Sheraton Specs

[banditarm]

I have a 1992 Sheraton, and I'm thinking of updating the electronics. I have a few questions about the specs:

 

Are all of the control pots the same, i.e. 500K audio taper, or are the tone pots different from the volume pots?

 

For the tone caps, I'm interested in upgrading to paper in oil from the originals. Do I need to get caps rated at 400v, or can I use 200v caps? Any recommendations on caps that would be similar to the old Bumblebees or Vitamin Q's?

 

The toggle switch rattles in the center position which drives me crazy. The original looks fairly cheap. Can I use a standard Les Paul type replacement switch, or would that be too long?

 

Finally, I haven't had any issues with the 1/4" jack so far. Any advantages to upgrading it, or is it no big deal to leave it alone?

 

The pots are getting scratchy and intermittent and contact cleaner only works for a limited time. They definitely need to be replaced. Thanks for your help.

[Whitmore Willy]

Welcome to the forum Banditarm.

 

I don't know anything for sure about "92" Sheraton Specs.

There may be a couple of guys here that can help....but...It's also SB weekend.

RTH is very a knowledgeable member. He keeps a Wiki up and running. Maybe, you can find some info there:

http://www.epiphonewiki.com/index.php?title=Main_Page

 

I'd be guessing if I told you I could identify your electronics without personally examining them.

If someone around here knows....Great!

 

You could try looking at them with a dental mirror and a flashlight. As to me, I would probably dismantle, see what I was dealing with and start over.

 

Most 2 pickup, 3 way selector, 2 tones, 2 vol Epiphones come stock with:

B500k short metric linear volumes.

A500k short metric audio tones.

They are mostly stock wired "Modern Dependent".

 

I would also be concerned over the size of your "F Hole". (Sound sexy?) LOL

Some electric arch-tops have smaller width F holes and require mini-pots.

 

I believe Sheratons use full size short pots.....I just don't know about a "92"

 

As to the 200v PIOs. Should be just fine.

Some swear that the more dielectric material the the more the...this...or ...that. (I guess)

Your guitar runs on millivolts. Anything at 100v is more than adequate. I usually use 200v or 400v. What ever I have laying around) I like the Russian PIOs and they are reasonably priced. I like the .022μF

 

Willy

[BillyGibson]

I'd check out the specs on a 335 and go with those. Especiallly 57 classic pickups.

[Blueman335]

I have a bunch of Epi's, including a few of their 335's. I leave the electronics alone unless there's a problem, like a scratchy pot. You can get full-size pots in and out of an F hole; I put the 4 push-pull Jimmy Page system in my Sheraton. I wire all my guitars for independent volume controls so that I can blend them in the middle toggle position (solder the PU and tone pot wires to the middle lug, and the toggle wire to the outside lug).

 

You can bend the prongs on a toggle to position them like you want, and stop any rattle. It also helps to leave the toggle in the middle position when you're not plugged in, to keep tension off the prongs. Epi uses 500K audio taper pots on just about everything. No need to change the jack. With tone caps, they only have an impact when you dial down the tone pot, otherwise they just let the signal thru. Not a place to spend much money.

 

If you're going to do all this, I hope you're upgrading the PU's too, which will do more to improve you tone than everything else put together. The best thing you can put in a 335 is a couple American-made PAF's, and Seymour Duncan makes some of the best. The most popular recommendation for 335's on the Duncan site is a pair of Seth's or '59's. They'll give you a great vintage sound.

 

With F hole guitars, pull all the pots and toggle out (not the jack) and set them on top of the guitar, on a towel. Test it thru an amp after you're done soldering. You can pull the pots back in place with a stiff plastic coated wire or aquarium tubing. I do that for the neck tone pot, and use a 6" forcept with a curved end, to put the other 3 pots in place. In spite of any horror stories, it's not hard. I can get all four pots back inside in 5 minutes.

[RaSTuS]

If you're going to do all this, I hope you're upgrading the PU's too, which will do more to improve you tone than everything else put together. The best thing you can put in a 335 is a couple American-made PAF's, and Seymour Duncan makes some of the best. The most popular recommendation for 335's on the Duncan site is a pair of Seth's or '59's. They'll give you a great vintage sound.

Are you on commission or something ? Seem to come in every day and make about half a dozen posts recommending SDs and take off again, LOL.

[Blueman335]

Are you on commission or something ? Seem to come in every day and make about half a dozen posts recommending SDs and take off again, LOL.

 

Oh come on, not everyday. There's few guys here that have as many Epi's as I do, and I know what a difference upgrading PU's can make; that's where to put your money. As far as Duncan, they specialize in PAF's, it's a passion with them. If you're into metal or grunge I really don't know what to recommend. But if you want vintage blues and classic rock tones and don't want to pay boutique prices, Duncans are a great choice, especially if you can get a used set online (easy enough in the USA, maybe not as much in other countries).

[banditarm]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. This whole process started with me thinking about replacing the stock pickups. The neck pickup actually sounds pretty good, but the bridge pickup sounds fairly lifeless and weak in comparison. No combination of pickup height adjustments ever balanced out the sound without making them both sound lifeless.

 

When I decided to replace the pickups, I figured I should overhaul all of the electronics since they were the cheap originals and were going bad. I'm going to look for more vintage style pickups and I'm not a fan of the overwound, extra hot sound of modern style pickups. I'd like to find some that are a little lower in output to get that mellow warmth and sweetness found in vintage guitars. I primarily play the blues with some alternative and roots rock mixed in.

[Whitmore Willy]

Banditarm,

 

Sounds like you've decided to do it up right....Congrats.

Kind of a PAF and P-90 bluesy guy, myself.

I'm sure others will have plenty of suggestions as to pickups.

 

How about keeping us up to date on your progress? A few pics along the way probably wouldn't bother anyone either.

 

When I decided to replace the pickups, I figured I should overhaul all of the electronics since they were the cheap originals and were going bad.

What kind of wiring scheme are you planning on going with?

Also, when you take out the old harness I would be curious as to any markings on the back of the pots.

 

Willy

[banditarm]

I'm basically a traditionalist, so I'll stick with the standard wiring scheme. Being able to turn off one pickup and having the middle position be off is OK with me. It lets me do the Pete Townshend vibrato thing like on Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere or at the end of My Generation.

 

This will probably take me several weeks to get the parts and do the work, so bear with me. I play in several bands and I'm training for my second marathon so free time is a bit precious for me. In the end I may take it to my guitar tech and have them do the instllation for me. It'll be more expensive, but the guitar will be playable more quickly then if I did it myself. She's also due for a tune up, so it makes sense to get all of the work done at once. The jazz band I play in is doing a stage band version of Smooth, and the Sheraton makes the solo sing better than my Strat or Tele.

 

I'll post pictures and/or the codes from the old pots after I get them out.

 

EDITED: Corrected spelling and wanted to add that I'm going with 50's wiring. The more I've read about it, the better it fits with my playing style and control needs.