Epiphone Sheraton II, anyone have one?

I had one and sold it a few years back. It was a great guitar, too big for me personally though. It was very sensitive to gain though so be careful too much and it'll howl like a wolf. It played very well but it wasnt the lightest guitar. I sold mine for $400 with hard case to my nephew and he still loves it into his AC30.

 

I had one, in fact I had the same one twice. Had a love/hate relationship with that guitar. It was heavy and had a wicked headstock drop to it. On the other hand it did sound good and could do about anything you could ever want. Ended up selling it one last time, just couldn't bond with it.

 

I have a white Sherry from about 1993 that is a great guitar. I did change to Epiphone Les Paul humbuckers, full size CTS pots, switchcraft switch and jack. Wired it using a Gibson 50's scheme.
I removed the 5 ply black pickguard. I have not had a problem with feedback due to the solid "log" inside. The guitar is definitely heavier than a true hollow body, but no heavier than a Strat.
To my mind the only negative is the difficulty of finding a bridge and tailstop that fits. As far as I know, if you want to change them for any reason you'll have to modify to fit.
It
One of the things that I particularly like about the Sheraton is there is no Gibson counterpart. If you want a Sherry, you have to get an Epiphone. It's not a less expensive version of a Gibson.

Here's mine:

 

Looks more like an Emperor watch to me.
But I want one!

 

This is mine from '82 although not really a II model

I have had Korean built Sheraton's too and loved them, just really well made guitars although I was never too keen on the pickups. I've not tried the newer Chinese ones but have a couple of Casinos that are made in China and if they are anything to go by I think I'd prefer a Chinese Sheraton to a Korean

 

The one you're looking at is MIK - the Unsung plant, specifically (pretty sure).
I don't know the value of the Strat you had listed, but you can figure the Sherry is four to five hundred or so. At least that's what I'd pay for it.

 

Absolutely nothing wrong with the Korean models, i just find the Chinese versions to be better built and finished. The pickups in the new line of Sheratons seem very well received too, those in the Korean ones were the weak link in my opinion.

 

Lonn, I'm particularly interested in this thread because I finally scratched my itch for a 335-type and I have a Vintage Sunburst Sheraton II Pro on order at Sweetwater...they're waiting for more to arrive, and my sales guy tells me he expects mine to ship around the end of the month.

The vast majority of comments I've read about the Sheratons is very positive...what gripes there are, tend to be pretty minimal. That one that you're considering is a beauty.

 

My Epi Deluxe Dot is made in China and has excellent quality for construction.

 

Been wanting a Casino or a Sheraton for some time... I'll keep an eye here.

 

I have a 2018 Sheraton II Pro in Wine Red. It's a beautiful instrument with quality construction by any standard, not just "for the price". The Epiphone Pro Buckers are good pickups for sure, and I have gigged with it many times. My only down side comment is the neck shape, which is subjective. Mine has a somewhat wide neck with a shallow/thin from to back. I am a Gibson 50's rounded profile kind of guy but I liked the Sheraton II so much I still bought it. I have a 2012 Gibson ES-335 (love it) and an Epiphone Joe Bonamassa 355 (love it) as well - like them all. The Sheraton II is by far the nicest looking of them all, no question. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Sheraton II on the basis of quality and sound, but you need to be happy with how comfortable it plays in your hands.

Hope some of this info helps you out.

 

I had one for a number of years, which I bought new in 1993---a Korean model. It was a good guitar but there were two things I didn't like about it, one of which is why I still don't have it. Most significantly, the neck was a pretty shallow D-profile, which I could never get comfortable with. The other thing that miffed me about that guitar was that the gold plating on the pickups showed visible wear after I had had it for one day, and over the years I owned the guitar it wore down to a "heavy relic" level, but I didn't play the guitar all that much. Functionally, I can't say anything bad about it. The feel of the neck was purely a personal preference issue; it was a good, solid guitar.

Regarding the neck, years later a friend of mine got a Sheraton II from the Chinese factory, and it had a very different (chunkier) neck profile, which I liked a lot. If mine had had that neck, I would still have it.

I like the Sheraton in general---I like the more elaborate fret blocks compared to the Dot, and the headstock inlay. It's opulent but not garish. But I've decided I'm just not a fan of gold hardware (and not just because of my experience with my own Sheraton), besides which I've got a set of Gibson 57 Classics in my parts drawer with chrome covers, and if I get another semihollow humbucker guitar they're going in it, so I'm casually keeping my eyes open for a nice Dot or similar guitar.

 

Mine is definitely a keeper. I added the bigsby, so it is not the lightest guitar. It will howl with feedback if your too loud or too close to the amp. But isn't that why I turn up to 11? I was able to swap the bridge with a Schaller roller bridge of the proper specs. Plays like a dream all around. You can feel it resonate against your chest.

 

FWIW I love my Chinese Casino. Of course you have to work a bit on guitars that come at this price point: the selector needed a bit of cleaning, tomorrow I’ll work on adjusting the nut slots a bit better, and I’m upgrading a few parts. But the “bones” of the guitar – the wood, the fretwork, and the finish – are top notch… that’s why I’m upgrading it here and there: I mean to keep it.

And of course, once you’ll get that Sherry, you’ll still need a Casino for the hollow/P90 experience ;D And I’ll still need a semi… I have great affection for Epiphones and sometimes I dream of finding Robben’s other guitar:

 

I have a had a couple of them and found them to be very deserving guitars. I did go into both of them and swapped out the pickups and pots, which made a world of difference. Structurally, these guitars are solid and very well made. I also thought the bridge hardware was not quite up to standard after I stripped one little screw just trying to adjust intonation. I found that it worked fine if I would detune the string first before adjusting, which is something I should be doing anyway.
Personally, I liked the shape of the neck and thought it played very well. I don't currently own either of those anymore since I sold one to a friend who fell in love with it, and gave the other to another friend.