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Calling all Epi Casino buffs!

Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2021 1:58 am
by UlricvonCatalyst
I'm in the market for my second Epiphone Casino (reissue), having foolishly sold my Peerless one - which I never really gave a fair hearing - to a pal some years ago.

I know that the neck joint moved up a fret, from the vintage-correct 17th to 16th at some point, and that the board changed from rosewood to pau ferro at some other point. Did the pickups change noticeably too at some point? (I'm aware that the 'inspired by JL' ones have USA pickups; how about the Elitists?)

Ideally I'd like to find one as close to original spec as I can at a reasonable price; can anyone educate me on the years of the main transitions, or persuade me that the changes don't matter?

Re: Calling all Epi Casino buffs!

Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2021 3:15 am
by MrFingers
There is also the difference in plywood (thickness, number of plies). Elitist (or Japan) casino's are generally the closest you can get to the original spec, without utterly ruining the bank.

Re: Calling all Epi Casino buffs!

Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2021 1:48 pm
by UlricvonCatalyst
MrFingers wrote:
Sun Aug 01, 2021 3:15 am
There is also the difference in plywood (thickness, number of plies). Elitist (or Japan) casino's are generally the closest you can get to the original spec, without utterly ruining the bank.
Good point. I was looking at some MIJ Casinos today and thought the sunbursts looked quite unlike the vintage bursts. Maybe just a picture quality thing?

Re: Calling all Epi Casino buffs!

Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2021 2:20 pm
by Larry Mal
I bought one of the Peerless ones and I had heard those were the good ones... I'd hate to see the bad ones. I gave it away to someone else who gave it away who gave it away to someone else for all I know, he didn't have it in his home when I visited it recently.

I hated it. Get anything else.

Re: Calling all Epi Casino buffs!

Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2021 2:31 pm
by Maggieo
::cough cough::

Image
Eastman T64/v, July 12, 2019 by Maggie Osterberg, on Flickr

Re: Calling all Epi Casino buffs!

Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2021 3:10 pm
by Larry Mal
Looks great... what's the nut width on that one, Maggie?

Re: Calling all Epi Casino buffs!

Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2021 3:12 pm
by Maggieo
Neck Material:Maple
Fingerboard:Ebony
Fingerboard Radius:12"
Neck Profile:Traditional Even "C"
Nut:Bone 1 3/4"
1st Fret String Height:.022"
12th Fret String Height:Bass .078" and Treble .062"
Fretwire:22 Medium Jumbo Jescar 47104
Scale Length:24.75"
Body Style:16" Hollowbody Thinline
Body Dimensions:16" x 1 3/4"
Body Top:Deluxe Maple Laminate
Body Back/Sides:Deluxe Maple Laminate
Truss Rod:Single Acting
Binding:Neck, Body,
Binding Material:Ivoroid
Logo:Pearl Headstock
Inlay:Pearl Split Blocks
Finish:Antique Varnish
Hardware Color:Aged Nickel
Pickguard:Black Plastic with Ivoroid Binding (/v-RD only)
Tailpiece:US Bigsby B7 0495-B7
Bridge:Gotoh Relic Series GE104B
Tuners:Gotoh Relic Series SD90
Knobs:Black Top Hats
Neck Pickup:Lollar Dog Ear P-90
Bridge Pickup:Lollar Dog Ear P-90
Pickup Height:3/32" bass side, 3/32" treble side
Pickup Frame:Black Plastic
3 Way Switch:Switchcraft
Switch Tip:Switchcraft
Capacitors:0.022μF
Potentiometers:250k Audio Linear
Output Jack:Switchcraft
Strings:D’Addario NYXL .011 - .049
Action Height:3/32" bass side 12th fret, 2/32" treble side 12th fret
Case:Hardshell Case

Re: Calling all Epi Casino buffs!

Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2021 3:14 pm
by Larry Mal
Nice, 1.75". Maybe I'll get one.

Re: Calling all Epi Casino buffs!

Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2021 5:35 pm
by Maggieo
Larry Mal wrote:
Sun Aug 01, 2021 3:14 pm
Nice, 1.75". Maybe I'll get one.
I think you'd like it. But- handmade in Beijing.

Re: Calling all Epi Casino buffs!

Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2021 5:57 pm
by Larry Mal
Maggieo wrote:
Sun Aug 01, 2021 5:35 pm
Larry Mal wrote:
Sun Aug 01, 2021 3:14 pm
Nice, 1.75". Maybe I'll get one.
I think you'd like it. But- handmade in Beijing.
I'd buy it used, and anyway Casinos are not made in the United States (basically), so it's somewhat acceptable for me.

And it's not like I'm going to buy some $3000 Casino, either:

https://www.epiphone.com/Guitar/EPIGM71 ... e-Sunburst

If I was going to pay that much, I'd get the Gibson name on the headstock so in case I ever sold it I wouldn't have to explain over and over why this Casino was exponentially better than the $400 ones.

Re: Calling all Epi Casino buffs!

Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2021 7:00 pm
by Fiddy
Maggieo wrote:
Sun Aug 01, 2021 2:31 pm
::cough cough::

Image
Eastman T64/v, July 12, 2019 by Maggie Osterberg, on Flickr
I love it. I will eventually get one.

Re: Calling all Epi Casino buffs!

Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2021 4:36 am
by UlricvonCatalyst
Larry Mal wrote:
Sun Aug 01, 2021 2:20 pm
I bought one of the Peerless ones and I had heard those were the good ones... I'd hate to see the bad ones. I gave it away to someone else who gave it away who gave it away to someone else for all I know, he didn't have it in his home when I visited it recently.

I hated it. Get anything else.
I'd happily buy a Peerless Casino again if I could find one at a reasonable price. Mine played just fine and sounded quite nice unplugged. At the time I got it I'd been playing a Danelectro DC59 for quite a while, and the pickups on the Casino did nothing for me by comparison. For the record, I only really tried it out clean, straight into my wee Epi Jr, and wrote it off quite hastily.

I'm just after asking the guy I sold it to if he wasn't using it much and would consider selling it back to me, but he said he loves it and uses it all the time, so one man's trash is another man's treasure I guess.

Re: Calling all Epi Casino buffs!

Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2021 9:28 am
by pocaloc
I had one of the 50th anniversary '61 Casino's and it was really great. Much better than the baseline Casino. I remember reading a lot of online comments and they were consistently liked. I also had an "inspired by" John Lennon Casino, not the really expensive John Lennon line. It was priced a step up from the base casino's and it seemed a step up in quality. I did sell it and it definitely didn't impress me like the 50th anniversary one did. I regret selling that one.

Re: Calling all Epi Casino buffs!

Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2021 12:13 pm
by Maggieo
Larry Mal wrote:
Sun Aug 01, 2021 5:57 pm

And it's not like I'm going to buy some $3000 Casino, either:

https://www.epiphone.com/Guitar/EPIGM71 ... e-Sunburst

If I was going to pay that much, I'd get the Gibson name on the headstock so in case I ever sold it I wouldn't have to explain over and over why this Casino was exponentially better than the $400 ones.
Yeah, the USA Casino is nutso. And the 1.69" nut is a bit tight for my liking on a neck that thin.

Re: Calling all Epi Casino buffs!

Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2021 5:22 pm
by mediocreplayer
I had the IBJL. Despite the USA Gibson pickups, It was just ok. I am all about satin finishes so I liked that aspect of it.

I now have the much, much cheaper Casino Worn (I got one from the sunrise orange run that CME did late last year), which, inexplicably, has killer CTS electronics and lovely pickups. I prefer everything about this guitar to the much more expensive IBJL. Maybe I was lucky, but this guitar was less than $500 new -- a total no brainer.