Epiphone Sheraton Frequensator Left-handed Semi-hollowbody Electric Guitar - Natural Reviews
The original Epiphone Sheraton guitar was only produced from 1959 to 1969, with factory units totaling well under 1,000. Now, Epiphone has revitalized the classic semi-hollowbody as the Sheraton Frequensator, coming decked out with old-age charm and armed with its unique namesake tailpiece — just like the classic models. Epiphone stayed relatively true to vintage specifications, giving the Sheraton Frequensator an all-maple body, mahogany neck, V-block fret inlays, and even the iconic “tree of life” design on the headstock. Furthermore, the guitar dons period-correct mini-humbucking pickups in the form of Epiphone’s neck and bridge ProBuckers, distributing a dynamic range of tones that’ll accommodate everything from hot and crunching classic rock to buttery-smooth jazz. Just pick out your favorite original finish!
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Highest Rated Reviews
A Nice Addition to the Limited Number of Left-Handed Guitar Models
I'm a huge fan of mini-humbuckers, and I've lusted after an Epiphone left-handed model with minis for years. I've watched all the used sites for left-handed Rivieras or vintage Sheratons (like this model), but to the best of my knowledge and experience, this is the very first time in the history of the company that they've offered a lefty with mini-humbuckers in it. So I didn't think twice before pre-ordering.
I've had the guitar three days now, and I've logged maybe five hours with it. Is it comparable to a $2500+ American-made guitar? Of course not. But it's a heck of a value for the price.
The specifics:
The finish - there's just a marked difference between a nitro finish and a poly finish. The finish on this guitar is thicker than the nitro on my new Fenders, and it feels more "plasticky." I always check the areas where the neck meets the body on the face of the guitar, because that tight corner can be tricky to get right on a set-neck guitar. There's typically a change in color between body and the neck, and the 90 degree angle where the neck and fretboard rise off the guitar can be tricky to get right. This guitar has clean transitions and level finish even in the tricky spots. So, I would say in conclusion that the builders did an excellent job on the finish, with the caveat that it is a thick coat of poly.
The hardware - everything seems solid. I would describe the switch as robust. The tuners are smooth and sensitive with a high gear ratio. The bridge and the tailpiece seem solid enough, and Sweetwater had the guitar intonated perfectly. The nut is cleanly shaped and the 10s that are installed on the guitar fit within the slots perfectly. String height is consistent and appropriate at the first fret, coming off the nut. The pots are wired for left-handers, and they seem to work relatively well - they're likely not reverse-taper pots, and their sweep is limited because of this, but this issue is not specific to Epiphone, and lefties like myself are used to dealing with it.
The pickups - I was shocked at how great this guitar sounds. I've been buying and selling Epiphones for thirty years now, and I always expect their pickups to sound thin and tinny. I've got to get over that. They've upped their game in recent years, and these pickups are a perfect example of that improvement over time. Sweetwater had them adjusted perfectly, although I find that the neck pickup sits a little more level when the ring is reversed, and I'll likely do that over the weekend. Right now, the neck pup sits at a noticable angle. I'll likely eventually change the pickups, but only because I intend to swap the hardware to nickel. I'm an avid "modder" on all of my guitars, but I'm in no hurry to replace this pickups based upon tone alone. They sound great.
The neck - it needs work, but there's nothing that can't be corrected. The relief was awful when I received it - there was no tension on the truss rod at all, and the strings set a quarter of an inch off the fretboard past the twelfth fret. However, a 3/4" turn on the truss rod (taken in 1/4" turn increments over an hour or so) straightened things right up. It's now got an ever-so-slight bow (per my preference) and very low action without fret buzz. The frets seem to be level. However, the ends are dressed very poorly. Again, this is to be expected at this price point, but I would say that the fret ends are worse than, say, a Player's Series Fender, and harken back to the old MIM Fender finger-slicers. I'm not comfortable dressing fret ends myself, so I'll have to drop some cash into getting the fretboard lined out.
So, that's about it. I'm in love with this guitar. The thick poly finish and the need for some fretwork led to me giving it 4 1/2 stars out of 5, but I only dropped it by half a star, because these issues are what you expect from a guitar at this price point. If you like thin f-hole guitars like the Sheraton, Casino, Riviera, etc., I highly recommend that you buy this guitar while it's available.
