steveclark Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 hey there, recently i got an offer to buy this epiphone sheraton. the inlay says kalamazoo, mi. the guy wasnt sure if its a us-built model, despite that inlay. he assumes it could be a japanes made one. how bout that headstock, which looks quite different than the most ive seen before? here r some pics: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelson Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 hey there' date=' recently i got an offer to buy this epiphone sheraton. the inlay says kalamazoo, mi. the guy wasnt sure if its a us-built model, despite that inlay. he assumes it could be a japanes made one. how bout that headstock, which looks quite different than the most ive seen before? here r some pics: [img']http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u237/timdor/lisa045.jpg[/img] The guitar was made in Japan by Matsumoku between about 1979 and 1986. The serial number should be on the back of the headstock so post that and you will know for certain when. Headstock looks just a Japanese Sheraton headstock looks Here's another one: Value: $750-$900 depending upon condition and originality. Not real rare but not exactly commonplace. Pretty good guitars as guitars. The label says Kalamazoo, Michigan because that was where the business offices for Epiphone were until about 1977 but they didn't change the label right away after they moved the offices to Lincolnwood, Illinois. Completely made in Japan from Japanese parts and stock. They could be perhaps slightly superior in materials and maybe also slightly superior in build quality to the Korean-made moderns but don't profoundly so and the difference is reflected by the slightly higher market value. Nelson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveclark Posted November 27, 2008 Author Share Posted November 27, 2008 thanx Nelson. im gonna ask the guy bout the serial number. btw.. how is it compared to the korean-made ones which are said to be very good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mugatu Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 It's a nice guitar to play, and I agree with the approximate valuation given by Nelson. What are they like compared to Korean models? I'm no expert, but I believe they are of comparable build quality, I don't think there were any quality problems with the Japanese models. How much does he want for it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveclark Posted November 27, 2008 Author Share Posted November 27, 2008 sounds good. its about 440 euros with original case. seems to be alright i guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelson Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 thanx Nelson. im gonna ask the guy bout the serial number. btw.. how is it compared to the korean-made ones which are said to be very good? See my updated original post. Nelson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveclark Posted November 27, 2008 Author Share Posted November 27, 2008 got the serial number: 4013989 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchie1281734003 Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 got the serial number: 4013989 It`s from January 1984, looks a very nice guitar, and all original apart from the knobs. The Matsumoku Sheraton`s have the same knobs that are found on the Casino. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveclark Posted November 27, 2008 Author Share Posted November 27, 2008 i just checked guitardaterproject.org and got that here: Guitar Info Your guitar was made in Korea January c.1994 Production Number: 3989 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epinder Posted November 28, 2008 Share Posted November 28, 2008 ^^^^ The guitar dater is a great tool, but use it as a guide and not the gospel. ^^^^ If Nelson states it is a MIJ from '79 to '86 that is when it was made. He is a wealth of information on EPI's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchie1281734003 Posted November 28, 2008 Share Posted November 28, 2008 i just checked guitardaterproject.org and got that here: Guitar Info Your guitar was made in Korea January c.1994 Production Number: 3989 The guitardaterproject.org is not very good when it comes to the Japanese Epiphone`s. The photo of the H/stock alone, proves it is Matsumoku made, if you know what to look for. For example, the first E looks like a back to front"3", and is a throw back to the Epiphone Masterbilt line, and not found on the korean version. The same applies to the two screw truss rod cover, again not found on the koreans. The nut on this guitar is bone, and on the early Samick Korean line they were black plastic. On the back of the h/stock you will find the seven digit serial under the finish, on the early Korean`s they were on a white sticker. And finally you will find the Gotoh Rotomatic type tuners have a Silver/White epsilon"E" on each one,and the buttons look like the Grover kidney bean type, whereas the Korean ones had the Schaller type Rotomatic tuners, with Schaller type buttons and no markings on. I hope all this put`s your mind to rest, I did own one of these in 1984 (Blonde serial 4053615) I wish I still had it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JefferySmith Posted November 28, 2008 Share Posted November 28, 2008 The guitardaterproject is annoying when it spits out WRONG information. Like a mendacious child, if it doesn't know the answer, it seems to make one up (always placing the country of origin as Korea). I wish it would just say "I don't know". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelson Posted November 28, 2008 Share Posted November 28, 2008 ^^^^ The guitar dater is a great tool' date=' but use it as a guide and not the gospel. ^^^^ If Nelson states it is a MIJ from '79 to '86 that is when it was made. He is a wealth of information on EPI's.[/quote'] Nelson says: Frenchie is 100% correct. The guitar was made in January of 1984 in Japan by Matsumoku and is probably closer to the Elitist Sheratons than to the standard Korean line in terms of build quality and materials. The Guitar Dater idea was a good one but its developer went off on his own before he had all of the answers and the answers he did have weren't all the answers so now it's all his but unfortunately it's only about 60% complete and what the Guitar Dater does do, most adults with a normal brain capacity or any child over the age of nine can grasp the very simple formulas Epiphone has used in their serialization of their guitars...especially the current and recent ones. Someone previously posted a list of the factories where they are made which is the most difficult aspect of deciphering the numbers, remembering all the factories. After knowing that, the entire scheme is pretty easy. The older Epiphones are more difficult because they ran in numerical sequence but no one is sure just where those sequences start or end with the old pre-Gibson (pre-1957) and Gibson era Epiphones (1957-1970). The pre-Gibson guitars have their number charts and the Gibson era has theirs. The numbers used for the post-Gibson Japanese-made Epiophone (1971-1986) sometimes are clearly decipherable and other times have no rhyme or reason. I'm sure if you do a search here you can find the simple formulas for the guitars you're likely to come across and remember, there's always going to be numbers that leave you scratching your head so you can always ask here and there's usually someone around who can help sort them out. Nelson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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