerboard. Although nut width are the same, it feels wider than a Epiphone Les Paul Standard and a couple Gibson Les Pauls I've played.
This guitar is very fancy. The top and back is binded with a 5-ply cream and black plastic binding, extending 1/32" through the sides. The neck and peghead also features this kind of binding. Inlays as already mentioned may not be the best quality, but they sure are fancy and beautiful and except for a little glue around some inlays at the fingerboard (I've seen Martin guitars much worse, with glue all over the place) they are all nicely installed.
This guitar is beautiful and classy in it's natural finish and features excellent feel and playability.

This guitar ain't no Gibson top-of-the-line custom guitar. It is a cheap Korean-made one, although a real quality one. Don't expect to find class A woods, finish, hardware or electronics.
Hardware is extremely solid. Tailpiece, strap buttons, bridge and tuning machines are all solid, and never had problems, working perfectly and in place. I owned it for three years, but this guitar was probably built in the early nineties (more than ten years old, so). They're gold and all fading their color away (which gives the guitar that vintage look, I guess). Apart from absolutely all the screws being moderatly rusty, hardware does not appear to have serious signs of oxidation, and I hope and believe they could easily last another ten years.
Finish does not seem to be a problem at all, except for those plastic fret edges falling apart.
Neck seems to be solidly built. My guitar came with a crack in the neck-body joint area, and even though it fell a couple of times it never expanded nor affected guitar structure (professionally atested).
I believe the problem is electronics. I'm thinking of rewiring the whole guitar. It appears that the previous owner let this guitar sit in his closet for a long time. You can imagine what dust and lack of use does to the pots. To sum up: the 4 pots were noisy when turning them, and would only work set all the way up (sound would cut off at other volume levels, and tone were not working properly), the output jack was very noisy, with lots of bumps and strokes and pickup selector same thing. With just a nice and fast cleaning, using proper alcohol and other chemicals, I was able to solve almost everything. Now all pots work fine, but problems are: jack is always loose and neck pickup volume pot is noisy when in turn (but no cutting off sound though). Pickups are nice and silent.
Rewiring and replacing pots, jack and selector with better quality ones will certainly make this guitar much more confortable and enjoyable. People talk about changing pickups all the time. They'll probably spend U$150-200 in new pickups. What's an extra U$30 expense?
Overall it is solidly built, and solved electronics problem, it certainly is a very reliable guitar. trivia: Plastic nut very smooth and rounded helps preventing string breaking (although a questionable choice). I'll give a seven not for my bad experience, but because electronics really lack quality and the gold finish in the hardware is quite poor. All the rest is trustyworth.

Never dealt with the company.

I've been playing for almost 10 years now. I play mostly blues and jazz plus some eventual classic rock. This guitar runs through a Vox wah, Barber LTD and Direct Drive, and a cheap danelectro tremolo (which sounds surprisingly good - I've bought it as a temporary but hey, it's staying indefinetly), feeding a Marshall AVT amp. Right now that's my only electric guitar (sold them all 'cause I needed too and this guitar could do everything I need a guitar to do).
I love this guitar. It is very versatile and has a very good tone and playability. Recommended. Also it's confortable and looks great (even a little too fancy). For the price, it's hard to find a better semi-hollow bodied guitar.
Now that I'm hooked in semi-hollow guitars I'm not sure that if it were stolen I'd buy it again. I would probably try to spend more and get me a nicer one (maybe even a vintage Gibson - who knows?). But that'll do the job just fine and can only give you joy.

2003 extremely well made in Korea. Center block hollow body. I'm sure the woods are laminate city but so are the Gibson hollow and semi-hollows. The inlays are beautiful and appear to be abalony.

Features excellent sounding humbuckers specially designed by Gibson. Yeah, you'll see a lotta folks who like to make their guitar "better" by putting in after market pick-ups. Emperors new clothes, I say. I will say that I use mine for strictly clean channel thumb-pick fingerstyle. I don't wanna mess up the beautifully full clean sound with distortion.

Excellent action right outta the box. I see no flaws in binding, neck setting, fret work, finish or inlays.

I haven't had the opportunity to use the guitar in performance but it appears strong aond sound.

I've been playing 35 years or so and have owned several solid body and hollow bodies guitars. I think the Sheraton II is the best buy on the market today.

Stamped made in Korea. Think it was made in 93. Vintage sunburt colour which I don't really like but the guitar was cheap second hand so can't complain.

No coil tap or anything fancy as standard, just 2 HBs, 1 switch and 4 knobs.

Within a couple of weeks of having this guitar I'd wipped the pickups out. They sounded good but not great and I would have left them in except for an urge to try the Jimmy Page multi option wiring.

Ever since 1st comming across a Jimmy Page wiring diagram years ago I've wanted to try it. (See guitarelectronics.com for a diagram) I had a Gibson Les Paul but didn't want to rip that appart. The Sheraton was brought partly to have a guitar I could tinker with. The Jimmy Page wiring requires both pick ups to be coil tapped. Volume knobs pull for coil tap. Neck tone pulls for parallel. Bridge tone pulls for put of phase. Combine these with the pickup switch and there's a stupid number of combinations.

Before I took the original pickups out I searched for details on how to rewire a 335 but couldn't find much so to help others here's what I did...

1) As you take each knob off the original wiring tie string around the pot. For the jack socket tie string around its screw thread.
2) Unscrew the existing pickups
3) Poke the knobs and jack into the body
4) There'll be a wire off the bridge connecting to ground on one of the pickups. Unsolder it.
5) Pickups should now come away from the guitar with knbos and string following behind
6) Wire up the new pickups (I used new pots, switch and jack). ie you wire up the pickups outside the guitar. Be sure to leave enough wire between everything baring in mind that while it's being passed back into the guitar and connected the wire needs to be longer then when it's finally in place.
7) If you go for a crazy wiring like me wrap electrical tape around the wires that pass next to each other. This will give you a 1 set of wires between each of the pots
8) Test the pickup wiring by holding the pickups against another guitar and plugging the jack in. By doing this you can check the pickups, switch, pots are all wired up OK
9) Now the tricky bit where you need someone to help. Tie the strings onto the new knobs and jack. Push the pots and jack into the body cavity via the pickup hole. Pull the jack socket into place 1st then the tone knobs. Use the fingers through the F holes where possible.
10) Solder the bridge ground to the pickup ground and job done.

Watchouts/what went wrong for me...
On the 1st attempt I didn't bind the wires together into groups so ended up with spaghetti and had to take it all out and start again.
After finally getting everything in place I found one of the wires had falled off - check your solding is strong before you start. I fixed it by soldering if back on through the F hole as it was easier then taking it all out.
Final thing...I should have put a couple of washer on the underside of the pots. The knobs stick up off the surface of the body. Having washers underneath would have pulled them down.

So was it worth all the effort and cost? Hard to say but the wiring was something I'd always wanted to try so I'm happy now but it would have been much easier to do in a Les Paul.

As for the sound of the guitar. It sounds and plays great. Each of the many setting sounds different and all sound good. Clean sounding blues and Jazz, cranked up rock and over the top distortion all sound good with this guitar and the Seth Lovers.

Very nicely made guitar. Nice action on the neck. Binding well fitted. Can't fault it really.

When I brought it one of the pots kept cutting out. Problem's now gone since I replaced all the electronics but a 11 years old guitar shouldn't have bad pots.

I also replaced the tuners as the originals felt a bit loose.

Never tried to talk to them

I've been playing for 25 years in various bands over that time. I've never played a Gibson 335 so can't compare them. I have a Gibson Les Paul and the Sheraton doesn't feel or sound as good as that. Nor does it sound or feel as good as a Gibson SG Special. A nice guitar but don't believe the people who say "replace the pickups in an Epiphone and it's as good as a Gibson".

I play mostly at home these days through a 6W Cornford. The Les Paul might sound and feel better but I tend to pick up the Sheraton for its great clean sound both pickups selected.

I've also tried the Sheraton in a Northcourt 30 and Fender Bassman 135. It's a great guitar. Lots of sustain. Nice tone. Even without the electronics upgrade it was good.

It if were lost I don't think I'd buy another one. Nice guitar but there's lots of other nice guitars I've never owned so I'd try something else.

Everyone below has laid it out. Mine is an Alpine White model, from 1994 I think, Korean like the rest. It looks lovely, especially the binding. I couldn?t afford an ES335 (still can?t), so this will do just fine. As I bought the Sheraton from my local clueless git-ar centre (run by gits), I had to buy a case separately.

The sound? Bloody awful, with the stock p/u?s, unless you set the amp completely clean. I don?t: I like a little bit of grit. So I've rated it here for the new p/u's. The stock neck p/u was muddy and the bridge p/u was harsh. I endured them for years before, during and after I played it in a blues band. As I bought more guitars, with better p/u?s, it became increasingly obvious how cheap and nasty these were, and I hardly played the Sheraton for the last couple of years, as the tone depressed me. I researched a variety of replacement humbuckers on the Internet and finally bought a pair of Kent Armstrong vintage p/u?s, a couple of months ago. The difference in tone is considerable. The only things I miss about the stock p/u?s are their power and presence. Otherwise, good riddance to their rubbish tones. The Kents are a bit soft for my tastes (but then I did ask for ?vintage? beasties), so I raised the neck p/u (they were installed and blended for me by a very capable fellow named Allen Lane, in West Covina, CA), and now it has a lot more guts and warmth. I pretty much left the bridge p/u alone, as it?s bright and powerful enough, and I don?t use bridge p/u?s much in any of my guitars, except in conjunction with the neighbouring p/u.
I am a bluesman, and this guitar is good for blues. If you happen to enjoy Son Seals?s playing (and I don?t!) you can turn the gain up on your amp and the Sheraton II will give you his choked humbucker tone. I prefer it a bit less gritty than that, more like Freddie King or B B King, so I?m more careful how I tweak my amp tone with the Sheraton (especially with these new p/u?s) than I need to be with my Teles, etc. Searching for that sweet spot really does pay off, though, as the Kents are classy and warm.
I play it through the following:
?79 MusicMan 65-212
mid-?90s Fender Twin.
It?s not noisy at all, rich, full and (reasonably) bright with these new p/u?s, and I?m looking forward to hearing how versatile it might be when I play it with the worship team at my church every Sunday morning (my regular gig). At the moment, I play my 2 Teles on the team, as they are ALWAYS the right guitars at the right time: beautifully versatile.
Likes: the looks and the action.
Dislikes: I?m still a bit iffy about the p/u?s, wish I?d got some brighter, more powerful ones, but I can live with ?em. Also, the Sheraton now needs a re-fret! Lordy, the glass is always half empty?

A few other reviewers here say how fast the neck is. I agree. It almost plays itself. For me, along with the classy looks of the guitar, this is its best feature. The neck profile is good too, at least for me; fits in my hand very comfortably. I?m not keen on chunky necks, like most people, and the Sheraton?s is just right.
I don?t remember much about the factory set-up. It?s always been very playable and the binding is just great. In Alpine White, it?s an eye-catching guitar.

I remember another guitarist saying years ago that he?s always worried that semi-hollow guitars will fall apart in his hands (maybe because they often look a bit more *crafted* & delicate than solid-bodies?). This won?t happen, unless you?re clumsy and uncaring with yours, but on one occasion, at an outdoor gig in a tent, my Sheraton II was off to one side of the stage on a guitar stand. The wind blew the tent wall flapping against the guitar, and the poor thing fell flat on its face onto the stage. When I picked it up, it wasn?t even out of tune. Howzat!
Never had trouble with the p/u selector switch (unlike a lot of people below) so maybe I lucked out. I installed straplocks, though, always a good idea. I gigged with this instrument fairly regularly in a blues band for a couple of years, and it never let me down. The gold finish wears off quickly, but that?s okay, and I ALWAYS use a back-up guitar (or more accurately, a 2nd guitar for those songs on which humbuckers are inappropriate).

Never called Epiphone, but they are administered by Gibson, one of whose employees was most helpful when I asked about my bashed-up old SG. He patiently answered numerous half-brained e-mails from me. I don?t remember a warranty for the Epiphone, but I always get my guitars repaired by a friend, so I don?t have to ship them to service centres or manufacturers, and wait weeks or even months. I drive a few miles down the freeway and deliver/retrieve them myself.

What a shame about the horrible p/u?s installed in these otherwise tasty guitars. I think I paid between $500 and $600 in about 1994, so what can you expect for such a decent price, especially when almost every other feature is so good? Epiphone could install much better pickups, but they would boost the price, and some reviewers below actually like the stock p/u?s.
I?ve played for over 30 years and own a couple of Teles, a Strat, a Les Paul DeLuxe, an SG, a DeArmond Starfire Special (what a completely delicious guitar THAT is!). I wish I?d researched more before buying the Kent Armstrong p/u?s, but they?ll do for now, but I?ve never regretted buying the Sheraton II, and I look forward to getting to know it all over again with these new p/u?s.
If it was stolen, I don?t know if I?d replace it. I prefer single-coil pickups and I?m always drooling over widely different guitars depending on my tastes this month and the next.
If you want an ES335-type guitar but don?t want to pay Gibson the criminally high prices they demand, I would recommend the Epiphone Sheraton II, particularly after replacing the pickups.

Made: Korea, June of 2004
Frets: 22
The body is laminated maple, and the neck is three piece maple.
There are four controls: two volumes (one for each pickup) and two tone nobs (one for each pickup). There is a three-way selector switch much like that you find on a Les Paul.
Pickups: Two Epiphone Humbuckers, passive
This Sheraton II features a vintage sunburst that's quite a bit brighter than the one you'll see at Epiphone.com.
The body is a Gibson 335 copy, a classic cutaway.
Bridge Style: Tune-O-Matic
Tuners: Grover
Neck/Scale: Fairly thin neck, maple.
This guitar did not include a case, but they gave me a warantee.

This guitar really fits my playing style, which is pretty much everything except hip/hop. My influences include Cake, Wilco, Pavement, that whole shebang. I play a lot of blues solos with it, and I'm satisfied. Though keep in mind I was previously using a 2003 Fender American Stratocaster, so I'm probably not an authority on what good mid-tones are. This is a fairly random jump for me.
I use a Crybaby Wah with it, nothing else, and a variety of computer driven amp sounds using Apple's Garageband. I use a Fender Princeton 110 amp, the absolute poster-amp for low quality. It's OK, but it "buzzes like a frig."
The sound on this guitar is remarkably mellow, and the mid range is very good. I'd like to tell you just how good the bottom range is, but I have yet to plug it in through an exceptional amp. I've never owned a humbucking guitar, much less a semi-hollow, so I don't really know how much crunch I should expect.
However, I do like the sound. Even with the crappy strings that came with it, the first bluesy bold tones that fell out of the amp wound me up.
The guitar can do a wide-variety of sounds. I can almost make it sound like a Telecaster, however this might be the worst possible guitar for super hard rock: y'know, like Slayer or Metallica or Alice Cooper or whatever. If you play that kind of stuff, stay away. But if you aren't into that, this guitar delivers the versatility I've heard about being associated with semi-hollows. Unless I turn the gain up to something unholy, there's no feedback, and that surprised me. This guitar will distort the sound with less gain anyway.
It wouldn't surprise me if a good electronics switcharound (new PUPs!) wouldn't make this thing a lot better.

The action was superb when I got it, and it continues to be. The fretboard is easier to access than my Fender American Stratocaster's ever was. The pickups were set up OK, but honestly I wouldn't know.
This is one magnificent looking guitar, and I think even Mr. I-Sold-My-Son-For-A-Guitar would admit that. I really like the inlay work on the head.
There is, however, some sloppy finishing work on the fretboard. Tiny little marks of infinished neck surface are visible from frets 6-22 on the bottom E string. Kind if disappointing, but you'd have to look for it, and it's not like it affects your dexterity or your sound.

I don't know if this guitar will withstand live playing. I'll write a review after I do a show someday. The hardware will last, but it will continue to be mediocre. The finish seems to be holding up. The strap buttons are solid. I would use this guitar for a show. In fact, I'd go without a backup, but I'd definitely use a case. Jesus H., this thing is fragile. I guess I'm just used to solid bodies.

I haven't had to deal with the company directly yet.
Seventeen days after I got the thing, I tried to establish myself in a warrantee that said I had to contact them within the first 15 days of purchase. No word back whether I'll be able to mildly con them. If I get the warrantee, it will be lifetime.
At this point, I have no reason to believe this guitar will fail.

I've been playing guitar for three years. I played violin for 10. I owned a 2003 Fender American Stratocaster, which I sold to buy a semi-hollow. There's nothing I would rather have bought in the price range, but obviously I would've rather had the Gibson 335 or 336, if I had the dough. I love how this guitar performs without gain, when its sound is unaltered. I love the neck, and how easy it is to access notes. I hate how bloody subpar these pickups sound. Also, I haven't quite reconciled myself to this gold hardware. It bothers me.
I compared this guitar to an Epiphone Les Paul, probably mostly out of mindless brand favoritism. I thought this sounded better, just because I like the mellow tones. Truth be known, it sounds a decent bit like it. I wish this guitar had better pickups, and I wish the back were made out of a single piece of mahogany like the 336.
I have nothing else I'd like to share. Have a goodnight.

Everything I wanted. 2004 (new) Korean made 335 knock-off. 22 fret, semi hollow with all standard offerings (epi humbuckers, 500k pots etc). Nicely figured maple with rosewood fretboard and v(mop+abalone)inlays. Three piece neck. Grover non-locking tuners. I'm not sure if these are Korean Grovers or something, but standard Gibsons with Grovers seem higher quality. May be my imagination, but this baby hates to be in tune. Finish is nice and seemingly very durable (really thick poly). All hardware is low-rent gold. Came with a nice SKB hsc for $500. Mediocre nut, cheap gold, crappy pickguard. Many complaints, but this was a sweet deal at $500.

I play predominantly classic rock, to modern rock, to blues and jazz. I was looking at a Joe Pass, but I just really liked this a little better. It does ok for jazz, but is so much more versatile than the Joe Pass, and a little easier on the eyes. I play this on a lightly modified Peavey Classic 30. Occasionally I'll play it with a little chorus or phaser. Takes a little getting used to playing it with a wah. A little different than my strat, but sounds nice. Quiet pickups, greasy tone. These dirty pickups sound nice with distortion. Cranked up it has a nice Les Paul sound. Rolled back it's a little more complex, if not as much as I'd hoped for. The woody tone is a little nasally for my taste. Nice sound in the neck. The dark sound is nice, but a little dull. I was hoping for something more complex. Both pickups are too hot. Not much jangle to this beast. The guitar is glued together with urethane. Feels strong as an ox, but it has a brighter sound than Gibsons I've played (335, 347, 336, 356). It's no 336, but hey...
The stock pots are a little gritty for my taste. Not too sure about the electronics. I've had it for two months. It goes into the shop for an overhaul this week. Burstbuckers, tapered pots, a little tweaking on the caps, new switch, and new tune-o-matic + stop piece. All gold is being replaced with nickel. Rotomatics don't seem to stay in tune. Pickguard looks cheap. Sure is pretty though.

Well... Need's to have some fretwork done. Minor dead spots and mediocre intonation. Nut is awful! Worst nut I've seen. It's getting replaced next week. Pickups need replacement, for sure.
Great finish. Center block looks a little rough, but whatever. Electronics are loose. Pickups vibrate. Three piece neck is not quite symmetric, but close. Everything on this baby is bound. F-holes, pickguard, and all. Body bindings are finished, neck bindings are not. Neck bindings do not line up exactly on the corners. Bummer. Rosewood is oiled, which I don't care for. Neck is almost as nice as a Gibson. That's quite a compliment. Very dressy. Did I mention that this cost $500? Wow!

Brand new, so who knows. Gold is crappy. Otherwise it seems like a tank. I'll keep my eye on the neck joint. Epiphones are prone there. I will gig with it as soon as I get the electronics replaced. Seems strong as an ox. $500. Awesome!

Good question. I'll take it to my luthier if there are problems. If so, I'll remind myself that I only spent $500 for this little cadillac.

I've been playing 10 years. I also own a strat and an sg. I've played dozens of Gibsons and some G&L's. Most guitars I've played have a nicer sparkle to the pickups. These are a little too dirty. I wish they charged $150 more and put better electronics and gold on it. I wish it had a more lively acoustic sound (like a Casino). It's a looker. I have not had it long enough to say whether or not I would replace it if it ran away. I probably would.

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!

I'm delighted to write a positive review of the Epi Sheraton 2! This is a 2003 model with a natural finish, 2 humbuckers, 3 way toggle, volume & tone controls, nice headstock and rosewood fretboard. Other features are described below. Overall, this is a "looker".

Played it for the first time through a Line6 PodPro last night, recorded a little & put it back to back against my Gibby 335. Sounded wonderful. All of the tones were terrific.

Set up nicely, pickups will need to be adjusted. No observable finish problems.

We will see. That's why I give it a 5.

Don't know.

I've been playing longer than I like to admit! I own several high end instruments and wanted the Sheraton primarily for the looks. And it does fit in well with my collection. I own a studio with plenty of outboard equipment, as well as samples and software and like to experiment with tones from keys/synths and guitars.

All in all, I really like this instrument. If you are looking for a real nice hollowbody to go along with other instruments, the Sheraton 2 is an excellent buy. I'd absolutely buy another - it won't beak the bank and looks/sounds nice!

BTW, price really wasn't an object with respect to this review.

I'm not sure what year mine is. I believe it's mid 90's. I've owned it for 2 yrs. It's basically Epiphones better more dressed up Dot, or an inexpensive variation of a Gibson ES-355. This one has a natural finsih. I had to get rid of the stock pickups, they sounded thin, lifeless and had to many feedback problems. I replaced them with a Dimarzio tone zone in the bridge and a Rio Grande Genuine Texax humbucker in the neck. Both pickups have exposed zebra coils, and are splitable via push/pull volume knobs. It has become my main axe because of the versitilty factor. This one has a nice fast maple neck. My only gripe is the Sheraton II's headstock is out of balance causing it to drop. This can be fixed by using a leather strap w/suade on one side.

Because I changed the pickups and split the coils, it's super versatile and can be used for almost any style. I use it for surf, garage rock, country rock, blues and some swing. I guess it probably won't work for metal styles, but I don't play any. I play it through a early 90's white Fender deluxe reverb w/ a TS-9 and sometimes some tape echo. It can be dark, bright, or anything in between.

As for factory set-up I don't know, I purchased it used. Most import factory set-up's suck from what I've seen. I set it up for my style and it works great. Who ever Epiphone had make these did a killer job. Probably contracted in Korea. Very nice inlays and 5 ply binding. The finish is starting to wear of the neck of this one increasing the playability. I have to use graphite on the factory nut, but plan to get a bone nut installed. The factory tuners are crap, I replaced mine with Gotohs.

This one has fallen off a stand at a gig right onto a tile floor. Because of the maple construction it survived. A mahogony neck probably would have broke. I've never had any problems besides the pick-ups and tuners which I replaced. I gig it all the time without a backup. I replaced the strap buttons w/strap locks.

Never had a problem to deal with.

A fabulous guitar, every bit as good as a real 335 or 355. Save yourself thousand's of dollars by buying a used Epi Dot or Sheraton instead of a pricey 335 (unless money is no object.) Make sure it's a set neck model, this is crucial for the sound and sustain of a semi-hollow ES style guitar. Replace the pickups with something better and your set all for around $600-$700 instead of $2,500 for the over priced Gibson. Believe me I know I've had gibson semi-hollow's in the past. In fact I also currently own a very nice sunburst ES-135 with a Bigsby. A very nice insturment in it's own right. But the Epi's versitility and vibe make it my #1. Fantastic value.

I just picked up a used 1994(Korean)with a hard shell case and am already in love. The guitar is stock, no mods. The binding on the neck was done very quickly at the factory but I know a great luthier who can clean it up. A black to tobacco finish that is in reasonably great shape and I love. Have had some sunbursts and such but really like the subdued look of the tobacco finish.

Great blues/jazz guitar but easily transforms into a rock monster. I am running a Mesa Boogie clean (no effects) and am extremely impressed with how bright this guitar is. I typically use a US Strat Plus with Dimarzio VV pickups and thought there was no way a semi-acoustic could touch it..... I am presently surprised. The sustain is amazing.

Action is nice. I actually tweaked the neck in the store as it had such a monsterous bow that arrows should have come with the guitar. The neck pulled straight and after raising the action a hair and putting some 11 ga. on it plays awsome. Several very experienced players (buddies) have picked it up already and have told me that if I sell it I need to call them first.

It is a shame that gibson Chinced on the gold hardware. The tuners stay in tune, the bridge intonates and adjusts etc but the gold plating on the instrument is garbage. I am not a 'gold' kind of guy but it does suit this guitar. I will at some stage replace the pick-up covers etc but this is only visual. The finish seems to have held up very well. Some typical flaws around the binding but nothing that is hard to live with.

I have been playing for about twenty years and untill about 2 years ago I thought the only way to buy a decent guitar was to go brand name and spend mucho bucks. This is not the case. I love my US Stat but it now has a Warmoth neck and Dimarzio pickups. The $1,500.00 Cdn I spent on it originally was a waste of money. About a month ago I picked up a Korean made Tele for $300.00 Cdn. (Rosewood neck/ash body) After a fret job and a set of decent pick-ups the guitar plays and sounds like a (better I think) US model. This Epiphone is an awsome bang for your buck and a guitar I will keep in my collection. I would replace it if it were to go missing.. absolutely.

I'm not sure what year it was made. The serial begins with 'I03..' followed by about 6 other numbers (don't have it front of me), so I'm guessing that it is a 2003 model. The sticker inside one of the F-holes says Sheraton II VS (vintage sunburst?), and I purchased this as a factory second (stamped 'used' on the back of the headstock). After inspecting it, I believe the possible reasons it was stamped a 2nd are 1. the sunburst is more orange than the Sheraton II I see in pictures, which looks more brown; 2. some of the wiring and an adhesive patch is visible through the bottom F-hole, and 3. it is missing the 'E' logo on the pickguard. However, everything else appeared new (including the plastic still on the pickguard/pickups) and I saved a couple hundred dollars to boot.

Apologies for not knowing the specs, but some reviews below have all the helpful information. I was a little concerned after reading reviews of poor tuners and pickup selectors on the Sherry II, but it appears that these problems were fixed by the time this guitar was made (it has Grover tuners and no pops or crackles coming from the pup selector). It did not come with any case, and a hard case is definitely necessary (all my other guitars, including my Taylor Big Baby, are in gig bags). Unfortunately, the generic 335 case supplied by the dealer is a bit too small and I have to ease it in after playing. I recommend going with the Epiphone brand case designed for this model.

For the price, this is definitely one of the more ornate-looking guitars and very stylish, especially the tree-branch inlay on the headstock and the block inlays in the fingerboard. I've wanted this guitar for a long time based on its looks alone. Over time I began to appreciate the 335 sound so I put my Fender Toronado up on sale to pay for this one. It looks like a more expensive guitar so I give it a 10 for features.

I play mostly modern rock and this fits it well. I've been playing guitar for about 6 years, and mostly through Fenders. Currently the only 'amp' I have is a J-Station, since I can play through headphones and not annoy everyone around me. As soon as I plugged the Epi in I got rich, warm tones. I was so used to the 'nasally' sound of Fender single-coils (which aren't necessarily inferior) that it was quite a welcome change for me. I also found it easier to sound 'good' (subjectively, of course) through the Sherry than through Strats and Teles, possibly because of the thicker tone and sustain. When I started learning guitar, one of the bands' songs I used to practice on was Oasis, and this guitar is capable of hitting those tones (I believe Noel Gallagher's custom Epi is based on the Sherry).

I think this guitar is suitable for all types of music, except maybe for metal, punk, or some types of country. No complaints about the stock pickups, yet. I may change them in the future but at the moment they sound good to me.

It came strung with 9's (I prefer 10's), but other than that it played fine. The action was low and uniform to play along the entire neck. The finish was fine, except for the color issue listed above, but that didn't bother me. I find that Korean-made guitars generally have very good playability, even if other issues arise. This one was no exception.

I feel a little more cautious about this one than my solid-body guitars, but it feels solid overall. I heard it is a PITA to re-solder the pots for these 335 copies (unlike Fenders where everything is under the pickguard) so hopefully none of them will short out or anything. From reading other reviews though, I think it should last for quite a while.

I believe since I bought it as a 2nd, I am not eligible for any warranty. I haven't dealt with Epi otherwise.

Great guitar. Looks and sounds fantastic. It makes you look like a good player just hanging off your shoulder (which helps me compensate for lack of skill ;-) ). Someday when I'm out of school and earning enough money, I may go for a real Gibson 335, but still keep this one around, or maybe hang it on a wall as a piece of artwork.

Mine is the standard 2003 model. Vintage Sunburst, gold hardware, two humbuckers, two volume and tone controls, 3-way switch, etc. It is a beautiful instrument. Flawless finish. Awesome feel. The binding is exquisite.

This guitar has that sweet, full, round sound that I crave. It's that chunky jazz tone that can be played straight or bent into whatever sound you desire.

I tuned it and it played like a champ right out of the box. As far as I can tell, this guitar is flawless.

The guitar doesn't seem fragile, but I baby it. I play for myself, so this really isn't an issue. I think musical instruments are not meant to be indestructible. I suppose a working musician would be better equipped to answer this.

Got the warranty. Haven't had to use it.

I'm a novice (<1 year) player. I own a Godin SD that I also love! I chose the Seraton II for the looks (sunburst finish, gold hardware)and the sound (warm, full, sophisticated, jazzy). I can't imagine how much better a Gibson ES-335 would have to be to justify the 4x price differential. I know I'm not enough of a player to even worry about it. I don't need a Rolls-Royce. I love my Cadillac!!!

I recommend that anyone shopping for a particular piece of hardware calls Musician's Friend once a week and ask if the object of your desire is on sale. They run phone-only sales! I saved $80 off an already good price. I was calling to order a Guitarport and as I was half-listening to the specials, I asked about my dream-guitar and lo and behold they had it on sale!!!!! Why pay more?!?!?

Back to the guitar, I have only just received it, but it is a dream. And the comments from some Epi semi-hollow players about iffy switches and controls may be due to them not understanding how the controls are wired (in series for center switch position). Mine are terrific! I love the sound those two hummers give me. Rock on!

I bought mine back in 1994, and It was amde in Korea. It has 22 frets and It has a sunburst finish

I play alot of Spacey rock kinda stuff. I use a Fender Pro 185 mostly with this guitar. I use a Vox Ac30 also. The guitar sounds great through both. If you're looking for a strat or tele sound do not buy this guitar. It's a much richer tone and not as harsh a sound. Although I do find it quite versatile.

I play this guitar exactly the way it came from the factory and it still sounds great. Except for some of the switches and knobs which crackle if you turn them.

I played in a band and strictly used this guitar for more than three years and never had a problem. You can definitely depend on this guitar. I put it through some abuse and it still looks and sounds great.

I've been playing since 1990 and this was my third guitar. I've owned Les Pauls and other long forgotten guitars and I can truly say that this is a solid guitar.

This is a new 2003 Epiphone Shereton II left handed vesion made in Korea. It has 22 frets on a set 3 piece maple neck which is thicker than i expected but surprisingly feels great. The two gold plated stock epiphone humbuckers are controlled by a three way toggle (which feels quite cheap) and a volume and topne for each p/u wich aren't bad. The body is laminated maple as well as the top and seems to be really nice wood. The vintage sunburst finish is amazing, i don't like it on alot of other guitars but it really fits this, it goes perfectly with the gold plated hardware and i couldn't find a flaw in the finish (it's soo shiny!). It's a double cuta