macoshark Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Hows it goin! Haven't posted here a lot but grateful for the help and advice so far. Now that I've been bitten by the Semihollow bug I've been looking around at all there is out there. I'm overwhelmed at how much there is especially on the used market. Just beautiful looking Gibbys, Epis,Ibanez, and a lot more I havent got to. I'm really happy with my Peerless Sherri but can't help but want to get a deal on another semi. Iknow I need to play some of the other brands above but wonder what others here think about getting. Be it epi another cool used semi. Along with this I'm also wondering if I should consider other pick up options? I know others have opted for other choices for different reasons. What would be the best way to tell if my Sherri has OEM PUs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vomer Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Whip them out and see what it says on the bottom, let us know, better still post pics. For me, your question about semi-hollows is all about pickups. My Saein Epiphone Sheraton has had a couple of minor quality niggles, but on the whole it's a great guitar and one I will never sell. IMHO, quality across the various Epiphone producing factories has always been consistently inconsistent, that is, you could never point to one factory and say, they're rubbish, or they're great, but as has been discussed extensively here, quality is generally good and can be variable between individual guitars. So with Epiphone, those of us who know them and buy them know what to expect. And we keep buying them. So I don't feel a great need to shop beyond Epiphone unless it's for Fender style guitars. But back to my Sheraton. I'm not a great fan of humbuckers. In 2007 Gibson produced a limited edition ES335 with P90's and if I'd known about it then I might have pawned my granny to get one. And Heritage have a similar model. But not having the readies for one of those I swapped out the pickups in my Sheraton to P90 types. Some time later I decided I wanted more of a Gretsch tone from the bridge position so that will be changed when I get around to it. There probably are other brands offering Epi-price range semi hollows with P90's, but I'd be less sure of finding a Filtertron/P90 combination. For me, I like the basic platform of the Epiphone Sheraton and will change out pickups rather than looking for other brands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 I was recently lucky to land a killer Epi from my local Pawnshop. As we all know, they are sometimes not the greatest at reasonable pricing for used items!.....At $199 w/hardcase(speaking of deals).....a 2003 Korean Dot Deluxe-Flame VS..... Trying to post pic.....be patient I am a bit of a Vintage Gibson 'snob' .....but I will say that I am a HUGE FAN of this guitar. It filled a void that I had in my collection.... -Humbuckers(I am a P90 guy) -double cut semi-hollow -great neck size -affordable 'take-out' guitar -has inspired me to new levels of playing After doing a 'proper set-up' and pickup height adjustment this girl absolutely 'sings'. I just installed a re-placement guard (sorry! The picture doesn't show the outline well! solid thick black and more stream-lined) that looks much better than the original.... Hell, after so much 'love' .....$350 would be a GREAT deal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayyj Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 If you're looking for a guitar to compliment the Sheraton, perhaps one of the P93 Rivieras would be worth looking at? 335 style guitar with a trio of single coils in place of the usual two humbuckers. A more traditional P90 guitar would be the good old Casino, completely hollow and a slightly different animal, but hugely popular round these parts, and there are the recent Sheraton Reissues which have mini humbuckers with a slightly different sound to the full size version. Outside of Epi, the new Gretsch Center-block semis are fantastic - Korean made, a single cut with a single coil neck and humbucking bridge pickup and a double cut with three single coils. Both single coil and humbucker are Gretsch designs with a very distinctive sound. Ibanez make some great semis, there are some cool new Korean Guilds worth checking out, and don't forget the budget Gibson semis such as Midtowns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 For what it's worth, all but two of the guitars I've purchased the past 10 years have been Epis. That's four flattop AEs of various sorts and two - yup two - Dots. (The other two were a Gretsch and an Eastman - both full hollow archtops.) Why? Basically they're good quality instruments. Yeah, folks have complained about the electronics on some older ones - including those from Korea and earlier Gibson-China builds, but I've not had difficulties with mine. That said, I wouldn't be adverse to trying some Gretch pups in one of the Dots but... I dunno. No real "gigging" reason to do so at this point. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender 4 Life Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 modern Epis are one of the best bang for the buck guitars out there............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old mark Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Epiphone has a long history of making excellent archtop hollow and semihollow guitars, going back to the late 1920's. They were the ONLY serious competition for the higher end Gibson archtop jazz guitars...in the highest grades, Epiphones were better guitars than even the mighty Gibson. Gibson bought Epi in 1957, IIRC and made some of the guitars that were similar using Gibson parts after the Epi parts were used up.. .an example is the Gibson SG 125, a single cutaway thinline hollow body. The Epiphone version of that is the Sorrento. Epiphone makes very good quality production archtop guitars at various prices.I have a 2011 Chinese made Dot, with a pair of Gibson 490 humbuckers installed, a 2012 Eltist Casino, a 2013 Riviera Custom P93 and sometime today I will take delivery of a mid 1990's Sorrento made in Korea by Peerless. I have at least 8 Gibson electric guitars and they mostly stay in the case. I play my Epiphones and my solitary Gretsch hollowbodies because they are very well made, great players...and I have spent less on all of mine than I would have on an equivalent Gibson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 it's not a semi hollow, but if you can find any Epi Swingters on the second hand market, I would seriously consider taking one for a ride. (Joe Pass Emperor II sized body) I picked up a white Royale last year, it's really a cool axe. The humbukers have an out of phase (push / pull) so you can get a lot of sounds out of it. it's pretty resilient to feed back, and the bigsby works good. here's what they look like: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macoshark Posted February 17, 2014 Author Share Posted February 17, 2014 Good responses, Yeah the whole pickup thing,is a subject I need to explore. I do like the sound of and clarity of my Sherri. But need to really here other pickups.Some of the guitars you guys pickup at pawnshops amaze me. I havent seen Jack here but will keep going by to see check. It's funny retorod, cause I was looking at another site and saw a flame top RI Dot,cherry, hat got me on simmer. I thot full hollows had feed back issues but never really played them much but will consider checking them also. By the way, I have always played and teste the guitars I've bought and am hesitant to buy online csuse you can't. Have you guys been happy with online purchases? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 re Online purchasing: I haven't had a problem, (I've been at this since the early 70s when I got serious about playing (13 yrs old), I've had dozens of guitars, and currently the collection totals at 17.) Recently I've thrown caution to the wind and bought online, I was in the past, reluctant to do this myself. That Swingster in my post was purchased from Sweetwater when they had a blow out sale on them last year. Not a single issue. I also ordered a 2012 SG Standard from them, and again, no problems at all,, it rocks.. I've purchased 2 other guitars online prior to those 2. Epi Emperor Regent back in 2010, did have one issue, a finish crack so I sent it back and it was resolved in a matter of 8 or 9 days (Musicians Friend) without any hassle at all. Also bought a Broadway from MF last last year - it was perfect. (probably the best out of the box setup I ever experienced) IMO with the bigger stores like Sweetwater and MF, they have good return policies and usually plenty of stock to backup a dud if you happen to get one. in fact, the return policies for these stores with in the first few days is "no questions asked"... You wont always get a mom and pop/local place to be that liberal with the sale. Most of em will give you store credit if you are not happy, you gotta duke it out with them to get a refund if they don't have anything you like if the original sale goes bust. about semis and feed back,I think it mostly depends on the pickup. The center block usually is enough to ward off feed back. I've got an ES135 and a Epi Elitist Country Gent, both are semi hollows and I have no problems with feed back, and I play with a heavy handed drummer, I run stereo and we are pretty loud at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macoshark Posted February 17, 2014 Author Share Posted February 17, 2014 Thanks kidblast good to hear positive on your online purchases. Have you dealt with private sales online? Your Joe Pass looks really nice. Retorod- the neck on your Dot Ri. is it a wide sorta neck compared to a Sherri? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 hey Maco if you mean Ebay or Craigslist, I've sold a few things, but I have never bought from anyone on Ebay. The guy I've been playing with for about 35 years now, does a lot of buying and selling on the bay he's got probably 100s of transactions, (all positive feedback) but he wont deal with any one who A: Doesn't have almost perfect feedback and B: wont use pay pal. he knows the game better than anyone I know but even still, he's had his share of bad deals. Comparing buying used on EBay verses buying new from a place like (IMO) Sweetwater on line,, hands down, I'll pay a little more if need be and go with SWEETWATER, every time Anyway, I guess I would just advise if you do this, do what he does, check the seller feedback religiously, ask a lot of, or at least some questions, and see what sort of responses you get, and I would definitely make sure your working it as a pay pall transaction, at least with them, your money is about as safe as it's gonna get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 I have sent a guitar back to Sweetwater - and probably should have sent back another that works well enough for certain types of acoustic playing. But when one gets much above $500 - I'm a coward. It's not that I don't trust Sweetwater or MF, but... I dunno if I want to spend $500 one way or another for a guitar I may or may not bond with. I guess you could say that, as much as price tags, is what keeps me in the Epi 'stedda Gibson camp. Spending is one thing, wasting is another. And there's no question that a $2,000 Gibson that just somehow ain't "my" guitar isn't something that would really bother me, even knowing I can send it back. Dunno how to explain it, but that's me. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Good responses, Yeah the whole pickup thing,is a subject I need to explore. I do like the sound of and clarity of my Sherri. But need to really here other pickups.Some of the guitars you guys pickup at pawnshops amaze me. I havent seen Jack here but will keep going by to see check. It's funny retorod, cause I was looking at another site and saw a flame top RI Dot,cherry, hat got me on simmer. I thot full hollows had feed back issues but never really played them much but will consider checking them also. By the way, I have always played and teste the guitars I've bought and am hesitant to buy online csuse you can't. Have you guys been happy with online purchases? Hey Macoshark, I think that me finding this guitar was a 'fluke'. I was NOT EVEN in the market for a guitar. I was looking for a pickup(they didn't have)...I spotted it out of the corner of my eye, and went in for a close-up. Even the dude who was managing the shop had not noticed it or the price.....but was thinking of buying it himself after noticing, Ha! I plugged in and played and damn....I was hooked. The Hard shell case included, through me over the edge....MIne! I still had thoughts of 'flipping it" (thats how I justify a lot of my purchases)....but after setting it up to my liking and jamming it with the boys last Saturday, I really can,t see giving it up! I believe the neck width should be the same as your Sheraton, 1.68" or 1-11/16"......far better to me than the 60's skinny Gibson necks of 1-9/16" I like the way the guitar hangs from the shoulder and the great neck access! This one has the original Epi '57CH humbuckers....potted to the max with some clear epoxy??? They do sing though with great tonal range Gotta love, the "dual designation" of the "application".... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sleeko Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I like the way they're styled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis G Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Why Epiphone? Why not? They make a good guitar at an affordable price, some copies of their Gibby brethren, but others, quite original. I have an Elitist Casino, Wildkat, Dot, DR100 and DR212 and think highly of all of them for what they are. As for online purchasing, I've bought several guitars, amps, accessories from Sweetwater (best IMHO), MF and GC. None will hassle you an any type of return. My experience is that SW actually does go over the guitar while the others just take a box from the shelf and ship it to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I would lean more toward Sweetwater also, as an internet purchase...! However, I bought my first "internet" guitar purchase in 2004 from MF, when I bought my LP jr for $550 shipped. Great Deal and 'luckily' a GREAT guitar, after doing my special setup and cap change to the controls....added bone nut also...25% improvement Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macoshark Posted February 18, 2014 Author Share Posted February 18, 2014 Cool, thanks so much for the help. I really didn't get the sweetwater thing until you mentioned it, so will take a look. For me the intent on this thread was to see what other brands or models guitarists here like or desire. I'm content on Epi and now I see Expensive guitars aren't necessary to take me where I want to be. NO,no no - rather, I get off on bad *** guitars like my Sherri that do the job. But I'm relaizing there are, seldom talked about, semis I should educate my self on.You know I would like to play some Gibbys and will but the dinero could be spent on sleeper semis be it Epi or whatever. Recently, I went to another guitar site where apparently the memebers there don't talk or know about epis. I missed a sensational deal on one that had sat around for weeks. I'm so glad I found my Serri either by chance or design. Only thing is I'm getting thirsty again for another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis G Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I'm so glad I found my Serri either by chance or design. Only thing is I'm getting thirsty again for another. it's called GAS (Guitar/or Gear/Acquisition Syndrome. There is no known cure once it strikes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Yup. GAS. Ain't no cure. Sheesh. You'd think that at my age, decrepitude would take care of it. Not. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Hmmmmm... double post. That's what I get for thinking about a new AE 12... m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott0 Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I fyou want a truly different sound from your sherri, then I'd suggest a Fender Strat or Tele. If you want somewhat different, veering towards rock, I'd suggest an Epi Les Paul tribute plus. If you want different but brighter and killer clean tones but might have to deal with some hum issues, I'd suggest a Epi Casino. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Why Epiphone? Well, every time I play my '66 Casino, and AIUSA Sheraton, I ask myself WHY I don't play them more often...and, I DO play them, a lot, as it is! So... CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old mark Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Thanks kidblast good to hear positive on your online purchases. Have you dealt with private sales online? I have over 30 guitars at this time, and IIRC only 1 was not bought online. Use ebay or a similar site or use a known seller for new and used guitars and amps and you will be fine. ALL large online sellers I have dealt with in the last 8 years have a good return policy if something is not as they said it was. I do NOT buy from craigs list or similar sites because I like to at least see what I am buying. FWIW, I have bought several guitars in the $4000 range from eBay sellers and have not had any problem with any of them. I also recommend Sweetwater and Music Go Round (for used stuff) online sellers. Sweetwater also has the best price on Epiphone hard cases...just bought another one yesterday and they shipped it within a few hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 By the way, I have always played and teste the guitars I've bought and am hesitant to buy online csuse you can't. Have you guys been happy with online purchases? I got this book-matched flamed trans amber LP off of ebay. Happy I did! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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