Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in Electric Guitars
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I have owned more than one of these guitars in the last decade, and I can say that I was never let down in any professional situation by them. I have thrown them across concert stages, checked them in the luggage hold of airplanes and watched one fall clean off the drum riser and hit the ground without even going out of tune. As a Asian made affordable historically centered time tested Gibson design, the Sheraton has made an indelible mark in the hands of many bands and musicians ranging from BluesLegend John Lee Hooker to Indie Rockers the Kings of Leon. Impressive! But all is not perfect in this guitar, which is durable due to it's historically incorrect polyester finish and it's traditional hard maple ply neck and body, with a solid centerblock to help control stability and speaker feedback at hight volumes. The electronics on these guitars are the main thing keeping them from being a high end professional grade instrument. And like with the lower end more bare bones model Epiphone DOT, the Shearaton II benefits greatly from replacing all the electronics; all 4 potentiometers, tonal caps and the humbucking pickups themselves and cheap wiring, with their USA Gibson counterparts. Once you do this, all but the most skilled studio musician will not be able to tell the difference between a $3,000 Gibson ES355 and a $699 Epiphone (Asian Made) Sheraton II by the sound of them. This accounts for all the pro musicians you see on tour with these (often with obviously changed pickups and hardware), pros that probably have that $3,000 Gibson Custom at home but just can't bring them on the road with them. So, the Epiphone Sheraton has become the bargain - workhorse for everything from Indie-rockers to Blues players simply by the virtue of great woods, flashy design and bulletproof construction. I highly recommend this guitar despite it's electronic shortcomings, as being a high quality extremely durable, great playing instrument, that with a couple small changes becomes a very very high end instrument. Please see my other guides and professional reviews, and check this one as being informative and helpful! Cheers! - RetroaficionadoRead full review
Been playing guitar for about 20 years and have 105 of them. Mostly have vintage arch tops and own around 30 modern solid bodies. Gibson has always been my choice, but I bought a Epiphone Sheraton last year and can't believe it. Everything from the low action to the feel is amazing. I just got a Sheraton 2 Pro and looking forward to it. These range from the low 300's up to the 500's. Honestly, they are worth every penny. A Gibson is 4x or more for the same thing. Yes, the pickups are gonna be a little better, but for the entire package, these are amazing. Players who have played everything for years are starting to see the value in Epi's. They used to not be as good 20-30 years ago when you compared them to a Gibson.....but times have changed. I love it and will be getting plenty more!
Verified purchase: No
I was very pleasantly surprised when I received this 1988 Epiphone by Gibson Sheraton the other day. It's in fantastic condition, not just for its age but it looks and feels almost brand new! In addition, every modification that I would normally make to an old guitar to make it play to my high standards had already been made! It came with Grover tuning machines, Seymour Duncan pickups which sound terrific, the pots have been cleaned, and the frets have been dressed and polished. All I need to do now is fit a Bigsby vibrato unit and it'll be good to go.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I am a 53 year old player/collector and have been for 40 years. During that time as you can guess, I have owned many different makes and models of electric guitar(acoustic too), and I have really come to love the sounds I can get from a good Semi-hollow electric guitar. Now I would love to have a Gibson 345, but right now I can't justify the price tag, and besides, I'd have to sell about 6 of my guitars just to be able to afford it, and I don't want to sell anything in my collection, really. But I do have a Fender '69 RI Telecaster Thinline, an Ibanez Artcore AS-83, and now my newly acquired 2005 Epiphone Sheraton II in Natural, that cures my lust for semi-hollow sounds. I love the sounds I get from all 3 guitars, but the Sheraton II is definitely my favorite, and not just because it is the newest member of the family. This guitar has a beautiful finish, with gold hardware, and the carve of the headstock, and the inlay on both the headstock and the fretboard really dress the guitar up big time. There is only one way they could have made this guitar look better, and that would be to use flame maple as the top veneer on the front, back, and sides. If they ever make one like that, I'll own 2 Sheraton II's. I'm actually thinking about getting a second one anyway, and have a Bigsby installed on it. I was thinking of changing the pickups to Gibson 57 classics when I originally decided to get the guitar, but after I got it, and changed the strings to my Power Slinkys, and comepleted a setup on her, I have decided that the stock pickups are surprisingly perfect for Jazz/country/blues/classic rock. I don't know why I was so surprised, I have a 2006 Epiphone Les Paul Standard plus that has not had the pickups replaced, because they are simply sublime also. Epiphone used to be known for "Cheap" guitars, but not so much anymore. The instruments they are making now (at least since 1990) are well made, and their level of quality control is second to none in their price range. My guitar was of course purchased used, but I shopped around until I found one that was a 9.5 out of 10. If you are a discerning collector as I am, and looks are secondary only to function, but almost as important, look around, they're out there. I also prefer the Korean models to the newer Chinese made Sheraton II's, because They seem to be using wood that is not as figured as it was for the koreans, and they have changed the neck from a 5 piece laminated neck to a solid maple neck. Functional? Probably. But not as classy looking as the 5 piece. I didn't care for the pickguard that Epiphone puts on the Sheraton II, so I removed that, and I like the looks of the guitar without it better anyway. The neck is a little fatter than my Ibanez, but it fits fine in my huge paws. The sustain is phenominal. John Lee Hooker said "The Sheraton II is what the 335 would like to be." All in all, this is a fantastic guitar, and if you desire a fine semi-hollow guitar but like most of us, can't afford Gibson's products, do yourself a favor, and buy a Sheraton II, you will not be sorry you did. I hope this helps you with your decision.Read full review
I bought this guitar on-line, so when it arrived and I opened the box I was blown away by the sheer beauty of it, and the quality of the finish. I had thought to change pups etc after a while to get this thing to where I was likely to be satisfied with it....but....it aint going to happen! I have lots of guitars and can afford a Gibson like this if I want one, I already have lots of Gibsons and other very nice guitars. This is my new every-day guitar! And it has so much going for it played through my stuff that I can honestly say it is my best sounding and playing instrument. Mine is a Korean one in black and maybe its just a lucky one? I don't know if there is any variation in these instruments? The neck is beautiful, the frets, binding, bone nut etc all perfect. Very rare!!! Grover tuners. The finish is flawless and as I said, stunning to behold. The sound is versatile and rich. Extremely impressive sustain and decay. I sometimes just like to let a note ring on for a while just to hear the way it eventually dies away. Can be set up so that I can play blues and then by turning the volume up go on through classic rock and even into some nice Satriani, EVH tones. Does a great ACDC for eg. Lower output humbuckers than Gibson but I am actually preferring that, on my stuff they are more articulate, you can still shred or rip it up with blazing power cords if you want. Or turn it down and get nice mellow clean and lightly distorted tones. And then unplug it and play some acoustic blues. 500k pots, all metal switch, solid input jack. Wow! This is the first instrument I have ever reviewed and I did it because I felt compelled to let everyone who is interested know what a fine job Epiphone has done on this great guitar. Thank you Epiphone, five stars from me.Read full review