Epiphone Sheraton-II Pro: The Guitar That “Out-Did” the 335

Every great guitar rivalry needs a verdict from someone whose opinion actually matters, and few verdicts carry more weight than the one blues legend John Lee Hooker delivered about Epiphone’s semi-hollow flagship. He didn’t call the Sheraton a budget alternative or a humble cousin to Gibson’s ES-335 — he called it “an out-did 335.” That’s not faint praise from a guitarist who spent his career defining what a semi-hollow blues tone should sound like, and it’s the origin story that still defines the Sheraton-II Pro today.

Built on the same fundamental architecture as the ES-335 — twin f-holes, a solid center block running through a hollow maple body — the Sheraton has always distinguished itself through sheer visual ambition and a handful of genuine tonal differences. Where the 335 plays it comparatively straight, the Sheraton goes for baroque: multi-ply binding on nearly every edge, ornate block-and-triangle mother-of-pearl and abalone inlays, a “tree of life” vine motif carved into the headstock, and gold hardware throughout. It’s the ES-335 platform dressed for a night out, and it’s built a devoted following entirely on its own terms.

From Manhattan Workshop to Blues Icon

The Sheraton’s story begins earlier than most players realize — its lineage traces back to Epiphone’s original New York factory, the same workshop where a young Les Paul built “The Log,” his homemade solidbody prototype, in 1940 using little more than a length of pine and spare Epiphone parts. That experimental spirit carried forward when Epiphone, now under Gibson ownership and operating out of the legendary Kalamazoo factory, introduced the Sheraton in 1959 as its flagship thin-line semi-hollow — built on the same body as Gibson’s own new ES-335, ES-345, and ES-355, but finished with distinctly Epiphone touches that set it apart from its Gibson siblings.

Those distinguishing details weren’t cosmetic afterthoughts. The Frequensator tailpiece on early Sheratons, the elaborate vine-and-flowerpot-inspired headstock inlay, and the block-and-triangle fretboard markers all signaled that Epiphone intended the Sheraton to compete as a genuine flagship instrument, not a budget alternative wearing someone else’s design. When the Sheraton II arrived in 1986, it simplified the tailpiece to a fixed stopbar — a change some purists mourned but most players found practical — while keeping the ornate aesthetic that had become the model’s signature.

The modern Sheraton-II Pro represents the latest evolution of that flagship ambition: ProBucker humbuckers with coil-tapping, upgraded Graph Tech hardware, and a build quality that regularly draws direct comparisons — favorable ones — to genuine Gibson ES-335s costing several times more.

It’s worth pausing on that Les Paul “Log” connection, because it’s more than a footnote. Les Paul built his crude solidbody prototype at Epiphone’s Manhattan factory specifically because the company had the tools, materials, and willingness to let him experiment in ways more conservative manufacturers wouldn’t. That same experimental DNA — a willingness to push construction techniques further than strictly necessary — runs through the Sheraton’s entire design philosophy. Where a more conservative company might have simply copied the ES-335 outright, Epiphone used the shared platform as a starting point for something more ambitious: heavier ornamentation, a distinctly different fretboard inlay language, and eventually, genuinely useful modern features like coil-tapping that many Gibson equivalents still don’t offer as standard.

Full Specifications

What Makes It “Out-Did” the 335

The Sheraton-II Pro’s headline feature is coil-tapping built directly into the volume controls — pull or push the knob and each ProBucker collapses from a full humbucker down to a single-coil voice, dramatically expanding the guitar’s tonal range without adding extra switches to learn. That’s a genuine functional advantage over a stock ES-335, which typically ships without any coil-splitting option at all. Roll into the tapped position and the Sheraton’s bridge pickup delivers a bright, chiming near-Telecaster snap; switch back to full humbucker mode and you’re back in classic semi-hollow blues-rock territory.

The ProBucker pickups themselves are engineered to chase the mythical “Patent Applied For” humbuckers built at the original Kalamazoo factory in the late 1950s — the same nickel-silver alloy in the bases and covers, sand-cast Alnico II magnets, and vacuum wax potting to eliminate microphonic squeal. It’s a genuine attempt at recreating a specific, historically significant tone rather than a generic “vintage-voiced” pickup, and reviewers consistently note the payoff: a warm, articulate humbucker voice with real dynamic sensitivity to pick attack.

Then there’s the ornamentation, which isn’t just about looking sharp under stage lights. The extensive multi-ply binding around the body, neck, headstock, and even the f-holes adds genuine structural reinforcement to some of the guitar’s most vulnerable edges, while the block-and-triangle inlay pattern — a Sheraton signature since 1959 — makes upper-fret navigation easier at a glance than the ES-335’s simpler dot markers.

The 5-piece maple/walnut neck construction is another detail worth understanding on its own terms. Rather than a single piece of mahogany like a typical Les Paul or a one-piece maple neck, the Sheraton-II Pro’s neck alternates thin strips of maple and walnut laminated together — a construction method that adds visual interest (you can see the layered grain pattern along the back of the neck) while also contributing to the guitar’s characteristically bright, articulate top end. Multi-piece necks are generally considered more dimensionally stable than single-piece construction too, since the alternating grain directions of the laminated strips help resist warping over time and across seasonal humidity swings.

Famous Players

No player is more central to the Sheraton’s identity than John Lee Hooker, whose Sheraton and Sheraton II were his main guitars for decades and whose “out-did 335” verdict has become the model’s unofficial tagline. Epiphone honored that relationship with a dedicated John Lee Hooker signature Sheraton and Sheraton II in 2000, released the year before his death — a fitting tribute to a guitarist who helped define what a semi-hollow blues tone could sound like.

Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher has owned several Sheratons throughout his career, including an early model customized with mini humbuckers, a Frequensator tailpiece, and a hand-painted Union Jack finish that became one of the most recognizable guitars of the Britpop era. That guitar was significant enough that Epiphone later released a limited-edition Union Jack Sheraton tribute, and the connection remains strong enough that the current Sheraton-II Pro is still frequently marketed alongside Gallagher’s name.

The Edge of U2 has also been pictured playing a natural-finish Sheraton II, adding another layer of credibility from a guitarist whose tonal choices are studied as closely as almost anyone’s in rock. On the more contemporary side, Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig plays a Sheraton II almost exclusively, giving the model a genuine foothold in 2010s and 2020s indie rock well outside its blues and Britpop roots — proof that the Sheraton’s appeal keeps finding new audiences generation after generation.

A quieter but equally telling thread runs through indie and alternative rock more broadly: Kings of Leon’s Matthew Followill has been photographed with multiple Sheratons in different finishes over the years, Silversun Pickups frontman Brian Aubert built a modified silver-hardware Sheraton into his primary live instrument, and Alabama Shakes guitarist Heath Fogg has cited the Sheraton as a key part of his rig. None of these players share an obvious sonic throughline with John Lee Hooker’s Delta blues or Gallagher’s Britpop bombast — which is exactly the point. The Sheraton keeps finding new champions specifically because its combination of visual presence and genuine tonal flexibility translates across genres that otherwise share almost nothing in common.

Tone Recipes

• Delta blues warmth: Neck pickup, full humbucker mode, amp on the edge of breakup — chase John Lee Hooker’s dark, hypnotic rhythm tone.
• Britpop jangle-crunch: Bridge pickup, moderate gain, mids pushed slightly — the sound that made Gallagher’s Union Jack Sheraton instantly recognizable.
• Coil-tapped clean: Pull the volume knob for single-coil mode, bridge pickup, clean amp — a bright, chiming voice for indie and jangle-pop rhythm work.
• Full humbucker rock lead: Bridge pickup, both pickups in humbucker mode, amp pushed hard — thick sustain with the semi-hollow’s natural harmonic complexity.

How It Compares

Against the Epiphone ES-335, the Sheraton-II Pro trades the 335’s cleaner, more understated aesthetic for significantly more ornamentation and — crucially — built-in coil-tapping that the standard 335 doesn’t offer. Tonally the two are close cousins built on nearly identical architecture, so the choice often comes down to look and feature set rather than a dramatic tonal gulf. Against the smaller ES-339, the Sheraton’s larger body delivers more acoustic resonance and a broader low end, at the cost of a bit more heft and stage presence to manage. Compared to a genuine Gibson ES-355 — the closest Gibson equivalent in terms of ornamentation and gold hardware — the Sheraton-II Pro gets remarkably close in both looks and tone at a fraction of the price, which is precisely the comparison generations of players have made in the Sheraton’s favor.

Buying Guide

• Sheraton-II Pro (standard finishes): Ebony, Vintage Sunburst, and Wine Red represent the core lineup, typically running $525–$699 depending on retailer and promotions.
• Midnight Sapphire and other limited finishes: Occasional special-run colorways command similar pricing but sell out faster — worth acting on if the finish catches your eye.
• Used market: Korean-made Sheratons from the 1990s and 2000s are widely available secondhand and often praised by long-term owners as genuinely excellent instruments, though they predate the current ProBucker/coil-tap electronics.
• Case: Cases are typically sold separately — budget for a proper hardshell case given the guitar’s semi-hollow construction and multiple binding edges that benefit from real protection.

Practical Ownership Notes

New owners frequently report the fretboard arriving dry from the factory — a quick application of fretboard oil during the initial setup makes a noticeable difference in feel and appearance. The stock wiring harness, while functional, is a common upgrade target for players chasing maximum tone; several owners report swapping in premium aftermarket harnesses for a noticeable clarity improvement, though this is a refinement rather than a necessity.

Like any semi-hollow guitar, the Sheraton-II Pro is more prone to feedback at high stage volumes than a solidbody — be mindful of amp placement, especially with the coil-tap engaged, since single-coil mode can be more feedback-prone than full humbucker operation. The gold hardware, while striking, does require more careful maintenance than chrome or nickel; some owners report tarnishing over time, particularly with heavy sweat exposure during regular gigging, so a light protective wipe-down after performances is worth the habit.

The block-and-triangle fretboard inlays, while a signature visual feature, don’t extend all the way up the neck on some production runs — a minor quirk some players note when relying on visual position markers for fast upper-fret navigation. It’s a small thing, but worth knowing if you’re switching from a guitar with dots or blocks running the full length of the fretboard. Finally, because the Sheraton-II Pro’s neck profile and overall feel differ somewhat from a typical Les Paul or Stratocaster, spend real time with the guitar before committing — the ’60s SlimTaper profile combined with the semi-hollow body’s different weight distribution and resonance can feel like a genuinely different instrument to players coming from solidbody backgrounds.

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