1959 Epiphone Sheraton Sunburst

Epiphone guitars have been built in Asia for the past 55 years so it's hard to convince Gen X, Y, Z and Millennials that once upon a time Epiphone was a revered name among guitar makers. Even after they hit serious financial trouble and were bought by Gibson in the late 50's, Epiphones continued to be held in high regard. Once they became a part of Gibson, the Epiphones were built in the same factory by the same workers as Gibson guitars. In fact, most of the Epiphone models were scrapped and new models that were slightly modified Gibsons took their place. The Sheraton was the equivalent of the ES-355. The major difference between a Sheraton and a mono 355 is the pickups. The early examples (59-60) had single coil "New York" pickups left over from the previous owners. They were soon replaced by mini humbuckers. The '59's (and '60's and '61's) had the incomparable V profile medium chunky neck that is, to me, perhaps the best neck ever made by anybody ever. No blade necks here until later. If this Sheraton said Gibson on the headstock, it would have an asking price of around $45,000. But it doesn't. It says Epiphone and that will save you $20,000. Now, a NY single coil is not a PAF-nor is a mini humbucker. But they are excellent pickups especially for jazz and rhythm players. They don't have the aggressiveness and bite of a PAF but they are wonderful players. The guitar is nearly all original including the frets. I installed a set of repro "carousel" knobs. I received it with Gibson knobs (see last photo...same as '59 345 knobs) but I think it left the factory with carousels. You get both. Condition is a very solid 9/10 with no visible wear and only a few minor dings here and there. I think a Gibson made Epiphone should have a place in any serious collection. I have three of them myself and they are among my favorites. Case is a Lifton (brown with pink-same as a Gibson).