Epiphone Sheraton E212TV Arch Top Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1962)
1
/
of
15
Couldn't load pickup availability
Item #11019
Epiphone Sheraton E212TV Model Arch Top Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1962), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # 60457, cherry lacquer finish, laminated maple body, mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard, original brown hard shell case.
This spectacular semi-hollow thinline guitar 1962 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.
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 was 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! What it does have is the larger cavity in the center block under the treble pickup (where the large choke unit would have gone) giving the instrument a slightly airier tone, and as a bonus a bit less weight.
This 1962 Sheraton would be one of the last built using an original Epiphone NY neck blank, a stock of which was included with CMI's purchase of the company. This 5-way mahogany/maple laminate has a slim profile about halfway between the flat "1960" period Gibson necks and more traditional Epiphone soft V. 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 shorter, early style headstock is triple-bound with the signature "tree of life" pattern in pearl used on older top-line Epiphones with a very thick pearl logo; this also appears to be old NY stock.
The body has a beautiful deep cherry lacquer finish; at the time this instrument would have been ordered this was still a non-standard option, confirmed by the original serial-numbered hang tag stamped "SPECIAL". 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 including the original Grover Rotomatic tuners and "no-wire" ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic bridge, the special undercut version used with vibrato instruments. It also has actual bone saddles, a very short-lived Gibson experiment. The knobs are the typical "capped' gold 1960's Gibson style. The PAF mini-humbuckers are original and untouched; oddly the bridge pickup appears to have always been mounted with the poles facing forward, which is not the standard position but shows every indication of being original.
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, combining the old Epiphone neck blank with the then-new PAF mini-humbucking pickups, a best case scenario all around. It is 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 the nicest Sheraton we have ever had and one of the finest Kalamazoo-made Epiphones we can imagine.
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.).
This guitar is completely original shows just some very minor wear; overall is spectacularly well-preserved, appearing only sparingly played over the last 60 years. The finish shows virtually no checking and only very small dings, dents and scuffs. There is one noticeable small dink between the pickups under the strings. There are no repairs or alterations at all.
The gold plating shows some typical wear, especially to the pickup covers and trem arm. the pickguard has some light scuffing on the top. Other than these small points, this is a an exceptionally preserved early '60s example of Epiphone's top semi-hollow guitar, quite the nicest we have seen complete in a very clean original brown Gibson HSC with the original hangtag. Excellent + Condition.
View full details
This spectacular semi-hollow thinline guitar 1962 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.
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 was 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! What it does have is the larger cavity in the center block under the treble pickup (where the large choke unit would have gone) giving the instrument a slightly airier tone, and as a bonus a bit less weight.
This 1962 Sheraton would be one of the last built using an original Epiphone NY neck blank, a stock of which was included with CMI's purchase of the company. This 5-way mahogany/maple laminate has a slim profile about halfway between the flat "1960" period Gibson necks and more traditional Epiphone soft V. 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 shorter, early style headstock is triple-bound with the signature "tree of life" pattern in pearl used on older top-line Epiphones with a very thick pearl logo; this also appears to be old NY stock.
The body has a beautiful deep cherry lacquer finish; at the time this instrument would have been ordered this was still a non-standard option, confirmed by the original serial-numbered hang tag stamped "SPECIAL". 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 including the original Grover Rotomatic tuners and "no-wire" ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic bridge, the special undercut version used with vibrato instruments. It also has actual bone saddles, a very short-lived Gibson experiment. The knobs are the typical "capped' gold 1960's Gibson style. The PAF mini-humbuckers are original and untouched; oddly the bridge pickup appears to have always been mounted with the poles facing forward, which is not the standard position but shows every indication of being original.
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, combining the old Epiphone neck blank with the then-new PAF mini-humbucking pickups, a best case scenario all around. It is 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 the nicest Sheraton we have ever had and one of the finest Kalamazoo-made Epiphones we can imagine.
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.).
This guitar is completely original shows just some very minor wear; overall is spectacularly well-preserved, appearing only sparingly played over the last 60 years. The finish shows virtually no checking and only very small dings, dents and scuffs. There is one noticeable small dink between the pickups under the strings. There are no repairs or alterations at all.
The gold plating shows some typical wear, especially to the pickup covers and trem arm. the pickguard has some light scuffing on the top. Other than these small points, this is a an exceptionally preserved early '60s example of Epiphone's top semi-hollow guitar, quite the nicest we have seen complete in a very clean original brown Gibson HSC with the original hangtag. Excellent + Condition.
