Sheraton Chinese versus Korean

[Dylan61]

A Dealer in the Netherlands advertise with new Korean made Epiphone Sheraton guitars,

I was wondering are the Korean ones still in production?

 

[OrangeAD30TC]

No, but the GC near my house still has one Korean one. They also have one chinese too. The Korean was better in every way to me. The pickups in the Korean were better as well as the playability. I also notices some cosemetic flaws in the chinese sheraton I saw, but I only saw one.

 

[Dylan61]

How can you see the difference in the first place, does the lable said Chinese or Korean?

 

[OrangeAD30TC]

The back of the headstock says "Made in ****"

On top of that though, the guitars are not identicle some of the dimensions changed when they moved prod. to China. I believe the headstock on the chinese one was a tad shorter. It was slight like a 1/4 inch. I dont remember that well the other stuff, but side by side I remember several differences. Going off of memory, I think I recall the wings being taller on one and the where the neck binding meets the body was slighlty different.

 

[saltydogg]

I've never played a Chinese model but thanks to the advice of TPGer's I scored a 1995 MIK Sheraton for $375 with the Epi hardshell case on CL- and it looks like it was hardly played...

I dropped a set of Burstbucker 1 & 2's (from my R8) and an RS kit and this Sherry just sings.
Dollars-to-doughnuts it's the best guitar I have. It has that semi-hollow mojo and is a joy to play.

Good luck.

 

[?&!]

I just sold an old Korean Sheraton to help fund an Esquire build, and I already regret it. I bought it with the intention of hot-rodding it, but it played and sounded so good I left it bone stock. I've played Chinese ones, and they are nowhere near as good.

 

[Stringz]

When I go to GC and SA I always take down the Epiphones from the wall looking for Korean ones. They are getting hard to find and much better than the Chinese if you can find one for the same price, IMO. There are dealers on ebay with NOS ones who advertise them as Korean and charge more for them because they know there is a demand. The biggest price disparity between Korean and Chinese, though, is the Les Paul Junior. You can pick up a Chinese one for pocket change but try getting a Korean one for the same price. No way. And forget about a Japanese Epiphone LP Junior. You'll pay as much for one of those as a new Gibson USA one.

 

[mrface2112]

The biggest price disparity between Korean and Chinese, though, is the Les Paul Junior. You can pick up a Chinese one for pocket change

Yeah, but you know what? a couple summers ago i picked up a chinese lp jr for $70 and it's a great guitar. the plywood/particle board inside it must be some sort of magical, b/c this thing resonates like nobody's business. i was floored. i don't get it. but i'll sure take it.


cheers,
wade

 

[dman11]

Well, all I know is my Korean '03 Sherry is my fave axe of the moment. has Dream180 neck and Mean90 bridge.Toanz for dayz. Chinese use knock off sub par"-grovers" . I had a Cninese SG briefly- sold it with -no loss- but it was pretty yet had more flaws than comparable Korean. I believe the Koreans were at their apex when they moved to Chinese production. What a shame, now they gotta start over and see if down the line the Chinese improve.

 

[mcdonaldkd]

I know I have mentioned this several times before, but my Epi Dot MIK (upgraded with RS Guitarworks pots, switch, jack and wiring) and WCR American Steele pickups is an unbelieveable guitar. I played lots of Dots and Sherrys looking for a great one. To me there was a big difference in the MIK v. China. I only played a couple of the MIKs, however, so maybe I just found a couple of the good ones. I can say that none of the MIC ones were outstanding, and I played lots of those when I was looking.

 

[unisafe]

i owned a sheraton ii 2002 korean model. it sounded a lot warmer and i preferred the feel and appearance to the sheraton ii chinese 2010 model. the chinese model feels 'tighter' and more solid though, i believe this is due do the more maple used in the guitar (solid 3 piece maple neck) , i think mine has a maple block also. the chinese model sounds a lot 'thinner'. basically two different animals.. i only sold my sheraton korea because it had 3 badly dented frets, bad wiring and was cheaper to get a brand new one.

 

[speedemon]

Yeah,

just looking at them, maybe you don't see any difference, maple is maple etc. I don't see many flaws in the Chinese ones myself. The neck profiles are rather different, and I can't get into the overall feel of the Chinese made Sheraton. I have a Korean Sheraton from the Unsung factory, new pots, bridge assembly and 57s; its a great guitar. It's a "you have to play it" game.

 

[speedemon]

OP

all made in China now. Can find Koreans for around $500 used.

 

[johnmfer]

One super easy way to tell:

Korean ones had the 5 piece neck with the stripes:

While the chinese ones have plain maple.

 

[billfoma]

I had a late 90s MIK Sheraton. I really liked that guitar, but was playing bass in my band at the time and traded it for a MIJ 62 RI Jazz Bass. One day, I will get another Sheraton, but I will get the white one.

 

[KFBR392]

The Korean ones are leaps and bounds better than the current Chinese ones. The Chinese ones are just garbage for the price. Incredibly overpriced. I own a Japanese made Sheraton from '81, and it's even better than the Korean ones (the electronics are the MIK's weak point). If you can find a Japanese made Sheraton, buy it. The electronics and build quality are top notch.

 

[bluesjuke]

Quite a price difference between the Japanese and MIK though, huge difference.

 

[Bigsby]

Quite a price difference between the Japanese and MIK though, huge difference.

If you enjoy customizing a guitar with your choice of pickups, electronics and hardware, the Korean guitars have great necks and bodies. you can come out with a great instrument for a lot less money than a similar quality Gibson.

 

[cap47]

I gave my 92 MIK to my grandson. He loves it!

 

[johnmfer]

If you enjoy customizing a guitar with your choice of pickups, electronics and hardware, the Korean guitars have great necks and bodies. you can come out with a great instrument for a lot less money than a similar quality Gibson.

I do enjoy customizing, and I did this. I converted one to all nickel hardware with a black pickguard, an Acme 335 electronics kit, and Fralin P-92s. Still love it! But, I might move it soon.