rednefelet Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Happy SB morning to all ... Not sure what model of Sheraton I own. Bought it new in 1990. Serial # is 9094019, which I have learned means that the guitar was made in Korea in Sep 1989. It's production # is 4019. Got this info from www.guitardaterproject.org. I see a sticker with "Sheraton-N" on guitar's back near where neck joins the body. Does the N mean Natural? Suspect so because its got a maple top, back, sides and neck. The truss rod cover shows simply "Gibson". No other markings. Can't see any markings thru the F-holes, either. Any ideas? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkuss Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Happy SB morning to all ... Not sure what model of Sheraton I own. Bought it new in 1990. Serial # is 9094019, which I have learned means that the guitar was made in Korea in Sep 1989. It's production # is 4019. Got this info from www.guitardaterproject.org. I see a sticker with "Sheraton-N" on guitar's back near where neck joins the body. Does the N mean Natural? Suspect so because its got a maple top, back, sides and neck. The truss rod cover shows simply "Gibson". No other markings. Can't see any markings thru the F-holes, either. Any ideas? Thank you. Welcome to the forum! The N is for natural as you had already deduced. All standard Sheratons (like yours and any made in korea or China) are Sheraton II which have full sized humbuckers. The original Sheraton had mini humbuckers, often a vibrato and were initially made 1958-1969. There was an Assembled in USA John Lee Hooker verison but they're rare and expensive. They were also available in the Elitist line. Both colour options were available but thr trapeze tailpiece was only on the Natural JLH. Here are some pictures: 64-65 Sheraton JLH Sheraton Elite/Elitist Sheraton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Actually, the (original) Sheraton I & II, both had Mini-humbuckers. (The first one's in '58, had Single Coil "New York" pickups) The difference was the tailpiece. Sheraton (I) had the frequensator tailpiece, the Sheraton (II) had the Stop Bar. That was the original reason for the I & II designations. The Sheraton I, also had a vibrato tailpiece option, Tremotone or Bigsby. The Full size Humbuckers for Sheraton's (I or II) came, with the Asian made versions. (1970-current) (First, made in Japan, then Korea, and now China) CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkuss Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Thanks for that info. Always assumed the II was for the modern revamp but the tailpiece designation makes more sense. What about the the ones that came with Trem? I or II? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Thanks for that info. Always assumed the II was for the modern revamp but the tail-piece designation makes more sense. What about the the ones that came with Term? I or II? They were designated "Sheraton I" (with Term tail-piece option), since at that time, there was no "stop bar" trem options available. CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkuss Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 They were designated "Sheraton I" (with Term tail-piece option), since at that time, there was no "stop bar" trem options available. CB Cheers. Always wanted a SB Elitist Sheraton. Beautiful guitars... Think I prefer the stoptail on these just because it seems to make more sense with the Casino having a trapeze and the Riviera a frequensator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rednefelet Posted February 5, 2012 Author Share Posted February 5, 2012 Mine is now 22 years old. Sometimes the old is better than the new. Corners might have been cut to keep the cost down. Is there a difference between the current Sheraton IIs and those of twenty years ago? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 The other differences, from the original Sheraton & Sheraton II, and the more common Korean, and/or Chinese versions, aside from headstock shape, is the necks. The Originals, and The Elitist versions, have 1-piece mahogany necks, whereas the Korean has 5-piece maple (heal to, and including headstock), and the Chinese have 1-piece maple neck, with separate headstock and heal joint seams. There were very early Sheratons, that had an even different ("short") headstock, with "script" Epiphone logo, and multi-piece laminated (mahogany & maple?) neck, as well. 1958 to '62 or so, I believe. Photo example, below: CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkuss Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Mine is now 22 years old. Sometimes the old is better than the new. Corners might have been cut to keep the cost down. Is there a difference between the current Sheraton IIs and those of twenty years ago? Other than using some different parts, and being manufactured in China, the design and approach are generally the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Actually, the (original) Sheraton I & II, both had Mini-humbuckers. (The first one's in '58, had Single Coil "New York" pickups) The difference was the tailpiece. Sheraton (I) had the frequensator tailpiece, the Sheraton (II) had the Stop Bar. That was the original reason for the I & II designations. The Sheraton I, also had a vibrato tailpiece option, Tremotone or Bigsby. The Full size Humbuckers for Sheraton's (I or II) came, with the Asian made versions. (1970-current) (First, made in Japan, then Korea, and now China) CB Are you sure about this, CB? Like you said, the Matsu Sherris were the first to come with the full size humbuckers, and they were also the first to come with the stopbar/tailpiece, but they were just called "Sheraton"...at least according to my catalogs. I dont recall there being a name-change. The Sheraton II came out in 1986, was Korean-made and had full-size HBs and the stopbar/tailpiece. The "E By G" Sheraton should be the first "Sheraton II" guitars. Please correct me if I am wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Are you sure about this, CB? Like you said, the Matsu Sherris were the first to come with the full size humbuckers, and they were also the first to come with the stopbar/tail-piece, but they were just called "Sheraton"...at least according to my catalogs. I don't recall there being a name-change. The Sheraton II came out in 1986, was Korean-made and had full-size HBs and the stop-bar/tail-piece. The "E By G" Sheraton should be the first "Sheraton II" guitars. Please correct me if I am wrong. The Kalamazoo USA Sheraton (frequensator tail-piece) and Sheraton II (Stop Bar tail-piece), both originally had mini-humbuckers, and the only difference was the tail piece! Those are the originals, and so designated. The stop bar was FIRST used, on the USA Kalamazoo Sheraton II... So, the Japanese version was NOT the first use, of that stop bar tail-piece. Just the first one, of the Asian versions! Once they went to Japan, Korea, and later, China...they had their own designations, and time frames, accordingly. Except for the later Japanese "Elitist" series, they bore little resemblance, to the USA Kalamazoo versions. All current Asian Sheraton's, are designated Sheraton II. Frankly, they should be/should have been (IMHO) designated Sheraton III, since they have both, stop bar tail pieces, Full Sized Humbucker pickups, different body outline, and headstock configuration! CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rednefelet Posted February 7, 2012 Author Share Posted February 7, 2012 I'm going to put mine up for sale. Do you think it has any collector's value above the current selling price? A new Sheraton II sells for $599 @ Guitar Center or Musician's Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkuss Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Not really no. $300-450 seems to be the going rate for standard MIK and MIC Sheratons depending on condition. Any pics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jddc_115 Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Hi I found this site that discusses the history of the Sheraton and later versions. Hope it helps. http://www.epiphonewiki.com/index.php?title=Sheraton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Hi I found this site that discusses the history of the Sheraton and later versions. Hope it helps. http://www.epiphonewiki.com/index.php?title=Sheraton Thanks, and "Welcome" to the forum, jddc_115. Enjoy! CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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