Epiphone Casino

[Gitterbug]

Thanks for support and advice! I feel almost embarrassed, bringing such an El Cheapo to the limelight amidst other people's Gibsons and Campellones. Well, I do have a Benedetto Bravo, a Gibson ES 175 and a couple of other major league guitars, but this was just too good for the price to pass. The original strings were dirty, so I followed peer advice and replaced them with D'Addario's XL Pure Nickel round wounds (.11 - .48). A mellower tone indeed.

The real finding so far is that I get much more refined and controllable tones from a 6.5" Jensen C6V than from a 12" Jensen Tornado. The latter reveals the brute power of the P90's treble end - too much dynamite at both ends of the signal chain. But this is all right, as the Coupe is meant to be paired with the 6.5" TOOB Metros anyway.

[Room135]

I recently bought the new Casino Worn, this one was built in February 2021. I have always loved jazz improvisations and what I like about this Casino is these P90s, it's light, it's full-hollow design and its very sexy shape ...
Here a small video record in a hurry ...

[Sam Sherry]

My "new" 2002 Epi / Peerless Casino, straight outta ShopGoodWill.com:



> Easy player
> Beatable
> Toneful
> Cheap thrills
> Sale proceeds fund services for people who need them

[DocK]

I have not played a Casino or Casino Coupe--they seem like nice guitars, but not really configured for jazz, especially with the P90's. I know there's a lot of affection for the 335-styled guitars around here--I could be wrong.

Perfect for alt country.

Personally I think a thinline modeled after a real jazzbox is ideal. The new Gibson 275 for instance. Or, the Peerless Sunset--super light, mellow, great ergonomics. And can be got without breaking the bank.

Peerless Sunset | Guitars 'n Jazz

P90s are the OG jazz pickup: Wes Montgomery (early it was all p90), Grant Greene, Charlie Christian, Pat Metheny, Barney Kessel, Jim Hall, Jimmy Raney, and on and on.

Do you mean dual p-90s? Because that too, isn't all that uncommon.

FYI, The Epiphone Casino is a thin line hollow body, guitar, with two dog-ear p-90 pickups a reissue of the guitar rock and role legends have used like the Beatles used.

You might be right, that it's but a good jazz platform, I'm just not sure about your reasoning and facts here.

No offense

[Little Jay]

Yup, P90 is a great pickup for jazz and I am appreciating the Casino/ES-330 design more and more as a jazzguitar (besides being a great guitar for rock’n’roll, blues, funk, pop, soul….. can you see where I’m going here? )

[Herbie]

You are ruining me. For many years I have been in balance with my guitars but now I have been checking on Casinos and ES-330s. Latter are too pricey for me and where I do need a cheap new guitar? Nowhere. And still I am checking…

And now is the worst time to be in Casino market. The Peter Jackson’s Beatles film has rose the interest to these guitars – and the prices – higher than any 50-60 years old band ever could. And beside: I have never been a Beatle fan, I was born too late for that.

But still…cherry or natural… china or korea…?

[Little Jay]

You are ruining me. For many years I have been in balance with my guitars but now I have been checking on Casinos and ES-330s. Latter are too pricey for me and where I do need a cheap new guitar? Nowhere. And still I am checking…

And now is the worst time to be in Casino market. The Peter Jackson’s Beatles film has rose the interest to these guitars – and the prices – higher than any 50-60 years old band ever could. And beside: I have never been a Beatle fan, I was born too late for that.

But still…cherry or natural… china or korea…?

Build your own like I did

[blille]

You are ruining me. For many years I have been in balance with my guitars but now I have been checking on Casinos and ES-330s. Latter are too pricey for me and where I do need a cheap new guitar? Nowhere. And still I am checking…

And now is the worst time to be in Casino market. The Peter Jackson’s Beatles film has rose the interest to these guitars – and the prices – higher than any 50-60 years old band ever could. And beside: I have never been a Beatle fan, I was born too late for that.

But still…cherry or natural… china or korea…?

Get the 330 then, problem solved

Check the Peerless Songbird. I used to have one I sold when I got my 330. Great guitar. The pickups were a bit hot for my taste, not unlike most cheap Casinos, but the craftsmanship was excellent.


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[Herbie]

Build your own like I did

That looks great! I remember Your story about this guitar and it made me really think.

I have soldered my tube amps myself and nowadays I solder my pedals myself, so if I build my guitars myself too, I might start to feel a bit... mm... self centered?

[Little Jay]

That looks great! I remember Your story about this guitar and it made me really think.

I have soldered my tube amps myself and nowadays I solder my pedals myself, so if I build my guitars myself too, I might start to feel a bit... mm... self centered?

Did a gig with my Cooper ES-330 on my DIY 5F1 Champ amp with Jensen P10R. This sympathetic guy comes to me to praise my tone that no doubt was as good because of the vintage guitar and the vintage amp I used. Can you imagine his surprise when I explained him? His jaw almost dropped on the floor

I have yet to start building my own pedals but I am already looking…….

[FredH]

Yes. I bought a new one last year for my grandson who is also my student. He's 14 and into jazz. We looked at lots of guitars and we both agreed that for the $ it's a nice guitar. I was impressed with the neck and its nice acoustic sound. I played several different ones with the same results. All played well; better than I expected. Now it doesn't compare with higher end vintage guitars, obviously. But I found it very comfortable to play - and I usually play 17 inch full bodied archtops. I have to tell you that I was impressed overall. I replaced the tuners early on because of their poor quality, but I knew that in advance.

My grandson is average size, so it is comfortable for him to play. As an intermediate student, it is well suited to his needs.

[citizenk74]

P90s are the OG jazz pickup: Wes Montgomery (early it was all p90), Grant Greene, Charlie Christian, Pat Metheny, Barney Kessel, Jim Hall, Jimmy Raney, and on and on.

Do you mean dual p-90s? Because that too, isn't all that uncommon.

FYI, The Epiphone Casino is a thin line hollow body, guitar, with two dog-ear p-90 pickups a reissue of the guitar rock and role legends have used like the Beatles used.

You might be right, that it's but a good jazz platform, I'm just not sure about your reasoning and facts here.

No offense

[FredH]

Let us know when you get one....and send pics?

[Room135]

Yes but by changing the pickups it gets better

[Aldo Spadaro]

Well, I'm lucky to able to state that i've got one...it's fantastic and a 'player'
Made a Robben Ford lesson video to get that Riviera tone. Enjoy,

[Bene16B]

My P90 guitars include a 1952 ES-350 ( one the best sounding Jazz guitars I have played), a 1962 ES-330T and 2 recent Chinese built Epiphone Casinos - one in natural and one in Worn Blue Denim.
The Casinos are great guitars once set up. And I will say the least expensive of the two, the Casino Worn ($499), has the better electronics (pickups, pots, capacitors, etc.) I highly recommend them for jazz. And they sound fine for acoustic practice as well. I hang mine in my office for that purpose.

[frabarmus]

But what are the opinions on them? I know there are many incarnations!

I've just got, a couple of days ago, the 2023 incarnation and am really impressed with it. A super jazzy hollow body! Nevermind the Beatles (as much as I love them and owe them, musically, especially in my teens!). Think Grant Green, for instance.

Out of the box it was flawlessly set up, easy action, good intonation and stable tuning, lovely comfortable neck, loud unplugged, acoustic sound. Might be worth swapping the pickups with better ones but I'll pass on that one... it sounds warm and jazzy paired with my Polytone Megabrute. Also came with a nice gigbag. A joy to play. Will post some sounds, soon or later...
I had tried a "John Lennon inspired" a dozen years ago but I like mine better. I think recent Epis have raised the bar.

[Little Jay]

I've just got, a couple of days ago, the 2023 incarnation and am really impressed with it. A super jazzy hollow body! Nevermind the Beatles (as much as I love them and owe them, musically, especially in my teens!). Think Grant Green, for instance.

Out of the box it was flawlessly set up, easy action, good intonation and stable tuning, lovely comfortable neck, loud unplugged, acoustic sound. Might be worth swapping the pickups with better ones but I'll pass on that one... it sounds warm and jazzy paired with my Polytone Megabrute. Also came with a nice gigbag. A joy to play. Will post some sounds, soon or later...
I had tried a "John Lennon inspired" a dozen years ago but I like mine better. I think recent Epis have raised the bar.

A Chinese Casino or the new made in USA Casino?

[frabarmus]

It's the made in China.

[Little Jay]

It's the made in China.

I've been trying to add a photo but it won't let me ("invalid file") ...?

The Chinese models are very good! I have not played the USA yet, but it’s almost 10 times as expensive as their cheapest MIC “worn” model. I have played the latter and was very impressed! I just don’t like the looks of the worn finish, just a little too cheap looking.