Epi Sheraton

GGJaguar

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OOooo, I like this new Sheraton! It's not quite accurate (should have a 5-piece maple neck with bound heel cap) and I can live with the Indian Laurel fingerboard (nearly the same physical properties as Indian rosewood) and the TRC and pickguard shapes.

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chazmo

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GG, that's a sweet piece.

Any idea why there a two-piece trapeze bridge for this model (i.e., one for the bass strings, and one for the trebles)? I think I've seen that before, but I'm wondering about the purpose for it... Do you know?
 

GGJaguar

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That's Epiphone's patented "Frequensator" tailpiece designed in the 1930s by Herb Sunshine. The theory is that the longer bass strings would make for a tighter bottom end. I'm guessing it's marketing hype because I've never been able to tell a difference.
 

chazmo

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I love it. "Frequensator." OK, that's the term of the day for me! :D :D And, well, I really would be interested to hear if it really makes any difference by comparing it to a normal bridge on the same guitar.
 

Minnesota Flats

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I had a "Frequensator" on an Epiphone Zephyr and, though I thought it looked kinda cool, found it to be a PIA when changing strings. No sonic advantage that I could hear. I much prefer bar-stop tailpieces on those type guitars.

Used to have a Kalamazoo-made Epi Riviera which was a step down, trim-wise, from the Sheraton and that was a killer guitar. I've owned a couple of Gibson 335s but that MIA Riviera wiped the floor with them, mainly because of the big, fat neck carve. I also prefer those Mini Humbuckers to 98% of the full-sized Humbuckers I've owned. Mine sounded sweet through a 6G6B Bassman and 2X12 cab.
 

bobouz

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Gibson bought Epiphone in 1957, thinking they were buying Epi’s bass products only. What they received included regular guitar stock as well, so they decided to develop a totally new Epiphone line, with new dealers exclusively selling Epi’s in order to compete with Gibson - intentionally creating their own in-house competitive brand! This new Epi line used up whatever original parts remained from the acquisition of Epi, and frequently included necks & New York pickups. They were first released in 1958, including the Sheraton model (alongside the newly released double-cut Gibson 335). The above pictured & newest Chinese-made Sheraton carries headstock styling cues that mimic the earliest Kalamazoo-made Epi’s including the headstock & TRC shape, which eventually gave way to the familiar hourglass headstock (& mini-humbuckers) until Kalamazoo production ended in 1970.

There seemingly have been a bazillion pacific-rim versions made of the Sheraton since 1970, including those made in Japan, Korea, and China. Of these, I’ve yet to find one that rivals the quality build of the USA-Series John Lee Hooker 1964 Sheraton, produced in the early 2000s (surpassing even the Terada-Japan made & highly regarded Epi Elitist Sheraton). Uniquely, the body of the JLH version was constructed & nitro finished in Japan by Terada, and then shipped to Gibson in Nashville for installation of USA-made Gibson mini-humbuckers & all hardware. First built in 2000, the JLH moniker was dropped after Hooker passed away in 2001, but the model continued for a few more years as simply the USA-Series Sheraton. Below is one of the earliest of these, from 2000. If you ever come across one, don’t pass it by without a test drive!

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davismanLV

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One weird thing is that Epiphone used the name "Sheraton" for both this guitar, and also a big acoustic jumbo model. I know because we found one somewhere that some guy had yanked all the bracing out of and it sounded like crap!! So we took the top off and rebraced it and put some bracing in the back and put it back together. It was blue. Not sure whatever happened to that but it was a long time ago. Strange they'd use the same name for different models. That's beautiful!! :love:
 

bobouz

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One weird thing is that Epiphone used the name "Sheraton" for both this guitar, and also a big acoustic jumbo model. I know because we found one somewhere that some guy had yanked all the bracing out of and it sounded like crap!! So we took the top off and rebraced it and put some bracing in the back and put it back together. It was blue. Not sure whatever happened to that but it was a long time ago. Strange they'd use the same name for different models. That's beautiful!! :love:
Tom, I remember that short-lived acoustic Sheraton model. It was, iirc, built in Japan in the ‘70s or very early ‘80s. I never had one in my hands, but by & large, Epi acoustics from that period were not much to write home about. My guess would be that name-recognition developed by the electric model was the primary reason they attached the moniker to an acoustic.
 
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