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I've been looking at 60s Casino for a little while because it's (probably) the most iconic Beatles guitar. After a while I decided that they were too expensive and too much trouble to find.
In the 80s Epiphone made a batch of Casinos in Japan and they're pretty good too and (sort of) affordable. One of the Casino's in The Analogues (the best Beatles tribute band) is one of these from Japan. Epiphone still has the Elitist that is made in Japan.
Fun fact: Paul McCartney bought his Casino in '64 when he was looking for a thin line hollow body with a Bigsby. When he brought it to a rehearsal the rest of the band loved the tone and bought one too (except Ringo). Paul used it a lot on solo's on Revolver and Sgt Pepper. George didn't used it that much. John continued to use it for the rest of his career. He also sanded the finish off. He can be seen with it on the famous Hey Jude recording and the rooftop concert.
It's funny that The Beatles were so fond of the Casino, given the fact that it was a mid-range priced instrument by that time, while in '64 they could afford any instrument they wanted. Eastman made a Casino (ES330) clone and called it the T64. A wink to 1964 maybe...
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01-13-2020 05:43 PM
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an authentic styled casino with the right neck joint and with real gibby p90's was the inspired by lennon casino...it was in between the standard epi and the elitist...a great value..from about half a dozen years back maybe...
if you can locate one..one of the best values for a casino...neck is a bit meatier than the standard as well
cheers
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As is the '61 ReIssue Casino. Made in China with Gibson p/ups and good electronics, a grownups neck, and wonderful tone woods. The top is thin altho its said to be 5 laminations.
This guitar I picked up at GC used, is just wonderful. I love playing it acoustically for practicing, and it has wonderful jazz possibilities when plugged in.
I can't believe someone traded it in. A Les Paul or Tele it is not. If it was, I would have put it back down quickly. You can find them on Reverb.
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Epiphone apparently comes out with a USA-made Casino!
With black P90 covers, the correct body shape and the right headstock..... oh boy, they are tickling my boxes!
Epiphone Quietly Unveils Made-In-USA Casino | NAMM 2020 | Reverb News
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great news...a good casino is a great thing....one of the best epi's ever
elitist and inspired by lennon casinos were already good..but this!...
cheers
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Read that last night. Apparently it was so late to NAMM they didn't have pricing info. I'm curious what price point these will land at.
Another thing that I don't recall seeing in that article was *where* these are being made... Same place as the current Gibson USA production or a different location? They have that new program where officially licensed builders can actually make Gibsons...wonder if that is how these are going?
Intriguing, but a lot of questions...
Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
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I agree with “Brian B.” This sounds great. No info on Epi’s website yet either.
In addition to price, I’d like to know if they have “cooled-down” the P-90s when compared to the MIC Casinos. My MIC pickups are way too hot. I was in the process of swapping them out, but now I’m waiting for more info.
I’ve tried playing about five different ES-330s, but always walked away preferring my “el cheapo” Casino to the expensive Gibsons.
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Originally Posted by coriolis
the standard epi casino asian made pickups are wound with thinner #43 wire to get a very high resistance number..in the 11-12k area..the classic p90 is #42 wire to around 8-9k resistance...much different
the elitists and inspired by lennons used gibson pups..vintage #42 wired correctly..i'm sure usa casino will feature same
cheersLast edited by neatomic; 01-18-2020 at 09:03 PM. Reason: sp-
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There used to be someone on Reverb that rewound them for like $65 a set. Unfortunately I can't find a link right now. Originally Posted by coriolis
Edit: Not sure if it was this outfit.
Rewind F-style and P90 - Gravelin Handcrafted Pickups
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pickup maestro jason lollar has page about epi p90's-
he could help as well
Lollar Pickups: Dogear and Casino Model Page
cheers
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Gotta jump in here, the Epi '61 RI Casino from a few years ago, made in China, is one of the best, if not THE best guitar I own. Casino - yes, 330 - yes, fully hollow and lightweight with a good sized neck and wonderful tone woods. A joy to play with tone to strive for. Gibson P90's and USA electronics.
That said, if Epi/Gibson wants to make this model more accessible, it's a great thing for guitarists who want a jazzy alternative in Thinline form to, L5's, 335's etc. (Mine has a black pick guard - stock - as in a 1961 Casino)
I am just so happy with mine!!!
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I agree. Originally Posted by Jimmy Mack
My MIC Casino is the least expensive guitar that I own. Yet, it is my “go to.” It just feels right.
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What I find attractive from this USA Casino are the correct body shape, slim f-holes and a better looking headstock. But of course that’s because I secretly want a Gibson ES-330...
I don’t care about the made in USA, MIC can be just as good.
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Here's a case where as cool as the original versions were, the imports are really a great deal! The only thing I don't care for is the cheaper poly finish on the import.
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Funny, I visited the Gibson/Epi hall at NAMM, expressly looking for and asking about a Casino Coupe. All they had was a std Casino modestly hung on the back wall. Nobody pointed out these. With something noisy happening on the bandstand all the time, it was nearly impossible to focus on the products.
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Update for Billie and anyone else who might be interested: I have measured the DC resistance of the P-90s on my 2019 Casino and they’re still the rather overwound variety… Originally Posted by blille
Neck: 11.8 k ohms
Bridge: 11.7 k ohms
I did this with a short patch cable and the pots dimed. I’m sure there is wiggle room, but
- it should be a valid ballpark reading to see whether the “new” Casino P-90s are still “hot” as the old ones or rather “vintage voiced”;
- as a way to check I’ve done readings on my tele and strat and they’re spot on spec.
My hypotheses are that:
- either my Casino, albeit a 2019, has got the old-style pickups on it (it’s a Cherry red and I suspect these were never part of the new run), or
- it is indeed a “new style Casino” as the date would suggest but Epiphone’s advertising at Summer NAMM 2018 that the Casino would henceforth sport “new P-90 Dogear Classic” instead of the plain “Epiphone P-90s” advertised previously was just marketing (and no specs are available AFAIK).
I of course don’t care for readings per se, but after a honeymoon phase I thought that the guitar sounded a tad harsh and congested – good, but not as great as it could – and I suspected it had rather overwound pickups. Suspicion confirmed, and I believe I am going to try new P-90s… suggestions welcome of course!
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That's why I ditched my Casino, plus the limited choice of replacement pups due to the polepiece spacing and unique neck pup cover. Originally Posted by radiofm74
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Yes I’ve read about those difficulties but I don’t think I’m going to ditch the Casino. As it is, I still think it’s a great guitar – looks, playing experience, etc… – and there is some attachment. Even soundwise it’s a good bop flavor in a BF amp… I just have to fiddle a bit more than I’d like with the knobs.
I do expect to be able to turn it into a GREAT blues and jazz fiddle tho, and I’m pretty confident that with a bit of homework I can find a good swap
And since I’ll be doing that, I’ll probably fully replace the electronics with good quality pots, wire, switches…
I care enough for the guitar to do that, and it’s going to be a fun project…
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Interesting this thread pops up...I've been spending waaaaay too much time looking at guitars lately, and for some reason, it's been a lot of 330's and Casinos...
I gotta get out of this house before it starts costing me more money.
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Jeff before you get out… Casinos are wonderful little guitars for not much $$. I’m sure that with better pickups it will be a killer bop machine. SORRY FOR STOKING THE GAS!! Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
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Since I wrote as the OP in 2016, I have the MIC '61 RI Casino, a limited run, but I still see them used on Reverb, but not a lot of them!
Its a marvelous guitar, one of the best I've touched in over 50 years, so of course I bought it - instantly!
It came with Gibson P90's, which are a favorite (among a few others) of P90' users. I haven't opened her up, so I have never checked anything - but I wouldn't change a thing, and it is the perfect guitar for me. I love it for jazz and blues, it plays effortlessly, and I find it hard to stop playing it.
I'll be interested in seeing/playing the "new" USA Casino.
(I would hope, radiofm74, that the Gibson P90's would fit yours)
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Thanks a lot! I’ve looked it up and there appear to be some difficulties (Do Gibson P90s fit Epiphone Casino ? - Gibson USA - Gibson Brands Forums), but I’m sure I’ll look into this very attractive option further. Thanks for the suggestion. Originally Posted by Jimmy Mack
I do share the sentiment about Casinos. And I must say that today, in about 15 minutes of determined effort to get a really good jazz sound out of mine, I managed it. The most unfairly neglected amp in the house – my Acoustic Image Clarus – did the trick: scoop the middle, crank the treble pretty high, keep the bass in check, low gain, a touch of verb, neck pickup, a little bit of roll-off on the volume dial… voilà. In coming days I think I’ll do some recordings with this setting to hear it “from a distance”, but it felt good playing it.
I will still probably swap the pickups because I love the guitar, want it to be all it could be, and am curious of more appropriately voiced P90s, but I was happy with my experiment today.
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This is on the Lollar-site about Casino P90s:
Lollar Pickups: Dogear and Casino Model Page
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I don’t know if the Peerless Songbird has the same dimensions as the Casino (after all, they once came out of the same factory) but forum member blile had no problems installing Gibson P90s in his Songbird:
[NGD] Peerless Songbird
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Thanks a lot. Now I have also made accurate measurings of my pickups with a caliper so I should be able to determine what to buy. The Lollar page will be of great help and actually, Lollar is very much in the run! Originally Posted by Little Jay
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