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2014 Epiphone Union Jack Sheraton waiting thread


sdgails

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I LOVE the neck. It's like a D shape with a flat center on the back side. Perfect for me. The mini buckers put out a very hot signal. Love the tones and all in all I love everything about it. I also own another Sheraton and a Casino so the body shape is very similar and familiar to me. Working north or the twelfth wasn't a problem for me, again because I'm used to this body style. Thank you all for the congrats. And Congrats to everyone who's just getting them in. Let's see those pics

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I'd love to post pics...again, Did this site change or is it just me....?

I see no place on this post area to attach a photo....

Can't get to my profile...Am I going crazy here...

Went to my desktop and laptop and am getting this weird looking webpage.

Idk.

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Well, I got mine the other day, shipped to store from Guitar Center. I specifically ordered from Guitar Center because I got 15% off several months ago when I ordered during a promotion and I knew that if there were any issues, I could return to the in-store location just a few miles away from my house.

 

Anyway, brought the guitar home that night, did a slow unboxing, and was ultimately very disappointed. While the guitar is playable with decent action and good tone from the mini humbuckers, my example suffers from the same overtightened truss rod condition that has caused the fretboard to separate from the neck up to the first fret. There's also a smudge in the paint on the upper body, near the binding and the f-hole finish is very rough to both the eye and the touch, with poor paint work around the edges.

 

I know I'm a new member here, but I've lurked for years and currently own a '06 Gibson J45 (USA), '12 Gibson Les Paul Jr. (USA), '12 Epiphone EJ-200 (China?), and Epiphone Sheraton II ('94, Korean made). I've also owned a '70s Japanese EA-250 semi-hollow electric in the past, along with a '90s EJ-200 and a '90s Casino. Suffice it to say, I've got experience with these guitars and I've been happy with every one so far.

 

This one is a major disappointment, and from what I've seen here and on the Epiphone website, the perfect ones are few and far between. Nearly everyone has at least a minor to major finish issue (many seem to be dismissive of these issues because of the wait they've endured) and many are bad to the degree of being completely defective, as mine is. I have kept the guitar a few days, plugged it in, played it, trying to convince myself to give Epiphone another chance. I have decided that I will not. I will return, rather than exchange this guitar and have my heart broken again.

 

There was a time that I really wanted an Epiphone Noel Gallgher Supernova. I knew it wasn't "authentic" to the guitar Noel actually played, and I yearned for better. After the Union Jack was announced, I thought I'd never want for a Supernova again. Indeed, I saw a flood of Supernovas on eBay when the Union Jack started shipping -- presumably those who felt similar to me and wanted a more authentic Noel guitar. They seemed to come on market at significantly discounted prices -- as if the Union Jack was the new Oasis standard.

 

But now, I feel that I'd rather have a Supernova with its superior build quality. While it's not totally authentic (and neither is the Union Jack with its white sides and back), it does seem to have a better build and a closer connection to Noel. In fact, I think I'll buy one in Man City blue -- I'd rather display a Union Jack -painted guitar than play it, I've learned.

 

So as for me, I'm on the hunt for a sub-$600 Supernova in Man City Blue. Hopefully they stay cheap a few weeks longer.

 

***EDIT: By the way, many say only early June-July '14 UJs suffer these defects. The serial number of my defective guitar is quite visible in one of my photos. My guitar was made in August 14, if I'm not confused. The defects are inherent to the current assembly line/setup dept.

post-68483-050189500 1415433897_thumb.jpg

post-68483-017966100 1415433909_thumb.jpg

post-68483-076959200 1415433930_thumb.jpg

post-68483-019089400 1415433942_thumb.jpg

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Sorry to hear of your problems RJ, I seriously thought about cancelling and then returning when I got my first bad one, my faith in epiphone was gone. I needed this guitar though, like you I'd looked at and nearly got supernovas for years. I had to give it one more go though because of the wait I wanted to see if their were any good ones. Their is, the second one I had is by far the best feeling epiphone I have played easily beating my Korean Sherri 2 and riviera! Stay with it for one more go! Was the supplier supposed to check before dispatch? I had my supplier by the balls due to the promises they make on their site and they had no choice but to give me the better guitar which I believe they were keeping for display! Surely a 8/9 month and even years of waiting is worth seeing one more? If you get a good one you won't regret it!

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I'd love to post pics...again, Did this site change or is it just me....?

I see no place on this post area to attach a photo....

Can't get to my profile...Am I going crazy here...

Went to my desktop and laptop and am getting this weird looking webpage.

Idk.

Nothing has changed for me? I used photobucket to upload pics, I just pasted the pic links in the comment box! Congrats aswell at first I read it that you were fishing for STRIPPERS! Could hook me a few of those !

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Sorry to hear of your problems RJ, I seriously thought about cancelling and then returning when I got my first bad one, my faith in epiphone was gone. I needed this guitar though, like you I'd looked at and nearly got supernovas for years. I had to give it one more go though because of the wait I wanted to see if their were any good ones. Their is, the second one I had is by far the best feeling epiphone I have played easily beating my Korean Sherri 2 and riviera! Stay with it for one more go! Was the supplier supposed to check before dispatch? I had my supplier by the balls due to the promises they make on their site and they had no choice but to give me the better guitar which I believe they were keeping for display! Surely a 8/9 month and even years of waiting is worth seeing one more? If you get a good one you won't regret it!

 

Thanks for the note, Matt. While I have no doubt that there are some good examples out there, I refuse to stand by a company that ships guitars in this state, hoping to get a sucker customer that doesn't know any better. The labels on the box that my guitar came in specifically stated that my guitar shipped from Epiphone's USA quality control center in Nashville, TN. See photo!

 

I'll only buy used Epis from here on. Epi will get no more NEW money from me. And BTW, in the photo I attached, does "C/T NO" mean that this is 146 of 300 supposedly shipped to Guitar Center?

post-68483-053727800 1415437191_thumb.jpg

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RJ, so sorry to hear about your bad experience with the UJ....I was one of the guys that thought the defects were on the earlier run of guitars but yours came off the line in August like mine.<br />I was just messing with mine and I did find another issue, one of the tone knobs is slightly elevated, and there is that little bruise on the case.<br />I looked for all the defects previously mentioned by earlier buyers but thankfully mine is a keeper, my condolences to you.<br /><br />I just want to ask you guys again if your webpage format has changed?<br />My page is now an elongated blue gray....there is no access to my profile page, my AVatar is  now an old fuzzy picture of my Gibson SG...my scary little boy from the Fifties is gone as well is my sig....<br />Are you guys seeing that Avatar or the gibby pic? <br />The pictures you guys are posting are coming out in a thin line to the left of the elongated  screen.....<br />Finally as I am writing this post...there is no place to add attachments...<br />There is a sign underneath that says Options and has 3 choices;<br />Enable emoticons<br />Enable signature<br />Enable email notification of replies<br />That's it.<br />Is your screen like that?<br />This is the way it is on on my laptop,  iPad and desktop.<br />Anyone have any suggestions?<br />I was thinking of logging off and trying coming back on.<br />Hope one of you guys can offer me a suggestion.<br /><br />Hope you guys enjoy your day and your new guitars....<br />Case candy?<br />I got a decal, trussrod wrench, a cool poster and a pleather bound Certificate of authenticity ,,,,was hoping for a wipedown towel...:-)

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Just a quick update. I took the UJ back to Guitar Center to return and the guy working the counter was very apologetic about it though it wasn't his fault. He also told me that he's personally accepted the return of two other Epiphones (different models) that suffered from the same fretboard/neck separation in the PAST WEEK. Epi needs to get this sorted before its reputation is ruined. He agreed with my decision not to order another one, as though the issue may not be immediately apparent, he was concerned that the separation could still happen in the future.

 

Good luck to everyone. I suspect there will be a slew of $500 factory-second UJ's hitting the chain retailers in the near future after repairs are made to all the rejects.

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Wow RJ, that sucks. Sorry you waited so long for it and that shows up. Hopefully the next one will be better. It's a sad state of affairs when something like all these bad UJ are passing QC at the factory AND Gibson/Epiphone USA QC. WTF??? Save your "Inspected by" stickers and let them know how f'd up everything is but yet approved by their inspectors. Absolutely no excuse for this. I stopped in at my local GC to kill some time and pick up a few odds and ends and was looking at the new Chinese Epis. I'm sticking to buying only used Korean made Epis from now on. I can't believe the way they're making the necks on these things. Not to mention the heel/body joints on some of them was so wide, you could see where they used some sort of Bondo to fill the gap!!! The prices are the same as if made in Korea, BUT the quality has gone way down I'm sorry to say. I am happy with my UJ but I will definitely NOT be buying any more new Epiphones until the quality comes up a lot. Hey Epiphone, if you're reading this, how about giving us back the quality we've come to expect. What are you saving per unit? $5, $10? We'll pay the little extra. Go back to using the Korean factories PLEASE!!!!

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I only bought this UJ because I don't own a semi-hollow body other than my Ric 360/12 and my Epi cherry pro plus top Les Paul,. Which was an 'oinker' out of the box til I had it set up a week or so ago and it plays beautifully now...it is a stunner looks wise and the luthier was amazed how well the veneer matched .I restore antique furniture and was taken by the matched veneer too.

I also bought the UJ because I am a Brit-pop fan, Oasis, Blur etc. plus an Anglophile having spent about six month hitchiking through the UK years ago as a young man. The Union Jack motif on the guitar called out to me.

Since last reporting, I have found some other little wrinkles and hiccups on the guitar that aren't really consequential but still are there....I might be a bit more zealous in my search after reading what others have found and reported.

All said and done, this will probably my last Epiphone purchase until the quality of construction improves a notch or two.

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My own personal experience with items made in China is that there is little in the way of quality control. I hate to sound that way, but QC seems to be the responsibility of the buyer (don't like it, return it to our distributor). This sort of thing would never ship from Korea or Japan, at least not in my experience. This is the sort of quality control I would expect to see in cheap counterfeit knockoffs.

 

One benefit of waiting until Sweetwater gets them is that I can't imagine they would claim that a guitar in terrible condition like RJ received would pass the 51-point test.

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I am sorry to hear this talk about the QC, but happy for you all who were able to obtain a good UJ.

 

This past weekend, I made a trip to Guitar Center and played every Epiphone in the store. They were a really big disappointment. As mentioned, the QC was almost non-existant. Not one guitar would have passed my inspection. The necks were all big shouldered and unfomcortable to play. They felt like they were made by a beginner, not a trained neck carver.

 

Needless to say, I left feeling very disappointed and troubled. After reading all these remarks, I am going to reconsider getting one, as much as I may regret it. Even though the guitars do not resemble a 335 style body profile, on Rondo Music's site, they had their version of the union jack semi.

Theirs are all made in South Korea, and sell for $429.

as820unionjack1a.jpg

Here qre the specs:

A True Semi-Hollow Guitar with Center Block!!

•This guitar features a true jazz semi hollow body with full body, neck, and headstock binding

•The guitar has a natural Spruce top with Maple back & Sides

•Die-cast Gold Grover tuners with 18-1 ratio for ultra fine tuning

•Set in Maple neck with graphite nut

•Rosewood fretboard with 22 jumbo frets (2.7mm) and large pearloid block inlays

•All gold hardware with stop bar tail piece

•The AS-820 is equipt with two ceramic humbucker pickups

•Sound is controlled via two volume and two tone controls (speed knobs) and a 3 way pickup selector switch

•Width of the neck at the nut: 1 5/8"; at the 22st fret: 2 3/16"

•Overall length, including the strap button: 42"; Scale length: 24.7 "

•Width at the widest point: 15"

•Body thickness 1 3/4" at edge

•Actual Weight is only 7.5 lbs

 

 

I don't like looks of them compared to the real UJ's, but Rondo's guitars have been receiving good reviews. One thing they have is good upper neck access to the high frets. Just a thought.

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Thanks for the note, Matt. While I have no doubt that there are some good examples out there, I refuse to stand by a company that ships guitars in this state, hoping to get a sucker customer that doesn't know any better. The labels on the box that my guitar came in specifically stated that my guitar shipped from Epiphone's USA quality control center in Nashville, TN. See photo!

 

I'll only buy used Epis from here on. Epi will get no more NEW money from me. And BTW, in the photo I attached, does "C/T NO" mean that this is 146 of 300 supposedly shipped to Guitar Center?

 

 

C/T no would probably mean the carton that went on the shipment to Epiphone. also, the crack at the nut happens from time to time in the shipping of ALL guitars and most likely had nothing to do with the truss rod being over tightened.

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1415617503[/url]' post='1588633']

I am sorry to hear this talk about the QC, but happy for you all who were able to obtain a good UJ.

 

This past weekend, I made a trip to Guitar Center and played every Epiphone in the store. They were a really big disappointment. As mentioned, the QC was almost non-existant. Not one guitar would have passed my inspection. The necks were all big shouldered and unfomcortable to play. They felt like they were made by a beginner, not a trained neck carver.

 

Needless to say, I left feeling very disappointed and troubled. After reading all these remarks, I am going to reconsider getting one, as much as I may regret it. Even though the guitars do not resemble a 335 style body profile, on Rondo Music's site, they had their version of the union jack semi.

Theirs are all made in South Korea, and sell for $429.

as820unionjack1a.jpg

Here qre the specs:

A True Semi-Hollow Guitar with Center Block!!

•This guitar features a true jazz semi hollow body with full body, neck, and headstock binding

•The guitar has a natural Spruce top with Maple back & Sides

•Die-cast Gold Grover tuners with 18-1 ratio for ultra fine tuning

•Set in Maple neck with graphite nut

•Rosewood fretboard with 22 jumbo frets (2.7mm) and large pearloid block inlays

•All gold hardware with stop bar tail piece

•The AS-820 is equipt with two ceramic humbucker pickups

•Sound is controlled via two volume and two tone controls (speed knobs) and a 3 way pickup selector switch

•Width of the neck at the nut: 1 5/8"; at the 22st fret: 2 3/16"

•Overall length, including the strap button: 42"; Scale length: 24.7 "

•Width at the widest point: 15"

•Body thickness 1 3/4" at edge

•Actual Weight is only 7.5 lbs

 

 

I don't like looks of them compared to the real UJ's, but Rondo's guitars have been receiving good reviews. One thing they have is good upper neck access to the high frets. Just a thought.

Hey Podnah, I was checking out Rondos that you posted on Flea-bay Saturday., there is also another company putting them up too...also out of SK......my nephew was over Saturday checking out my UJ and loved the look, electronics and playability of the UJ...his only complaint was that the neck 'feels like a canoe paddle.'He is a more diverse guitarist than me...into jazz as well as being a decent shredder but he made that UJ sound delightful,putting it through some great sound variations thru my 69 Bandmaster clean channel.

All in all. i am happy with it's look and performance , and thanks to Imorgg giving me the heads up on the 15% off coupon that I wasn't aware of when I ordered online, it was worth what I paid for it at the reduced price....

Throw in a decent case, albeit slightly scuffed and a real decent setup that needed only minor adjustments for my playing and I am content.Luke

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Hey Podnah, I was checking out Rondos that you posted on Flea-bay Saturday., there is also another company putting them up too...also out of SK......my nephew was over Saturday checking out my UJ and loved the look, electronics and playability of the UJ...his only complaint was that the neck 'feels like a canoe paddle.'He is a more diverse guitarist than me...into jazz as well as being a decent shredder but he made that UJ sound delightful,putting it through some great sound variations thru my 69 Bandmaster clean channel.

All in all. i am happy with it's look and performance , and thanks to Imorgg giving me the heads up on the 15% off coupon that I wasn't aware of when I ordered online, it was worth what I paid for it at the reduced price....

Throw in a decent case, albeit slightly scuffed and a real decent setup that needed only minor adjustments for my playing and I am content.Luke

 

I will have to look for that other company putting out the UJ to take a look-see. I won't be getting a UJ from Rondo. I'm so confused at this point that I am not sure what I will ultimately decide. I'm glad yours came in and proved to be satisfactory for you, Luke. I played over 30 Epiphones this past weekend, and none of them excited me. :(

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I was also at GC checking out some of the new Epis. Sorry to say but I wasn't impressed. I saw gaps in the neck joints that looked like they were filled with Bondo, terrible fret jobs, bad finishes, and wonky electronics on more than half I played. I noticed that the '62 Sorrento RI and the Genesis have had significant price drops this week and was tempted to feed my GAS again. GC didn't have any on the floor and I am not buying another new Epiphone sight unseen ever again. The few issues I have with my UJ aren't too bad. If I had paid full price, I'd be *****ing a lot more. I feel bad for Ferdasyn and a few others paying the equivalent of over $1000 for theirs. Sorry Epiphone but you've betrayed our trust in your products while trying to maintain the fat bonuses I'm sure you'll give yourselves at the end of the year. Between Gibson forcing minitune and a 30% increase in prices down our throats, AND Epiphone's quality dropping, you've lost a customer. There's an old saying when it comes to business. You can shear a sheep many times, you can only skin it once. It's too bad because I really love my Korean made Epi's. Good luck with the new business model.

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I think we all agree on that premise about Epiphone....I'm sure their people read these threads on the Gibson forum as well as the derogatory posts about Epiphone products and failure to deliver on the Epiphone official website....

A Caveat, Gibson/Epiphone;

Bring of your quality level, Gibson lower your prices..Stop sticking your customers up the arse!

 

Ps Sweetwater still doesnt have the UJs in yet...

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NO!!! I don't believe I will pardon your intrusion Pinhead. First off you come in and disparage our choice in guitars without ANYONE asking for your opinion. Secondly, NO ONE cares what YOUR opinion is. Thirdly, you just severely pissed off three New Jersey boys, not a smart move. We have a saying here, "Opinions are like assholes". Take your asshole and climb back under whatever rock you crawled out from under and show a little respect. You clagtailed , plookie faced, glakit Jessie. Feckin numpty tossbag!!

 

Oh dear, a severely inhibited person! [biggrin]

 

For your information old fruit I offer my esteemed opinion merely for your own (and others) delectation. I do hope your enjoy your gross appreciation of said "Union Jack" Sheraton but don't mind me puking in the bin whilst you do so! [biggrin]

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Thank you, That was very nice of you to post such a lovely thought....

Now, be a nice boy and go back to the kitchen and lie down next to your food bowl.

 

Mine's a bow wow, what's yours?

 

Seriously, do you really, genuinely like such a grotesque looking guitar? I can't imagine a self-respecting corpse wanting to be with such a device.

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