I was pretty lucky with my first hollow body archtop. I noticed an Ibanez Artcore in a pawnshop that was marked down pretty low. The shop owner said the original owner couldn't get it in tune, no matter how hard he tried. Even the shop owner said it was the worst guitar he tried to sell in his shop. It just wouldn't tune correctly. Well...I noticed what the problem was and asked them if they would knock off a $100. After a bit of back and forth, he went for it. As soon as I brought it home, I turned the bridge around to its correct position. Still playing this guitar almost 20 years now.
I have watched a lot Lars’s videos. I just really dig this guy. Besides being a great teacher and accomplished musician, he’s just a likable man. Wouldn’t you agree?
Hearing someone who’s playing I respect as much as yours say something so guitar taboo as ‘I didn’t really know what it all meant re pickups’, it’s really humbling and refreshing. Growing up reading guitar magazines and never having friends that played it always felt like such a taboo to not know every technical detail about guitars.
A lot of what you read in the magazines is probably just put there to make the gear sound as good as possible, not because it makes a big difference. Think of it the same way that you do the descriptions of dishes on a high-end restaurant menu.
I have so much respect for you, Jens. Not only is your playing and instruction heaven sent, but you took more time and research than a medical student to get just the sound you wanted. Your ear must be incredible. You are to be commended for, among many other things, your patience in waiting to find the “Ahhh” guitar. Keep on pickin’, because we’re eating it up.
Great advice: I saw Jim Mullen playing in a pub situation and he was using a really cheap Korean Aria. He didn’t want to bring his best (very expensive) jazz guitars out. The sound and playability of guitars has come a long way. My Ibanez AF120 and AF95 both sound great and are completely stock guitars under £400
My gigging jazz box is an Epiphone Broadway I bought for 400-bucks and replaced the internals with those from an L5. I bring it everywhere and don't worry about it at clubs. If it ever got stolen, broken or lost I'd just build it again. Great video, great advice.
I bought a bargain secondhand Ibanez Artcore AS73, and realised the pick-ups looked different to each other. Had a guitar tech set it up and look underneath - it’s a Seymour Duncan Seth Lover! Lovely free upgrade 😁
I traded a bass amp for an AS73. The motherboard was going out on the amp. The guy said no problem could fix it and traded the amp for the guitar. That guitar is great for the value of the amp. Now I gotta learn how to play it.
it Wouldn't matter what guitar Jens plays. Don't be fooled, he is just giving us little breather in order to get our heads around the last few lessons.
I used to have a black second hand Chinese Sheraton that I upgraded with ToneRiders. Heavy, resonant, elegant… gorgeous. I loved that guitar. I sold it again to save up for a Stanford CR30, a Casino style hollowbody with P90s, which I really do love, but I still miss my good ole Sherry. I couldn’t justify at home to have two “identical” guitars, though. So it had to leave. Hope it is making somebody happy wherever it is now.
I luv that you’re not selling anything. You and Chris are by far the two best Jazz educators on TH-cam. Your advice is always solid and accurate. Thanks
I'm with you Jens. I put a $230 Fender pre wired pickguard from Stewmac with 57-62 pickups in a $130 squire strat. It sounds and plays amazing. This was my first non stock pickups and it hooked me into the magic of electric guitar like never before. I bought an Ibanez AF95 last year online and it exceeds my expectations. The stock pickups are super 58's. Same ones Scofield, Metheny and Benson use. With CNC machines, this has been the golden age of affordable guitars.
For 15 years I had a Heritage 535. I bought a 62 re-issue Sheraton, with tailpiece and Gibson Mini-Humbuckers, like the original Sheratons. After a couple of years I came to the realisation that I liked the Sheraton better and sold the Heritage. This year I got myself a 2008 Gibson Custom ES 345. It is a great guitar, but I still prefer the Sheraton.
Been playing a stock Eastman 503 for the past couple years that I bought used for about $900 and to this day I have people ask how much it was expecting me to say it was thousands. You can spend vintage Gibson money all you want, but at the end of the day, the guitar that feels like wearing a nice worn in glove is going to make you sound better than anything else, whether you spent $400 or $4,000
Correct some great guitars out there now for the price and play better and sound better than a lot of big names especially the custom ones ridiculous price and had them all gibsons fenders and many others still stuck to blade guitars for years
Have the Eastman version of the ES-339. It came from the h factory with SD pickups [ jazz in the neck and a 59 in the bridge - yes they compliment each other nicely ] and played nicely right out of the music store unpacking it. And yes, it is every bit as nice as the Gibson 339.
Eastman are seriously overlooked by most people. Whilst certainly not a 'cheap' brand the quality you get for the money is amazing. Absolutely love my ss10/v and would take it over any Martin, Gibson or Taylor acoustic I've tried or heard.
I've been playing guitar since I was a kid, but 2 years ago I fell in love with jazz and got my first jazz box, a D'angelico Premier Exl-1. Great guitar for the money highly recomend it.
Thanks for talking about your guitar choosing process, Jens. This is a difficult journey for all of us, mostly done by error and trial with an emphasis on the error. I appreciate the thoughtfulness in your method.
Just bought a Comings gcs-16-1, made in Korea but sent back to Bill Comings for final QC and set-up. He says he spends about 4 hours with each guitar before sending them to the dealer. I absolutely love it... $2,200 and feels and plays like a dream.
This is what I needed. An honest guitar review from actual experience. Not a paid review of cheaper cookie cutter guitars. I wish I had a guitar shop around me to try what I buy. I totally agree it’s hit and miss buying without playing. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Cheap guitars are awesome and I love seeing videos like this. My main workhorse the past 2 years has been an Epiphone ES-339. Not as big as the full body 335, but it was $500 and it does everything I need it to do, and does it better than any guitar I previously had. When I need good blues or rock sounds, it does that well. It handles Jazz extremely well as you would expect from a semi-hollow body guitar. Like you said about the guitar choosing you, that's what happened with me and my 339. I wanted a big bodied 335 really bad, but when I came across a natural finished 339, there was something about that guitar that I couldn't shake. I've played in southern rock bands and did a fair bit of country, and I think that being in my roots is how I ended up with the blonde 339.
I feel you: I have a few guitars. But my main one is a $400 Epiphone Dot, made in Samick factory in Indonesia in 2012. I use it for all kinds of stuff, including a little jazz. I am amazed at that quality for only 400. I was planning on changing the pups but decided not to.
Peter Tiehuis also seems to get a killer tone from the Sheraton, albeit with alternative pickups. Thanks for showing that good sounding instruments don't need to cost you an arm and a leg! Having said that, life's still comfortable with one kidney and my new John Mayer PRS...
I did almost exactly the same thing. I found an Epi Sheraton II and changed out the pickups to Gibson Classic 57s (maybe not so popular anymore), changed out the pots to CTS and better jacks. It sounds great. Here's the thing: a semi-hollow is the perfect candidate for upgrades because after all, as expensive as an ES-335 is, the body is laminated plywood - veneer with sawdust & LOTS of glue. The Epihone semi hollow body probably has more glue but still, you can see the logic. I'm a bit nervous about a fret job as the guys I knew that do great fret work are retired. I know Mike Lull is here but I don't want to even ask what his price is!
I've got a 80s Sheraton (Epiphone By Gibson inlayed on headstock) that I use playing out instead of one of my much more expensive Gibsons. It's got better Kluson tuners and Gibson 57 pickups. Tonewise, it sounds really close to my ES335. Now that it's getting much more valuable I'm looking for a 90s Peerless Sheraton and doing the same thing with a good set up Klusons and 57 pickups. I use them in most everything and have for almost 30 years now. I'm well used to them.
My main guitar 🎸 is the Epiphone Sheraton II Pro and LOVE IT! The pro has coil taps which for me allows me to switch to clean funk and then right back to jazz! I love the tree of life headstock and Gibson USA made PAF pickups too!!!
@@JensLarsen Back in the old days it was usually because they were on smack. If you watch some of the old shows (Miles, ect...) you can catch some of the guys nodding out.
Interesting discussion Jens: hand-made vs factory. US vs Indonesia, Korea, Vietnam and China. I used to work for a Gibson importer. I sold Gibsons and Epiphones but also Fender, Ibanez, PRS, ESP et al. Brand fetishists will claim that you get what you pay for. That was never true. Gibson stuff up in the factory a lot. They grade their guitars and overall, the Asian counterparts coming out of Asia are now better than some of the "high quality" expensive Les Paul's I sold in the 90's. I can't rationally justify spending 10 to 20 times more for an overpriced US made guitar. I just bought a Chinese Les Paul inspired Chinese Les Paul for under US $300. It is so good, you can't tell the difference to a genuine Les Paul.
Yes, that is what I have seen too. Gibson quality was always all over the map, and very expensive instruments are often not worth the money you pay for them if you buy new. It's like buying 2nd hand, you need to try them to know that it is good.
@@JensLarsenIt also was a wake up call when talking about Ibanez Super 58’s I never questioned the quality of them relative to model until pointed out the difference in price for replacing them for say a GB200 as opposed to a lower end Ibanez fitted with Super 58’s they are not created exactly equal !!
I truly appreciate your insight on music. I also have a 1952Gibson ES175 with a Dog ear P90 and a 1967 Gibson satin red 333. Same as a 335 just no pick gard or pickup covers. I have been playing Classic rock and Bles for a few years but I am ready to start my Jazz adventure. With you help and great knowledge of the world of Jazz. Thanks Jans.😎👍
Great video. I have an Epiphone Les Paul which I loved in every way except the pickups, which were quite flat and undefined sounding. Again after much research and learning more than I ever thought I would about pickups, I replaced them with Gibson Classic 57s. The guitar is exactly what I want now, it has a beautiful, older sound and has also become more versatile. Was too scared to attempt a wiring changeout though!
$100 Squire Bullet Strat with replacement Stew-Mac traditional wound Golden Age Humbuckers, with Carvin pots and switch, and luthier lowered action. Still has original tuners. Although cheap, they seem to hold up. Cheap and cheerful. Works great. Thanks for the video, Jens. Guitars are fairly simple mechanically, so this hot rod stuff works well (as opposed to trying to hot rod a cheap saxohone.)
Lots of us live in a small city or village. We have internet but no chance to try bunch of guitars in a good shop, lol. But I enjoyed this video and we got some kinda personal information about a great guitarist and accurate teacher. Tks Jens! Really appreciate your youtube works - even I don't get the 70% u r talking about :)
I know the feeling. Even though I grew up in the Bay Area Calif, where you couldn't walk out the front door without tripping over a guitarist back then, I live out in the middle of nowhere now. There's only one music store in the entire (actually huge) county, and that's a 40 minute drive from me. Maybe you can make a day trip to a larger city sometime though?
This video helped me a lot! I was looking for a semihollow for my next semester at jazz school. Got an Ibanez Artstar AS153 for a really nice price. Your content made the search easier for me!
I played a Sheraton in a big band and loved it. Now I play Eastmans - 335 and 175 knock offs. Wonderful guitars for the money. I actually prefer their necks to the Gibsons I have owned.
I had that cheap Epiphone Sheraton for a short time due to financial issues I sold it. I did a few upgrades and it played and sounded beautiful. I am getting another one as soon as I can afford one. Back when I started there was no way you could get a guitar this cheap that would even stay in tune.
Hope you get another one that is as good 🙂 I think that is true, quality have gone up while price have gone down quite a bit on guitars the last 20-30 years
@@JensLarsen excel ss. I ordered it online to get the hineyburst, so I know what you mean about buying unseen and unplayed. Initially found it hard to play, but got it set up properly at a luthier and then it was great. The Seymour Duncans it came with were that mellow dulled jazz sound only, and I prefer a bit of range, so went for Lollar humbuckers. Sounds great now, and looks beautiful. Don't think I'd gig with it though - I've put too much money into it! For gigging, I'd probably get another Sheraton II and change the pickups as you did. Great mid priced guitar.
U r so right, Jens. Cheap instruments can often be upgraded by changing certain components and a good setup. Afterwards u have an amazing instrument:-)
Several years ago I played an Epiphone Elitist ES335 and it was virtually indistinguishable from a Gibson. I heard the Elitist line was discontinued because they were sapping sales from the Gibson models.
Great to hear your story about this guitar Jens! I'm a big fan of the Seymour Duncan Seth Lover pickups too. I did a similar research journey when I was trying to find out what to put into my SBG2000 many years ago. I went with a pair of Seth Lovers and still have them in there now. They are really lovely. Your Sheraton looks and sounds great!
Bravo...!!! As a luthier and technician I give this advice almost verbatim to everyone who comes thru my shop and I'm constantly surprised at the number of people who don't want to hear it... !?!? Great Video, Thank You. B-)
The video I've been waiting for, answered at least ten questions. Thinking of an Ibanez semi-hollow and was looking at the Japanese made ones. Expensive.
@@JensLarsen Thanks! All good :) I think the model I had was from 1997 and it came with a slightly different neck pocket or joint and thus different scale length - not sure. Anyhow, at the time Frank Möbus made us students aware of this 'budget' jazz guitar
My Sheraton is the same vintage & color. I replaced the pots and caps, strung it up with Chrome lights, and I love it. Agree that it plays amazingly well and it would probably benefit from new pickups. Thanks for the video.
I've been playing for 50 years and still play my first real guitar which is a Hummingbird Copy I bought from Rose Music in Western Australia. It cost me $150 Australian dollars and I bought it to replace my $3 second hand guitar which was of poor quality, but an instrument that got me around the fret board. I have an old Ibanez SG copy which feels and plays great through my 1964 Australian Goldentone 60Watt Piggyback Reverb Valve amp. I have been playing a fair bit of jazz lately so I looking for a suitable jazz guitar and this post has shown that I don't have to spend a small fortune to get the sound I want. Another advantage of a jazz guitar is that I don't have to plug a semi into an amp to get a decent and loud enough tone while practicing. Thank you for your post. Chris from AUSTRALIA
Interesting presentation, Jens! The price of quality vintage and new guitars can certainly be quite ridiculous. I was surprised to learn the amount of time and effort you put in to find a good guitar that suited you. I totally relate to the idea of having more time than money. I'm old and poor, so before I purchase anything, music related or not, I have to invest a lot of time doing homework.
Great vid Jens! I absolutly agree. One of my top 3 guitars. I put some "Staufer57" in mine. He is a small german luthier, and the pickup is his interpretation of a PAF. A warm but chimey, snappy sound with a lot of topend on the neck PU. It has a really nice woody and gnarly tone (if that makes any sense...) My Sheraton is also made in Korea but is mostly made out of maple, Centerblock, 5pc neck natural finish,... never had problems with intonation and stability. Which I have on my '77 Gibson Les Paul... My other top two guitars are my Suhr Strat and my Fender Telly.
The Japanese and Korean built Epiphones are wonderful instruments. I have a blonde Sheraton II (they are maple not mahogany) and an Emperor Regent that I would put up against any instrument I did change the pick ups to Custom Kent Armstrong (made by Kent in Vermont) and they were only $20 more than the ones you get on line.
Jens, based on your recommendation, I bought a used 2007 Sheraton for $400. After replacing the pickups with Seymour Duncan 59’s and the bridge with a Nashville Tune o Matic, I have a great guitar. Thanks!
I'm a new guitar player coming from bass. The other day, I also got an Epiphone as my first guitar but only an ES-335 Figured from Inspired By Gibson lineup, around $570. Sheraton II pro was $100 more, so I couldn't buy it. I'm loving it, now I follow your lessons.
I had the same guitar, Korean-made Sheraton II from about that same year. Swapped out the pickups for Seymour Duncans and invested in a better bridge and tuners. Played and sounded amazing ... then ran into money troubles and let it go for a song ... not one of my smarter moves in the end. Lesson learned: you can always find more money somewhere, but you can never get the same guitar back, let alone the time you put into it.
I just picked up a used 2007 Sheraton and I was blown away by the sound, playability and looks. I have more expensive guitars but this is my number one now. My playing doesn't warrant modifications so these is nothing left to do except play it.
I have a 1989 Korean Sheraton, but identical to yours even down to the 'Gibson' truss rod cover. I acquired it from a work colleague recently for a ridiculously low price. It's still stock and I agree it could do with some better pickups and switch/pots. Even so it plays really well.
I have an 89 Sheraton, as well, and it plays great, but I use it for Blues, The Beatles, and Clapton.. However, as you said, I switched out everything on the guitar. Seymour Duncan PuPs and very expensive pots and some kind of Russian capacitor in there... My wife bought the guitar for me and while I feigned happiness that she bought me a guitar, I was gutted that she bought an Epiphone... Needless to say, I don't feel that way now.. It's a great guitar.
I have a -99 Sheraton, very similar to your as well! I've had it since 2012 and back in those days I installed a Bigsby tailpiece and swapped the pickups to a pair of Gibson burstbuckers. A real gem that will remain in my guitar collection for many years to come.
Hey Jens, On my second Ibanez AM50. It's the guitar that the ES339 was modeled after as I understand it. This one an '82 I bought last year, the '83 I bought new. They were part of the Artist Stagemaster series made in the FujiGen plant in Japan, from '82 thru '84. Light, well balanced, incredible workmanship and parts. The (original) Super 58 alnico pickups are spectacular. So al in all, very similar to your main Ibanez. As you already know, their instruments from that early period in Japan are just great. (When one occasionally comes up for sale on the net in really great condition, they're like $ 1,100 to $1,300 +/-)
Nice! I have actually thought about getting an AM50 at some point, but never had time to look :) Ibanez from the 70s and early 80s are indeed usually great instruments!
I love my am50. It’s so underrated and with its super 70 pickups has a classic warm sound, but is much easier to sit with than a 335. top notch 80s Ibanez Bulle quality too
Totally agree. I've upgraded almost all my guitars over time. If you have a great playing guitar you can work on the sound for sure. I've never bought a guitar that didn't play well that I've bonded with enough to improve the playability. Ibanez and Yamaha necks are the best in the business to my fingers. PRS are a close second and mitigated by everything else about the guitar. Still on top as a whole package in my experience. A really good trick right now is buy a Harley Benton strat, get a fret dress and install new pickups and maybe a new nut. Also to follow on my project is a new trem. As a foundation for a project it's insanely good. I bought one and put lace sensors in it. It sounds amazing but tuning is still a bit sketchy. A new nut and vega trem are on the road map but now I have a trad strat to play. For next to no money and it sounds good. Basswood body and Alder neck. Also scored a swamp ash pacifica 921 92 vintage in old violin sunburst. Gorgeous guitar. Probably about £1200 in 92 so closer to 3000 now. Mine for £500. It's a shredder guitar with dimarzios and hsh pickups and a floyd but damn it sounds good and given that's my roots I love it. There are bargains to be had for sure. Luv and Peace.
Jens, Your videos are always very informative; clear, practical, and useful. This one I also found, let's say, "affirming." About a year ago, I purchased an Epiphone ES 335 Pro that was in great shape, for $300. I had a set of Lollar Imperials laying around ... they had been installed in a PRS I had. I installed those with a new wiring harness (about $100) with.015 (neck) and a .022 (bridge) capacitors. I did a trade-out with a store owner friend so he did the tedious job of stuffing all the new wiring into the guitar. It's a sweet guitar, currently strung with round wounds, but soon to have flatwound strings. $400 out of pocket, though I think the Lollars would go for around $300 for the pair. Thank you and carry on!
Good 'guitar' stories. So VERY true about trying out a guitar before you buy. Over the last 20 years or so, I've purchased at least 3 guitars.....' sight-unseen' and been quite disappointed each time. Guitars I try out and play, almost always work out for me !!! The most recent guitar I purchased, the music store had two of that model. One of them sounded bad and the other sounded fantastic !!! Just one quick question .....?.....Were you able to search and find the 'rightful' owner of the Gibson ??? Maybe I missed that comment, but I didn't notice you explained that ???
My newest bass is a Squire P bass. It just does the job, sits well in the mix at band rehearsals, is easy to play, very simple to dial in a good sound (it's all good). Bought it second hand for like 260 Euro. I haven't gigged with it yet, but I'm pretty sure it will do the job as well, when we get to that point. You don't always need to spend top dollar, to get a good instrument. It's always a good idea to buy these budget instruments second hand, because it's very likely that the previous owner, took care of all the small problems it had out of the box.
Interesting story time, Jens! I was particularly interested that you started out jazzing on a Strat. I love the sound of Jazz on a Strat neck pickup and this may go some way to explain why I love your tone so much. I have a Bare Knuckle Juggernaut in my baritone, which sounds great as a bridge pickup for people who don't like the bridge position. (Sounds great coiled-tapped too.)
Nice video I did the same thing. Bought a Hohner SE5 professional made in south Korea 1984 for £100 on ebay. Changed electrics and new humbuckers from The creamery in Manchester, really clean sound. Flat wound 13s on it. Total cost £350. Best buy ever, plays great. Would recommend 🙂
Jens you just released this but , just reading the title I know I like it hahahah... I bought a boutique guitar as soon as I could finally afford one, and I'm already having second thoughts hahahah
I had the Epiphone Sheriton and modified it. You are right about the weight, it is heavy, too heavy for me. Sadly I had to sell it as it caused back problems, but the buyer was very keen because of the mods and was happy with my selling price. Bare Knuckle pickups are very nice. Very happy with them on my Strat builds. Interesting video for those who don't know what or how to buy.
The Sheraton sounds great. You can easily do the Pepsi challenge and A/B them with guitars that retail for two or three times as much and no one will be able to tell other than visually.
Thanks for this video. I own a few high end guitars from Gibson, Fender and PRS. And yet, one of my favorite, better sounding and feeling instruments is my Mexican-made 60’s Baja Tele. 100% agree with your statements. 👍
These are great guitars! Mine usually ends up on most recordings I do. I really like how snappy and responsive it is with chords and that you can hear each note clearly. The sound options are great too, you can do almost any genre. Middle position with a bit neck rolled off, is 10/10 for me. Only downside is It took me a while to get used to the upper frets I wish it had inlays for 17th & 19th fret too.
To paraphrase an old studio player,Tommy Tedesco,"I could buy a 5,000 dollar set of golf clubs and I still wouldnt be able to be good at golf" I HATE HATE HATE gear shopping. I now have a cheap Ibanez solid body which weighs next to nothing because Im an old man with back problems. If I could play jazz like you,Jens,I dont think anyone would notice if my tone wasnt perfect. Great video and will look into the fret wiring because I also practice like a maniac and need fret work done almost every year. Thanks and Cheers
I buy cheap guitars and refret them, wind them new pickups, and change out all the pots. I use vintage inspired pots because they are rated at 550k and 280k, that way I know non of them will ever be below 500k or 250k
@@JohnAdams-xc5yk Nobody else is making them at 280k and 550k and vintage inspired sells them for around $8. I also like the resistance of them, I don't like those pots that move to easily
@@theexplodingmothfromhell8012 Sometimes that works, but you can fix more problems when doing a full refret, like uneven fretboard for example. Also I like tall frets so if I level and recrown low to med frets they will be a lot harder for me to bend notes on, because they will be to low. I also prefer stainless steel frets, because they are super smooth, last forever and are just a hair brighter. Most cheap guitars use really shitty metal for the frets, so they ware our really quick and sound all grindy and buzzy. To me a really good fret job, set up, pickups, bridge and saddles and nut, are what make a great guitar, quality strings are important too and tuners if you want to stay in tune. Then next thing I would focus on is the amp and then the speaker. I'm in the camp that feels that tone wood is a factor, but a very small one with and electric. I think a quality low capacitance cable or good pots with the right ohm readings matter more than the type of wood an electric is made of, when it comes to tone.
I had the same one for a couple of months. Regretted selling it and tried to find another one at a reasonable price, but the Indonesian and Chinese models you can buy new from the store these days are definitely not the same as the older ones from Korea. I finally ended up with a Korean Epiphone ES-335 "The Dot", which plays, feels and sounds identical to the Sheraton. It's basically the same guitar, just without the multi-ply binding and fancy headstock.
I was looking for an Epiphone Sheraton, too, simply because I thought I probably will upgrade gear to something more expensive as my jazz skills improve. Silly thought. While looking for it, I stumbled across a Höfner Verithin. Sometimes you find a perfect match when you don't expect it. Didn't even feel the need to change the pickups as with any other guitar I have. They sound ... different?
Jens, I love the sound of your Sheraton. They're really great guitars. A friend of mine had one that he ended up selling and right before he got rid of it, I had a chance to play it and then later wished I had bought it. Also, a former student of mine brought one over and I was really impressed with it. I had a similar experience I think with a D'Angelico Excel copy made in Korea. It was a great looking guitar (sunburst blue) and blue or green are colors that seem to have magical properties, but the pickups were just OK (Ken Armstrong, I think), plus the F note on the G-string was dead. Anyway, a genius luthier who lived close by installed some DeArmonds for me that I had scarfed on eBay. This fixed the F Note issue and totally transformed the guitar. I also love that you're not a 'wild and crazy guy' who would order a guitar from a shop. My Grandmother would have approved. I have some stories there. Regards, Gil
I got lucky when I bought one of the first run IbanezAS103NT back in maybe 2008. Gorgeous guitar that is made impeccably- wood knobs, beveled fret ends, binding, great pickups, fine tuners at the bridge! I seriously think it is a bit better than a Gibson 335.
Those Sheratons are HEAVY! You can buy an Epiphone Dot for $400. Same feel as an ES-335 and excellent build quality. Put some custom wound pickups and a quality wiring harness in it and you have a guitar that plays as well and sounds better than any stock Gibson ES-335 which will cost you 3 times as much.
Jens ,thanks ,great video. I bought a Sheraton in 2018,and it's a great guitar. Epiphone changed their pickups,to a more traditional configuration,and it's made all the difference sonically.The only mod, was having the frets "shaved". This model also has coil tapping capabilities,which is good if some malcontent says I can't make my guitar sound like a Strat !
Just put a small sticker on the side of the neck, if you want fret markers. It’s not that serious. Great guitars. I’ve never owned one, but I’ve played several.
It's so easy to obsess about guitars. I feel like, if I could advise my younger self, I would say: "Whatever you've got right now is probably good enough. If it's set up properly, MORE PRACTICE is more important than a new (or another) guitar". It's also easy to think a different guitar will make you a better player but, as you said Jens, most guitars are so well made these days that usually whatever you're playing right now is likely a pretty darn good guitar. About a year ago, I had the opportunity to buy a used hand-carved, luthier-built archtop for about $2400 US, which is an incredible price for a hand-made instrument. I played it for over an hour and it was a beautiful instrument but, quite frankly, I was not "in-love" with it. I'm glad I passed on it because I really just needed to practice and play more. One need only look on TH-cam to realize the number of people who have amazingly expensive guitars (or even collections of them) who could use a lot more practice. It's not the tool you have....it's how you use it.
Hello Jens, thanks for the video. I'm practing now a days two hours session on a gibson lpj 2014 which is very heavy ( near 5,5 kg ) and my back hurts.....which model (hollow body or semi hollow, archtop) Will be more acceptable for it? I love the sound of jazz guitar like ibanez a75 but it seems to be more heavy....
Have had the same experience with my 94 Samick Sheraton II. Had upgraded it with Gibson 57 PAFs und Gibson original electronics and then a proper setup. What an instrument. Last year I purchased a Riviera. I love these Mini Humbuckers. Replaced the Pickups with Seymor Duncan's Antiquity II Mini Humbuckers (authentic ’60s) - not cheap, but worth every Penny.
I bought a used Epiphone Sheraton Pro II years ago, and it sounded FANTASTIC with already upgraded Lindy Fralin pickups. The issue for me was the horrendous square-ish neck, so, I gave it to my luthier and he shaved a 100 lbs of wood off the neck, and now it's one of my favorites.
Fun watching! Would love you see you play a Benedetto if you can get your hands on one! They are pricy, but i absolutely love them! I have a video on my channel of me playing one at NAMM-2020 the same year i met you!! See ya on the next video! 🤘🏻🤘🏻
Thank you! There are not a lot of Benedetto's around here, so that is not that likely. I will hopefully make some more videos with Richard Heeres guitars, since I find them pretty amazing as well.
I purchased a second hand black/gold 2004 Samick Sheraton back in 2013 for a song ($300 w/SKB flight case) and the previous owner was a thumb player, so no pick damage at all. It still had the same gold hardware as manufactured and I've not replaced them. My only change was to swap the 3-way to a Switchcraft when it started becoming scratchy back in '20. Everything else is in great condition and it doesn't suffer from the muddiness of the earlier models with all three positions very well balanced across the frequency range. That could be because the previous owner had done serious work on the pole screws and the pickup heights. This one's a forever axe.
Hello Jens...I was looking at an Epi sheri made in Korea in the peerless factory in the mid 1990`s but got outbid :-( these seem to be very special .So if you can get one hold on to it..:-) take care ..:-)
@@JensLarsen I think so but the peerless ones are the ones that have a Gibson truss rod cover are the guitars made for Gibson in that factory...just some Intel for you and your listeners..many thanks..:-)
I just bought a 2009 Epiphone "Dot" 335, made in Korea in 2009. It's got DiMarzio pickups, and it sounds really great. It's also really fun to play unplugged; very vibrant and alive. Best of all? $400, including a nice SKB hardshell case.
@@pumpkinhead6646 I got a classic vibe late 50s jazzmaster recently (I think they just came out a few months back). It's a brilliant, affordable, recreation of the original. I put on 12 gauge flatwounds and changed the bridge for a Staytrem. Other than that it's an amazing value guitar
Happy to see that you still have your Epiphone Sheraton II, as I noticed in your video today about not using an amp. I have exactly the same model of 1998, bought new at Voxhumana in 2000 for 1100 guilders! So you were lucky! Your videos and work are quite impressive! 👍🏻
My favourite semi acoustical guitar is a korean made sunburst sheraton with gibson classic 57 PAF humbuckers. Excellent for jazzy moods. Best quality for the money spent.
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I was pretty lucky with my first hollow body archtop. I noticed an Ibanez Artcore in a pawnshop that was marked down pretty low. The shop owner said the original owner couldn't get it in tune, no matter how hard he tried. Even the shop owner said it was the worst guitar he tried to sell in his shop. It just wouldn't tune correctly. Well...I noticed what the problem was and asked them if they would knock off a $100. After a bit of back and forth, he went for it.
As soon as I brought it home, I turned the bridge around to its correct position. Still playing this guitar almost 20 years now.
Haha! Great story 👍
Haha awesome!
Nice one 👍
That's awesome. Nice spot!
Does it work on a Gibson Les Paul Standard too lol? I have one that I bought new and it will never stay in tune. Useless.
I have watched a lot Lars’s videos. I just really dig this guy. Besides being a great teacher and accomplished musician, he’s just a likable man. Wouldn’t you agree?
Thank you! :)
Danish and dutch - what•s not to like
absolutely, Jens is sincere.
Yessss
I’m generally a troll in comments but yes I also agree
Hearing someone who’s playing I respect as much as yours say something so guitar taboo as ‘I didn’t really know what it all meant re pickups’, it’s really humbling and refreshing. Growing up reading guitar magazines and never having friends that played it always felt like such a taboo to not know every technical detail about guitars.
Haha! I am still 90% clueless about this stuff. Having a good tech that you trust is so important!
A lot of what you read in the magazines is probably just put there to make the gear sound as good as possible, not because it makes a big difference. Think of it the same way that you do the descriptions of dishes on a high-end restaurant menu.
I have so much respect for you, Jens. Not only is your playing and instruction heaven sent, but you took more time and research than a medical student to get just the sound you wanted. Your ear must be incredible. You are to be commended for, among many other things, your patience in waiting to find the “Ahhh” guitar. Keep on pickin’, because we’re eating it up.
Great advice: I saw Jim Mullen playing in a pub situation and he was using a really cheap Korean Aria. He didn’t want to bring his best (very expensive) jazz guitars out. The sound and playability of guitars has come a long way. My Ibanez AF120 and AF95 both sound great and are completely stock guitars under £400
My gigging jazz box is an Epiphone Broadway I bought for 400-bucks and replaced the internals with those from an L5. I bring it everywhere and don't worry about it at clubs. If it ever got stolen, broken or lost I'd just build it again. Great video, great advice.
Nice, what's the difference in their "internals"? I thought they both used parallel bracing is why I ask.......?
I bought a bargain secondhand Ibanez Artcore AS73, and realised the pick-ups looked different to each other. Had a guitar tech set it up and look underneath - it’s a Seymour Duncan Seth Lover! Lovely free upgrade 😁
Great! I love those pickups :)
I have a cherry red art core 73 with seth lovers in it and switchcraft pots and Jack. Bought it for 400. Love that guitar
I traded a bass amp for an AS73. The motherboard was going out on the amp. The guy said no problem could fix it and traded the amp for the guitar. That guitar is great for the value of the amp. Now I gotta learn how to play it.
it Wouldn't matter what guitar Jens plays. Don't be fooled, he is just giving us little breather in order to get our heads around the last few lessons.
Haha! Well.... :D
It's true that a lot of the tone comes from your own fingers.
I used to have a black second hand Chinese Sheraton that I upgraded with ToneRiders. Heavy, resonant, elegant… gorgeous. I loved that guitar. I sold it again to save up for a Stanford CR30, a Casino style hollowbody with P90s, which I really do love, but I still miss my good ole Sherry. I couldn’t justify at home to have two “identical” guitars, though. So it had to leave. Hope it is making somebody happy wherever it is now.
I luv that you’re not selling anything. You and Chris are by far the two best Jazz educators on TH-cam. Your advice is always solid and accurate. Thanks
Thank you very much! 🙂
I'm with you Jens. I put a $230 Fender pre wired pickguard from Stewmac with 57-62 pickups in a $130 squire strat. It sounds and plays amazing. This was my first non stock pickups and it hooked me into the magic of electric guitar like never before. I bought an Ibanez AF95 last year online and it exceeds my expectations. The stock pickups are super 58's. Same ones Scofield, Metheny and Benson use. With CNC machines, this has been the golden age of affordable guitars.
For anyone wondering these sell for $700-$1000 now
For 15 years I had a Heritage 535. I bought a 62 re-issue Sheraton, with tailpiece and Gibson Mini-Humbuckers, like the original Sheratons. After a couple of years I came to the realisation that I liked the Sheraton better and sold the Heritage. This year I got myself a 2008 Gibson Custom ES 345. It is a great guitar, but I still prefer the Sheraton.
Been playing a stock Eastman 503 for the past couple years that I bought used for about $900 and to this day I have people ask how much it was expecting me to say it was thousands. You can spend vintage Gibson money all you want, but at the end of the day, the guitar that feels like wearing a nice worn in glove is going to make you sound better than anything else, whether you spent $400 or $4,000
Certainly! A lot of my friends swear by their Eastmans :)
Correct some great guitars out there now for the price and play better and sound better than a lot of big names especially the custom ones ridiculous price and had them all gibsons fenders and many others still stuck to blade guitars for years
Have the Eastman version of the ES-339. It came from the h factory with SD pickups [ jazz in the neck and a 59 in the bridge - yes they compliment each other nicely ] and played nicely right out of the music store unpacking it. And yes, it is every bit as nice as the Gibson 339.
Eastman are seriously overlooked by most people. Whilst certainly not a 'cheap' brand the quality you get for the money is amazing. Absolutely love my ss10/v and would take it over any Martin, Gibson or Taylor acoustic I've tried or heard.
I've been playing guitar since I was a kid, but 2 years ago I fell in love with jazz and got my first jazz box, a D'angelico Premier Exl-1. Great guitar for the money highly recomend it.
Thanks for talking about your guitar choosing process, Jens. This is a difficult journey for all of us, mostly done by error and trial with an emphasis on the error. I appreciate the thoughtfulness in your method.
Just bought a Comings gcs-16-1, made in Korea but sent back to Bill Comings for final QC and set-up. He says he spends about 4 hours with each guitar before sending them to the dealer. I absolutely love it... $2,200 and feels and plays like a dream.
That does sound like a great guitar! I tried one of his instruments at NAMM :)
Same, have a blonde GCS-16-1 and love it.
This is what I needed. An honest guitar review from actual experience. Not a paid review of cheaper cookie cutter guitars. I wish I had a guitar shop around me to try what I buy. I totally agree it’s hit and miss buying without playing. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Cheap guitars are awesome and I love seeing videos like this. My main workhorse the past 2 years has been an Epiphone ES-339. Not as big as the full body 335, but it was $500 and it does everything I need it to do, and does it better than any guitar I previously had. When I need good blues or rock sounds, it does that well. It handles Jazz extremely well as you would expect from a semi-hollow body guitar. Like you said about the guitar choosing you, that's what happened with me and my 339. I wanted a big bodied 335 really bad, but when I came across a natural finished 339, there was something about that guitar that I couldn't shake. I've played in southern rock bands and did a fair bit of country, and I think that being in my roots is how I ended up with the blonde 339.
Great! A few of my students have 339s they are really great instruments 👍
I feel you: I have a few guitars. But my main one is a $400 Epiphone Dot, made in Samick factory in Indonesia in 2012. I use it for all kinds of stuff, including a little jazz. I am amazed at that quality for only 400. I was planning on changing the pups but decided not to.
Peter Tiehuis also seems to get a killer tone from the Sheraton, albeit with alternative pickups. Thanks for showing that good sounding instruments don't need to cost you an arm and a leg! Having said that, life's still comfortable with one kidney and my new John Mayer PRS...
Haha! I didn't know you could get a PRS for just one kidney :)
You swapped an organ for a guitar. Boom tish...
I did almost exactly the same thing. I found an Epi Sheraton II and changed out the pickups to Gibson Classic 57s (maybe not so popular anymore), changed out the pots to CTS and better jacks. It sounds great.
Here's the thing: a semi-hollow is the perfect candidate for upgrades because after all, as expensive as an ES-335 is, the body is laminated plywood - veneer with sawdust & LOTS of glue. The Epihone semi hollow body probably has more glue but still, you can see the logic.
I'm a bit nervous about a fret job as the guys I knew that do great fret work are retired. I know Mike Lull is here but I don't want to even ask what his price is!
I've got a 80s Sheraton (Epiphone By Gibson inlayed on headstock) that I use playing out instead of one of my much more expensive Gibsons. It's got better Kluson tuners and Gibson 57 pickups. Tonewise, it sounds really close to my ES335. Now that it's getting much more valuable I'm looking for a 90s Peerless Sheraton and doing the same thing with a good set up Klusons and 57 pickups. I use them in most everything and have for almost 30 years now. I'm well used to them.
I put some Gibson classic 57s into my epi 335 and WOW...
My main guitar 🎸 is the Epiphone Sheraton II Pro and LOVE IT!
The pro has coil taps which for me allows me to switch to clean funk and then right back to jazz!
I love the tree of life headstock and Gibson USA made PAF pickups too!!!
Falling asleep in front of a microphone is a jazz tradition. Welcome to the club
Haha! I wasn't aware that it was common :D
@@JensLarsen Back in the old days it was usually because they were on smack. If you watch some of the old shows (Miles, ect...) you can catch some of the guys nodding out.
Interesting discussion Jens: hand-made vs factory. US vs Indonesia, Korea, Vietnam and China. I used to work for a Gibson importer. I sold Gibsons and Epiphones but also Fender, Ibanez, PRS, ESP et al. Brand fetishists will claim that you get what you pay for. That was never true. Gibson stuff up in the factory a lot. They grade their guitars and overall, the Asian counterparts coming out of Asia are now better than some of the "high quality" expensive Les Paul's I sold in the 90's. I can't rationally justify spending 10 to 20 times more for an overpriced US made guitar. I just bought a Chinese Les Paul inspired Chinese Les Paul for under US $300. It is so good, you can't tell the difference to a genuine Les Paul.
Yes, that is what I have seen too. Gibson quality was always all over the map, and very expensive instruments are often not worth the money you pay for them if you buy new. It's like buying 2nd hand, you need to try them to know that it is good.
Gibsons are for the same suckers who buy Snapon and Harley's. They don't realize things change
@@JensLarsenIt also was a wake up call when talking about Ibanez Super 58’s I never questioned the quality of them relative to model until pointed out the difference in price for replacing them for say a GB200 as opposed to a lower end Ibanez fitted with Super 58’s they are not created exactly equal !!
I truly appreciate your insight on music. I also have a 1952Gibson ES175 with a Dog ear P90 and a 1967 Gibson satin red 333. Same as a 335 just no pick gard or pickup covers. I have been playing Classic rock and Bles for a few years but I am ready to start my Jazz adventure. With you help and great knowledge of the world of Jazz. Thanks Jans.😎👍
Great video. I have an Epiphone Les Paul which I loved in every way except the pickups, which were quite flat and undefined sounding. Again after much research and learning more than I ever thought I would about pickups, I replaced them with Gibson Classic 57s. The guitar is exactly what I want now, it has a beautiful, older sound and has also become more versatile. Was too scared to attempt a wiring changeout though!
Great! Replacing pickups is indeed the way to go :)
Its been my go to for past 10 years. So well rounded you can use it for any genre
$100 Squire Bullet Strat with replacement Stew-Mac traditional wound Golden Age Humbuckers, with Carvin pots and switch, and luthier lowered action. Still has original tuners. Although cheap, they seem to hold up. Cheap and cheerful. Works great. Thanks for the video, Jens. Guitars are fairly simple mechanically, so this hot rod stuff works well (as opposed to trying to hot rod a cheap saxohone.)
Yup
Have 9
Lots of us live in a small city or village. We have internet but no chance to try bunch of guitars in a good shop, lol. But I enjoyed this video and we got some kinda personal information about a great guitarist and accurate teacher. Tks Jens! Really appreciate your youtube works - even I don't get the 70% u r talking about :)
I know the feeling. Even though I grew up in the Bay Area Calif, where you couldn't walk out the front door without tripping over a guitarist back then, I live out in the middle of nowhere now. There's only one music store in the entire (actually huge) county, and that's a 40 minute drive from me.
Maybe you can make a day trip to a larger city sometime though?
@@aylbdrmadison1051 from here (Nha Trang, Vn) Saigon takes a night on the bus. 7-8 hours on train. Lol
Thank you 🙂 obviously it is not always an option, but it is the best thing to do if you can.
Hello Jens, this made my day. Thank you
Glad you enjoyed it!
This video helped me a lot! I was looking for a semihollow for my next semester at jazz school. Got an Ibanez Artstar AS153 for a really nice price. Your content made the search easier for me!
That's great to hear! 🙂
I played a Sheraton in a big band and loved it. Now I play Eastmans - 335 and 175 knock offs. Wonderful guitars for the money. I actually prefer their necks to the Gibsons I have owned.
I have a Shine. Chet Atkins model
It's the brand name of the korean factory that builds Epiphone ,its beautiful.
I had that cheap Epiphone Sheraton for a short time due to financial issues I sold it. I did a few upgrades and it played and sounded beautiful. I am getting another one as soon as I can afford one. Back when I started there was no way you could get a guitar this cheap that would even stay in tune.
Hope you get another one that is as good 🙂 I think that is true, quality have gone up while price have gone down quite a bit on guitars the last 20-30 years
I don’t watch a lot of gear videos, but this one had your personality, which made it quite good.
Epiphone Sheraton II was my first proper guitar. Korean made. Learned how to play on it. Loved it. Now using a D'Angelico with Lollar humbuckers.
Cool! Which D'Angelico?
@@JensLarsen excel ss. I ordered it online to get the hineyburst, so I know what you mean about buying unseen and unplayed. Initially found it hard to play, but got it set up properly at a luthier and then it was great. The Seymour Duncans it came with were that mellow dulled jazz sound only, and I prefer a bit of range, so went for Lollar humbuckers. Sounds great now, and looks beautiful. Don't think I'd gig with it though - I've put too much money into it! For gigging, I'd probably get another Sheraton II and change the pickups as you did. Great mid priced guitar.
I have my korean Sheraton now for more than 30 years. Changed pick ups with German Hausel pickups with split coil feature. Unbeatable.
U r so right, Jens. Cheap instruments can often be upgraded by changing certain components and a good setup. Afterwards u have an amazing instrument:-)
Several years ago I played an Epiphone Elitist ES335 and it was virtually indistinguishable from a Gibson. I heard the Elitist line was discontinued because they were sapping sales from the Gibson models.
Great to hear your story about this guitar Jens! I'm a big fan of the Seymour Duncan Seth Lover pickups too. I did a similar research journey when I was trying to find out what to put into my SBG2000 many years ago. I went with a pair of Seth Lovers and still have them in there now. They are really lovely. Your Sheraton looks and sounds great!
Thanks! Glad you liked the video :)
Bravo...!!! As a luthier and technician I give this advice almost verbatim to everyone who comes thru my shop and I'm constantly surprised at the number of people who don't want to hear it... !?!? Great Video, Thank You. B-)
That is interesting! I did not know you worked on guitars. Then I can bother you with questions on pickups etc :D
@@JensLarsen any time…! you have shared so much with me (us) it would be a pleasure although you’ve literally got it down already! B-)
Love your Channel Jens , thank you for all the info you give us you are a true gift Darren Owsley
Glad you find the videos useful 🙂
The video I've been waiting for, answered at least ten questions. Thinking of an Ibanez semi-hollow and was looking at the Japanese made ones. Expensive.
That was actually my first real jazz guitar as well. Bought it used and loved it!
They are solid 🙂 hope you are doing well Jan
@@JensLarsen Thanks! All good :) I think the model I had was from 1997 and it came with a slightly different neck pocket or joint and thus different scale length - not sure. Anyhow, at the time Frank Möbus made us students aware of this 'budget' jazz guitar
My Sheraton is the same vintage & color.
I replaced the pots and caps, strung it up with Chrome lights, and I love it. Agree that it plays amazingly well and it would probably benefit from new pickups. Thanks for the video.
For jazz guitars I usually prefer Ibanez . Great guitars with good standard pickups
I've been playing for 50 years and still play my first real guitar which is a Hummingbird Copy I bought from Rose Music in Western Australia. It cost me $150 Australian dollars and I bought it to replace my $3 second hand guitar which was of poor quality, but an instrument that got me around the fret board.
I have an old Ibanez SG copy which feels and plays great through my 1964 Australian Goldentone 60Watt Piggyback Reverb Valve amp.
I have been playing a fair bit of jazz lately so I looking for a suitable jazz guitar and this post has shown that I don't have to spend a small fortune to get the sound I want. Another advantage of a jazz guitar is that I don't have to plug a semi into an amp to get a decent and loud enough tone while practicing. Thank you for your post. Chris from AUSTRALIA
Interesting presentation, Jens! The price of quality vintage and new guitars can certainly be quite ridiculous. I was surprised to learn the amount of time and effort you put in to find a good guitar that suited you. I totally relate to the idea of having more time than money. I'm old and poor, so before I purchase anything, music related or not, I have to invest a lot of time doing homework.
Great vid Jens! I absolutly agree. One of my top 3 guitars. I put some "Staufer57" in mine. He is a small german luthier, and the pickup is his interpretation of a PAF. A warm but chimey, snappy sound with a lot of topend on the neck PU. It has a really nice woody and gnarly tone (if that makes any sense...) My Sheraton is also made in Korea but is mostly made out of maple, Centerblock, 5pc neck natural finish,... never had problems with intonation and stability. Which I have on my '77 Gibson Les Paul... My other top two guitars are my Suhr Strat and my Fender Telly.
The Japanese and Korean built Epiphones are wonderful instruments. I have a blonde Sheraton II (they are maple not mahogany) and an Emperor Regent that I would put up against any instrument I did change the pick ups to Custom Kent Armstrong (made by Kent in Vermont) and they were only $20 more than the ones you get on line.
I've got a Jackson king v RRX24-7 for$350.00 free shipping fantastic buy I can't believe people pay Jackson$2700.00 for the same thing
He may have been referring to the center block, which is where most of the weight is...?
Jens, based on your recommendation, I bought a used 2007 Sheraton for $400. After replacing the pickups with Seymour Duncan 59’s and the bridge with a Nashville Tune o Matic, I have a great guitar. Thanks!
Sounds great! I am actually playing my Sheraton right now as well 🙂
I also have a Samick-made Sheraton that I’ve had professionally set up with flat wounds and gold Dimarzio PAF style pickups. It came up very nice.
Very nice!
I'm a new guitar player coming from bass. The other day, I also got an Epiphone as my first guitar but only an ES-335 Figured from Inspired By Gibson lineup, around $570. Sheraton II pro was $100 more, so I couldn't buy it. I'm loving it, now I follow your lessons.
That is great! Glad you like it!
I had the same guitar, Korean-made Sheraton II from about that same year. Swapped out the pickups for Seymour Duncans and invested in a better bridge and tuners. Played and sounded amazing ... then ran into money troubles and let it go for a song ... not one of my smarter moves in the end. Lesson learned: you can always find more money somewhere, but you can never get the same guitar back, let alone the time you put into it.
Yes! It is a surprisingly solid strategy 🙂
I just picked up a used 2007 Sheraton and I was blown away by the sound, playability and looks. I have more expensive guitars but this is my number one now. My playing doesn't warrant modifications so these is nothing left to do except play it.
I have a 1989 Korean Sheraton, but identical to yours even down to the 'Gibson' truss rod cover. I acquired it from a work colleague recently for a ridiculously low price. It's still stock and I agree it could do with some better pickups and switch/pots. Even so it plays really well.
Yes, they play really well 🙂
I have an 89 Sheraton, as well, and it plays great, but I use it for Blues, The Beatles, and Clapton.. However, as you said, I switched out everything on the guitar. Seymour Duncan PuPs and very expensive pots and some kind of Russian capacitor in there... My wife bought the guitar for me and while I feigned happiness that she bought me a guitar, I was gutted that she bought an Epiphone... Needless to say, I don't feel that way now.. It's a great guitar.
I have a -99 Sheraton, very similar to your as well! I've had it since 2012 and back in those days I installed a Bigsby tailpiece and swapped the pickups to a pair of Gibson burstbuckers. A real gem that will remain in my guitar collection for many years to come.
Great! Congrats on a good guitar :)
Hey Jens,
On my second Ibanez AM50. It's the guitar that the ES339 was modeled after as I understand it.
This one an '82 I bought last year, the '83 I bought new.
They were part of the Artist Stagemaster series made in the FujiGen plant in Japan, from '82 thru '84.
Light, well balanced, incredible workmanship and parts. The (original) Super 58 alnico pickups are spectacular.
So al in all, very similar to your main Ibanez. As you already know, their instruments from that early period in Japan are just great.
(When one occasionally comes up for sale on the net in really great condition, they're like $ 1,100 to $1,300 +/-)
Nice! I have actually thought about getting an AM50 at some point, but never had time to look :) Ibanez from the 70s and early 80s are indeed usually great instruments!
Absolutely, Jens!
Love the vids, as always.
best,
Rich
I love my am50. It’s so underrated and with its super 70 pickups has a classic warm sound, but is much easier to sit with than a 335. top notch 80s Ibanez Bulle quality too
Totally agree. I've upgraded almost all my guitars over time. If you have a great playing guitar you can work on the sound for sure.
I've never bought a guitar that didn't play well that I've bonded with enough to improve the playability.
Ibanez and Yamaha necks are the best in the business to my fingers. PRS are a close second and mitigated by everything else about the guitar. Still on top as a whole package in my experience.
A really good trick right now is buy a Harley Benton strat, get a fret dress and install new pickups and maybe a new nut. Also to follow on my project is a new trem.
As a foundation for a project it's insanely good.
I bought one and put lace sensors in it. It sounds amazing but tuning is still a bit sketchy.
A new nut and vega trem are on the road map but now I have a trad strat to play.
For next to no money and it sounds good. Basswood body and Alder neck.
Also scored a swamp ash pacifica 921 92 vintage in old violin sunburst. Gorgeous guitar. Probably about £1200 in 92 so closer to 3000 now. Mine for £500.
It's a shredder guitar with dimarzios and hsh pickups and a floyd but damn it sounds good and given that's my roots I love it.
There are bargains to be had for sure.
Luv and Peace.
Thanks Jens! Now watch Sheraton Korean made go thru the roof in value!!
Haha! I doubt if my videos have that type of impact 😂
Jens, Your videos are always very informative; clear, practical, and useful. This one I also found, let's say, "affirming." About a year ago, I purchased an Epiphone ES 335 Pro that was in great shape, for $300. I had a set of Lollar Imperials laying around ... they had been installed in a PRS I had. I installed those with a new wiring harness (about $100) with.015 (neck) and a .022 (bridge) capacitors. I did a trade-out with a store owner friend so he did the tedious job of stuffing all the new wiring into the guitar. It's a sweet guitar, currently strung with round wounds, but soon to have flatwound strings. $400 out of pocket, though I think the Lollars would go for around $300 for the pair. Thank you and carry on!
Sounds like a great guitar 👍🙂
Good 'guitar' stories. So VERY true about trying out a guitar before you buy. Over the last 20 years or so, I've purchased at least 3 guitars.....' sight-unseen' and been quite disappointed each time. Guitars I try out and play, almost always work out for me !!!
The most recent guitar I purchased, the music store had two of that model. One of them sounded bad and the other sounded fantastic !!! Just one quick question .....?.....Were you able to search and find the 'rightful' owner of the Gibson ??? Maybe I missed that comment, but I didn't notice you explained that ???
My newest bass is a Squire P bass. It just does the job, sits well in the mix at band rehearsals, is easy to play, very simple to dial in a good sound (it's all good). Bought it second hand for like 260 Euro. I haven't gigged with it yet, but I'm pretty sure it will do the job as well, when we get to that point. You don't always need to spend top dollar, to get a good instrument. It's always a good idea to buy these budget instruments second hand, because it's very likely that the previous owner, took care of all the small problems it had out of the box.
I have the Squier classic vibe Jazzmaster and I love it, best $315 I ever spent
Interesting story time, Jens! I was particularly interested that you started out jazzing on a Strat. I love the sound of Jazz on a Strat neck pickup and this may go some way to explain why I love your tone so much.
I have a Bare Knuckle Juggernaut in my baritone, which sounds great as a bridge pickup for people who don't like the bridge position. (Sounds great coiled-tapped too.)
Glad you enjoyed it!
Nice video
I did the same thing. Bought a Hohner SE5 professional made in south Korea 1984 for £100 on ebay. Changed electrics and new humbuckers from The creamery in Manchester, really clean sound. Flat wound 13s on it. Total cost £350. Best buy ever, plays great. Would recommend 🙂
Great recipe! :)
Jens you just released this but , just reading the title I know I like it hahahah... I bought a boutique guitar as soon as I could finally afford one, and I'm already having second thoughts hahahah
Thank you Julien! :)
I had the Epiphone Sheriton and modified it. You are right about the weight, it is heavy, too heavy for me. Sadly I had to sell it as it caused back problems, but the buyer was very keen because of the mods and was happy with my selling price. Bare Knuckle pickups are very nice. Very happy with them on my Strat builds. Interesting video for those who don't know what or how to buy.
The Sheraton sounds great. You can easily do the Pepsi challenge and A/B them with guitars that retail for two or three times as much and no one will be able to tell other than visually.
Yes, I suspect that is true as well 🙂
I got mine in 95 and threw a Duncan jazz in the neck and a 59 in the bridge. It sure gives my Gibson a run for its money. Thanks for this video.
Nice! Glad you like the video :)
Thanks for this video. I own a few high end guitars from Gibson, Fender and PRS. And yet, one of my favorite, better sounding and feeling instruments is my Mexican-made 60’s Baja Tele.
100% agree with your statements. 👍
You're very welcome! I am glad you like it! 🙂
I've got a similar Ibanez with locking tuners, TV Jones pickups, and a great setup. It plays better than some of my ~$2000 guitars.
These are great guitars! Mine usually ends up on most recordings I do. I really like how snappy and responsive it is with chords and that you can hear each note clearly. The sound options are great too, you can do almost any genre. Middle position with a bit neck rolled off, is 10/10 for me. Only downside is It took me a while to get used to the upper frets I wish it had inlays for 17th & 19th fret too.
To paraphrase an old studio player,Tommy Tedesco,"I could buy a 5,000 dollar set of golf clubs and I still wouldnt be able to be good at golf" I HATE HATE HATE gear shopping. I now have a cheap Ibanez solid body which weighs next to nothing because Im an old man with back problems. If I could play jazz like you,Jens,I dont think anyone would notice if my tone wasnt perfect.
Great video and will look into the fret wiring because I also practice like a maniac and need fret work done almost every year. Thanks and Cheers
I buy cheap guitars and refret them, wind them new pickups, and change out all the pots. I use vintage inspired pots because they are rated at 550k and 280k, that way I know non of them will ever be below 500k or 250k
That is a great strategy! :)
You can buy pots that are better than vintage,. Look around
@@JohnAdams-xc5yk Nobody else is making them at 280k and 550k and vintage inspired sells them for around $8. I also like the resistance of them, I don't like those pots that move to easily
@@justinpaquette224 That's cool, why do you feel the need to actually refret them rather than just working on the existing frets?
@@theexplodingmothfromhell8012 Sometimes that works, but you can fix more problems when doing a full refret, like uneven fretboard for example. Also I like tall frets so if I level and recrown low to med frets they will be a lot harder for me to bend notes on, because they will be to low. I also prefer stainless steel frets, because they are super smooth, last forever and are just a hair brighter. Most cheap guitars use really shitty metal for the frets, so they ware our really quick and sound all grindy and buzzy. To me a really good fret job, set up, pickups, bridge and saddles and nut, are what make a great guitar, quality strings are important too and tuners if you want to stay in tune. Then next thing I would focus on is the amp and then the speaker. I'm in the camp that feels that tone wood is a factor, but a very small one with and electric. I think a quality low capacitance cable or good pots with the right ohm readings matter more than the type of wood an electric is made of, when it comes to tone.
I had the same one for a couple of months. Regretted selling it and tried to find another one at a reasonable price, but the Indonesian and Chinese models you can buy new from the store these days are definitely not the same as the older ones from Korea. I finally ended up with a Korean Epiphone ES-335 "The Dot", which plays, feels and sounds identical to the Sheraton. It's basically the same guitar, just without the multi-ply binding and fancy headstock.
I was looking for an Epiphone Sheraton, too, simply because I thought I probably will upgrade gear to something more expensive as my jazz skills improve.
Silly thought.
While looking for it, I stumbled across a Höfner Verithin. Sometimes you find a perfect match when you don't expect it. Didn't even feel the need to change the pickups as with any other guitar I have. They sound ... different?
I also bought a ´93 Sheraton II in 2007 for jazzy / blues things, and put Gibson 59 pick-ups and wiring. Great video !
Thanks! :)
Jens,
I love the sound of your Sheraton.
They're really great guitars. A friend of mine had one that he ended up selling and right before he got rid of it, I had a chance to play it and then later wished I had bought it. Also, a former student of mine brought one over and I was really impressed with it.
I had a similar experience I think with a D'Angelico Excel copy made in Korea. It was a great looking guitar (sunburst blue) and blue or green are colors that seem to have magical properties, but the pickups were just OK (Ken Armstrong, I think), plus the F note on the G-string was dead.
Anyway, a genius luthier who lived close by installed some DeArmonds for me that I had scarfed on eBay. This fixed the F Note issue and totally transformed the guitar.
I also love that you're not a 'wild and crazy guy' who would order a guitar from a shop. My Grandmother would have approved. I have some stories there.
Regards,
Gil
Thank you! Glad you like the video 🙂
I got lucky when I bought one of the first run IbanezAS103NT back in maybe 2008.
Gorgeous guitar that is made impeccably- wood knobs, beveled fret ends, binding, great pickups, fine tuners at the bridge!
I seriously think it is a bit better than a Gibson 335.
Very nice!
Killed me when you said "The strings were older than scofield...." 🤣
Thanks 😂
Awesome video, Jens. Very helpful
Glad you think so!
Those Sheratons are HEAVY! You can buy an Epiphone Dot for $400. Same feel as an ES-335 and excellent build quality. Put some custom wound pickups and a quality wiring harness in it and you have a guitar that plays as well and sounds better than any stock Gibson ES-335 which will cost you 3 times as much.
Certainly a solid option 👍🙂
I desired a Sheraton until I picked one up! Way too heavy. I bought an Epi 339, with no regrets.
Jens ,thanks ,great video. I bought a Sheraton in 2018,and it's a great guitar. Epiphone changed their pickups,to a more traditional configuration,and it's made all the difference sonically.The only mod, was having the frets "shaved". This model also has coil tapping capabilities,which is good if some malcontent says I can't make my guitar sound like a Strat !
I'm dying for a Sheraton but, have never bought one because I can't get past it not having inlays in the 17th, 19th and 21st frets.
Ok, I have never thought about that 😁
@@JensLarsen Although, I might learn how to do inlays and buy one and do the job myself.....
Just put a small sticker on the side of the neck, if you want fret markers. It’s not that serious.
Great guitars. I’ve never owned one, but I’ve played several.
@@estebanb7166 Buahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!! That's the funniest shit ever! I don't need them to play. It's all about the look. It looks incomplete.
It's so easy to obsess about guitars. I feel like, if I could advise my younger self, I would say: "Whatever you've got right now is probably good enough. If it's set up properly, MORE PRACTICE is more important than a new (or another) guitar".
It's also easy to think a different guitar will make you a better player but, as you said Jens, most guitars are so well made these days that usually whatever you're playing right now is likely a pretty darn good guitar.
About a year ago, I had the opportunity to buy a used hand-carved, luthier-built archtop for about $2400 US, which is an incredible price for a hand-made instrument. I played it for over an hour and it was a beautiful instrument but, quite frankly, I was not "in-love" with it. I'm glad I passed on it because I really just needed to practice and play more. One need only look on TH-cam to realize the number of people who have amazingly expensive guitars (or even collections of them) who could use a lot more practice. It's not the tool you have....it's how you use it.
Well said friend, I couldn’t agree more
Hello Jens, thanks for the video. I'm practing now a days two hours session on a gibson lpj 2014 which is very heavy ( near 5,5 kg ) and my back hurts.....which model (hollow body or semi hollow, archtop) Will be more acceptable for it? I love the sound of jazz guitar like ibanez a75 but it seems to be more heavy....
That is hard to say, a hollow guitar is lighter, so that is worht considering, but maybe also think about what size is comfortable for you?
@@JensLarsen ok, thanks a lot
Try sitting down to play. Les Paul type guitars also weigh 5k, and are a pain in the ... lower back!
Have had the same experience with my 94 Samick Sheraton II. Had upgraded it with Gibson 57 PAFs und Gibson original electronics and then a proper setup. What an instrument.
Last year I purchased a Riviera. I love these Mini Humbuckers. Replaced the Pickups with Seymor Duncan's Antiquity II Mini Humbuckers (authentic ’60s) - not cheap, but worth every Penny.
Loved the video editing! haha Amazing content, Jens! I'm a classical violinist who appreciates jazz very much. Your channel is fascinating!
Thank you very much Henrique! Glad you like it .)
I bought a used Epiphone Sheraton Pro II years ago, and it sounded FANTASTIC with already upgraded Lindy Fralin pickups.
The issue for me was the horrendous square-ish neck, so, I gave it to my luthier and he shaved a 100 lbs of wood off the neck, and now it's one of my favorites.
Fun watching! Would love you see you play a Benedetto if you can get your hands on one! They are pricy, but i absolutely love them!
I have a video on my channel of me playing one at NAMM-2020 the same year i met you!!
See ya on the next video! 🤘🏻🤘🏻
Thank you! There are not a lot of Benedetto's around here, so that is not that likely. I will hopefully make some more videos with Richard Heeres guitars, since I find them pretty amazing as well.
I purchased a second hand black/gold 2004 Samick Sheraton back in 2013 for a song ($300 w/SKB flight case) and the previous owner was a thumb player, so no pick damage at all. It still had the same gold hardware as manufactured and I've not replaced them. My only change was to swap the 3-way to a Switchcraft when it started becoming scratchy back in '20. Everything else is in great condition and it doesn't suffer from the muddiness of the earlier models with all three positions very well balanced across the frequency range. That could be because the previous owner had done serious work on the pole screws and the pickup heights. This one's a forever axe.
Hello Jens...I was looking at an Epi sheri made in Korea in the peerless factory in the mid 1990`s but got outbid :-( these seem to be very special .So if you can get one hold on to it..:-) take care ..:-)
Ok, at the time they were not that difficult to come by. To be honest, I also wonder if the Indonesian build ones did not get better?
@@JensLarsen I think so but the peerless ones are the ones that have a Gibson truss rod cover are the guitars made for Gibson in that factory...just some Intel for you and your listeners..many thanks..:-)
I just bought a 2009 Epiphone "Dot" 335, made in Korea in 2009. It's got DiMarzio pickups, and it sounds really great. It's also really fun to play unplugged; very vibrant and alive. Best of all? $400, including a nice SKB hardshell case.
Sounds great!
But I just got a new guitar! I guess I could look at a few more...
Haha! What did you get?
@@JensLarsen classic vibe tele squire! Man the value of these things these days. Such a joy to play.
@@pumpkinhead6646 great! Congrats on the guitar 🎸🙂
@@pumpkinhead6646 I got a classic vibe late 50s jazzmaster recently (I think they just came out a few months back). It's a brilliant, affordable, recreation of the original. I put on 12 gauge flatwounds and changed the bridge for a Staytrem. Other than that it's an amazing value guitar
@@pumpkinhead6646 : Better go subscribe to _five watt world_ to get that cured. lols
Happy to see that you still have your Epiphone Sheraton II, as I noticed in your video today about not using an amp.
I have exactly the same model of 1998, bought new at Voxhumana in 2000 for 1100 guilders! So you were lucky!
Your videos and work are quite impressive! 👍🏻
The story of the ES175
"My friend didn't have the money, but I did."
Well, he told me himself because he knew I was searching. There were no hard feelings :)
My favourite semi acoustical guitar is a korean made sunburst sheraton with gibson classic 57 PAF humbuckers. Excellent for jazzy moods. Best quality for the money spent.
7:03 Can confirm. lols
Yesss! My Sheraton II is one of my faves and an amazing deal.