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Anyone got a 1962 50th Anniversary Sheraton?


ant7629

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I'm considering cancelling my pre-order and getting a 50th Anniversary 1961 Epiphone Casino instead.

 

I love the Sherry and mini humbuckers but I think I'd like a hollowbody instead of a semi hollow for my next guitar.

 

So many decisions

 

Casino.jpg

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Got mine Saturday but I had to leave it with my luthier as the frets needed levelling (I usually have to do this every new guitar I get).

 

Should be picking it up today so I will post some pics/impressions then. Maybe even a video.....

 

In the meantime, I took this when I called at my folks after my mini guitar acquisition road trip on Sat [thumbup]

 

2012-11-03164909.jpg

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tentative arrival date at my favorite retailer is 2/4/13.....he's calling me as soon as one comes in !!!

 

I see you are in Alabama too. Who did you get to order one? I talked to Guitar Gallery in Tuscaloosa today and they tell me the Cherry Sherry with the tremotone is back ordered 30-90 Days. Sunburst and Natural are available now. I told them to go ahead and put an order in for a red one as the wife says I have to put this one on lay-a-way anyways.

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Ok. I've had the guitar for a couple of days and I'm completely blown away by it. I don't think I have played a modern Epiphone as well made as this. The construction, hardware and electronics are all exceptional and the neck is very comfortable. Slim yes, but not too slim.

 

My only gripe is that the set up from the factory was pretty poor. I've come to expect of most new guitars, which is why I take them to my local luthier for the frets to be levelled properly. My Gibsons, Fenders and my Gretsch all made the same trip so I am used to it now. I just don't get how these companies can spend so much time making the guitars to such a high quality, then mess it up in the final stage.

 

Anyway, the frets are level and it plays like a DREAM. The mini humbuckers sound great clean and distorted. I am particularly keen on the bridge, but the neck sounds amazing too. I can hear a big difference from the mini's that were in my Riviera. The case is very nice, and inside there is a Gibson style COA, which I thought was a nice touch.

 

All in all, I am very pleased. One thing I think is worth noting is something the luthier said to me when I collected it. He commented on how well made and how great it sounded. This was a huge shock, as after taking 20+ guitars to him over the years, some of which were high end Gibsons and Fenders, he has never said that. I think this says a lot for the guitar and Epiphone in general.

 

I would highly recommend this guitar.

 

Pics on the way..........

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That's awesome, they look like a winner [thumbup]

 

Unfortunately for me (maybe :rolleyes: ) I'm feeling my feminine side and have changed my mind on the Sherry and the Casino didn't happen either, out sniped by a better sniper awm2.gif[biggrin]

 

However I did find something, I'll post in lounge (non Epi)

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New to the forum. Just picked up the new '62 model. This is my first Epiphone and I am really impressed with the quality of this thing. Honestly, I went into the shop to buy a Gibson Midtown Standard but when I played this thing

I knew I couldn't pass it up. Sweet!

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At first I thought mine was excellent, the quality is much higher than the recent ES-355 in that the tuners feel more heavy duty and hold tuning, and the input jack doesn't crackle, and compared to the dot the nick is slimmer and feels faster to move around the frets. Unfortunately I have discovered an intonation problem I can't fix myself. The low E is flat at the 12th fret and the saddle is fully back. And the A is sharp at the 12th and the saddle is fully forward (I flipped that one for extra distance). I guess "setup in the USA" didn't include intonation! Is it possible to fix such a drastic difference in scale of these 2 neighboring strings?

 

update: I read it might have been sitting in the factory since August so going ordered some D'Addario EXL110 to see if old strings are the problem.

 

update2: I received D'Addario EXL110 strings today and tested the A string, moved the saddle back to its original position and the intonation is perfect! Will restring the rest tonight.

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I think these are the ones:

 

http://www.dawsons.co.uk/epiphone-electric-guitar-strings-10-46-gauge

 

Did you sort your intonation issues out? Sometimes a badly cut nut can cause that...... Or a slight change in action.

 

What do you think of the Gibson mini humbuckers? I am loving them. They clean up really nice when you urn the guitar's volume down.

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yes new strings fixed the intonation. I wish I had only replaced the low E and A though because I put the full set of D'Addario EXL110 on but it didn't feel as nice to play, the strings had less tone and were sore to press. The G had no tone at all I'm not sure if it was a duff pack or what but I ended up putting the factory G back on. I think today I'll put the B and E back on. I didn't realise you could get Epiphone strings, last night I ordered Gibson Brite Wire 10s to see if those are the ones.

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I unfortunately have another problem, the gold is bubbling and peeling off the polepins on the neck pickup. It's strange because the pins on the bridge pickup look absolutely fine. Do you know if I called Epiphone would they sent replacements? Or should I call American Musical Supply where I bought it? It doesn't seem worth returning the whole guitar for this issue.

 

I've considered taking off the pickup to see if it is in fact a Gibson but worried about stripping the gold heads of the screws.

 

goldpeelingoff.jpg

 

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

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I'm really picky, so that guitar would be going back if it was mine. If i doesn't bother you then I'd just leave it.

 

Looks like they have some left in stock so maybe they would give you a replacement....

 

Is the gold on your polepieces fine on both pickups?

 

So I called AMS and they said they would replace it free of charge and the process will take about 7 days but I need to talk to their techs first who are already closed for the day. They said if I like, I can call Gibson to see about getting replacements but AMS wouldn't help with that, and I can't get through to Gibson on the phone line maybe they are closed for the day too. So I think tomorrow I'll first call Gibson then if that fails I'll call AMS and begin the exchange process...

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Peeling gold from pickup is not a big problem comepred to what I got. I am in Europe and I received my Sheraton today but found major problem with the neck of the guitar. As you can see on the attached pictures, the lacquer is cracked around the neck. You can actually feel under your fingers that it is cracked and it is already peeling off in a few spots. Not very good experience - brand new guitar that looks like it is already falling apart out of the hard case.

 

post-48946-019688200 1353080451_thumb.jpg

 

post-48946-072802100 1353080470_thumb.jpg

 

post-48946-022389200 1353080493_thumb.jpg

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Even though I only asked for the pole pieces, Gibson are sending me a whole new pickup and they don't even want the old one back. Should get it in 10 days.

 

Wow sorry about your cracked neck. That must have happened in transport but I don't understand why since its shipped in a hard case.

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Got my VSB now:

 

sheraton62vsb.jpg

 

First impressions:

+ Nice and tasteful vintage sunburst, very similar to the Elitist Casino VSB.

+ No black painted F-holes! That finally was the reason to pull the trigger on this one. If the shipped guitars had black painted F-holes like the first Epiphone images did show, I would not have bought it, period.

+ Nice neck shape, very much like the Gibson 60s slim taper on their ES-335, different from other ES type Epiphones (Riviera Limited Edition, Dot, Standard Sheraton II).

+ Very light weight, much lighter than my Riviera Ltd, lighter than my korean built Sheraton II, even a tad lighter than my Elite ES-335.

+ Very detailed remake of the 62 Sheraton.

+ Good overall build quality of the wooden parts.

+ Decent sound, the Gibson mini humbuckers are way better than the standard full size humbuckers on other chinese Epiphones. Very open and mud-free sound.

 

Unfortunately my guitar has some flaws:

- Action is way too high, almost 1mm over the first fret, almost 3mm over the 12th fret.

- The string holders on the Frequensator tailpiece are mounted somewhat aslant, see picture.

- Partially the innermost ply of white binding on the top is still covered by the black paint.

- Intonation is a bit off.

- The spring in the TOM bridge that holds down the saddles was already off on one side.

- The neck has a bit too much bow.

- The bridge pickup volume control doesn't work at all, you get always full volume (well, at least better than having the pickup not working).

- Both pickups have astonishing low output, and are somewhat prone to noise. Maybe caused by wrong soldered harness.

 

For a guitar in the €700 euro price range this are a bit too much mistakes for my taste. However I will not return it, as I don't expect another guitar of that series to be much better. The playability issues can be solved with a proper setup (which I would have done anyway), and I can fix the harness myself. At least there are no issues with peeling off gold or cracking finish, and the hardware like pickups, bridge and tuning machines is mounted straight.

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