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Cool! Keep us posted about the outcome!
Originally Posted by radiofm74
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04-10-2020 03:05 AM
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Been busy tweaking! At string change I’ve set-up neck relief and action and while I was at it I also…
- filed the nut a little further using the “sandpaper under old string” method. Much easier action for cowboy chords and no more sharp notes. A bit of graphite in the slots… good to go.
- upgraded the stock ABR-1 bridge, which rattled a bit and could not intonate perfectly the unwound G, to a Nashville Gotoh bridge. No rattle, perfect intonation. The pre-cut slots were perfectly aligned but a bit too shallow on the Es. Corrected with a very careful application of the same “sandpaper under string” method.
- cleaned up and reinforced the contacts of the selector switch, which was a little dodgy out of the box. My first adventure at fishing out electronics. Now it works perfectly.
- balanced a weak high E string in the neck pickup but setting the pole-piece higher (but not so high that it rattled)
- carefully checked the fretwork ready to correct it, but it was more than good enough for my set-up (action ? 2 mm at XII fret). No buzzes anywhere.
- New knobs and switch tip to better replicate the look of a ’66-‘67 cherry Casino. Still undecided whether I prefer the “nude” or “white guard” look (see pics).
Investing very little money, and some care and time, I now have a guitar that plays as nice as any of my more high-end guitars: soft action across the neck, all notes ring out well, comfy neck, stunning looks. With careful dialing in of amp and pedals, it has a wide palette of lovely sounds that complement my strat, tele and acoustic archtop.
Last touches in its future: lower-wind P-90s (on their way, COVID permitting) and once these are mounted I’ll get me a black pickguard too. But I’m in love with it as it is already…
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Well done!
Personally I’d put a black pickguard... just cosmetics but I am so unfortunate to care about those things.... ;-)
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We think alike: it’s exactly what I intend to do, and I’ve also located the supplier and the model of pickguard. But before pulling the trigger I want to install the new pickups and see if the measures are right (P-90s are apparently a little less standardized than others)… Originally Posted by Little Jay
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Can you share the info on a p/g supplier? I am in need of an Epiphone p/g for my Rivoli bass. The original from the mid 60's has gassed off. It also corroded the string closest to it.
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It's WD music. They're the only ones I've found that have some choice of made-for-epiphone pickguards. They have operations in America and Europe. Originally Posted by Jimmy Mack
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I'm not a big fan of the upper fret access. It's hard to reach the higher frets. I've tried finding some L or long neck models, but most of the seem to be made in the 60s and are expensive. Gibson has done a few reissues with the longer necks as well. I've only ever tried them in guitar stores, but from what I can remember I really liked they way they sound and played.
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I hardly ever go down there at the dusty end, that’s why it doesn’t bother me … actually, I tend to use non-cutaway guitars for jazz :-O Originally Posted by Wrogsprit
But I do see your point and yes, Gibson reissued the long neck 330. Not sure that it would cost less than, say, a 68-69 Casino… unfortunately there seem to be no affordable versions on the market.
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There is the Stanford Crossroads Thinline 30: Originally Posted by radiofm74
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Looks choice. Those are nothing but fun!
Black static-cling shelf-covering vinyl. $3.95 for a lifetime supply at the hardware store. Attach to your white guard, trim carefully & play. Originally Posted by radiofm74
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Haha, never thought of that, clever! But does it look as clean as a 5-ply, wide bevel pickguard? Originally Posted by Sam Sherry
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Several years ago I wound up with this Squier '51. (Fun guitar but I'm not a Strat guy.) The guard was toilet-white and I wanted to spend nothing, so shelf-covering did the trick. It would have looked better if I didn't try to cover up the pickup too. Originally Posted by Little Jay
But hey, if you screw up there's plenty of extra -- peel it and try again!
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Just a quick addition to the Casino thread here - I have the Epi '61 RI Casino with the Gibson P90's and good woods in the body. It came stock that way from the factory in China.
I just changed strings on it and damn if it doesn't sound like a fine jazz guitar. Old Princeton Reverb with a newer speaker - an Eminence Legend 1058.
I am constantly surprised by how great this guitar sounds, but with new strings !!!!! I played all afternoon on it. Kenny Burrell tone, George Benson, I sometimes wonder why I keep the L5, this guitar is so grand, it gets played more than any of the others.
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Yes it’s a great guitar design and guitar sound, especially for jazz though not exclusively. I’ve found this too… dig the groove, the sound, and the cool factor … what a beaut that 330 is! Originally Posted by Jimmy Mack
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Two thoughts...
1. First, I love the Casino. Came really close to buying one in 1996 right before I was about to get stationed in Germany, but with a baby in the way, I just couldn’t pull the trigger, especially since I have huge hands and need a wide nut. If they would’ve had a 1 3/4 wide nut, I’d have sold my beater pickup early and bought it (US Government only lets you take one vehicle overseas at their expense). A little over a year ago I ALMOST bought a Casino Coupe, as I loved the idea of a smallbodied hollowbody guitar, but ended up with the Godin 5th Avenue, partly because of the wider nut width.
2. On the long-necked versions, it seems nice to have the access to those highest frets, but it would seem to me that it comes at the expense of shifting the tonal balance from moving the pickups and bridge forward, plus more likely to have neck dive issues. I rarely play above the 17th fret at all, so I could live with the restrictions to the upper frets and keep it more traditional.Last edited by zcostilla; 05-10-2020 at 12:51 AM.
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and now that I've been improvising on vamps to loosen up a bit and tighten my rhythm I know first-hand.... ultimate funk jazz guitar! Originally Posted by radiofm74
Z if you have the little money required available get one. Choose wisely and you won't be sorry
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I love my Casino Coupe with Seymour Duncan Antiquities, it has a marvelous clarity and warm tone. It has the best tone of any guitar I have ever owned. It sounds better than the old Gibson 335 I have. have since added Graptech String Saver saddles for enhanced mid-range tone.
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@rintincop... You are preachin' to the choir...LOL
Were your SD P90's a drop in replacement?
Thanks
Originally Posted by rintincop
Last edited by Greco; 05-04-2020 at 09:10 AM.
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Yes, they were drop in. They have a big fat clear tone, I use .08 strings with the action jacked so low it slightly buzzes. I do this so my fingers don't get stressed. It plays like butter.
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Any neck dive? And does the neck feel narrow? I have really big hands, like size XL gloves feel tight sometimes and most of them don’t go all the way down to the webbings of my fingers. I couldn’t play a 1.625” nut. Was given a Gibson L6-S and sold it because the neck was too tiny. Originally Posted by rintincop
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On my '61 RI Casino, they put a healthy sized neck, one I can play. I can't play on those smallish necks either. Fortunately. most necks today are 1.68", and if they have some meat on the backside, I am a happy player. On my Casino, it's not that big but a bit thicker than a Fender Strat neck, and wonderful. Be wary of the Epiphone slim tapered necks - they are not narrow at the nut, but thinner, behind the first fret. Best thing is to play one if you can.
Last edited by Jimmy Mack; 05-05-2020 at 05:26 PM.
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Been looking for an Epi Casino Coupe, and when I found one, of course it had to be turquoise! Well, I figured, I'm old enough to have some fun. The color is corny but retro, almost the same as my Dad's 1954 Ford Mainline. And when gigging eventually resumes, our graying band's even grayer audiences will no doubt appreciate a spot of color on the bandstand.
On a more factual level: the guitar is flawless, fretboard and fret ends perfect, the neck (43 mm/1.7") not too narrow - in fact the same as my AFJ91 - and the P90s are dynamic and offer a broad tonal range. So far I've only played it through a TOOB Metro 6.5GP. With a DV Mark Micro 50 and a tad of reverb, instant gratification. When I switched to Quilter Interblock 45 and no reverb, I expected the tone to be overly dry - not so! I wanted a P90 thin body for test purposes but can't wait to get some frontline action with this sub-400€ cutesy-pie. After all, I'm obsessed by anything compact and lightweight. Looking ahead, any string suggestions are welcome.The current Casino thread probably offers some wisdom on this.
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Cool color, you'll have fun with that! Depending on what your group does, a guitar like that matches up well with the D'Addario blues-rock set or the light set of Chromes for more a jazz approach.
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Congrats on a great score! Time to get your Blue in Green on
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nice..perfect guitar to downsize with...its a full hollow like a casino, but slightly smaller sized..hence the coupe...those epi standard p-90 pups can be a tad shrill, so i'd recommend some nice pure nickel strings..rounds or flats...look into thomastik bebops(rounds) or jazz swings(flats)...or the equivalent pyramids...two top european string makers
the turquoise does have that 50's car kitsch vibe
congrats and enjoy
cheers
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