viktor9090 Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Hi, I've been searching for that perfect guitar for over 20 years and very surprisably ended up with two great Epiphone Sheraton's, both Made in Japan. One is made by Matsumoku (1983) and the other guitar is made by Terada (1988). The neck's on those are thin, perfect for my smaller hands. I've had more than a few Gibson's (es-175, es-330, byrdland, es-135, es-335, es-345, L-4) but never felt as comfortable as I do now. When i gig or go to rehearsals, I don't need to worry about the possibility of a 2500€ or + guitar getting broken or stolen. And the Japanese Sheraton's play as nice. Low action, great finishing and even the standard pick-ups MIJ sound great. I just love playing them and am wondering if any other players out there are also so strongly pleased with their Japanese Sheraton's. They are hard to get, but worth every penny, without any doubt. And honestly, compared to some Gibson's i see in the stores right now, they are just plain better. Of course, a great Gibson remains a great Gibson. But those MIJ Sheraton's offer great abalone work in the headstock and frets, great pick-ups, and overall a great attention to details. And they are very similar to the best Gibson's out there, in my opinion. Just love 'em. So i look forward to hearing the opinions of fellow musicians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barosborough Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Hi, I've been searching for that perfect guitar for over 20 years and very surprisably ended up with two great Epiphone Sheraton's, both Made in Japan. One is made by Matsumoku (1983) and the other guitar is made by Terada (1988). The neck's on those are thin, perfect for my smaller hands. I've had more than a few Gibson's (es-175, es-330, byrdland, es-135, es-335, es-345, L-4) but never felt as comfortable as I do now. When i gig or go to rehearsals, I don't need to worry about the possibility of a 2500€ or + guitar getting broken or stolen. And the Japanese Sheraton's play as nice. Low action, great finishing and even the standard pick-ups MIJ sound great. I just love playing them and am wondering if any other players out there are also so strongly pleased with their Japanese Sheraton's. They are hard to get, but worth every penny, without any doubt. And honestly, compared to some Gibson's i see in the stores right now, they are just plain better. Of course, a great Gibson remains a great Gibson. But those MIJ Sheraton's offer great abalone work in the headstock and frets, great pick-ups, and overall a great attention to details. And they are very similar to the best Gibson's out there, in my opinion. Just love 'em. So i look forward to hearing the opinions of fellow musicians. Those are some fine looking Sheratons! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Beauties, for sure! Congratulations! CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchie1281734003 Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 I had a blonde 84 Matsumoku made Sheraton, and agree with what you say. It was fabulously well built, although unlike you, I didn`t really rate the MMK-75 pickups, they were just too dark for me compared to the MMK-61s found in other Matsumoku guitars. Your two look very nice. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jubaea Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 Hi, I've been searching for that perfect guitar for over 20 years and very surprisably ended up with two great Epiphone Sheraton's, both Made in Japan. One is made by Matsumoku (1983) and the other guitar is made by Terada (1988). The neck's on those are thin, perfect for my smaller hands. I've had more than a few Gibson's (es-175, es-330, byrdland, es-135, es-335, es-345, L-4) but never felt as comfortable as I do now. When i gig or go to rehearsals, I don't need to worry about the possibility of a 2500€ or + guitar getting broken or stolen. And the Japanese Sheraton's play as nice. Low action, great finishing and even the standard pick-ups MIJ sound great. I just love playing them and am wondering if any other players out there are also so strongly pleased with their Japanese Sheraton's. They are hard to get, but worth every penny, without any doubt. And honestly, compared to some Gibson's i see in the stores right now, they are just plain better. Of course, a great Gibson remains a great Gibson. But those MIJ Sheraton's offer great abalone work in the headstock and frets, great pick-ups, and overall a great attention to details. And they are very similar to the best Gibson's out there, in my opinion. Just love 'em. So i look forward to hearing the opinions of fellow musicians. Hi, Which is the Matsumoku and which is the Terada ? The two bodies seem to have a slightly different size ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 The Terada is the burst, the Matsu is the Wine Red. The easiest way to spot a Terada Sheraton is the number of fretboard inlays it has. A Terada will always have inlays all the way to the 21st fret. The rest of the Sheratons stop at the 15th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jubaea Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 ..The easiest way to spot a Terada Sheraton is the number or fretboard inlays it has. A Terada will always have inlays all the way to the 21st fret. The rest of the Sheratons stop at the 15th. Ok, I had never noticed it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pin Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 The Terada is the burst, the Matsu is the Wine Red. The easiest way to spot a Terada Sheraton is the number or fretboard inlays it has. A Terada will always have inlays all the way to the 21st fret. The rest of the Sheratons stop at the 15th. Good tip. For me, if I ever buy a Sheraton it will have to be a Terada. I hate the inlays stopping at the 15th! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jubaea Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 Good tip. For me, if I ever buy a Sheraton it will have to be a Terada. I hate the inlays stopping at the 15th! I agree, but I think a good luthier should be able to do it easily ... and I think one day, I'll do it on my Sheraton Nashville USA Collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 I agree, but I think a good luthier should be able to do it easily ... and I think one day, I'll do it on my Sheraton Nashville USA Collection. I dont know if I would do that to a Nashville USA Sheraton. Those things are super rare. You might just end up devaluing it immensely. If I were you, I'd get an expert opinion on that modification. And I mean EXPERT opinion, like Gruhns or the like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyg Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 Good tip. For me, if I ever buy a Sheraton it will have to be a Terada. I hate the inlays stopping at the 15th! It's a matter of what you like, but the Matsumoku is more faithful to the original 60's model which only had inlays to the 15th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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