Epiphone Casino

1997 Epiphone Casino made at the Peerless Plant, Korea.

Vintage Cigarette sunburst in colour, REALLY beautifully done.
Tune-o-matic bridge
Epi tuners
Medium width neck, perfect for rhythm I'd say, because top frets at 19th + hard to reach (not that I mind)
Came with Epiphone case used, which is useful as I believe some Epiphone thinlines are hard to fit in some cases.

2 volume and 2 tone knobs and switch selector, for the 2 P-90 pickups.

Overall pretty good, pretty much perfect for this guitar.

Lovely sound for a thinline archtop, glad I got hold of this rather than an Epi Dot.

Suits a lot of my Indie (Libertines-y), Britpop(Oasis-y), 60s (Kinks, Beatles..especially) style music, however, I am buying a Fender Telecaster soon, if that helps show the gap which is missing in its sound, but what do you expect!?

I really have little problem with feedback that most people seem to have, but I bought it second hand from a caring Mod so I think he might have sorted that out a bit.

You can get quite a kick out of this guitar, like I say, you can get a good Beatles-y, Kinks-y, vintage-y sound from it.

I am giving an 8 purely because I am playing it through a poor Marshall amp, unless it on an AC30 and I think it would be pushing 11 !

Was bought second hand, and the guy had had it set-up relatively recently to the time.

I have 4 minor problems from it being perfect:

1. That infamous Casino buzz! Where it comes from I don't know! It is mighty hard to source, but it is only a problem when played acoustically (which still sounds nice by the way)

2. Neck has very slight 'bleeding' on it, but I shall attend to this soon

3. Hardware not perfect looking, and two of the knobs feel off whilst playing, however bit of thread-tape sorted that.

4. The input jack seems a little bit touchy, sometime got to give it a bit of a nudge to work, could do with a looking at this summer, Casinos aren't easy to get hold of inside mind!

I think a good set-up this summer will perfect it.

Has been gigged before, and in the past, I trust the beaut.
I think everything hardware-wise will last for years to come, good enough for me at least, but I hear many people change tuners.

Strap buttons are good, not perfect, as the neck strap button seems to be a bit tricky, luckily no smashes to the floor yet, but almost once! Might invest in 1 strap lock for that button (they ruin the look, of course)

I wouldn't gig it without a back-up, but I never would.
I could gig it without a back-up though.

Never needed to contact, however, I have contacted Epiphone before, and I found them pretty helpful.

I have been playing for 10 years now (I'm only 18 mind, so I'm not a super guitar geek) and I would love to play this with a Vox amp!

If I could I would get an Epiphone Casino Elitist, as good as a Gibson quality, but still keeps that cool Epiphone Beatles style (In my opinion)

I wish that damn buzz would go away, and I will sort it out, but overall a very good guitar.

I much prefer it over the Sherry and Dot's, however I would be interested by a Riviera, especially Nick Valensi's.

It's a hollowbody of course, and because of this I am buying a Telecaster, the world's strongest guitar, to take to uni, as I would cry if this was to crack...

Gloss finish, "trapeze" bridge, p-90s, blond finish, true hollow-body. No bells, whistles, etc - as it should be.

Perfect for powerpop/rock -n roll. I play it through various amps; 72 Super Reverb, 59 Bassman RI LTD, and Sovtek Mig 50.
It's got chime. It's got growl (pickups rate a whopping 12.50). It's got sparkle. There's not a huge variety of sounds, but the sounds you get are ALL great.
One issue the guitar had was a low mid resonance (not a bad thing) which caused some feedback issues at higher volumes. Not a major problem, but I had my guy put a little foam rubber between the pickups and beneath the f-hole on the bass side. Amazing response. cleared up low mids and added a touch of definition. I can feedback whenever I want and play it like an ebow. Astonishing tone from this one.

Just had the frets cleaned up and the action/ intonation set up. It plays better and sounds better than most 70s Gibson 330s I've played. My luthier fell in love with it the few days he had it.

This is a players guitar. The hardware (all of it) is just fine. I'd never play a show without a back up, but the back up (Epi dot with z-90s) stays in the case. I don't even undo the clasps.

Bought it used so I've got no opinion.

Been playing for 22 years and this is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I've had a 59 Junior, a 74 Tele Deluxe, 70s Specials and Standards, a 90s Rickenbacker, and a few odds and ends, and I have found "the one". I've had it for three years and it has and will be my main guitar.
If it was stolen, I would weep like an aging widow, then I'd buy another in a heartbeat.
The only thing I wish it had was some DNA so I could clone it.

Korean made 2000. P90's, cherry red, chrome metal parts. Bought used on eBay cause I wanted something cheap $$ wise, something to play the Bealtes on and see if I would stay with it this time. Got an Epi case with it also. 2 Vol and 2 Tone controls, switch and standard tuners. Nothing special. 22 frets, standard assembly line built guitar.

Well my thought of cheap$$ got me a great guitar, for the price. I play Rock and Roll, Blues, and any acoustic. Led Zep acuostic songs sounds great. It sounds like a more expensive guitar. Playing though a Line 6 SpiderII and a GNX3 processor. I'm just a guy who like to play guitar, not a pro. But I know what guitars and music are suppused to sound like. And this one has sound. With 10's on it and no amp this guitar has acoustic quaility and that is what I wanted. Not a loud as an acoustic, but could also plu into an amp. Wanted something to play without an amp and still jam as I got better. Never indended to keep this guitar if I stayed with it. WRONG. Everytime I think about selling this to support anther purchase, I put new strings on and then remember why I love theis guitar. especially at the price I paid.

Bought use, so I cant rate factory on setup. Once setup buy my local shop it is fantastic. No the shredder, not grease lightning, but this is not a rock lead guitar. But I can play lead just fine with this as long as I dont try to rip the strings. The finish and fit is just great. It is not custom, but there are no flaws, or mistakes I can see or notices now after 3 years of owning it. Once again I bought used. Bad part: The tuners suck alng with the 3 way switch, but this was easily fixed. Changed the 3 way with a Gibson switch and the tuners with Grovers. Now it stays in tone like forever. The strings go first before the tuning. That was the best 70$ I spent. Intonation is perfect and I get good tone all the way up to 20the fret. HArd to get to but sill has god sound. The pick guard did need some attention as it was touching the PUP

So far it has been great. No cracking onthe finish and it looks like brand new. I love way this looks and if it ages properly I hope to pass this on to some in the family many years from now. Button and all hardware, once replaced (see above, are rock solid. I can always count on this guitar when I pick it up to sound and play fantastic.

Never had to use. NO

For the price I paid I have to give this guitar a 10. I know it cant compare to other 10s for higher priced/guality guitars, but for what I expected and got it deserves a 10. Once the tuners and switch were replaced it is rock solid. I've been playing since late 60's, but have quit playing 3 time over the years for around 15 year total due to other activities. Not a pro, but still love to play. I have a 52 Fender reissue, and Gibson SG standard and have had 73 Tele that I started with and and ovation acoustic. This guitar is a keeper for the sound. The luther who set ip up said this was the best Casino he has ever heard. For what ever that means, but the is HO. Would I but again, yes but not off eBay, Don't think I could get so lucky again. What I don't like is the feedback whan playing loud in front of an amp, but what do you ecpect from as hollowbody. $375 deliverd is hard to beat with a case

1978 Casino, made in Japan by Matsumoku. This was the second generation of Epiphones made in Japan (the first being Shiro Arai.) Absolutely beautiful finish - sunburst with deep brown figured maple. Matsumoku reverted to 1965 USA Epiphone Casino specs on every aspect except changed neck material to 3 piece maple instead of the usual one piece mahogany (not sure why.) Over the years and several owners, some parts of this guitar have been changed including the addition of Grover 108C tuners, a Gotoh nylon saddled bridge, and a Gibson ES-345 trapeze tailpiece. The pickups and electonics are original.

Easily sounds like the Beatles "Ticket to Ride." It can also go to a mellow jazz type sound or a cool, almost overdiven treble sound without effects. I have an old Jen Cry Baby and the P-90s sound great with it. Being a full hollow body, it can sound like an acoustic too.

The guitar had many canges when I bought it, and the action is nice as a result of a new bridge, nut, and trapeze tailpiece.

It's already 28 years old and the wood still looks brand new. The hardware was tarnished, but I removed it.

N/A

Been playing guitar and bass for 30 years. I looked at many guitars off and on for a few months until I saw this one. I bought it the next day.

most likely 2002, made in korea, 22 frets, no money above the 12th fret! maple top, sides and back, mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard, came with 2 vol/tones, 2 p90's, korean made, hollow 335 style, everything else has already been mentioned in previous reviews

ok, this is where this guitar shines.....got it cause we like the sound of p90 pickups on a hollowbody...very sun records/50's r & b/chuck berry/john lennon, the sound of the pickups fits our bands music better than gretsch w/tv jones filtertrons or rickenbacker high gains. using it with vox ac15 (90's uk) and ac30 (cc2, regular speakers, wattage cut to 22 watts)its noisy, but not annoyingly so. the sound is very rich......think all good music. theres not really much variety with this guitar, and the pickups never seem to loose that lower mids fullness to their tone, but after years of playing, we realized thats a good thing, since other guitars fade in and out of the mix, while this one stays in the mix at all times. the korean p90's it came with sound good, full, and rockin, so we dont think were gong to change them (thats a first for us!) we sanded the finish off the body, since john lennon took the finish off his back in the 60's, and he claimed the guitar 'breathed' more, well we attest that this is true, since no finish makes this lighter, and even with the finish off the neck, it plays smoother than ever. the only thing we would do for customization is that we want to put a b6 bigsby on this baby. this right now is our only professional electric guitar without a bigsby, and we miss that! put a little analog delay on this, and youre in sun records heaven. with the vox ac 30 on full power, and more of a clean sound going, we managed to get john lennon's tone on the later beatle records! all in all, great sounding guitar. does psychobilly better, too!

factory set up sucked. we got it used, and the pickups were totally out of balance, but we got them high to the strings, and working well, and they sound very powerful compared to our other axes now! the action was too low when we got it, but that too was taken care of when we adjusted the bridge. there are tons of flaws on this guitar, but they can be removed easily, or smoothed over, so thats not a problem

this is where this guitar isnt such a hot instruments, or at least til we bring it to our repair guy/luthier/person whom can do a mean set up on a guitar. this can withstand live playing, with better hardware, we sanded the finish off it, so we guess that doesnt apply here. the strap buttons are fine, but we will soon invest in strap locks. we can depend on it, only margainally, because it doesnt feel 100% tight, like our gretsch or rickenbacker. we would gig without a backup, since we always trade guitars with the other band we play with!

never dealt with them, never need to, since we got it used! we did the minor 'repair work' ourselves, but when it comes time to put on the bigsby, well have our repair guy help us out with that.

playing for 15 + years, and had a casino before (w/humbuckers, from the 70's) have gretsch, rickenbacker, martin acoustic, you name it effect pedal (which we dont really use!) vox ac15 and 30. if it were stolen/lost, wed eventually get another one, if the price is right, but this is our travel guitar, sicne we dont want anything happening to our gretsch/ric on the road, but found this one has better tone than either of them for what we do right now, which is funny, cause the whole thing, with everything is less than half of the price than we paid for either of the others. we love the tone of this beast, hate the cheap feel of how this came, but that can be changed. we chose this one because the beatles all played them, and liked the tone, and we feel the same way. we also get the 50's sun records/rockabilly tone, and we like that, too! we just wish it had a REAL bigsby, which we plan to obtain upon our next paycheck, to make it a real rocker's axe! played it saturday night with our side project, and people asked how come were not using the usual gretsch, then told us it sounded better, and we liked that, since it cost less!

Ordered this guitar from an internet retailer. BIG MISTAKE ON MY BEHALF. I will never buy another guitar sight unseen or unplayed before I buy it. I reccomend everybody try a guitar before you buy it.
Korean Made Casino with Natural Finish
Lam Maple and Spruce Body
Very comfortable mahagony neck
2 Volume and Tone Controls that are garbage and need to be upgraded
1 garbage, rattling, disfunctional 3 way pickup selector switch
2 useless P90 junk, garbage, rattling, squealing pickups
1 rattling buzzing tune-o-matic ABR style bridge
6 tuners that don't keep the guitar in tune

In my opinion, the guitar sounded terrible. Could not use it live. I am not a shredder, nor do I play loud or with a lot of overdrive/distortion. I play in a Motown, 50's- 60's cover band. The pickups were so microphonic and prone to squealing, that the guitar was virtually unuseable live. I attribute all the squealing to poor wax potting and the the el cheapo chrome pickup covers. I know that full hollowbody guitars will produce feedback, however the picups in this guitar would squeal like pigs. The Neck pickup had zero clarity, clear as mud and the bridge pickup was awfully harsh. the pots for volume and tone are garbage too. They are scratchy and noisy when dialing. Not plugged in, the guitar sounded terrible from all the rattling junky garbage hardware that Epiphone installs on this guitar.

As I said I ordered this guitar from an internet retailer. Out of the box, the intonation was pretty good, and in all actuality the neck felt great, very comfortable the fretjob was of highy quality. The finish was excellent had a very grain pattern. Very sharp looking, and the action was set great. Was a pleasure to play but the all the rattles and buzzes ruined it. ....... READ THE NEXT CATEGORY

This guitar did not withstand live playing as it could not stay in tune, the pickups squealed, and all the the hardware on this guitar is absolute junk, crap, garbage. After a few weeks, the guitar started to develop buzzing at the bridge, did not keep in tune for anything due to the lousy tuners, the pickup selector failed, the neck pickup cover developed a buzz due to a poor solder job. Even the pickkguard that was on the guitar buzzed due to contact with the pickups. I could not rely on this for gigging and always had a backup. IF you are a gigging musician and are looking to purchase and use a Korean Epi Casino for gigs, I highly reccomend stripping this guitar of all its hardware and replacing it with HIGH QUALITY aftermarket replacement parts. The hardware, as is on this guitar, will not keep up with the abuse from gigging. With the money you will spend replacing the hardware, you are better off buying an Elitist Casino, if you can ever find one.

Should have sent it back. Like a dummy, I didn't.

I have been playing over 20 years. I gig almost every weekend.
In a nutshell this is what I have to say about my experience with this guitar. The crappy hardware and pickups on this guitar ruins this guitar. It has a very comfortable neck, great finish, high quality fret job. I did make the mistake of ordering this online without playing it. But like I said over the course of several weeks, I noticed more and more problems, all due to the lousy failing hardware. I recently sold this gutar for a Gretsch Electromatic G5120 in Orange (which I got to play before I bought and absolutely love).
I did not have the energy or the money to track down and buy all new hardware and pickups, then pay someone to install everything the correct way to get this guitar up and running the way it should be.
I do not miss my Casino. Again, if you are a gigging musician looking to purchase a Korean made Casino, I highly reccomend stripping all the hardware and pickups off, and replacing it with high quality parts to withstand the abuse from gigging. These parts will not hold up. By the time you spend the extra $$$ on quality parts, you might as well just buy the Epiphone Elitist Casino, if Epiphone will ever get their crap together and start making them available. Haven't been able to find one since they have released the series. Every retailer that carries the Elitist line is always out of stock for the Casino and for many months at a time, so I give up.

I have a 1961 USA Kalamazoo Michigan made "Original" Casino.
Tobacco sunburst in color, with original black - P90 pickups. Totally hollow, not semi-hollow, Stop tail piece, tune-o-matic bridge.
Original tweed beat up case.

I play mostly Blues and classic rock.
Great guitar, but good only for low volume type gigs due to it's hollow nature.
Smooth as silk about tone. Typical P90 hum.

Awesome quality instrument from the original Gibson factory!

I've had this guitar from 1981 until now ( 2005). It's just now needing a fre job after countless gigs and hours of playing.

NA

I've been playing for 25+ years and own a fine variety of instruments - 1988 G&L SC-3 and 1990 G&l Skyhawk, 1991 LP Studio, 1972 Guild S-90, 2000 American Fat Tele, 1981 Yamaha SSC-550, and a Heritage Stat.
I love the Casino, especially due to it's age and Mojo. John Lennon played one just like it. I've seen pix with him holding an identical colored Casino as mine.
The con is - hollow and it feeds back at louder volumes.

2005 Casino made in Korea. Laminated maple top and body. 2 x volume and 2 x tone controls (one set for each of the P-90 pickups). Mahogony neck, sunburst finish (love that!), classic semi acoustic, two f-hole body style with tune-o-matic bridge and trapeze tail. 1.62 neck width. I bought the Epiphone case and it fits like a glove and got a strap and strings thrown in. The guitar itself is the feature and I got what I wanted.

I've wanted a Casino for about 10 years and really hoped it was going to suit what I play. My concern was that it would only suit a few styles and not be very versatile. Well, I'm not concerned any more! The Casino is incredible.
I mainly play acoustic (Maton 225, being an Aussie) and wanted an electric to round out my sound and add something special and perhaps different. The music I'm into is acoustic rock so Crosby Stills Nash, James Taylor, Joni etc and I wanted something that would fit well in that mix. My live playing nowadays is in a church worship band and after using the Casino for the first time the other night, I can honestly say I've never had so many people tell me how good I sounded.
I'm playing through a Fender Frontman 25R (check them out, an incredible little amp!) and on the clean channel it is beautiful. You get that classic 60's jangle but there's something else that is hard to describe ? it's like a shimmer, a silky velvety sound that just warms the heart. It's really a gorgeous sound. With a bit of overdrive, the Casino goes into a very different realm. I play a bit in open and alternate tunings and play some slide. When I tuned to Open G for some slide and went to overdrive I nearly fell over. The sound of all those classic blues rock bands from the 60's came screaming out of my amp and it was sonic heaven. There was one sound in particular that was really familiar and then I worked it out ? Robbie Krieger. That spun me for a while until I figured he probably had P-90's on his Gibson SG and that's what gave him the unreal Doors slide sound he created (think Moonlight Drive from Alive She Cried). I could be wrong on that but that's what it sounded like. If you like electric blues, you really really need to try one of these!
For most of my own music, the covers I play and what I play in church, the clean channel is best but it's nice to know where I can take it if I need to.
The P-90's can be noisy and a lot of gain will send the Casino screaming as it's totally hollow. For a bright, jangly and warm sound the Casino is beautiful. Reverb is sensational with it and I would suspect some Tremolo and maybe a Chorus or Delay would also add something sweet.
I've found the front pickup a bit muddy and so have the tone on that set to 10. The bridge pickup can get overly bright so dialing down its tone to 4 or 5 suits really well. Combining the pickups at these settings is pretty much plug-and-play for me. Flicking between the two gives a bit more warmth or something a bit brighter. Great if there's variety in your set.

Straight out of the shop the Casino was great. Most stores in Australia set them up before they sell them and I suspect it was the case here. The action is incredibly low with no buzzing. The 1.62 nut width is pretty narrow and it's taking some getting used to. It's not a problem though, just different.
Everything appears fine but I wouldn't say excellent in the hand-made sense. Although there's nothing in particular that I can point to, there is an overall feeling that it is factory made but considering the price, it is a fantastic guitar.
Many folks have complained about the pickup selector switch and I mentioned that when I bought it. Apparently leaving them in the middle position when not in use helps a lot. Mine seems fine for now but time will tell.
Whatever strings they came with are excellent and they feel like 10-46's. Not sure if they are factory fitted or shop fitted but I might ask as they have lasted so well (2 months!). I've got some 11-50's I want to try and see what that does to the sound.
The intonation is pretty out, however, and I'll adjust that when I change strings and decide which gauge suits my style best. Although a bit annoying, those things are usually fixable to well within the acceptable range. With the tune-o-matic bridge, adjustable bridge height etc, I can't foresee this being a problem for too long.

Like anything, if you're rough on your gear then it wont last. Treat it with respect and it will last. There's nothing to indicate that it wont last or not withstand live playing but being hollow, I'd be a bit more cautious. If you're used to playing acoustics it shouldn't be any different.
It seems pretty rock solid I reckon and I'd feel safe without a backup. Depends on your music and the gig I guess.

All good so far.

I've played guitar for 18 years and owning this guitar is a long awaited dream come true. I honestly believe I've found 'my guitar'. I've got a great acoustic and now a great electric and I'm stoked.
I'd buy another one in a heartbeat if the need arose. I was considering a Telecaster as I thought it might be more versatile but the Casino has proven to give me all the versatility I was looking for and much more. Absolute tone city. It even sounds great unplugged! A great feature, by the way, if you want to play without waking up the family and an acoustic is too loud.
I love the look of semi acoustics and love the P-90 sound. Combine the two and you have the Epiphone Casino ? a fantastic guitar.

2005 Korean Epihpone Casino Cherry. P-90x2 No case

Boy this really sounds good. The resonance of the guitar is amazing for a laminate. Everyone keeps saying 'great for Beatles sound' which is true sort of. I didn't approach this guitar looking for anything other than great hollow P90 crunch. It has it much to my suprise. I have never played a '60s Casino but I have picked up and played a lot of guitars. I am not Jimi Hendrix or even a good player, just a hobbyiest that has been playing on and off for 20 years. HOWEVER, I do know TONE. For a sub $700 guitar made in Korea I am AMAZED how good this guitar sounds. Resonates very well and the pick ups (which I planned on replacing right away) are really good and have all the P90 sound most people will want. I first bought an Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II. Totally different I know. Nice but left me flat. Humbuckers. Completely different sound, I was temporarally enamoured with it but woke up and realized it wasn't a fit for me or my style. That's when I decided to try the Casino. I think the Korean semi-hollow guitars are hit or miss. A lot of 'good' guitars and some that are really great. Also some models just seems to be made more consistently than others. The Casino is one of those models. Really good.

Very well set up from the factory. I will have my luthier give it the once over but by all appearances they set it up great.
Only 'flaw' is some slight finish issues where the neck meets the top. Minor. No buzz, nice and clean all the way up the fret board. Top notch.
-1 for the small finish issue.

Seems to be very durable. Nothing feels or looks 'cheap' though I will probably replace the pots, switches and wiring at some point. Tuners are suprisingly good. That is where you usually see serious skimpage.

I really like this guitar. You can get great rock sounds out of it. AC/DC Malcomb Young rhythm? Dead on. Gretchy DeArmond crunch? Yeah. Mellow sweet lead? Hell yeah in neck or neck/bridge. Alt-rock sounds. U-betcha. Slayer? No.

This is a 2004 Epiphone Casino Natural. I bought it new, because I am a huge gear head, and I've always wanted one of these. Didn't need it at all, I just bought it for fun. It's a full hollow body, and its got 2 p-90s, 2 tones, 2 volumes, trapeze tailpiece, tune-o-matic bridge, vintage tuners, 21 or 22 frets, 24 3/4" scale, laminted spruce top, laminated maple sides and back, 3 piece mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard. The neck is a little thicker than a 1960's Les Paul, and a litte thinner than a 1950's Les Paul. It's a good mix.

The only complaint I have about this guitar, is that it could sound just a little brighter, but considering that it's a hollowbody with p90's, I guess I can't complain. The pickups are a litt noisy, like all single-coils, but Epiphone did't reverse one of the coils so it would be hum cancelling with both pickups activated, which is stupid. The pickups kind of suck, but I keep getting good tones out of them, so I haven't replaced them yet. I might not at all. I use this guitar with a variety of amps: Marshall JCM900, 1966 Fender Pro Reverb, Fender Prosonic, & a custom made & hotrodded champ. This amp sounds thick and full through each amp, and it will always sound thick and full until you play it through a solid-state amp. It's clear and distinct, but full at the same time. Nice and fat and mellow, great for blues, fingerpicking, pop, anything where you dont need a biting tone or too much overdrive. This guitar isn't the most versatile thing around, but I get good tones for the following genres: blues, country, blues rock (not too much gain, or it'll feedback, but that can be fun too), fingerpicking stuff, vintage pop, funky jazz tones, surf, rockabilly. It's a really fun guitar to play... it gets more attention than my other 5 guitars, many of which cost more than this Casino by a great deal... Awesome tone for blues rock a la Black Keys, White Stripes...

It's a great looking guitar, cosmetically there are only MINIMAL blemishes, and in a $600 guitar from Korea, that's pretty good. This particular guitar had the best finish and action out of ANY Epiphone or cheap guitar I've ever played... I was surprised because I own other Epiphones, and this is MUCH better than the others. The nut is actually spot on, low action, good playability even though it comes with 9 gauge strings on it, which is stupid on a hollowbody. I've played it with 10's and 11's and 11's are the best by far. They make the most of the hollow body. The woods are pretty good on this guitar, and my only gripe is that the neck is joined to the headstock in a weird way... I can't really explain it in type, but I've never had any problems with it...

I wouldn't use this guitar without a backup, just because of the hollow body, sometimes even high volume will set it into feedback hell. Although at most volume levels, even some concert levels, the feedback is controllable. The guitar doesn't feel flimsy, but it's hollow so you do have to be a little more careful with it; I think this thing could take a beating and live to tell about it. The finish is thick and durable, and for some reason modern Epiphone hardware never rusts, so thats awesome.

Never need it.

Very cool guitar, I really enjoy it. I play it more than my new Gibson Les Paul, or any of my other guitars for that matter.