I asked about Samick and Peerless because I know squat and had been hankerin' for a semi-hollow of some sort. Since it was going to be a side piece and not my main guitar, an import would suffice as long as it was Korean (mostly because the Chinese semi-hollows I've tried were really bad).
Anyways, to make a short story long, I found a 2001 Epiphone Sheraton (not Sheraton II) on Ebay that was built in the Samick factory and took a chance. Having sent the last 3 guitars back for defects (two D'Angelicos from MF Stupid Deal) or undisclosed damage (Epiphone ES-135 off Reverb), I was a little leery - but I lucked out. This one arrived in one piece and didn't have a mark on it anywhere. But that wasn't even the best part - the build quality is incredible! I can't find a manufacturing flaw anywhere, and I'm really looking. Perfect binding, perfect joints, F-holes bound and clean - one of the nicest builds I've seen regardless of where it came from. And really solid. Without being heavy, it's got a rock-solid feel to it.
Unplugged the thing just resonates, again unlike a lot of guitars I've played. Just rings and rings. To say it's kicking my ass would be an understatement. The only weak link might be the tuners, but I haven't so much as turned a screw on it so it might cure itself with a string change. The neck is right at medium-size (maybe a tick under) and the frets/fret ends are nicely done.
Plugged in it sounds good. Not great, but good enough to gig. Unless Josh can wind me up a nice set of humbucker-size P90s (he can), I'm leaving it alone.
I give it a 9/10 for the amazing workmanship but possibly weak tuners and fair-but-usable pickups.
But that's not all:
I had been eyeballing a Peerless Bird of Prey (similar to a Les Paul Signature) on Reverb but kinda forgot about it when it sat for a couple months priced on the high side. Then out of the blue I get a notification of a price cut. It was in the ballpark so I shot him an offer a little lower than what I would go up to - and he took it! Cool! But I just got the Epi, so my semi-hollow itch had been scratched pretty well already. Well, at least now I get to see how they compare.
The Peerless Bird of Prey isn't as 'upscale' as the Sheraton - single-ply binding on the body and neck (none on the headstock) where the Epi has 7-ply on the body and 5-ply everywhere else. Also, the F-holes on the Peerless are unbound (painted) and rough. Otherwise, there are a few finish niggles here or there that don't really amount to much. It's just down the food chain a bit.
But.... that doesn't take away from the overall build quality. Again this thing is rock-solid. It's not quite as resonant as the Epi but still pretty good nonetheless. And it plays incredibly - more in-tune anywhere on the neck than a lot of waaaaay more expensive guitars. The neck has a little beef to it and the frets are well done. It's really a hard guitar to put down. I'm playing the crap out of this thing.
And the pickups sound great. I made just a slight height adjustment and it sounds fantastic. These will stay (sorry, Josh). Even the tuners are good on this one. I won't need to touch those, either.
Again, the Peerless gets a 9/10. It plays so damn good that any finish issues don't even matter.
So, I'm not sure if I'm comparing apples-to-cabbages here, but these 2 guitars are incredibly well-made with the only real difference being bling. If you dressed the Peerless up a little it would be right there with the Samick/Epiphone. My previous 'best semi-hollow import ever' was a 2001 Hamer Echotone that I loved, and both of these feel better than that. It surprised the shit out of me.
So in conclusion, with the vast expert knowledge gained by playing just one model from each brand, I call it a draw. The Sheraton rings like a bell and looks amazing, the Bird of Prey plays and sounds like a m***erf***er. And it's not even a 'for-the-money' kinda thing, either. They both are just great guitars.
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hamerhead
I asked about Samick and Peerless because I know squat and had been hankerin' for a semi-hollow of some sort. Since it was going to be a side piece and not my main guitar, an import would suffice as long as it was Korean (mostly because the Chinese semi-hollows I've tried were really bad).
Anyways, to make a short story long, I found a 2001 Epiphone Sheraton (not Sheraton II) on Ebay that was built in the Samick factory and took a chance. Having sent the last 3 guitars back for defects (two D'Angelicos from MF Stupid Deal) or undisclosed damage (Epiphone ES-135 off Reverb), I was a little leery - but I lucked out. This one arrived in one piece and didn't have a mark on it anywhere. But that wasn't even the best part - the build quality is incredible! I can't find a manufacturing flaw anywhere, and I'm really looking. Perfect binding, perfect joints, F-holes bound and clean - one of the nicest builds I've seen regardless of where it came from. And really solid. Without being heavy, it's got a rock-solid feel to it.
Unplugged the thing just resonates, again unlike a lot of guitars I've played. Just rings and rings. To say it's kicking my ass would be an understatement. The only weak link might be the tuners, but I haven't so much as turned a screw on it so it might cure itself with a string change. The neck is right at medium-size (maybe a tick under) and the frets/fret ends are nicely done.
Plugged in it sounds good. Not great, but good enough to gig. Unless Josh can wind me up a nice set of humbucker-size P90s (he can), I'm leaving it alone.
I give it a 9/10 for the amazing workmanship but possibly weak tuners and fair-but-usable pickups.
But that's not all:
I had been eyeballing a Peerless Bird of Prey (similar to a Les Paul Signature) on Reverb but kinda forgot about it when it sat for a couple months priced on the high side. Then out of the blue I get a notification of a price cut. It was in the ballpark so I shot him an offer a little lower than what I would go up to - and he took it! Cool! But I just got the Epi, so my semi-hollow itch had been scratched pretty well already. Well, at least now I get to see how they compare.
The Peerless Bird of Prey isn't as 'upscale' as the Sheraton - single-ply binding on the body and neck (none on the headstock) where the Epi has 7-ply on the body and 5-ply everywhere else. Also, the F-holes on the Peerless are unbound (painted) and rough. Otherwise, there are a few finish niggles here or there that don't really amount to much. It's just down the food chain a bit.
But.... that doesn't take away from the overall build quality. Again this thing is rock-solid. It's not quite as resonant as the Epi but still pretty good nonetheless. And it plays incredibly - more in-tune anywhere on the neck than a lot of waaaaay more expensive guitars. The neck has a little beef to it and the frets are well done. It's really a hard guitar to put down. I'm playing the crap out of this thing.
And the pickups sound great. I made just a slight height adjustment and it sounds fantastic. These will stay (sorry, Josh). Even the tuners are good on this one. I won't need to touch those, either.
Again, the Peerless gets a 9/10. It plays so damn good that any finish issues don't even matter.
So, I'm not sure if I'm comparing apples-to-cabbages here, but these 2 guitars are incredibly well-made with the only real difference being bling. If you dressed the Peerless up a little it would be right there with the Samick/Epiphone. My previous 'best semi-hollow import ever' was a 2001 Hamer Echotone that I loved, and both of these feel better than that. It surprised the shit out of me.
So in conclusion, with the vast expert knowledge gained by playing just one model from each brand, I call it a draw. The Sheraton rings like a bell and looks amazing, the Bird of Prey plays and sounds like a m***erf***er. And it's not even a 'for-the-money' kinda thing, either. They both are just great guitars.
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