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NGD: '16 Sheraton II Pro


Gutch

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Walked into GC with trade bait yesterday, hell bent on finding a 335 style guitar. Long story short -- I tried a Gibson 335 Studio (for reference), a variety of Epi's and a couple Gretsch. Walked out 90 minutes later with a brand spankin' new Sheraton II Pro.

 

This guitar, simply put, is the single best "bang for your buck" ES-335 style guitar you can find. Looks are sweet, neck is sooo comfortable, and the tone! This thing has everything the Gibson has and then some! The ProBuckers have to be the best pickup Epiphone has put into their guitars that I've ever heard. Dynamic, rich, great clarity and a nice bite to them. I would put these side-by-side with the Seymour Duncan Seth Lovers in my Hamer Newport or the Jazz/JB combo I have loaded in my Epi LP Standard Pro and, in many cases, the ProBuckers would win. Very impressive.

 

I'm also impressed with the quality of the electronics. The volume and tone pots have a very smooth taper that allow for easy adjustment and no mud.

 

Whatever secret sauce recipe is that the Epiphone engineers used on this guitar, they need to bottle it. The tone and playability of this Sheraton II Pro is DELICIOUS! Looks darned pretty too!

 

ETA photos (It really happened... )post-70549-081117600 1483927354_thumb.jpg

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Thanks, guys. The more I play it, the more I'm impressed with it. These pickups and the smoothness of the pots are simply top shelf! Other than having to do the standard set up and tightening of screws and nuts when I got it home, my single complaint is the fretwork could be done better. The ends are a bit sharp and, looking down the neck, fret height is a bit uneven. Nothing that's affecting the playability, however. I'll take a fret file to the ends to clean them up - No big deal.

 

On the plus side (Outside the fact that it sounds wonderful!) -- Binding is clean and even, no finish flaws that I can find, the hardware is all rock solid and tuning is very stable. I was able to get intonation spot-on with little effort, the nut was cut well and no string binding (I play 10-52's so I was worried the low strings might get a little sticky in the nut - No issue). This is a great guitar!

 

I now have four Epiphones in the stable -- A '12 Les Paul Standard Pro, a '14 Emperor/Joe Pass, a '15 Les Paul '56 Goldtop, and now this Sheraton II Pro. I love the feel and playability of the necks. The LP Standard and Joe Pass both received electronics "Facelift Surgery" (New p'ups/wiring/pots/switch/jack) to bring their tone and responsiveness up to what I consider acceptable. However, someone raised the bar at Epiphone in late'14/early '15, as I have not found any reason whatsoever to do upgrades to either the LP Goldtop or the Sheraton. Not only do these guitars play great, their tone 'out of the box' is great. I love it!

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Hi Gutch

 

+1 on the fret comments, had to dress down about 6 or 7 frets on mine to get the action where I normally set it (I like it low. with very little relief @ ~ 2/32 3/32) Once that was done, it was full speed ahead!

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  • 1 month later...

Hi Gutch

 

+1 on the fret comments, had to dress down about 6 or 7 frets on mine to get the action where I normally set it (I like it low. with very little relief @ ~ 2/32 3/32) Once that was done, it was full speed ahead!

 

 

It was a quick fix on mine as well. First step was to put a humidifier (damp sponge inside a soap travel box with holes drilled in the top) inside the case with the guitar for a week to make sure the fretboard hadn't shrunken due to low humidity. after that, a few frets that weren't installed completely got a couple taps with a rubber mallet to get them fully seated. A hour or so with a Stew-Mac fret finishing file to clean up the sharp ends, a light once over on the fretboard with 0000 steel wool and, finally, a quick rubdown with fretboard oil.

 

She's looking & playing like a dream... msp_thumbup.gif

 

 

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