EpiSheriMan Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 If anyone is interested I thought I'd post up some pictures of these two guitars to compare subtle differences (Ignore the crome hardware on the Elitist...) Difference b/w two:- 1. Headstock shape with the Assembled in USA having the larger headstock. 2. Sticker in f-hole 3. USA doesn't have serial on back of headstock 4. USA has a nice brown Lifton case vrs. Elitist case 5 Gold Mother of pearl on USA vrs. lighter colour on MIJ Elitist Some Peeps have talked about Poly vrs. Nitro but to be 100% honest, I have my doubts about a Nitro finnish going on the USA Assembled version.....I can't tell them apart....
charlie brown Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 Assembled in USA IS "Nitro" finished. I have one, too. And, if you look at your own photos, you'll see the subtle difference, in the less "stark" coloration/contrast, and warmer appearance compared to the "Elitist" poly finish. Elitist Sheri's are Great guitars, and the Poly finish is beautifully & lightly applied, But, there is a definite difference in look. Not "Bad," just different. Nice Guitars, ESM. Thanks, for sharing your Sheri's. CB
EpiSheriMan Posted March 5, 2009 Author Posted March 5, 2009 Assembled in USA IS "Nitro" finished. I have one' date=' too. And, if you look at your own photos, you'll see the subtle difference, in the less "stark" coloration/contrast, and warmer appearance compared to the "Elitist" poly finish. Elitist Sheri's are Great guitars, and the Poly finish is beautifully & lightly applied, But, there is a definite difference in look. Not "Bad," just different. Nice Guitars, ESM. Thanks, for sharing your Sheri's. CB[/quote'] Hey Charlie,....I know this was the "spec" on these guitars from the Epi website but I'm still not buying it. The original guitar was also spec'ed wih a bone nut. This unplayed 100% perfect version I found from a collector had an factory installed original plastic nut. With regard to the finish,...Any difference in the pictures is the light. To the naked eye there is really no visible difference. Regardless, they both have beautiful finishes, 100 times better than the Poly MIK Sheraton I have.... :)
charlie brown Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 Well, you'll believe what you want/need to believe. But "nut" differences (out of spec) are a lot more common, and easily done, than whole paint jobs. There's no precentage in Epiphone/Gibson lying about the finish. I have both "poly" and Nitro finished guitars, and "my" Assembled in USA Sheraton is definitely "Nitro." Poly looks and feels (even smells) different. As to the differences in the photos being "the light?" That's interesting, as in the photos of both the body close ups, and the overhead overalls (in their cases), there's a definite visable difference, between the two finishes. Your mind compensates, to tell you whatever you want to see. The camera doesn't make that kind of distinction, film or digital...unless the images are manipulated, to your tastes/requirements, later. CB
clarkuss Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 Which one do you prefer? I.E - which would you keep if you had to get rid of one (not taking into account rarity/price) From the pictures I seem to prefer the USA model but maybe Im being bias towards the gold hardware which I prefer on the sheraton.
animalfarm Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 Man, I've gotta get glasses. I thought your title said "UN-assembled Sheraton"....
Lord Summerisle Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 It's a great euphemistic expression, isn't it? "Assembled in the U.S.A." - funny how Epiphone went with such an ambiguous phrase...because my cheapy G-400 had a sticker on the back that read, "Made in China." (!)
JefferySmith Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 Hey Charlie' date='....I know this was the "spec" on these guitars from the Epi website but I'm still not buying it. The original guitar was also spec'ed wih a bone nut. This unplayed 100% perfect version I found from a collector had an factory installed original plastic nut. With regard to the finish,...Any difference in the pictures is the light. To the naked eye there is really no visible difference. Regardless, they both have beautiful finishes, 100 times better than the Poly MIK Sheraton I have.... [/quote'] My USA Sheratons are like yours, i.e., plastic nut and, I'm pretty darned sure, a poly finish. But I'm not willing to give either of them the "dissolve" test to see if the finish is truly not lacquer.
jfalkens Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 Hey Charlie' date='....I know this was the "spec" on these guitars from the Epi website but I'm still not buying it. The original guitar was also spec'ed wih a bone nut. This unplayed 100% perfect version I found from a collector had an factory installed original plastic nut. With regard to the finish,...Any difference in the pictures is the light. To the naked eye there is really no visible difference. Regardless, they both have beautiful finishes, 100 times better than the Poly MIK Sheraton I have.... [/quote'] Either way... If you really want to test your theroy of not being NITRO, store it on a cheap guitar stand for a while :-) Just Kidding... Great Post. Thanks for the information, and they're both beautiful guitars
matthewk Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 Thickness of the neck heels looks a bit different - are they different to play?
mgrmatt Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 Is the degree of angle of the headstock the same on both models? Matt
charlie brown Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 Yeah, they ARE BOTH beautiful. I have never had any problem with "Elitist" finishes, at all. But "My" Assembled in USA" Sheraton is definitely "Nitro," I'm quite sure...if feels, looks and smells the same, as my Gibson's, which are ALL "Nitro!" But, I will say...that the finish on my Riviera P-93LE (Poly that it is) is very well done, and thin enough in application, as to have the look, and even the "feel," somewhat, of a more expensive "Nitro" finish. So...Poly can be done quite well, when they want to. I just don't care for the "dipped in plastic" Poly finishes...but, otherwise...as long as they're done well, they're quite nice....until/unless they get chipped, and end up with that "bullet hole" look. ;>( "Nitro's" a bit easier to fix, when chipped. And, I've always preferred the "aged" patina, that Nitro gets. But, as we saw on that limited edition Epi LP Custom ("Classic," was it)...they can paint Poly to look like aged Nitro (even in the binding) pretty effectively. So...??? CB
ant7629 Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 They are both stunning little beauties aren't they? I would love to try an Elitist and a USA model of various Epiphones. They are very difficult to come by over here. In fact, I don't think I have ever seen an Elitist for sale in shop! It wold be great to see how they compare to a Gibson or Gretsch or something like that....
Lord Summerisle Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 Either way... If you really want to test your theroy of not being NITRO' date=' store it on a cheap guitar stand for a while [/quote'] Yeah, I'd been meaning to ask about that. I have one of those cheap stands with the foam on the lower part. Which finishes does that crap actually burn through - is it just nitro? All of my electric guitars are polyurethane, with the exception of my Hagstrom (which is polyester). Are these immune to damage from the cheap stand's foam? A better question might be: which is the best stand to buy?
AS90 Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 They are both stunning little beauties aren't they? I would love to try an Elitist and a USA model of various Epiphones. They are very difficult to come by over here. In fact' date=' I don't think I have ever seen an Elitist for sale in shop! It wold be great to see how they compare to a Gibson or Gretsch or something like that....[/quote'] You can try mine whenever you like.
brianh Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 Yeah' date=' I'd been meaning to ask about that. I have one of those cheap stands with the foam on the lower part. Which finishes does that crap actually burn through - is it just nitro? All of my electric guitars are polyurethane, with the exception of my Hagstrom (which is polyester). Are these immune to damage from the cheap stand's foam? A better question might be: which is the best stand to buy?[/quote'] I believe that nitrocellulose is the finish that the rubber foam padded guitar stands are bad for. Problem is, it's hard to find any stands with neck supports that don't use it these days. It may be a VOC manufacturing thing or just cheaping out, I don't know. I suppose you could just go to the Home Depot plumbing section and get some surgical tubing to replace it with (that's what we had on stands when I was a whippersnapper), but I have no experience whether that stuff is any better or worse. Let's see, which of my vintage guitars to I wanna try it out on? Come to think of it, I think I'll just them back in the case. Man those geetars is purty...
JefferySmith Posted March 5, 2009 Posted March 5, 2009 I think my guitar stand from the 1960's had surgical (latex) tubing for padding.
ant7629 Posted March 6, 2009 Posted March 6, 2009 You can try mine whenever you like. Ha, might just take you up on that offer! The Hercules stands are fine for nitro finishes. They the black foam type. http://www.herculesstands.com/guitars/guitarstands.html
EpiSheriMan Posted March 6, 2009 Author Posted March 6, 2009 Is the degree of angle of the headstock the same on both models? Matt To the naked eye,...yes they are about the same.
EpiSheriMan Posted March 6, 2009 Author Posted March 6, 2009 Thickness of the neck heels looks a bit different - are they different to play? They seem pretty much exactly the same to play....
EpiSheriMan Posted March 6, 2009 Author Posted March 6, 2009 Which one do you prefer? I.E - which would you keep if you had to get rid of one (not taking into account rarity/price) From the pictures I seem to prefer the USA model but maybe Im being bias towards the gold hardware which I prefer on the sheraton. I'm not a fan of gold hardware unless its wore in and faded. Price aside I'm leaning toward the Elitist, which is funny because when I first got them I was convinced that the USA would be best....
mgrmatt Posted March 6, 2009 Posted March 6, 2009 Thanks for the photos EpiSheriMan. I wish we could get a website going with photos like this, with all of the different models,variations,etc..... Post like this make for great reference points. Thanks! Matt
wrighty3693 Posted March 6, 2009 Posted March 6, 2009 USA Reissue is my personal favourite looks wise no comparison.
EpiSheriMan Posted March 12, 2009 Author Posted March 12, 2009 "My" Assembled in USA" Sheraton is definitely "Nitro' date='" I'm quite sure...if feels, looks and smells the same, as my Gibson's, which are ALL "Nitro!" CB [/quote'] ...I'm starting to agree with CB on this, the USA is Nitro and the Elitist is a damned fine thin poly coated guitar.....
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