– Press Release

The Epiphone Sheraton: An Upscale Version of a Gibson Classic

In 1957, Gibson purchased the Epiphone Company, which up until that time had been one of its fiercest rivals – particularly in the area of hollowbody archtop guitars. Prompted by a stern memo from Ted McCarty to hurry up and introduce some new Epiphone models at the upcoming NAMM show in 1958, Gibson introduced a completely new line of Epiphones, highlighted by the now-legendary Sheraton.

While some of the new Epis had familiar names, such as the Emperor and Deluxe, the Sheraton represented a first for Epi – not just in name but in its semi-hollowbody construction as well. Although Gibson’s ES-335 garnered more publicity from its 1958 debut, the Sheraton offered the same revolutionary body style but with a more stylish look, highlighted by its Emperor-style V-block fingerboard inlays and vine inlay on the peghead.

The Sheraton was an immediate hit, the unique voice of its mini-humbuckers soon made it the instrument of choice for many professional artists of the time, including blues legend John Lee Hooker. Today Epiphone continues the Sheraton legacy by offering three versions of this classic guitar icon.

Sheraton-II: MSRP 99
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Elitist Sheraton: MSRP ,460 including hard case
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John Lee Hooker Sheraton & Sheraton-II: MSRP ,194 including hard case
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Features
The Sheraton-II features Epiphone’s “Alnico Classic” pickups. Patterned after Gibson ’57 Classics, they offer warm, subtle tone with full, even response. When pushed, they give you that classic humbucker crunch making them an excellent choice for blues, rock and jazz.

All current Sheraton models feature Grover Machine Heads for precision tuning and stability. With greater mass than other machine heads, they also add weight to the headstock therefore increasing sustain and tone.

All Sheratons feature a glued-in, dovetail neck joint with a 5-piece neck of Hard Maple and Rosewood for maximum stability, sustain and tone.

All Sheratons feature a multibound headstock with the historical “Mother of Pearl” Vine inlay originally introduced in 1935.

All Sheratons feature a multibound neck and Rosewood fingerboard with Epiphone historical V-Block inlays of Abalone and “Mother of Pearl” originally introduced in 1935.

Gibson-made mini-humbuckers are used on the Elitist and JLH Sheratons. Originally only available on certain Gibson-made Epiphone models, its smaller size, narrow magnetic field and unique design combination produces a bright and focused output while retaining the famous Gibson humbucker performance.

When it comes to sustain, tone and ease of use, the original Gibson Stopbar tailpiece and Tun-o-matic adjustable bridge cannot be beat.

Designed and patented by Epiphone’s Herb Sunshine, the frequensator tailpiece was originally put into production in 1937. The short fork on the bass side results in a deeper tone. The longer fork is used on the treble side for extra brilliance. The forks are interchangeable for varying tone as well as string tension.

The Elitist Sheraton comes with a high quality hard case featuring the Epiphone Elitist brand name logo.

The John Lee Hooker Sheratons come with a high quality hard case featuring the classic Epiphone vintage look.

Check out all the Sheraton models at your local Epiphone Dealer. To find an Epiphone Dealer near you, CLICK HERE.

You can also win a Sheraton II and hard case for a total retail value of ,113 at http://www.epiphone.com/contest.asp

Website: http://www.epiphone.com