1982 Epiphone Sheraton Vintage Guitar Antique Sunburst, Japan Matsumoku w/ Gibson USA Tim Shaw PAFs

Up for sale, a 1982 Epiphone Sheraton in excellent condition and in perfect working order, complete with stock Gibson USA-made "Tim Shaw" PAF humbuckers. Produced in Japan at the Matsumoku factory, this very rare iteration of the Sheraton model represents the top tier of Epiphone's thinline semi-hollowbody production. The guitar features a dark Antique Sunburst gloss finish on the maple body, with a smooth and lively acoustic tone that translates faithfully through the Gibson USA-made humbuckers. The Tim Shaw PAFs were a premium pickup option used very briefly on a few select Matsumoku-made Epiphone models, and these highly celebrated pickups were designed with unoriented, rough cast Alnico V magnets, plastic spacers, and poly-coated wire to achieve the harmonic complexity, power, and tonal clarity of the original PAF design. These Tim Shaws both have their original ink stamps on the baseplates, with untouched solder on the gold covers. The guitar positively sings with great clarity and Gibson's near endless sustain, and each position on the three-way switch yields a complex, vital sound from cutting and chiming to rich and throaty. Weighing 8lbs 8oz, we've had this Sheraton professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar with fresh 11-48 roundwound strings, low action, and accurate intonation.The three-piece maple neck with walnut stringers has a very slender C-shaped profile carve at the nut, with more roundness and heft as you travel up the fretboard, measuring .790" deep at the 1st fret, graduating to .960" at the 12th. The rosewood fretboard is a dark, tight-grained cut which features pearl block inlay bisected by abalone Vs and fret-edge binding. The original medium jumbo frets have their full factory height and plenty of meat, showing moderate uniform wear on the crowns of frets 1-5, growing fainter beneath the plain strings until the octave. The guitar plays cleanly in every register up the straight neck, and the truss rod is responsive and ideally adjusted. The hand-carved bone nut measures a full 1 11/16" in width. The headstock features multi-ply binding, the Epiphone logo and vine inlay, and gold Rotomatic-style Epiphone branded tuning machines. There is one spot of touchup on the top headstock edge adjacent to the “E” at the end of “Epiphone.”The electronics are untouched, with gold pickup covers on the Tim Shaw PAF humbuckers and clean ink stamps on the baseplates from October of 1980 (the serial conclusively dates the instrument to 1982). The hardware complement is rounded out by an ABR-1 bridge and Frequensator tailpiece which shows uniform surface patina. The original white label is visible through the F hole noting the Sheraton model and ASB (Antique Sunburst) finish. Plastic parts include gold reflector cap knobs, a cream switch tip, and a dark brown bound tortoise pickguard. The Antique Sunburst gloss finish is particularly dark and saturated, framed by body binding which shows a few isolated spots of deep ambering. Cosmetic wear is limited to just a few faint finish scuffs and minor marks on the body as a whole.An era-correct form-fit faux leather gigbag is included.