more help with the USA Sheraton

[teegar]

JerryMac had some good advice on the AI USA Sheraton, thanks much for the info, some things still mystify me - lots of sites say a JLH Sheraton has a 3-ply top, even the dealer who sold it to me said so, but this is clearly a 5-ply top a'la Elitist, and clearly maple not spruce. I think original Epiphone catalogs talked about three ply bracing - like the center block, which is 3-ply. Curious, is your top 3-ply or 5-ply, anything else that distinguishes it from JLH other than the absence of "boogieman" here and there? Thanks again-

[charlie brown]

This is from the Epiphone Site, regarding the JLH version(s) Sheraton.

 

 

1964 John Lee Hooker Sheraton II

 

Reprinted from JazzTimes

July/August 2002

 

When Gibson's creative point man and chief operating officer Ted McCarty

shepherded the development of the original ES-335 semiacoustic electric guitar,

I doubt he knew to what degree the versatile instrument would transform the

world of possibilities available to blues, R&B, jazz and rock guitarists.

 

The John Lee Hooker Sheraton II essentially reprises aspects of the original

Epiphone Sheraton and the Gibson ES-345 (a fancier take on McCarty's ES-

335), with some significant differences. Whereas today's ES-335s employ

traditional maple-basswood-maple laminate construction throughout, the

Sheraton II employs a 5-ply maple-birch-maple-birch-maple back with a 3-ply

spruce-maple-spruce top - the latter contributing a touch of sweetness and

harmonic complexity while slightly softening the attack.

 

While the one-piece mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard and gold-plated parts

echo standard Gibson parameters, the Sheraton II's fancy leaf-and-vine

Epiphone peghead logo is derived from the company's original flagship

archtops, while the mother of pearl rectangles intersected by abalone triangles

on the fretboard are an elegant touch borrowed from the Guild Artist Award.

From a tonal perspective, the Sheraton II reprises the original Alnico V Mini

Humbuckers. Their magnets are a special blend of aluminum, nickel and cobalt,

and these pickups are hot - good hot, maintaining excellent tone throughout

their volume range ( even when rolled off for a mellower jazz tone), with a

verywarm bottom end, rich midrange detail and exceptional high-frequency

clarity and bite.

 

The guitar arrived with a warm amber sunburst and a splendid al dente set-up

perfectly balanced for heavy jazz picking and supple blues bends and legato

effects. Its performance was more than competitive with any of todays more

expensive reissues and many of the pricey vintage icons I've played over the

years, with a level of vibrancy worthy of the legendary Boogie Man who inspired

the name.

 

While the Epiphone 1964 John Lee Hooker Sheraton II carries a not

inconsiderable list price of $2995, the elevated quality of its construction,

performance parameters and aesthetic appointments warrant serious

consideration by jazz guitarists seeking class, value and a distinctive sonic

signature all their own.

 

Chip Stern

JazzTimes

July/August 2002

 

http://www.epiphone.com/reviews.asp?ProductID=17 (1 of 2)9/8/2005 9:21:40 AM

Epiphone Musical Instruments - Reviews

 

 

CB

[Vic Flick]

JerryMac had some good advice on the AI USA Sheraton' date=' thanks much for the info, some things still mystify me - lots of sites say a JLH Sheraton has a 3-ply top, even the dealer who sold it to me said so, but this is clearly a 5-ply top a'la Elitist, and clearly maple not spruce. I think original Epiphone catalogs talked about three ply bracing - like the center block, which is 3-ply. Curious, is your top 3-ply or 5-ply, anything else that distinguishes it from JLH other than the absence of "boogieman" here and there? Thanks again-[confused']

 

Here's what I remember, these just appeared at Musician's Friend one day without much explanation. In fact, as I recall, they still used the same copy as the JLH. There was a lot of discussion on the old Epiphone board about them, but I don't think anyone archived those old posts when they changed to the new board. What I did find was this from our old friend and Epiphone historian Iconoclast / Uncle Al:

 

In the late 90's Epiphone did enter into an endorsement deal with the John Hooker estate and a limited number of John Lee Hooker Sheratons were made and marketed as "The USA Series" but these were actually made in Japan (by Terada) with final assembly taking place in the U.S. While this was to be a limited run of guitars, once the initial run production was attained production continued and these over-runs were sold through outlets such as Musician's Friend though without the references and endosement of John Lee Hooker. All in all the Hooker Sheratons are very nice guiitars with actual Gibson electronics and nitro-cellulose finishes. These are arguably the nicest Epiphone products since the Kalamazoo era.

 

I also remember they sold out really fast, a couple of weeks. I found the order info from Musician's Friend for mine:

 

Antique Natural Gold Hardware Epiphone USA Sheraton Electric Guitar Antique Natural Gold Hardware

$999.99 02/20/06 02:17PM

 

Since I no longer have it, I can't give you the details. It didn't have a bone nut, it was more like the nut on the Lennon Casinos. I guess it was Corian.

 

Sorry I can't be any more help.

[teegar]

Thanks, I saw that too, but that's a review from Jazz Times, not an "official" statement from Epiphone Inc. I can't find anything official from Epiphone that it's a 3-ply top of spruce/maple/spruce, that appears only in reviews, archived Epi sites say spruce/maple/spruce braced top - which I think means the center block, which is 3-ply. Still mystified. Thanks for that though!

[teegar]

Thanks JerryMac, you've been more help than you know!