5 Piece Vs 3 Piece Sheraton
No, it's not a 335, but it isn't so intentionally.Let's start with a couple pics:Firstly, the neck pocket will give us some specs. It's a real 5 piece neck, which is by no means a 'cheap' thing, after all that's a main feature on the coveted and expensive Gibson L5 Archtop. As we see, it's a very clean pocket as well. The tenon goes to the rout and the spliced heel beneath extends further below just like you'd see on a vintage ES335 guitar, here's a 62' ES335 as an example:Next, take a look at the fretwork and the board itself. The board is about as dry and quality as a good piece of rosewood from any domestic supplier, no cheap faux darkened waxy thing going on here, just a quality board. The MOP and Abalone?
Same deal, no plastic there, that's the real stuff to most anyone who's seen the difference in person. Add to that, old fashioned nibbing where the binding (which is also on par with domestic suppliers) is filed and seals the fret end.The top: it's a 5 ply Maple/Birch/Maple/Birch/Maple laminate which was a feature on vintage Rivieras and Sheratons also built in the golden era along with the Mahogany center block. Once again, not a corner cutting feature as some like to claim.The Hardware: It's steel, and DURABLE heavier steel at that! Now, I'm not a fan of the fat bridge but there's no pot metal happening there, the tuners are as strong as the best grovers out there too.
The pots are quality mini pots and need to be mini because another addition to the Sheraton: bound F-Holes, which make fitting a standard size pot in there near impossible without filing. Add to that, the 3 way switches seem to hold up much better than those on brand new domestic guitars.The Pickups: Okay, with all the options today I'd say 'meh' only because they're definitely more on the modern end rather than hip vintage spec.The Finish: I'd guess Polyester but might be Polyurethane. But, it's thin, or at least not pooling up at the seams or creating what looks like a glass countertop as the wood grains still shows quite well.
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It's also very uniform on all the early sheratons I've seen too. So you know it's applied well, given quality sanding between coats and obviously buffed beyond my standards.Now, why 96?
Well sometime around then things start being less consistent across the board. No more fret nibs plus varying wire profiles, the hardware starts to change/cheapen, the rosewood looks more like a typical low end import, the neck pocket changes and the top changes as well, here's a few pics:So, although I'd say it's a different guitar than a 335 the earlier MIK Sheratons are a very well made guitar, with attention to detail, and very few (arguably, if any) corners cut compared to many similar imports. Aside from not being lacquer and perhaps the pickups, there's nothing that separates the guitar from a quality domestic build.Oh, and they bid for $300-$400 on ebay.
3 Piece Artist
Great info here.My 99 is a beautiful piece, but some of the features listed above are not included.The neck is finished black and I haven't had a PUs out in many years, but I don't believe it's a 5 piece neck. I suspect with the black finish I'd see some indication that it was 5 pieces. I agree that multiple piece necks, when done right, are excellent.
Swkotor crash after character creation. Still the neck is more stable than most of my other guitars, in fact I'm afraid to make adjustments because it plays near perfect.The fretboard is a beautiful piece of rosewood. Looking closely you can see the variations in color so I suspect it's not stained. Some of my other imports are obviously stained. There are no fret nips though, but I'm not a fan of them anyway.The tuners are solid, really stable even after 18 years.
The bridge and tailpiece are replacements as are the PUs and pots. They are full sized pots and it was not difficult to install them at all.It only has the Epiphone inlay, Gibson on the truss rod cover and the E logo on the pickguard.These are great instruments, it's also one of the best values in a semi hollow available. Great info here.My 99 is a beautiful piece, but some of the features listed above are not included.The neck is finished black and I haven't had a PUs out in many years, but I don't believe it's a 5 piece neck. I suspect with the black finish I'd see some indication that it was 5 pieces. I agree that multiple piece necks, when done right, are excellent. Still the neck is more stable than most of my other guitars, in fact I'm afraid to make adjustments because it plays near perfect.The fretboard is a beautiful piece of rosewood. Looking closely you can see the variations in color so I suspect it's not stained.
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Some of my other imports are obviously stained. There are no fret nips though, but I'm not a fan of them anyway.The tuners are solid, really stable even after 18 years. The bridge and tailpiece are replacements as are the PUs and pots.
They are full sized pots and it was not difficult to install them at all.It only has the Epiphone inlay, Gibson on the truss rod cover and the E logo on the pickguard.These are great instruments, it's also one of the best values in a semi hollow available. Click to expand.About the pickup install.I've seen the same thing said by other people concerning the pots which makes me think the F-Hole size varies through the years. Thing about post 96.is besides the 'Epiphone by Gibson' headstock change it seems the first decade of MIK Sheratons are all pretty much the same.then yeah, subtle changes start taking place on an almost yearly basis!Interesting to note that the original 59'-60' Sheratons were Gibsons highest spec semi-hollow guitar priced above a 335. They had 5 piece necks that were likely old stock from the defunct Epiphone factory, they had all the fancy inlay work, real grover tuners, and I think a Bigsby.