Epiphone Sheraton

Older model, mid 80's me thinks. Two humbuckers, with volume and tone for each. Es-335 style body, gold(covered) hardware and some lovely looking binding and abalone/pearl inlay work, very sexy indeed. Stock Epiphone pickups....hmmmmmm.

Well my style is I suppose what you might call alternative/experimental although using more classic tones.In the looks department this guitar is ace and suits my bands image perfectly. I am using this through a Fender (silver face) Twin which has been hot rodded and as far as i'm concerned the best amp ive ever played (and probably ever will). Effects are as follows(from left to right, input to output) ElectroHarmonix Micro synth, Boss Compressor, Electro Harmonix Bigmuff,Proco Rat,Vox valvetone,Boss Tremolo and Flanger,Ibanez Digital delay,and an Electro Harmonix Memoryman. The shereton sounds great clean, really dark moody sound and with the analogue delay/echo's sounds absolutly beutiful the problems start when you start to get more agressive distorted sounds out of it. The stock pickups are just too dark and everything becomes very mushy and indistinct. Which is why I have now changed the pickups for a couple of Kent Armstrongs, a vintage Alnico PAF in neck and and a high output PAF with ceramic magnet in bridge possition. This gives an excellent result with all the sounds of 335 vintage semi tones but the bite and drive of modern pickups. May I just say that there is more to pickups than just Seymour Duncans and Dimarzios plus Kent Armstrong PAF's are half the price as SD 59' and as far as i'm concerned just as good.I paid just #90 for my pickups from Rainbow products. If you are after a guitar to plug straight into your valve amp for blues/jazz or home strumming then this guitar is great value. For the rest of us then it looks like pickup changing is unavoidable and should bare this in mind before buying a Sheraton.
With Stock pickups- 6/10
With the Kent Armstrong's,

Got it at a guitar show and the setup was Ok; needed alittle fiddle here and there. The body and finish etc is impecable especially concidering I paid #200 for it. A really good looking guitar. Hardware is, well not too bad; the bridge is not brilliant but looks solid enough for now. Tuners were crap which I changed to Kluson LP tuners which are great. I also have changed the toggle switch as the old one felt like it was gonna snap every time I flicked it. The only other thing you might want to look at is the scratch plate which I have changed to a black 335 plate; the old one was a pit thin and to be honest I wasnt too cean on the golg pearl finish; looked a bit tackey.
Before my mods- 7/10
With my mods-

Pretty solid now(see above) and have no reason not to trust this guitar.
I can see that the gold covered hardware is gonna wear off at some point but that doesnt really bother me too much.
I never play a gig without a backup.

N/A

Ive been playing for about Ten years now and have owned/played a number of guitars/amps/pedals and would like to think that I can tell a good guitar by now (regardless of whats on the head stock) and my overall opinion of my Sheraton is that it's great, but only after spending some time and money on it. Ive spent overall about #200 and the guitar cost me #200 so bear that in mind before buying one. Saying that though this is alot better than any #400 guitar ive played and as far as I can say not far off a Es-335 at all. I love the look and sound of this guitar and there isnt really anything I hate about it(even before I modded it) but thing I dont understand is why Epiphone dont just put decent pickups and hardware on it and sell it for more 'cause going by all the other reviews on this page it seems that every one does anyway???? This guitar could be(and is to me anyway) alot more than just a Gibson copy.

Korean manufacture semi-hollow body, laminated maple neck, back, and sides with multi-layer binding on body. Abalone and pearloid block/V inlay on rosewood (not ebony) board, floral headstock inlay feigns elegance. Gold hardware. Dual humbuckers with ratty three-position toggle. Natural finish, stop tailpiece, non-standard bushing-post bridge with individual saddles canted at about a 5 degree 'reverse' angle to the pickups/strings (seems like 2-28/32 post spacing, one 32nd shy of the standard Gibson spacing.) Awful tuners (more below.)

Purchased as an affordable alternative to ES335 for blues/jazz/fusion/rock. Bought on sight: not plugged in at time of purchase. The plan was to gut the thing -- new tuners and pickups were purchased on the way home from the guitar store, before it was even plugged in.
So far, have installed tuners only (mandatory since stock tuners wobble considerably at the post)...still stock pickups. Playing through various small combo amps and a Pod, the sound is surprisingly good. It gets a bit harsh on the bridge position, but overall I'd recommend it straight out of the box for any student. The working pro might find the electronics (particularly the switch) a bit too microphonic.
I've played both stop and trapeze 335s of various vintages (dotboards, early patent pickups, later 60s chrome parts, recent issues) and it's certainly not a vintage 335, but may be closer to the recent issues than you'd guess...at at about a fifth of the price!!
I'll be putting in coil-cut Duncans (Pearly Gates at the bridge and some other Alnico-type at the neck) and putting in 250kohm pots (one with push-pull DPDT) and hope the variety quotient is improved as a result. I hope to push the 8 to a 9+.

Replacement of tuners and the toggle switch is mandatory. I used Gibson-branded Kluson look alikes with gold finish...they're as buttery smooth as Heather Locklear's inner thigh (much better than the real vintage Klusons!) A good toggle like those found in Les Pauls can be purchased at various supply houses.
The pickguard is a flimsy piece of sh*t and you may want to consider removing it like I did. I wonder if a real 335 guard would fit without shaping it...if you know, please drop me a note.
The action on the instrument is killer. The neck isn't one-huunert-percent-hotdamn-ruler-flat, but it's close enough to be set a lot lower than it's set now. The finish is flawless, with no marks, checks, unsightly glue splotches, misaligned parts, etc., etc. If the guitar came with the proper switch and tuners, it'd be a 8+ (not up to a 9, because while the natural wood is finished superbly, it is quite plain and anemic looking.)
One thing I look for is how the instrument vibrates in the left (for you righties) hand, unplugged. With stock tuners, it's about dead. Proper tuners improved it a bit, but it's still no dot board.

With proper electrical retrofits, the guitar can defintitely gig. You wouldn't wanna be caught relying on that stock switch.

This has to do with the design, not the help line. I personally think the bridge looks klunky so I'm looking to replace it with a vintage-style Gibson or repro thereof. The posts are non-standard and heavy, without thumbwheel (uses a screw slot exposed through the top deck of the bridge), with heavily threaded bushings sunk into the top/center block. The post spacing on center measures 1/32 shy of the stock 2-29/32, at least by my untrained eye. And finally, the thing is cocked, so it's not perpencidular to the strings. (This serves to lessen the string spacing over the pickup -- comparison with 'real' 335s not known -- but the srtings seem to be close to where they should be over the pole piece screws)
Bottom line is: I think I'm stuck. If you have suggestions, please let me know.
At least the pickups and tuners are standard assumptions, as are the holes for controls and jack. This makes upgrading a lot more straightforward.

Long/gear: I've been playing for thirty years. Gear isn't important, but somehow you can't live without it so I have some. I think buying cheap and good is preferable to buying expensive and/or poor. I've done plenty of the latter, and both at the same time. I used to use tube amps, but now use a POD because it's easier on the environment and looks like it tastes good.
Lost/stolen: I bought the Sheraton specifically because if it gets stolen or lost, I'll cry some, but not for more than a few days.
Love/hate, also, Compare: I love it because it puts ES335 toolage in the hands (gnads?) of people who can't spend $2100 and up on a new 335 (for the love of God, what's going on, Gibson? Are you outta your freakin' gourds?)
Favorite: My favorite feature is the mushy screw heads of the replacement tuners, because if you don't have precisely the proper Philips screwdriver and use immaculate technique, you'll turn the screw head into a pop-rivet head pronto --- now try backing THAT out of the headstock, rat boy! I'll consider the eventual removal of the hosed tuner screws as just another demonstration of how life throws roadblocks down that really are quite unnecessary. You'd think that I'd have more important lessons to learn than this...really...with all the crap going on on the planet, the Cosmos assigns me to f*cked up screw removal duty? Sheesh...what an insult...
Wish it had: I wish it had real tuners and a real pickup switch, but then again, if it did I couldn't have gotten one for $450.
Share: I'd like to share my contempt for the designer who seems to have designed-out a retrograde of the bridge. I'd share my tuna sandwich but I'm still on a dial-in connection.

See my original review of stock features. This review pertains only to my modifications, which include a Seymour Duncan Jazz pickup in the neck, a Seymour Duncan JB pickup in the bridge, and new volume potentiometers that include push-pull switches that I use to cut pickup coils. VERY versatile.

NOW this guitar sounds like something. The Duncan pickups are perfect for this axe. Unlike the stock pickups, the sound doesn't get muddy when I turn down the volume, nor does it sound congested and indistinct when I crank up the overdrive. In humbucker mode, this guitar can now emulate Wes Montgomery AND Carlos Santana. Cut the coils, and it even clucks like a Strat.

See previous review.

See previous review.

I was very disappointed that Gibson/Epiphone couldn't sell me replacement parts (bridge, tailpiece, etc.), nor could they refer me to anybody that did. Basically, I have to search on my own. Not very helpful, I must say.

The new pickups transformed this guitar. Now it sounds as good as it looks and as good as it feels, which is saying alot. I can't give it a '10' because I spent almost as much on upgrading the guitar to have bought a used ES335 in the first place.

Semi-hollow body electric (solid block down the middle like an ES-335). Two humbuckers. Two tone, two volume, 3-way selector. 24.75" scale. Rosewood fretboard. Bound body and neck. Caution - this is one heavy guitar. It's far better-suited to playing seated rather than standing.

I can't quite make up my mind about this guitar. It's not really suited to my tastes. I bought it to work on my straight blues and jazz chops, but I can't quite get THE sound. The bridge pickup does indeed sound very good for vintage Beatles, Stones, etc, but the neck pickup sounds way too dark and muddy, even through a fairly bright sounding amp like the Pro Jr. I'm hoping to trade for a Casino or a Rickenbacker. I think that the lower output and greater clarity of single-coil pickups, along with the resonance of a true hollow body, would suit me better.

I can't complain here. The fit, finish, action, feel are all worthy of an ES-335. It simply gorgeous and the neck facilitates fast, clear rhythm playing.

Seems very solidly built. The finish has stood the test of time (about 20 years). The plating on the pickup covers and bridge show their age, though.

It looks great, feels great, but just isn't my idea of sonic nirvana. Anybody have a Casino or Rickenbacker they'd like to trade?