Apparently this was a limited run, and these are going for about $1400. The current offering closest to this is the Riviera, not the Sheraton. So I can't speak to the @$700 Sheratons and Rivieras.
Love those guitars. Back in the day (early 1980s) I was playing guitar with the late great Jerry Reed (RIP) and I had to borrow a guitar for a show we were playing in Austin TX and the airlines had temporarily lost my guitar. The guitar that was loaned to me for that show was an original Epiphone just like that one with the mini humbuckers and all. I have always had a soft spot for those guitars ever since.
@@PsionicAudio yea man, electric guitar and fiddle. 1981-1985. Great guy to work for, there are many UA-cam videos of us floating around out there in cyberspace. Needless to say I was like a sponge back then. I knew I was playing with one of the greats.
@@fiddlix I doubt't I'd bother trying to play as good as him, impossible for me. I'd be lucky to play as well as Kurt Cobain and he wasn't a great guitarist. I would be focusing on trying to be as funny as that fucker.
It's the 1962 50th anniversary reissue. The pickups are USA made Gibson and it sported the historically correct grey hardcase with blue plush. Beautiful instruments.
Awesome sound. You worked your magic once again. Exactly what I was looking for. Can't wait. Thanks for the heads up on the video. And, thanks for all you do. Wayne
I have one of these in cherry, it's a fantastic guitar, the pickups, bridge and electronics are all USA Gibson parts. A truly great semi-hollow for not a lot of money, I grabbed mine about 5 years ago for $700, but had to drive 5 hours to pick it up 🙃
Cool...kinda reminds of the Epi Riviera with the trapeze and mini-humbuckers😎👍 DR sounds good with these mini-humbuckers😎👍 GREAT ear you've got there😉 Thanks for this look😎👍
These are really sweet. I’ve mostly only tried Firebirds and the ones in Les Paul Deluxes, which are fine but not my faves, at least in a LP. These might be the same pickups as the LP D ones but in the hollowbody there’s so much more air. If this guitar had more neck to it I might not give it back… Seriously, it’s like an Ibanez JEM.
I've had three of them and one being the John Lee Hooker model which I think I liked the best, the pickups in it were just spot on now I don't know if it had the same pickups as the other Sheratons that were Korean made I'm not sure but it just had what I liked and the way the pickups sounded and the overall neck, and frets were to my liking - that's one I wish I hadn't sold.
Although the output difference between HB and mini HBs is there, albeit slight, the tone between the two seemed familial, very similar. Worth mentioning, the Epi BB King seems to go through a more stringent QC process, also worth a look. Very nice.
I've bought a few Epiphones the last 4-5 years since getting into guitar (started as therapy for 60+ yr old hands) The Dot and Bonamassa 355 and LP's and I've been happy with all of them but the Peter Frampton LP custom's fit and finish. The Bonamassa epiphones especially the Bigby equipped 355 have all been great deals and guitars.
Please digress... and yeah, 'ceptin' fer them inlays and 'Tree of Life' headstock, I thunked it twas a Riviera. I love thet-there 'Frequensator' tail piece
I just really like these mini humbuckers. I’m usually not super into Epi humbuckers, as they always tend to be in the muddy side. This mini humbucker sound really cleared that up. Sounds really nice. Also, I wish the average neck was a bit thicker. Fatter necks just feels less straining on my grip.
My first 'real' job after getting off the touring merry-go-round was as an Inspector at Epiphone Guitar in Nashville. Yes, Gibson owns its less expensive little sister Epiphone, but a huge difference between the two is that Gibson guitars are built here in the US ( Nashville for electrics and Montana for acoustics and the semi-hollow body style formerly built in Memphis is now built in Nashville as well), and with the exception on one or two acoustic models, all Epiphones are built overseas and shipped here...hence it's the Epiphone that is the most profitable of all under the Gibson brand umbrella. Loved that job...I mean a guitar tech being paid to handle, check out and set up 100 different style guitars every day?...haha, very cool indeed... One of my Inspector friends was really into these Sheratons...loved them...
For my taste, I preferred the Sheraton to the LP. A friend of mine recently bought a Sheraton Pro II in a natural finish, and it looks great. We’re supposed to get together sometime soon so I can spend more time with it. I gotta get my amp fixed first, though… speaking of which… hey Lyle, check your email! 😉
THE WHOLE STORY---- The headstock was cracked just below the nut on my Sheraton....but not broken off. It was broken in shipment. I know a lot of Gibson's and Epiphones have suffered this fate. And I also know headstock breaks are potentially repairable. I got this Sheraton on Reverb. I immediately discovered the break and requested a refund when I received it. The original owner/seller could have packed it better. It only had packing peanuts and they settled quite a bit. The seller did have Reverb insurance(I insist on this), so Reverb got involved. In the meantime I took it to my top notch tech/guitar builder and got an assessment. He knew he would be able to glue it back, clamp it and refinish it for a reasonable price. And as Lyle said--that part of the guitar would be stronger than ever. My guy did top notch work. It would take a very good eye to tell where the work was done. The playability is still great.The only obvious place is at the bottom of the nut on one side. There is not a lot of wood there. I negotiated with Reverb and got a very good discount from the original price. The discount/refund more than paid for the work done. Bottom line and full disclosure--I paid about 1350.00 with tax and shipping. I now have about 850.00 in the guitar, including the repair. As Lyle mentioned----the build quality, fretwork, pickups, etc...are way above that price. This guitar deserved to be saved and it is more than worth the effort. Note the headstock itself. In 1962 they were much shorter. No boat oar out there on the end of the guitar. And no headstock dive...especially since I changed the tuners. These are about 7 ounces lighter. They are way better looking.....I think. And on the neck--I don't have big hands, so this neck profile suits me. Also....it is period correct. I will go a step further than Lyle. The build quality on this Sheraton 1962RI is exceptional. It was a limited run of 1962 guitars to designate the year of the original it is emulating. The feel, frets, pickups binding, finish, and weight(just a hair under 8 lbs)... show that great attention was put into the details. Here are a couple of UA-cams on an original 1961. The description matches all the specs on my guitar. I remember seeing these videos and thinking it was cool. Then I stumbled onto the 1962 reissue. I went back to these videos, studied them, and decided to pull the trigger. I have not regretted it. ua-cam.com/video/CTWy72E2doE/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/06ICz8xShPA/v-deo.html This guitar is on par with....or above... the high end Epiphones and Gibsons. I know of what I speak. I have owned John Lennon casino. And I own a Gibson 1963RI Block 335 vos. Those guitars have nothing on this one!
It’s a very nice guitar. I’ve certainly played a lot of Gibson 335s that are nowhere near as nice. I’ve played early ‘60s Epis though and none had necks this thin and flat. But the neck seems quite stable, so that’s purely subjective. You did really well with this.
That Epiphone looks similar to a 67 VOX Viper I used to have years ago minus the effects that were built into the guitar and a couple other things but is the same sunburst color with the white binding on the body and neck.
Since you mentioned those nuts on the Gibson tuners, I went and checked my LP and SG and yep, they were all in need of tightening, two were loose to the touch. Yikes.
I always mix up the Riv and the Sheraton. Was around 2010, Epi put out pretty nice reissues of eith the Riv or Sheraton and the Sorrento? I really like the sound of minis, and the Firebird type as well.
I own more Epiphones than any other brand of many variations. My first was a a 79-80 335 copy. Wish I still had that one, although it was very microphonic and fed back like a beast. The LP models with US pups are my go to guitars.
It was not really packed well. He filled the box with packing peanuts...and that's it. No corrogated insert or filling on the top. The peanuts always settle quite a bit and the entire headstock area of the case was exposed. All it took was a drop on that end of the box.
I have a 1989 Korean Sheraton and it’s a lovely guitar but like you I just don’t love that neck profile. I’m used to it now but it’ll be the reason I offload the guitar eventually. Mind I picked it up for the equivalent of $130!
I had a recent issue Crestwood Custom with Epiphone's mini humbuckers and they did sound very nice. It was a nice guitar too but I didn't like the trem system.
I saw that. I won’t buy a guitar with an Indian Laurel fretboard. Looks awful, feels like playing on cardboard. It’s on my Squier P Bass and screams cheap. Epi hollow bodies cost a lot more. Insulting at that price.
Additional info Lyle did not know....frets are original but dressed. Not much was required. The original tuners were grovers. That would have been period correct. They were heavy and... I think......ugly. So I had them swapped out for these tuners. Thanks Lyle!!! PS--I don't know any Dokken licks.
I don’t see any imprint on the headstock from Grovers, so they were probably never on there tight. ;) But that explains the frets (really excellent) and the tuners being better than what Gibson is using now on USA models. I’ll clean up that nut for you over the weekend. New alnico speaker for the AC4 arrives Sat - I think that amp and this guitar will love each other.
All the Top Shelf Gibson and Fender instruments have little common quality now. You can easily see this in handling same identical models. One will be acceptable while one will have unacceptable fret issues, blemishes and defects of all kinds. All while the ultra cheap instruments such as Grote come pretty well made. The American Musical Instrument industry hides behind 2 names now. I have played them all and owned them all. Very few come Professional Ready. I prefer to build one up from Epiphone!! I mean really!!!!!! Pick up a TS Gibson LP... Then pick up a J Bonamassa Epiphone LP. You wil, find the JB LP superior in every aspect. As well as the Epi LP Std being little dif!!
Very overpriced in my opinion and evident by the release of essentially the same guitar being released around the $900 mark in a different finish. I love sheratons but these were simply a swing and a miss for me.
Apparently this was a limited run, and these are going for about $1400. The current offering closest to this is the Riviera, not the Sheraton. So I can't speak to the @$700 Sheratons and Rivieras.
Love those guitars. Back in the day (early 1980s) I was playing guitar with the late great Jerry Reed (RIP) and I had to borrow a guitar for a show we were playing in Austin TX and the airlines had temporarily lost my guitar. The guitar that was loaned to me for that show was an original Epiphone just like that one with the mini humbuckers and all. I have always had a soft spot for those guitars ever since.
You played with Jerry Reed?!
Hot damn son! He was incredible.
@@PsionicAudio yea man, electric guitar and fiddle. 1981-1985. Great guy to work for, there are many UA-cam videos of us floating around out there in cyberspace. Needless to say I was like a sponge back then. I knew I was playing with one of the greats.
I’ll look for you!
@@fiddlix I doubt't I'd bother trying to play as good as him, impossible for me. I'd be lucky to play as well as Kurt Cobain and he wasn't a great guitarist. I would be focusing on trying to be as funny as that fucker.
It's the 1962 50th anniversary reissue. The pickups are USA made Gibson and it sported the historically correct grey hardcase with blue plush. Beautiful instruments.
I love mine.
Awesome sound. You worked your magic once again. Exactly what I was looking for. Can't wait. Thanks for the heads up on the video. And, thanks for all you do.
Wayne
I have one of these in cherry, it's a fantastic guitar, the pickups, bridge and electronics are all USA Gibson parts. A truly great semi-hollow for not a lot of money, I grabbed mine about 5 years ago for $700, but had to drive 5 hours to pick it up 🙃
Cool...kinda reminds of the Epi Riviera with the trapeze and mini-humbuckers😎👍
DR sounds good with these mini-humbuckers😎👍
GREAT ear you've got there😉
Thanks for this look😎👍
pretty nice - i'm a fan of mini humbuckers
Had a Gibson Les Paul Special back in the day which was equipped with mini humbuckers. They had a focused sound that were fairly bright.
I really like this style review, Lyle. Would like to see more reviews of guitars that come into the shop, at least when you have the time.
I've always like mini humbuckers. They are clearer and less prone to being dark or muddy sounding.
These are really sweet. I’ve mostly only tried Firebirds and the ones in Les Paul Deluxes, which are fine but not my faves, at least in a LP. These might be the same pickups as the LP D ones but in the hollowbody there’s so much more air. If this guitar had more neck to it I might not give it back…
Seriously, it’s like an Ibanez JEM.
I've had three of them and one being the John Lee Hooker model which I think I liked the best, the pickups in it were just spot on now I don't know if it had the same pickups as the other Sheratons that were Korean made I'm not sure but it just had what I liked and the way the pickups sounded and the overall neck, and frets were to my liking - that's one I wish I hadn't sold.
Sweet tone, particularly in the middle position.
Although the output difference between HB and mini HBs is there, albeit slight, the tone between the two seemed familial, very similar. Worth mentioning, the Epi BB King seems to go through a more stringent QC process, also worth a look. Very nice.
.nice guitar, but nothing special as far as its QC... at least once it gets here to the Epiphone headquarters in the US...
Excellent review. I enjoyed the tones.
Sheratons are kick ass instruments.
I've bought a few Epiphones the last 4-5 years since getting into guitar (started as therapy for 60+ yr old hands) The Dot and Bonamassa 355 and LP's and I've been happy with all of them but the Peter Frampton LP custom's fit and finish. The Bonamassa epiphones especially the Bigby equipped 355 have all been great deals and guitars.
Please digress... and yeah, 'ceptin' fer them inlays and 'Tree of Life' headstock, I thunked it twas a Riviera.
I love thet-there 'Frequensator' tail piece
I just really like these mini humbuckers. I’m usually not super into Epi humbuckers, as they always tend to be in the muddy side. This mini humbucker sound really cleared that up. Sounds really nice.
Also, I wish the average neck was a bit thicker. Fatter necks just feels less straining on my grip.
My first 'real' job after getting off the touring merry-go-round was as an Inspector at Epiphone Guitar in Nashville. Yes, Gibson owns its less expensive little sister Epiphone, but a huge difference between the two is that Gibson guitars are built here in the US ( Nashville for electrics and Montana for acoustics and the semi-hollow body style formerly built in Memphis is now built in Nashville as well), and with the exception on one or two acoustic models, all Epiphones are built overseas and shipped here...hence it's the Epiphone that is the most profitable of all under the Gibson brand umbrella. Loved that job...I mean a guitar tech being paid to handle, check out and set up 100 different style guitars every day?...haha, very cool indeed...
One of my Inspector friends was really into these Sheratons...loved them...
For my taste, I preferred the Sheraton to the LP. A friend of mine recently bought a Sheraton Pro II in a natural finish, and it looks great. We’re supposed to get together sometime soon so I can spend more time with it. I gotta get my amp fixed first, though… speaking of which… hey Lyle, check your email! 😉
THE WHOLE STORY----
The headstock was cracked just below the nut on my Sheraton....but not broken off. It was broken in shipment. I know a lot of Gibson's and Epiphones have suffered this fate. And I also know headstock breaks are potentially repairable.
I got this Sheraton on Reverb. I immediately discovered the break and requested a refund when I received it. The original owner/seller could have packed it better. It only had packing peanuts and they settled quite a bit. The seller did have Reverb insurance(I insist on this), so Reverb got involved.
In the meantime I took it to my top notch tech/guitar builder and got an assessment. He knew he would be able to glue it back, clamp it and refinish it for a reasonable price. And as Lyle said--that part of the guitar would be stronger than ever. My guy did top notch work. It would take a very good eye to tell where the work was done. The playability is still great.The only obvious place is at the bottom of the nut on one side. There is not a lot of wood there.
I negotiated with Reverb and got a very good discount from the original price. The discount/refund more than paid for the work done. Bottom line and full disclosure--I paid about 1350.00 with tax and shipping. I now have about 850.00 in the guitar, including the repair. As Lyle mentioned----the build quality, fretwork, pickups, etc...are way above that price. This guitar deserved to be saved and it is more than worth the effort.
Note the headstock itself. In 1962 they were much shorter. No boat oar out there on the end of the guitar. And no headstock dive...especially since I changed the tuners. These are about 7 ounces lighter. They are way better looking.....I think. And on the neck--I don't have big hands, so this neck profile suits me. Also....it is period correct.
I will go a step further than Lyle. The build quality on this Sheraton 1962RI is exceptional. It was a limited run of 1962 guitars to designate the year of the original it is emulating. The feel, frets, pickups binding, finish, and weight(just a hair under 8 lbs)... show that great attention was put into the details.
Here are a couple of UA-cams on an original 1961. The description matches all the specs on my guitar. I remember seeing these videos and thinking it was cool. Then I stumbled onto the 1962 reissue. I went back to these videos, studied them, and decided to pull the trigger. I have not regretted it.
ua-cam.com/video/CTWy72E2doE/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/06ICz8xShPA/v-deo.html
This guitar is on par with....or above... the high end Epiphones and Gibsons. I know of what I speak. I have owned John Lennon casino. And I own a Gibson 1963RI Block 335 vos. Those guitars have nothing on this one!
It’s a very nice guitar. I’ve certainly played a lot of Gibson 335s that are nowhere near as nice. I’ve played early ‘60s Epis though and none had necks this thin and flat. But the neck seems quite stable, so that’s purely subjective.
You did really well with this.
Mini humbuckers rule!
That Epiphone looks similar to a 67 VOX Viper I used to have years ago minus the effects that were built into the guitar and a couple other things but is the same sunburst color with the white binding on the body and neck.
Since you mentioned those nuts on the Gibson tuners, I went and checked my LP and SG and yep, they were all in need of tightening, two were loose to the touch. Yikes.
I always mix up the Riv and the Sheraton. Was around 2010, Epi put out pretty nice reissues of eith the Riv or Sheraton and the Sorrento?
I really like the sound of minis, and the Firebird type as well.
I own more Epiphones than any other brand of many variations. My first was a a 79-80 335 copy. Wish I still had that one, although it was very microphonic and fed back like a beast. The LP models with US pups are my go to guitars.
Scarf joints are supposed to make the headstock stronger than the traditional one piece Gibson neck. But it still broke
Hmm
It was not really packed well. He filled the box with packing peanuts...and that's it. No corrogated insert or filling on the top. The peanuts always settle quite a bit and the entire headstock area of the case was exposed. All it took was a drop on that end of the box.
@@halhawkins7641 that explains it
The LP clearly sounded better to me, more dynamic and focused response imo.
I have a 1989 Korean Sheraton and it’s a lovely guitar but like you I just don’t love that neck profile. I’m used to it now but it’ll be the reason I offload the guitar eventually. Mind I picked it up for the equivalent of $130!
The Japanese made Shereatons from the 90s are in this price range, so this may be something comparable....?
This one,has the Terada block inlays ,like Guild used.I presume,this one is build by Terada in Japan and they go for big money,nowadays.
I had a recent issue Crestwood Custom with Epiphone's mini humbuckers and they did sound very nice. It was a nice guitar too but I didn't like the trem system.
New reissue just announced. This same guitar but Epi pickups and a laurel board
I saw that. I won’t buy a guitar with an Indian Laurel fretboard. Looks awful, feels like playing on cardboard.
It’s on my Squier P Bass and screams cheap. Epi hollow bodies cost a lot more. Insulting at that price.
@Psionic Audio 1,050 euros in Europe (about 1,150 dollars) - can get a brand new Eastman for a little bit more
He said Dokken. I always play Tooth and Nail on my archtop..
Pretty cool.
Additional info Lyle did not know....frets are original but dressed. Not much was required. The original tuners were grovers. That would have been period correct. They were heavy and... I think......ugly. So I had them swapped out for these tuners.
Thanks Lyle!!! PS--I don't know any Dokken licks.
I don’t see any imprint on the headstock from Grovers, so they were probably never on there tight. ;)
But that explains the frets (really excellent) and the tuners being better than what Gibson is using now on USA models.
I’ll clean up that nut for you over the weekend. New alnico speaker for the AC4 arrives Sat - I think that amp and this guitar will love each other.
@@PsionicAudio Thanks boss!!!
All the Top Shelf Gibson and Fender instruments have little common quality now. You can easily see this in handling same identical models. One will be acceptable while
one will have unacceptable fret issues, blemishes and defects of all kinds. All while the ultra cheap instruments such as Grote come pretty well made. The American
Musical Instrument industry hides behind 2 names now. I have played them all and owned them all. Very few come Professional Ready. I prefer to build one up from Epiphone!!
I mean really!!!!!! Pick up a TS Gibson LP... Then pick up a J Bonamassa Epiphone LP. You wil, find the JB LP superior in every aspect. As well as the Epi LP Std being little dif!!
Very overpriced in my opinion and evident by the release of essentially the same guitar being released around the $900 mark in a different finish. I love sheratons but these were simply a swing and a miss for me.
Why would this idividual accept ownership of this. Was the HS already broken off and sold as is??
THE WHOLE STORY----I wrote about it above. Check it out.