Epiphone Casino
Epiphone Casino – We have The Beatles to thank for Sunburst Casino’s popularity, but this psychedelic era special color model is a bundle of fun.
Officially known as the E230TD, the Epiphone Casino is not particularly rare. As a result, many vintage examples are compared to modern Custom Shop and boutique equivalents. But, other than the standard sunburst and cherry colors, very few of the 1,813 casinos that left Kalamazoo in 1967 were finished in this rare Pelham Blue metallic color.
Epiphone Casino
Traces of the white primer and original blue are visible in chips and hard rubbing on the underside. Although Gibson describes Pelham Blue as a “poly” finish, it was actually an acrylic lacquer, and they always spray clear nitrocellulose finishes. The nitro inevitably checked and yellowed everything, turning the Casino’s finish a shade of green close to Fender’s Ocean Turquoise. Looking for traces of the original color, we are surprised to find that it is even greener underneath.
Epiphone Casino In Worn Blue Denim
The only non-original parts here are the black reflector knobs – factory equipment for the 1967 Casino would have been “witch hat” knobs, but the previous owner replaced them because he preferred the look of the front end. We tend to agree, but it appears that the original buttons are stored safely in the case, which is also original.
When new, the vibrant blue, bright chrome hardware, white binding and icons should be a great combination. Although the binding has yellowed and changed to the green parchment tone often seen on late ’60s Fender fretboards, it still oozes charisma.
Rolling off the Kalamazoo production line with fret-edge binding and period Gibson hardware and electronics, the Casino was clearly not a budget alternative to the identical ES-330. Paul McCartney rates his ’62 Casino as his favorite electric, and John and George must have agreed, as they each bought Casinos as well. The British beat boom was full of casinos – Keith Richards, Brian Jones and Dave Davies were fans of the Epiphone hollow body.
Since Gibson and Epiphone have been making some of the best archtop instruments in the world for decades, we have high hopes for the muted tone of the casino. It does not disappoint. It’s naturally loud and full-bodied, with impressive sustain compared to some other ES-330s and Casinos of similar vintage we’ve encountered.
Epiphone Casino (cherry)
After doing some experimenting with swapping parts on these types of instruments, we found that nylon saddles play a big role in creating that warm, fat tone. The metal saddles on the ABR-1 tend to have more treble, less midrange, and maybe not much. Both configurations have their fans, and the earlier ES-330 and Casinos with metal bridge saddles are also popular for their tonal qualities.
By 1967, Gibson and Epiphone necks were very different from their earlier counterparts. This neck has depth, but it is also very narrow. Compared to our 1962 ES-330, the difference in keyboard width is about 3mm. This may not sound like much, but it is very important in terms of neck cutting.
The neck’s depth is noticeable as it fattens towards the body, even closer to 1950s Gibson standards – and even though it’s shallower in the nut, the narrow nut width makes it feel deeper than it really is. Some players may even find the string spacing a bit tight in the lower registers.
It’s time to hook up and we quickly find that the vans are out of phase. A magnetic compass test shows that both pickups have the same magnetic pole, which may indicate that the wiring has been changed, but there is enough anecdotal evidence to suggest that few Gibsons left the factory with out-of-phase wiring.
Epiphone Casino Thinline Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1961)
It could have been a special request because someone was looking for T-Bone Walker tones, or a simple error with the wiring of the coils that reversed the wiring of one pickup. Regardless, it’s a feature many will appreciate, and it can be changed by flipping the magnets on one of the trays.
On most vintage ES-330s and Casinos, the bridge and neck pickups are quite uneven in production, and this example is no exception. That said, some are closer than others, and it’s better than most.
We hear two very distinct tones from the chrome plated P-90s. The neck is more reminiscent of a muted tone and it is smooth, fat and very woody. There is excellent clarity without excessive treble and overdrive, with some notes having a distinctly squishy quality in the upper registers.
The bridge has that melodic and percussive edge that makes casinos such a great beat. Whether you’re messing around in clean mode or kicking it up a notch, Casino stays crisp and clear. There’s also a high mid-range resonance that gives the bridge pickup a bit of stringy flavor, which we particularly like.
Epiphone Casino Vintage Sunburst — Rudy’s Music Soho
Since our ES-330’s pickups are plastic and the Casino’s are metal, we are given the opportunity to judge how they compare to P-90s of a similar era. There is no difference, and it is most noticeable on neck pickups, but plastic covered pickups have a more open and airy treble response.
In contrast, metal-clad vans are softer, warmer and smoother. The ES-330 has more stringiness and bite, and when soloed, the lead tone is more “eee” than “oooo”. Both can be a chore if you’re trying to maintain smooth, high-gain lead tones from vintage-style valve amps, but switch to any decent overdrive or fuzz pedal and it becomes a problem – just ask Gary Clark. Jr…Don’t worry, this is not the long awaited US built version of the Casino, this is the Casino you can get today, built at the Epiphone factory in China. This makes a great tool for more people at an affordable price.
Why casino? Do you want to be John Lennon? No. It’s a purchase and I bought it, I blamed myself, but with the noticeable influence of Mick Taylor, a far cry from that trap show. I don’t do everything Mick does, but he and Dan are very positive influences on me. In a recent Vlog, Mick took viewers through his Casino experience. He bought his used on eBay, and mine was new, bought by my dear friend Peter Waldon at Cosmo Music in Richmond Hill, Ontario. Cosmo had two regular casinos and he chose the best one and then had the technicians do the initial setup for me. It came out of the box yesterday and was played for the first time today as I like to get guitars adjusted for a while. Maybe pointless, but I’ll do it anyway.
New Casino before the registration phase. It’s leaning on a Victory The Viscount amp and you can see that I haven’t had to remove the plastic from the pickups or take the pickup out yet.
Epiphone Casino Cherry 2007
I love hollow body and semi-hollow guitars. They have a different feel than solid objects and special acoustics. It does not have a center block like the Casino 335, but does have a support structure to prevent the downward pressure of the bridge from causing problems. I’m sure it’s acoustically much livelier than the 335 or 355.
The neck is neither too fat nor too thin. In the context of the Triumvirate of Ursines, this is “right”. Epiphone calls it the SlimTaper D. Good. Neck Material – Solid mahogany with pau ferro fingerboard with pearl inlays. The top, back and sides are 5-ply laminated maple with internal basswood reinforcement. This creates a very light and airy body. There are two nickel-plated Dogear P90T Classic pickups. The bridge is a tuneomatic type and the back is an old style trapezoid. Epiphone says all metal parts are nickel, which from my perspective is a good thing. I think nickel ages well, chrome doesn’t. There are two-voice and two-tone pots and a three-way switch. The output jack is top mounted and I find it most comfortable when playing while sitting as well as standing.
I was surprised to find that the strings did not sound like Gibson Brightwires, which I am fascinated by, but were instead clearly marked as D’Addarios 10-46. They were to be replaced in due course by Curt Mangan Monels, but it was a pleasant surprise that the strings did not need to be changed immediately.
The only problem I found was that the neck volume knob was a little flexible on its axis, but that was easily fixed. Otherwise, the fit and finish is very good. Mick announced that the clear poly finish on his Casino would survive a nuclear blast. The layer on mine is the usual thick poly, but not as thick as others I’ve seen. I hear the Epiphone factory is up and running