[Differences between China-made and Korea-made Epiphone (Sheraton)]

Necks vary on Epi's and Gibsons. Some are thin and others are thick, even for the same model. Maybe they do that intentionally so everyone can choose what they want.

 

Ok :) In that case, I think I'll go to bigger music store, so I can compare..

[Differences between China-made and Korea-made Epiphone (Sheraton)]

I use to have a Dot Deluxe and never could bond with the neck. I thought I was getting something close to a Sheraton for $200 less. I believe the pups in all of these are the same. (Alnico Classics)Regular dot is chrome. Sheraton is gold. Some one else here will know for sure and correct me if I am wrong.

 

The Dot's neck is not bound and and doesn't feel the same as the Sheraton. Getting a 5 piece neck was important to me. So at the time, I went used to get a Korean one; because only Chinese ones were being made with the traditional scarf joint. Now apparantly, they are being made in both countries, so you have a choice of necks and even body shapes if that is important to you. But if you order one, sight unseen, you may not know which one you'll get until it shows up.

 

thanks..

 

Yeah, it's what I also thought, the same pus, just that on the dot they're not in gold..

 

And yeah, I didn't like the neck of the dot I tried at all.. So I'll see when I try out a Sheraton, I hope it is indeed different..

[Differences between China-made and Korea-made Epiphone (Sheraton)]

Oh, cool, I didn't realize that the Chinese government just stepped in one day and starting paying down US federal debt. That was nice of them. When did that happen?

 

Selling US Treasury Securities to the tune of $1150,000,000,000 to Beijing doesn't offset bankruptcy. It simply increases indebtedness, unless that money can be used as some sort of pump-primer for the domestic economy. There's slight evidence of that.

 

Criticizing the Chinese government doesn't equate to being unkind to the Chinese people. By the way, the Chinese government needs no help from outside in that department. Maybe you should read Amnesty International's human rights report on China for 2011: http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/china/report-2011

 

"Most things are made in China" because companies selling their goods in the west see an opportunity to increase profits by manufacturing products in a country where labour costs are cheap. Additionally, a huge sector of the retail market in the west is focused upon cheap consumer goods. Things have to be priced very cheap to sell, and therefore have to be made very, very cheaply for companies' profit expectations to be realized. Such is the nature of capitalism today.

 

A short, amusing, but illustrative video:

 

[YOUTUBE]

[/YOUTUBE]

 

Back to the original question?

 

As regards Sheratons, I have no idea (having owned neither a Korean nor a Chinese example). I have owned a Korean Epiphone (a Firebird V), which was total and utter crap. I have also owned a Chinese Epiphone (a G-400 from Unsung, China) that was a nice guitar. I'm not sure that is a particularly scientific test, however.

 

None of this is intended to be "holier than thou" or some sort of pious homily. I, too, have a house full of Chinese products bought from big box stores, because: ( a ) As a consumer I like to have things, and ( b ) I have a modest income. ( a ) + ( b ) therefore means that if I desire a flat-screen TV or a guitar, then chances are that in today's retail environment those items will originate with low-cost labour in China.

 

Would I like a handmade guitar, crafted by a luthier/artisan in the US or Europe? Absolutely! Can I afford that? No. So I head down to Guitar Center or similar and what do I find in my price range? Chinese-made guitars. So I buy one. Many of them seem very good for the price. C'est la vie.

 

Just don't assume that there is anything inherently noble about doing business with China, or that you are doing workers in China (or, indeed, anywhere else in the world) some sort of magnanimous favour by purchasing Chinese made goods.

 

It all comes at a cost, you know...both social and economic...

 

Totally agree on your "China-analysis" if I may call it like that..

 

About the chine epiphones.. I don't know, haven't played enough on them.. I played on an SG (not sure which serie) of a friend, it wasn't that great.. His Les Paul Standard was a bit better but not that good neither.. And today, the Epiphone Dot was ok on a few levels, but some things quite sucked about that guitar..

[Differences between China-made and Korea-made Epiphone (Sheraton)]

Yep, even by just touching it, without looking at the guitar My MIK Sheraton has the fretboard binding wrapped around the fret ends, just like the Gibson custom shop ES type guitars. And the neck profile of the MIK Sheraton is more a D-shape (pretty close to the current Gibson 60s slim taper necks), as opposed to the more C-shaped MIC necks. I have both MIK and MIC (and even a MIJ) ES style Epiphones, so I can compare them directly.

 

I tested a chinese dot today (not a Sheraton, ok..) and I hated the feel of the neck.. And if the neck that this Dot has, is called a "D-shape", I'm not so enthousiast about it.. Maybe I'll get used to it, but I like the feel of my Tele-neck now (but that might also be a matter of getting used to that)..

 

& could there be a difference between for instance a 1988 sheraton and a 2001? Because the 1988 is a 100 bucks more, but maybe it ain't worth it? Again, of course I'll have to try em out before being able to have an opinion on this but maybe I could find something out before testing them..

 

Anyway, here are the two guitars which I'm interested in..

 

The 2001 Sheraton (€370) http://www.2dehands.be/muziek/muziekinstrumenten/elektrische-gitaar/epiphone-sheraton-by-gibson-2001-case-111486988.html?qq=epiphone+sheraton&pcpl=&pc_id=&afd=

 

The 1988 Sheraton (€500) http://www.2dehands.be/muziek/muziekinstrumenten/elektrische-gitaar/epiphone-sheraton-1988-110831254.html?qq=epiphone+sheraton&pcpl=&pc_id=&afd=

[Differences between China-made and Korea-made Epiphone (Sheraton)]

Yep, even by just touching it, without looking at the guitar My MIK Sheraton has the fretboard binding wrapped around the fret ends, just like the Gibson custom shop ES type guitars. And the neck profile of the MIK Sheraton is more a D-shape (pretty close to the current Gibson 60s slim taper necks), as opposed to the more C-shaped MIC necks. I have both MIK and MIC (and even a MIJ) ES style Epiphones, so I can compare them directly.

 

I tested a chinese dot today (not a Sheraton, ok..) and I hated the feel of the neck.. And if the neck that this Dot has, is called a "D-shape", I'm not so enthousiast about it.. Maybe I'll get used to it, but I like the feel of my Tele-neck now (but that might also be a matter of getting used to that)..

 

& could there be a difference between for instance a 1988 sheraton and a 2001? Because the 1988 is a 100 bucks more, but maybe it ain't worth it? Again, of course I'll have to try em out before being able to have an opinion on this but maybe I could find something out before testing them..

 

Anyway, here are the two guitars which I'm interested in..

 

The 2001 Sheraton (€370) http://www.2dehands.be/muziek/muziekinstrumenten/elektrische-gitaar/epiphone-sheraton-by-gibson-2001-case-111486988.html?qq=epiphone+sheraton&pcpl=&pc_id=&afd=

 

The 1988 Sheraton (€500) http://www.2dehands.be/muziek/muziekinstrumenten/elektrische-gitaar/epiphone-sheraton-1988-110831254.html?qq=epiphone+sheraton&pcpl=&pc_id=&afd=

[Differences between China-made and Korea-made Epiphone (Sheraton)]

Oh, by the way, in the local store, I asked what the differences are between the Dot and the Sheraton II. He told me the Sheraton has different pick-ups than the dot.. Is this true?

 

(In this comparison, I'm talking of a new Dot, and a new Sheraton, both china made)

[Differences between China-made and Korea-made Epiphone (Sheraton)]

Thanks for all the replies so far. Quite different opinions, so I guess it will depend on the testing..

 

I've just tried a Chinese Epi Dot in the local shop (I will go out for a Sheraton next week, when my exams at college are over and more time will be available), and I didn't like it that much!

 

I didn't like the shape of the neck (what they call a "D-shape" I think?), which is ofcourse a matter of personal preferences, but I also didn't like the fretboard, which just felt pretty cheap.. My first guitar ever, a cheap Chinese Richwood Les Paul, had a better rosewoodfretboard, I think..

 

About the pick-ups, bridge pick-up was quite ok for a 300-dollar guitar, but the treble pick-up sounded as if the tonebutton was set on 5 or something.. Anyway, I just went to the local store since I haven't got that much time this week, just to try out an Epiphone semi-hollowbody, just to get the feel of it (it was my first time that I played a semi hollowbody)..

 

Next week, I'll try a new Sheraton in an other shop, and hopefully I'll be able to try the '88 Sheraton, so I can compare, and then I'll see which one I'll buy.

 

If the Sheraton I'll buy doesn't have great sounding pick-ups, I might change them for P-94's..

[Differences between China-made and Korea-made Epiphone (Sheraton)]

The picture of the '88 is beautiful. Don't see that

color too often. That would be my first choice.

 

yeah, with a slightly darker brown in the vintage burst, it is very pretty. Not that I care that much about looks but it's nice..

[Differences between China-made and Korea-made Epiphone (Sheraton)]

Hi

 

and welcome here

 

could you tell the difference if it was not written on the guitar

 

if your answer is no .....

 

go for the one that feels/sounds/looks best to your hands/ears/eyes

 

Of course! It's not the fact that they're made in China, I don't care about that, but it's just that I read some stuff on this issue on the Epiphone website, so yah..

 

Anyway, I'll probably just try a new Sheraton in the store.. If I wouldn't like it, I'll maybe go trying an older one.. But I think a new one will do..

[Differences between China-made and Korea-made Epiphone (Sheraton)]

So I am thinking of buying an Epiphone Hollowbody, the Sheraton for instance, but now I don't know what I should do: buy a brand new china-made Sheraton 2, or I also have the occasion of buying 1988 Sheraton or a 2001 Korea-made Sheraton. They're in good shape and have no modifications and also the price ain't a problem. What should I do? What are the differences between new and older ones, especially in terms of quality between the koreamades and chinamades..