Epiphone Sheraton

Bought this guitar second hand. Made in Korea by Samick in 1993. Still appears to be in perfect condition. Semi solid ES 330 lookalike with a better head. Stays in tune quite well if you don't give it a lot of stick. Came with its own hard case. Neck is very fast and fairly slim-great.

I play in a blues band and normally play a Gretsch Junior 2. This guitar is in a different league altogether. It has a much fuller sound from its twin humbuckers. In the past I have played some real crap guitars-some of them Fenders and Gibsons. I am totally amazed at the sound this guitar gives through a 100 watt Marshall and 4X10 cab.I also use a Boss pedal board with mainly Boss or Digitech pedals and a Cry Baby.

Extremely well set up and finished . All the other guys in the band couldn't believe how good it was for its age. All pots and switches working fine. Nut properly cutand frets well set up. Gold hardware losing its finish but who cares as the guitar sounds great.

This is my main guitar . I do keep it in its case when I'm not playing and I do carry a spare guitar. Usually a Fender 1989 tele or a Gretsch Junior Jet 2 but I have never had to use them.

Never had to deal with Epiphone. I get my parts from Axes r us.

I have played in bands for 40 years and have played many guitars. Hagstroms, Hofners, Gibsons, Fenders, Kramers and even such oddballs as a Hohner JT 60. This is one of the best guitars I have ever had the fortune to own. If this guitar were stolen I would definately buy another one.

This is a 2004 (I think, maybe 2003??) Sheraton. You guys know the rest... Basic Gibson features, setup.

Okay, I had to write this review, because I cannot beleive how good this thing sounds. I don't care how much you pay for a guitar to get this sound, it just NAILS the sweet fat jazz tone for me. This thing is NOT muddy at all, so I don't know what the other reviewers were talking about. I think they may have an older model where the stock pickups sucked or something. I am using the stock pickups (epiphone) and I would not trade them out, due to risk of losing this sweet tone. I went through the pickup-swapping phase and sorry guys, but I don't think putting a Duncan pickup in automatically makes a guitar sound better... I mean, I played some semi-hollow schecters (comparing it with this) and they all had Duncan pickups stock. This thing is just so much clearer sounding and just sweet, (the neck pickup has spank, but it doesn't spike your ears, a big problem I have with a lot of guitars). This thing plays, looks, and sounds like a million bucks stock. Maybe I just lucked out, but I'm not messing with a good thing!! I've also played an original 70's model 335 (buddy has one), I like that guitar, but I would not even consider trading it for this! I'm not kidding here, this is the most underrated guitar I have ever played.

Mine is the natural look. I think there may be a cheaper model out?? Maybe that is what the bad reviews are coming from... anyway, if you've seen one, you know it's beautiful. Also, I think the tuners are extremely smooth. Again, I don't know what the other reviewers were talking about. Maybe older models weren't as nice??? I will say that on close inspection, you can see the glue joints aren't up to gibson standards. I really don't care about this and wouldn't pay the extra 1000 bucks for it!

Absolutly reliable so far... I always have another guitar at gigs anyway.

Never needed them, go through a local store...

I've been playing for 15 years and have owned many guitars/amps whatnot. I pay a lot of money for quality, but not if it's not necessary. I love this guitar enough that I had to do a review on it. We need more manufacturers making quality like this for this price and they deserve to hear that us poor musicians need them!

Mine is probably a mid-90's Korean made Sheraton, natural w/gold hardware. Two humbuckers, three way switch, 3 piece neck, laminated body, but one piece top and back, looks more expensive than it is. The Koreans did a very good job, especially on the MOP head stock inlay and same neck inlay. White and black purfling and neck binding looks fine--well detailed. But same as others--gold plating is getting a little flaky, tuners are barely adequate, and pickups are the same--o.k. but not performance quality. Overall: great looks, and not-ready-for-prime-time performance

I have owned many 335, 345, and even 330s all real Gibsons. Most didn't have THE feel and tone that I wanted. I got into this guitar so cheaply (traded a $350 Asian Tele even) that I felt that I could make this one work because I hated to modify the "real" 335's. After installing pickups that I already had laying around the house, a Seymour Duncan '59 in the neck and a Gibson 490 in the bridge positions this guitar came alive. Though I am not completly satisfied with the tones, it is coming closer to what I like--a full bodied harmonically rich fat, bluesy/jazzy tone. Doing this mod made me realize that I'm on the right track. Later, I want to install a Benedetto HB in the neck and maybe try the SD '59 in the bridge or maybe a SD Alnico Pro II. No doubt that the pots are inferior as is the switch, which I will switch out soon. THe rating is for after the mods. We play what ever pays us, from George Jones to Freddie King with some Duke Ellington and Stevie Wonder thrown in. THis ax can cut it all. I actually like it better as a tool than all of the Gibsons I've had.

Over all, even with the short comings that I mentioned above, this is a bargain even at full price. A great bang for the buck guitar.
This rating is for dollar to value.

Well built and solid for this type (semi-hollow). You of course can't throw them around like a Tele. or leave it out in the yard, especially when it's raining.

I do most of my own repairs, adjustments. No contact with Epi.

I have really been playing in working bands for more that 40 years--yeah, that means I'm an old fart. I still play in 2 weekend warrior bands, one MOR country club band (standards, classic R&R, jazz stuff). The other is a blues band (Otis Rush, Freddie King, BB etc.) I could give a crap about what looks cool, and I'm not a vintage snob, because I have owned MANY vintages. They made crap back then too, and they make great stuff now (and crap). THe vintage market is amazing, when '70's piece of shit Stats are bringing $2000+. Get real, there's no magic in that old stuff--it's in your punkin heads. It doesn't make any difference what you play, it's what comes outta that amp. These guys that only know two chords and can't play dead, and worry about the voltage on their 9-volt batteries, or have to have a $50,000 vintage guitar to do their "art" I got one thing to say, "Har-har, har-har, chortle, chortle, guffaw-guffaw." And you can quote me on that. Oh yeah, back to the guitar... One more thing, listen to Pat Martino, Robben Ford, Hank Garland, and Howard Roberts.

I've had a couple of these; a Japan model which had 57' Classics and Grover tuners installed on it, and a newer black Korean model. Both were reasonably well constructed. The rap on the newer Korean model was relatively cheap hardware. I've rated these an "9" for nice 335-style setup with discount due mostly to the cheap hardware and cheesy pickguard. The basic body, neck and inlay work would rate higher. If you're willing to do some work on it, it can be a great guitar. I did substantial work on mine, as described below.

I sold the Japan model and started rebuilding the Korean model, which was set up so horribly, the 1st through 3rd strings rested on the frets. I replaced the bridge and tailpiece with TonePros, replaced/rewired the pots/caps (a VERY difficult job) and installed zebra Seymour Duncan pickups, an SH-1 at the neck and a custom wound SH-1/Custom Custom at the bridge. I adjusted the p/up height, the action and intonation and now I'm extremely happy with the sound. A "10" for the quality of the guitar after modification, but much lower before. Say an "8" blended.

I got mine used, and as noted, it was in sad shape. I've virtually replaced everything but the nut and tuners, and the tuners are next. Like I said, fine quality contruction and inlay. Great potential, but the factory hardware was unsatisfactory. Again, I replaced most of that, including adding a custom ebony pickguard. I'll give it an "8" for for factory fit, finish and appointments. After hardware replacements, I'd be inclined to give it a "10." Blend those for a "9."

Seems like the guitar is very well constructed. Again, the hardware should be replaced. Especially the gold plating on the original hardware is susceptable to wear. Since my reconstruction effort, I rate this solid as a rock, and it was reasonably good before. Even blended, I have to give this a "10."

Never used 'em, never a problem with the guitar I couldn't fix myself. No opinion.

I have several other guitars, including Fender Strat Ultra, 68' Les Paul reissue and even a PRS Private Stock McCarty. While you can't compare this guitar to a $10k PRS Private Stock, for the approximately $600 I have in this guitar (including p/ups, TonePros, and other hardware), it's a stunning value. Compares very favorably to the Gibson 335 at a fraction of the price. If you can find a good one, rebuild and set it up as I have, you'll have a guitar that looks, sounds and feels far better than you'd dare to imagine. If it was lost or stolen, I'd curse for hours, due mostly to the effort it takes to rewire these f-hole guitars (the rebuild took me almost 5 hours!). But I'd promptly do it again.

In the Halcyon days of 1977, I decided that I needed a second electric to compliment my strange, yet perfectly functional Hagstrom. Wanted something decent, but was on a budget. Enter...the Epi Sheraton, also marketed as the ES-225. Think Gibbie ES-335 for the poor. Major differences: Made in Japan(not necessarily bad), bolt-on neck, trapeze tailpiece. Body was laminated maple with rosewood on mahogany neck. Not sure about the sides and back. Gibson hummers and a Tune-O-Matic bridge. Metal tuners of unknown origin. Piece had a solid block of mahogany from tail to neck pocket, making it a semi-hollow body. Beautiful cherry red translucent finish with full binding and chrome hardware. I chose the one with trapazoidal inlays on the fretboard, but the store also had them with dot necks. Came with cheapo case and strap. SOLD!!

As a rocker, this beauty was a little strange to me. The action was rather high, so I asked the music shop guy to adjust it. He not only did the usual set-up, but shimmed the neck to lower the action without causing the buzzing. This is one nice thing about a bolt-on neck for all you set-neck Nazis out there. The new strings made a huge difference and the action was great. Now, I'm thinking, "Two hummers and a Gibson clone. I just gotta sound like Page." No. Sound on this bird was VERY bright on the neck pickup, mellow jazz on the combo position and absolute mud on the neck. Hmmm. This is a good guitar. Why doesn't it sound good with my cheezy 30 watt amp? Back to the music shop. Need an amp. Just happen to have an AMPEG VT-22 120 watt monstrosity on clearance(last year's demo). Good deal. I'll take it. Get it home. Try my new amp/guitar combo. Good God! What a difference! The guitar just came to life. Clear at the bridge, clean and fat when in combo and jazz city at the neck. When used with overdrive/distortion(watch out for feedback!) and MXR Phase 90...Ahhhh! My first really GOOD guitar/amp setup. Sweet bliss.

As I said, the action was very high. Once set up by a pro, everything suited me fine. The workmanship was quality and I didn't see any flaws around the binding like you see sometimes. The inlay was real MOP. EPI logo and some vine-looking thing on the headstock, both in MOP. A very pretty finish. The hardware was chrome, so no oxidation/peeling like you get with gold. Electronics were smooth and switch and jack plug appeared to be Gibson pieces. I know the pickups were.

I carried this baby through many years of bar band abuse and it never has failed me. I still have it and it's still stock. The only modification I made was to remove the pickguard. It's more comfortable for me. I did the same thing on my LP lawsuit copy when I got it. The binding is still bright and never yellowed like you see sometimes. I had to replace the pickup selector switch a few years back, but other than that...no problems.

Never had the need.

After 30 plus years of playing, I still have it and won't get rid of it. Judging from some of the other reviews, I guess it's true that they really DON"T make them like they used to. I see the prices that EPI/Gibson are getting now and I just have to laugh. I'll put this guitar against any of them. The only thing I'd think about doing if I started playing professionally again is change to a stop tailpiece to improve the sustain and maybe hot rod the pickups. They're getting a little saturated now and have lost a little of their power. This guitar is surprisingly heavy for a semi and I think that helps the tone. I'd buy another one, but I'd look for an older model.

Made Korea 2003
22 fret
2x Humbuckers

The humbuckers are odd, everyone here says their (new) guitar came with epi-stock pikups, mine came with Gibson pickups (dont know what kind)

3 way selector switch, tone and volume knob for each
Laminated top

Blah Blah the woods are pretty much the same as everyone else has said. Style is thinline semi-accoustic, beautiful vintage sunburst finish with all round binding. Stunning to look at.

Stunning MOP headstock 10 leaf vine.

Also came with Grover tuners- hardware wise I seen to have been shipped a different guitar to you lot... Everything is Gibson...

Tun O'matic bridge.
No accessories unfortunately, will have to buy a hardcase. Also the strap pegs are lethally small, the strap couls come off quite easily though hasnt done yet.

Overall thrilled. It's a gibson as far as i'm concerned and, havingplayed a 335, I actually prefer the sound, feel and certainly looks. You can't go wrong at the price.

I play blues, rock and morcheeba/primal scream type trip-hop psychodelica. Sounds stunning on all. I have a fairly high action setting as I play a lot of slide.

Never had any problems with intonation, ringing or nut (which I think is plastic but seems nice). Sounds lovely. Really nice. The bridge Pickup is bright and jangly and gives a mean overdrive and slide riff, the neck pickup is thick and deep. I love the sound. I mean I REALLY love the sound. Can't comment on the epi stock pickups that most of the guitars seem to come with though... Mine came with Gibsons.

Action was set up high, but that was fine for me as I bought the guitar to play slide. This is not a light guitar, it is a beefy beast and you can't stick light strings on it. A wound G is a must. It's not light either, but personally I like that. You dont so much strap it on as climb into it. Pickups no problem, wouldnt know how to change them anyway. Everything on the guitar looks stunning. No problems at all. Little gold wear on the bridge pickup, nothing noticeable. Joy to play.

It is my main stage guitar. It will last. It sounds great. I would rely on it :) 'Nuff said Strap buttons dodgy though...

Never had to deal with them

I love it. Maybe I got lucky with the hardware. Get yourself one. Looks georgeous. Better than a gibson 335 IMHO (and I played both when looking). Get one and hope you get lucky.

It's a semi-hollow 335-style guitar, laminated maple body, 5-way laminated maple and mahogany neck, rosewood fingerboard with pearl and abalone inlays. Gold plated hardware (I got mine on a trade, so it was used and the gold plating was starting to wear). Fixed bridge, 2 pickups with volume and tone for each and a 3-way switch, and lastly, a natural finish. All in all, a very classy looking and functional guitar.

The guitar has Carvin Allan Holdsworth pickups in it, so I can't rate it from a stock-wiring standpoint. The pickups sound great, and I can dial in a nice fat sound from country to jazz to blues. I have a strat with texas specials in it, and this guitar really fills out the tonal needs of my rig. I play mostly for our church's praise team. Contemporary Christian music runs the gambit from punk to jazz to old-timey gospel stuff, and this guitar helps me achieve all those sounds.

I run it through either an old Peavey Classic tube amp when playing out, or my Behringer V-amp when playing in the church, and while the pedals I use change, I almost always keep my Jekyll and Hyde overdrive in the mix (the classic is too loud and takes up too much space). The only challenge is that this guitar is so bassy and loud that it can easily overdrive both setups, so a little tweaking was necessary to get the right sounds.

This guitar looks, feels, and plays like a Gibson, only at about half the cost. Other than some wear on the tuning knobs and a few minor scratches that only say, "I haven't been sitting in my previous owner's closet," it is great.

This is the only place where the guitar loses points. As soon as I got the guitar, I had to rewire the pickups (more of the previous owner's fault than Epi's) and I'm going to have to replace the toggle switch. It is clearly one of the places where Epiphone cut costs, as it's a pretty cheap switch. For a 335-style guitar, I would rather pay more for quality electronics as replacing parts on a semi-hollow guitar is a pain. I would use this guitar without a backup for a gig, but I would not tour without a backup, simply because pulling components out of the soundhole of this guitar to rewire it takes more time than a life on the road might allow.

I don't imagine I will be dealing with customer support since I got this used, but my only complaint was that Epiphone and Gibson don't have easily accessible stock wiring diagrams on their website (compared to Fender's gearheads section). If you want good customer support, buy a Reverend guitar or buy a new Gibson, Epiphone, or Fender from a local retailer and deal with them, not the company.

If someone could figure out a way for a 335-style guitar to be rewired and repaired easily, it would be perfect. But the guitar doesn't lose points because it is by its nature tedious to repair. I like the flexibility of a semihollow body guitar. If it were stolen, I would probably buy a lower-end gibson, because that's about what I have the guitar insured at (cost of guitar plus case plus pickups plus time spent rewiring it), but I would buy a similar instrument. All in all, I highly recommend this guitar.

No idea where it was made, or what wood it's made from. Bought it 14 years ago in Cambridge, UK.(Have some downtime at the moment and am bored so am submitting reviews of my guitars!) 22 frets, rosewood board, tobacco sunburst, gold plated hardware, 2 humbuckers, mother of pearl inlays on the neck and headstock (love that bit), stop tailpiece, you know, usual stuff. Came with hard case. Bought it during my Izzy Stradlin is god days because he played a lot of semis, and this thing looked cooler than Freddie Jackson sippin' a milkshake in a snowstorm (thanks Outkast)

Bought it when I was 18, and based it purely on looks as I wasn't playing live. Looks wise, it suits my musical taste, ranging from rock to blues to pop rock. However, I'm now starting to gig regularly now, and playing this baby live I noticed one thing. It sounds shit. Muddy and lifeless. The volume and tone controls don't do much else for it either. All or nothing! Am going to upgrade the pickups to Seymour Duncan Seth Lovers and replace all the tone pots this month. That should sort it out. Am playing through a Fender DeVille 2x12, and can't wait to hear how it sounds after it's fixed..

The action is actually alright. I like it, and it's a good player (unplugged). All the gold finish has worn off the brige, but that's cool as it looks worn in. The overall finish of the guitar is really nice. The pickup selector switch will be replaced, as it keeps snapping back into the middle. May well get the bridge replaced, as I'm forever getting intonation problems with my G-string :) The saddles won't fix this. Profesional set up here we come...

Will use this guitar more live after I've upgraded it. Have used it before, and it just sounds awful. However, I also play with a Tele and Strat for different songs, and am probably going to treat myself to a Firebird in the New Year, so I would never gig with this as a sole guitar. It's a pretty solid guitar though, and has taken a lot of knocks over the years. Very neck heavy as the headstock is huge, but a wide strap sorts that out.

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing over 15 years, and this was my third guitar, and one I will never sell. I love this guitar. Looks wise, it is so cool, it has a nice action, and is a really nice guitar. It's a shame it just sounds so lousy stock. However, that will get sorted out shortly. Can't think why I never did this years ago. I'm really looking forward to playing it live when it's fixed. If it was ever stolen, I'd be really pissed off as I have a real emotional attachment to it now, but would replace it with another Epiphone Sheraton, but ditch the stock pups and tone pots for something a little more useable.

Epiphine Sheraton (not II) bought new in 1982. Made in Japan. 335 knock-off, but lots fancier. Came with a cheapo hard-case. Laminated maple top, 5-piece maple neck, 2 passive 'buckers, 3-way switch, 22 frets. Has a thick, probably urethane finish. Tune-o-matic/stop tailpiece design. Very high level of workmanship throughout; no flaws in the binding, finish, or fretwork.

The original tuners, non-locking tension adjustable, are fine, well up to lots of bends on .11's, and they still have _all_ the gold on them! (It's possible they're Gotohs or something-- certainly better than some of the other original hardware.)

In general this guitar was equipped exactly as you'd expect, but some of the hardware was pretty bad, so that knocks the rating down. The tailpiece in particular was a POS, with first the "gold" coming off and then the base metal pitting and blistering. Yuck. Also the case was not clever, so.....

I replaced the original pups when the tailpiece started to disintegrate and I swapped it for a chrome Schaller. I swapped the bridge for a Schaller roller type at the same time, and then the pups, which had lost quite a lot of gold, looked terrible so I had to do something! Having said that, the originals didn't sound bad at all and I still have them somewhere. They were very bright and jangly, which really suited what I was playing at the time, and were not particularly feedback-prone. We used to rehearse in a 12x16 concrete room, with a very loud drummer, and they never fed back. Live the guitar has always behaved impeccably no matter what unreasonable demands I make of it.

With the stock pups it really only did one sound, which it was fine at, sort of a Byrds type jangle. I swapped them for DiMarzio Super Distortions and put in coil-taps and phase switches etc at that time. The guitar now has an amazing range of sounds from knock-em-down-dead crunch through wailing sustain to deep'n'dark.

With the mods it's the most versatile guitar I ever owned-- you can even make it sound like a Tele on steroids, if you really want. It's still pretty bright, and I put that down to the wood and the design.

Just a wee piece of advice for younger players tempted to try this sort of guitar-- you need weight in the strings. 11-52's are good. Wound G is a must. This is a big guitar and it needs a bit of energy to get it going. If you really want to run light strings, go buy an SG or a Strat.

I'll mark it for the original set-up, but believe me, it's way past 10 now!

Set-up was good from new. The guitar has a fast, low action and a beautiful neck. Nicely shaped and not too thin. I don't want to get into a spat with Strat players, but if you have normal sized hands and like to use your thumb on the bass strings, you should realise that guitars like this are just not designed for you. If you use a more conventional technique, this neck is lovely.

The neck is particularly sweet from Pos V-XII, but it's good all over, nice in Open Position too. Good upper neck access, not as good as a '61 SG of course, but all the frets are easily accessible on the top three strings, and do you really need to stop the 6th on fret 22? Easily up to Gibbo standards. Very playable indeed.

Multiple binding and MOP and abalone inlay work-- man, this thing is Marisa Tomei in timber, it really is. Drop-dead-gorgeous just doesn't do it credit. Tarty enough to be interesting with class too 8^)

The workmanship is fantastic. Fretwork was well finished. I did swap the nut, which was a cheesy plastic thing, for a bone one.

Eh? This thing is built like a tank. I've had it 20 years and thrashed nine kinds of hell out of it in my "jangle-pop" days, and even now I'm older and wiser I still make her work. What can I say? Beautiful, responsive and faithful.

Well I've told you about the hardware, so.. The thing is, this is such a nice guitar-- and it really really is-- that you have to forgive a few faults when you consider that it was about a quarter the price of a Gibbo to this spec, or even less.

Never had to try.

I've been playing 35 years (ouch.) I have at present 4 other guitars, and I've owned stacks-- Gibsons, Fenders, Guilds, plus many other "lesser" marques. This is a definite keeper. I'd cry if it got pinched, cos I don't know if the new ones are as good, and I think I'd have a job getting another one like this.

Frankly if it wasn't for the fact that the stop-tailpiece had begun to look really bad I'd have left the guitar as original and been very happy with it. For what it cost, it was a steal. Changing the pups and the other parts just turned a really good guitar into a brilliant one.

No question-- this is a 10

Factory features for a good looking semiacoustic,with natural finish,
gold hardware,nice woods etc.

After a little regulation of action and pickup height,it sounds really amazing, as cool as my Gibson LP Custom!(only a bit mellower,
since it's a semiacoustic).Both pickups sounds great,and the intermediate position(N+B)is pure Gibson Juice.

You're not able to lower the action as you'd make with a Strato,but reach a good playable level is quite simple.
Neck and body maple is very nice,and fingerboard rosewood is simply perfect,as all finishes are.

seems very solid.

Not needed yet.

I've compared this guitar with a 1991 LP Custom(wich sound is a killer!)and it seems quite the same guitar in a double blind test
(only a bit less aggressive sound and a slower playability,due to
higher action and greater volume of the instrument)