Casino Arrived--Pics!

[ch willie]

I spent an hour playing it. Lookwise, fantastic, absolutely flawless finish. Finish is diff from a Sheraton and Joe Pass I had that were encased in thick layers of the goop. "Crafted in China," the quality control on the outside seems to have been very good. I won't know about the wiring and such unless something fails.

Sound-wise: A great surprise. I thought I'd change pickups first thing, but at this point, they sound good enough to me to keep them. The neck pickup is warm but not at all muddy, treble pup does that great sting that Macca's famous for on Taxman. Sounds good clean or dirty. I wanted something I could play jazz with. P90s aren't bad at all for it.

I was skeptical about the Chinese build. Epi seems to have a dedicated factory there, and they seem to be doing a great job from what I've heard and now seen.

Comfort. It's very comfortable to play. Very easy neck for getting vibrato. Dogs like it too!

[Keefoman1]

Congrats on a nice Casino! I bought a second hand Chinese made Casino Coupe in cherry for my father a couple of years ago. A fine instrument, and I agree on the pickups. Other Epis I've had, the pickups have been swapped, but the P90s in the Casino actually sound good.

[pc]

Very nice! Beatlicious.

[Don]

That's beautiful! I had an Epiphone ES-335 Pro that was made in Epiphone's factory in China. It was a very nice guitar.

[ch willie]

Thanks, guys.

Of course, I'm a Beatles freak, a Casino is a natural--I didn't set out to do so, but I have amassed a Beatles-ish collection of guitars.

Of the 12 or so instruments I have, only my Precision Bass and Epi SG Bass are instruments not really associated with The Beatles.

For my own songs, I never think of getting a Beatles sound. Of course I do at times, but it's not my intention.

The Casino is a good guitar on its on. I've had Korean Epiphones that weren't built this well, didn't sound this good.

Vurrrrry happy with it.

[ch willie]

[CoyotesGator]

Sweeeeet!

In the best of health Brother!

[OldStrummer]

That'll smooth out the edges of the corona in no time! Congrats!

[ch willie]

Thanks guys.

Gotta tell you. Over the years, I've had a few Epiphones: 2 Les Pauls, a Sheraton, a Joe Pass, an SG--I sold them as I got better quality guitars. That first LP was an incredibly good instrument: Korean. The others were good too, but I didn't bond with them and sold them. I got tired of faulty wiring and guitars slathered with thick goop.

Last year I bought my then gf an Epiphone long scale SG bass. Long story, but I got it out of hock, had a lefty nut put on it. And that bass is incredible. I can't imagine a bass that sounds that close to the sounds of classic Gibson basses. Goop on that thing is thin. It's a keeper.

Now this Casino. 1st Epiphone six string that I haven't wanted to swap pickups. It does have more goop than I would like. But again, the Chinese have made a guitar that is perfectly assembled, perfectly finished.

I paid around $900 by the time I bought a case--Epiphone case is one of the sturdiest I've ever gotten with any guitar.

It's come at a good time because I have a song to record that was crying out for a jazzy sounding guitar.

[Don]

Epiphone case is one of the sturdiest I've ever gotten with any guitar.

I keep my 1959 ES-225TD in an Epiphone case. It's as good as a Gibson case.

[ch willie]

I keep my 1959 ES-225TD in an Epiphone case. It's as good as a Gibson case.

You're partly to blame for my buying the Casino. That Heritage helped to give me GAS for a good semi- or full- hollow. I can't afford a Heritage or Gibson. And of course, the Casino would probably lose by a little bit in a shootout. Its close enough to jazz for me.

[OldStrummer]

Pure speculation: Maybe the top-end manufacturers have run out of true "improvements" in their product, and are just skating by with new colors, changing up pup selection, etc. However, that lets their lower-end subsidiaries move the ball downfield. This then, is where one would look to get a truly superb instrument at less than premium prices.

I could be wrong. I often am.

[dirtdog]

C'est bien sharp, ça!

[DanTheBluesMan]

Pure speculation: Maybe the top-end manufacturers have run out of true "improvements" in their product, and are just skating by with new colors, changing up pup selection, etc. However, that lets their lower-end subsidiaries move the ball downfield. This then, is where one would look to get a truly superb instrument at less than premium prices.

I could be wrong. I often am.

you may be pretty close to the mark. Epiphone did two things this year that moved me to buy one. First they got a much better looking headstock shape. Silly but if Squier can have the same shape as Fender then Epiphone should have the same shape as Gibson. Second, they're using ebony for the Les Paul Custom's fingerboard.

I got a good deal on my Epi LPC from Sweetwater and a case (Gator). I've been very impressed with the quality, playability and tone (as far as I can tell via my audio interface and headphones).

I probably should have bought a new mac mini instead but they didn't have 48 month financing

[OldStrummer]

you may be pretty close to the mark. Epiphone did two things this year that moved me to buy one. First they got a much better looking headstock shape. Silly but if Squier can have the same shape as Fender then Epiphone should have the same shape as Gibson. Second, they're using ebony for the Les Paul Custom's fingerboard.

My Jack Casady bass by Epiphone is quite nice. There's a loose connection at the jack plate, but other than that, the build quality is outstanding. And the case, in my opinion, is the gold standard of how guitar cases should be made!



(I bought the hard shell case separately after I bought this bundle, as I concluded the instrument was too good to store in a gig bag!)

[renderit]

My Jack Casady bass by Epiphone is quite nice. There's a loose connection at the jack plate, but other than that, the build quality is outstanding. And the case, in my opinion, is the gold standard of how guitar cases should be made!



(I bought the hard shell case separately after I bought this bundle, as I concluded the instrument was too good to store in a gig bag!)

I absolutely LOVE the body on those.

[ch willie]

They make the Jack C bass in lefty now too, and it's hard as hell to resist. If I didn't already get a fantastic hollow sound out of the Hofner, I'd probably be on one of those pretty quickly.

I love the color on yours, Fred.