Epiphone Sheraton E212T Arch Top Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1962)
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Item #13954
Epiphone Sheraton E212T Model Arch Top Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1962), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # 91718, cherry lacquer finish, laminated maple body, mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard, original grey hard shell case.
This spectacular semi-hollow thinline guitar is an Epiphone Sheraton ordered in mid-1962 finished in the rich cherry lacquer previously reserved for Gibson instruments but just then first applied on this Epiphone model. The E-212T was Epiphone's top of the thinline semi-hollow guitar line in the 1960s; only the huge hollow body Emperor was more expensive. This guitar is an E212TV, designating that it was factory fitted with the Epiphone Tremotone vibrato, a catalog option, instead of the standard Frequensator tailpiece. On the July 1962 Epiphone price list this combination of features ran to $565, plus $50 for the #1519 hard case. This one had a gold-plated Bigsby substituted for the original Epi trem early on but otherwise remains original.
After Gibson's parent company Chicago Musical Instruments bought the nearly defunct Epiphone operation in 1957, it took them a year or so to come up with a guitar line using the former competitor's name. Samples were shown at NAMM 1958 but production did not begin in earnest until the 1959 model year. The Sheraton was one of the first models offered and combined Gibson's then-new double cutaway, semi-hollow body design with a more traditional Epiphone look.
This model was the rough equivalent to Gibson's ES 355TD, but built in much smaller numbers. Differences included the then-proprietary Epiphone mini-humbucking pickups (the first Patent-Applied-For "PAF" units, replacing the actual New York made single-coils used earlier) and elaborate Epiphone inlay patterns, a tradition dating to the 1930s. Stereo/Varitone options were not part of the Epiphone package, which in retrospect was probably a good thing!
This 1962 Sheraton has the shorter, wider early style headstock which is triple-bound with the signature "tree of life" pearl inlay pattern used on older top-line Epiphones and fitted with Grover Rotomatic tuners. The one-piece mahogany neck has a fairly slim profile back-to-front but not as flat feeling as some "1960" pattern Gibson necks. The rosewood fingerboard has 3-ply celluloid strips inlaid near the outer edge and single binding; the inlay is the split pearl block with "V" abalone centerpiece as used on top-line 1940s Emperor and Deluxe models.
The body has a beautiful deep cherry lacquer finish; at the time this instrument would have been ordered this was a brand new option. The top is bound in 6-ply celluloid and the back is 3-ply; the tortoise celluloid pickguard is 5-ply bound with an E epsilon logo. All hardware is gold-plated; the PAF mini-humbuckers are original and untouched with gold-capped knobs on the control rig.
All versions of the Sheraton were made only in very limited numbers in the early 60's, with just 18 tremolo-equipped examples shipped in 1962 and 34 of all varieties. How many were finished in cherry is not recorded, but as the option was not listed as available until the middle of the year it would be a tiny handful at best. This is a rare guitar in any case, a very comfortable player with a lovely neck feel and the powerful but somewhat brighter tone these pickups offer. This is a truly lovely guitar, easily one of the nicest Kalamazoo-made Epiphones we have had.
Overall length is 43 in. (109.2 cm.), 16 1/4 in. (41.3 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
Apart from the substitution of the Bigsby for the original Epiphone Trem system this guitar remains all original showing mostly fairly minor wear. It appears played over the last 60+ years but generally well cared for. The all-original deep cherry finish shows hardly any fade, with some light checking and small dings, dents, chips and scuffs with superficial belt-buckle scratching into but not through the lacquer on the back. The back of the neck has a few feelable dings and dents. There are two small cigarette burns to the bass side of the headstock face behind the low E tuner that took out a bit of the celluloid binding.
There are no repairs or alterations to the guitar except for the Bigsby fitting. This caused the rear strap button to be moved a bit lower and left some extra screw holes in the rim that are hidden under the tailpiece flange. Originally the guitar had an Epiphone Trem-o-Tone unit and there is a small scar on the face where the front flange from that rested, visible under the strings between the Bigsby roller and tension bars.
All other hardware is original and intact and the gold plating shows some typical wear, especially to the pickup covers, bridge top and trem arm. The pickguard has some light scuffing on the top but the "E" epsilon logo is still intact. The original frets are well preserved with minimal wear and this is a very fine player, a superb early '60s example of Epiphone's top semi-hollow guitar complete in a nice original grey Epiphone HSC. Overall Excellent - Condition.
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This spectacular semi-hollow thinline guitar is an Epiphone Sheraton ordered in mid-1962 finished in the rich cherry lacquer previously reserved for Gibson instruments but just then first applied on this Epiphone model. The E-212T was Epiphone's top of the thinline semi-hollow guitar line in the 1960s; only the huge hollow body Emperor was more expensive. This guitar is an E212TV, designating that it was factory fitted with the Epiphone Tremotone vibrato, a catalog option, instead of the standard Frequensator tailpiece. On the July 1962 Epiphone price list this combination of features ran to $565, plus $50 for the #1519 hard case. This one had a gold-plated Bigsby substituted for the original Epi trem early on but otherwise remains original.
After Gibson's parent company Chicago Musical Instruments bought the nearly defunct Epiphone operation in 1957, it took them a year or so to come up with a guitar line using the former competitor's name. Samples were shown at NAMM 1958 but production did not begin in earnest until the 1959 model year. The Sheraton was one of the first models offered and combined Gibson's then-new double cutaway, semi-hollow body design with a more traditional Epiphone look.
This model was the rough equivalent to Gibson's ES 355TD, but built in much smaller numbers. Differences included the then-proprietary Epiphone mini-humbucking pickups (the first Patent-Applied-For "PAF" units, replacing the actual New York made single-coils used earlier) and elaborate Epiphone inlay patterns, a tradition dating to the 1930s. Stereo/Varitone options were not part of the Epiphone package, which in retrospect was probably a good thing!
This 1962 Sheraton has the shorter, wider early style headstock which is triple-bound with the signature "tree of life" pearl inlay pattern used on older top-line Epiphones and fitted with Grover Rotomatic tuners. The one-piece mahogany neck has a fairly slim profile back-to-front but not as flat feeling as some "1960" pattern Gibson necks. The rosewood fingerboard has 3-ply celluloid strips inlaid near the outer edge and single binding; the inlay is the split pearl block with "V" abalone centerpiece as used on top-line 1940s Emperor and Deluxe models.
The body has a beautiful deep cherry lacquer finish; at the time this instrument would have been ordered this was a brand new option. The top is bound in 6-ply celluloid and the back is 3-ply; the tortoise celluloid pickguard is 5-ply bound with an E epsilon logo. All hardware is gold-plated; the PAF mini-humbuckers are original and untouched with gold-capped knobs on the control rig.
All versions of the Sheraton were made only in very limited numbers in the early 60's, with just 18 tremolo-equipped examples shipped in 1962 and 34 of all varieties. How many were finished in cherry is not recorded, but as the option was not listed as available until the middle of the year it would be a tiny handful at best. This is a rare guitar in any case, a very comfortable player with a lovely neck feel and the powerful but somewhat brighter tone these pickups offer. This is a truly lovely guitar, easily one of the nicest Kalamazoo-made Epiphones we have had.
Overall length is 43 in. (109.2 cm.), 16 1/4 in. (41.3 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
Apart from the substitution of the Bigsby for the original Epiphone Trem system this guitar remains all original showing mostly fairly minor wear. It appears played over the last 60+ years but generally well cared for. The all-original deep cherry finish shows hardly any fade, with some light checking and small dings, dents, chips and scuffs with superficial belt-buckle scratching into but not through the lacquer on the back. The back of the neck has a few feelable dings and dents. There are two small cigarette burns to the bass side of the headstock face behind the low E tuner that took out a bit of the celluloid binding.
There are no repairs or alterations to the guitar except for the Bigsby fitting. This caused the rear strap button to be moved a bit lower and left some extra screw holes in the rim that are hidden under the tailpiece flange. Originally the guitar had an Epiphone Trem-o-Tone unit and there is a small scar on the face where the front flange from that rested, visible under the strings between the Bigsby roller and tension bars.
All other hardware is original and intact and the gold plating shows some typical wear, especially to the pickup covers, bridge top and trem arm. The pickguard has some light scuffing on the top but the "E" epsilon logo is still intact. The original frets are well preserved with minimal wear and this is a very fine player, a superb early '60s example of Epiphone's top semi-hollow guitar complete in a nice original grey Epiphone HSC. Overall Excellent - Condition.
