Epiphone Casino

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.

Good Features. Dont; know what year, Korean made. 22 fret. Laminated top. Two Gibson P 90's, with a tone and volume for each. Three way selector. Neck and fretboard are mahogany.The body is cherry. Cherry finish. Hollowbodied. Trapeze bridge. Non-locking tuners. Very skinny neck, not quite ibanez though. Nothing to complain about here.

I play Classic Rock Blues, and Jazz, and this fits all three. The bridge and neck brige combined positions with some grit make those beatiful screaming p-90 sounds. At lower gains it has more of the 60's pop sound. The neck Pickup with the tone rolsl off works great for jazz. The coils make slightly more hum than a strat, but nothing to worry about, and the two pickups combined together of course cancel hum. Overall the sounds it Dark, Warm, Rich and Full. However it is still possible to get bright, punchy sounds out of it. Personally I love it.

The Guitar is plently playable, although it came with two problems. The action was far to low, although that's not hard to fix. Also the nut was sharp and had a habit of breaking strings. This is also fixable. Still more costly that preferable.

I bought this used, and have had it for three quarters of a year and no problems so far.

haven;t dealt with company

Overall, I love it. Especialy considering it's value. Sure, it's not a LP, but it cost a third as much, and sounds nearly as good. Not good for Metal distortion, but handles everything else wuite well. Great guitar, especialy for the budget minded.

My Epiphone Casino was made in Korea 2004 and I bought it new at Long and McQuade. It has a vintage sunburst finish with chrome Gibson designed Alnico P90's. I had bought this guitar to act as my travel guitar since I didn't feel all that too comfortable bringing my gibson around (if I dented my Gibson I would probably have to die).

This guitar is perfect for the style of music that I play (very Beatlesk stuff). Accoustically it is quite nice due to the fact that it is a hollow body and does't have the wod center block like other archtops have. I've read reviews about people complaining about the Anico P90's and was worried on how awefull they would sound; I had the intention of replacing them immediately with Gibson P90's. However, upon plugging the Casino in I was shocked to discover that they sounded perfect! They totally blew me away! The one thing that I did notice was the buzzing when you are standing idle with it. I havn't had any feedback problems yet but I havn;t had a chance to play this in a gig just yet. I hear a solution to this is to stuff a cloth in the body? Well, if the Beatles could play on stage with it.. Anyhow, fantastic sound especially if you are into Early rock and Jazz.

The one and only real complaint I have about this guitar are the tuners. Put simply, they suck. Those I replaced immediately with vintage Grovers and since then it stays in tune fine. Another thing I noticed was that my vibrato was slightly bent to one side. I found that this caused some buzzing when playing acoustically, but that was easy to fix. The Sunburst finish is absolutely beautifull with no flaws. I was originally going to get the natural finish Casino (like Lennon's) but the difference in the colour of the neck and the body bothered me. All in all I am very glad that I chose the sunburst finish, no complaints there. Some people also complained about the selector switch being terrible, well, so far mine is fine, although a little shaky. So far it hasn;t given me any trouble but I bought a spare Gibson selector switch just in case this one dies on me. So in sum, the tuners suck and should be replaced. Other then that, no major flaws.

This guitar seems to be solid enough. I wouldn't want to drop it or anything but I am pretty carefull with my guitars so I am not all that worried about that. If I were to go on a gig, I would bring it along with my Gibson accoustic. Altough this guitar does play fine accoustically, it is a mere shadow to the Gibson. Electrically however it is superior, so it ballances out.

I have not needed to deal with the customer support yet and hopefully will not have to.

I have 7 other guitars and have been playing for 12 years. In terms of electric guitar, this is my perfect guitar (with a few modifications). This one goes right up there with my Gibson J160E; if either were stolen I would replce them immediatley. Considering that this guitar was relatively cheap, it is definately worth more than it sells for. Overall a fantastic guitar!

I got this guitar used from a guy at a gig. I had been wanting a Casino for a long time as i love p-90's and light weight guitars. It is korean made and the guy said he got it new in 97. It is turquoise with chrome p/u's and the trapeze tail piece. all in all not feature laden, but very nice and awesome to use onstage, although as with all the Epi's me and my brother Ras own, it needed some mods and upgrades to get it where it needs to be. I got this axe for 75 bucks because it got it's head broken at the gig. Cool bargain...now where is that Elmers? hmm..

this Casino, though loaded with my beloved p90's has a drier more woody attack than my epi 56 reissue or LP junior. I use it with my Sovtek head and Sound City 4X12. It is completely hollow unlike a 335 and howled like a banshee at higher volume, so I stuffed it with rubber foam. Problem solved! I like its bright airy clean sound and toothy detailed distortion tones. It has a surprising amount of different tones and is now my favorite guitar for recording demos.

I played this axe several times as we toured with my pals band.I loved it's sound and pimp-o-licious turquoise finish. When my bud accidentally snapped the head and replaced it with a Gibson es135 I snapped it up when he offered it cheap. I reglued the head and stuffed it as well as replacing the nut and crowning the frets-axe has a lot of road wear but no flaws really. If not for a clumsy accident, I'm sure it would never have been sold by this guy-he loved it.

I just got in from 4 months of solid touring so it's definately holding up at gigs-in fact I have used it and my 56Epi goldtop for everything except slidework(doublecut junior Epi handles that), honestly I'd say I used it for 30% of my set. It has become the preferred backup for my LesPaul. I changed the nut and it already had straplocs. the finish is a durable poly, but arm wear and belt buckling are evident. The rosewood fingerboard is fairly soft and looks very worn compared to the frets, but no problem, really.

used gear never dealt with em

My band, 3rd Strike has been working for a while now-we have a ton of gear. I own a Martin DXM, and 4 Epis-a 56 LP, junior,and this Casino, as well as a 58 V reissue that my brother just won't return...dangit!I use a line6 pod at home and the rig mentioned above live. I love its tone and it's looks. I would pay full pop for another if this one was stolen and that is saying a lot as I'm a total cheapskate!

2002 Casino, cherry finish.

Since there are so many reviews already, i just wanted to point out a few things. The sound wasn't great on mine because the pickup magnetism was so strong. It was pulling the low E string out of tune above the 12th fret. (you strat guys know what i mean.) Actually, replacing the strings helped. i don't know why, but the factory strings must be pretty crappy. The biggest change was the pickups. They were replaced with DiMarzio virtual P-90s. The original pickups favored the bass strings. No matter how high i raised the pole pieces and lowered others, this problem was still there. The Dimarzios fixed that. With two rows of pole pieces it's easy to "dial in" the balance. And, they have reduced magnetic string pull. If you want to use the Virtual P-90s, you'll probably need a repairperson because mine had to put in two small wood blocks to support the pickups.

Interestingly, i also have an Epiphone Sorrento with the same pickups, but that guitar doesn't have the problem. Those pickups are balanced and sound great. (built 7 years earlier.)

Everything in the set up was good, escept: the string spacing was too narrow for the fingerboard. We recut some new slots in the bridge and now it's fine. Guitar is almost flawless in its construction, paint, binding, etc. Amazing for a budget guitar.

Great little guitar for practicing, traveling (it's light in a gigbag). I even used it one night on a jazz gig instead of a full depth archtop. Epiphone should just check the string balance on these pickups and cut the bridge slots for a wider spacing. The neck on this guitar is great! Wide and flat like a 1963 Gibson es-335.

I bought the guitar new (serial # says 2004) in vintage-sunburst. I always wanted a Casino because I?m an old Beatles and Merseybeat (early ?60s Brit-ish tunes) fan - these guys played Casinos all over the place. I was considering one of the Elistist series but someone told me that the much cheaper Korean Casinos are almost on par with Japanese quality. That was confirmed by har-mony-central?s user reviews. So I ordered one without having seen and played it before because no store carried a VS Casino in stock. I tested, however, two 2003 Korean Casinos in natural color (like John Lennon?s later version). These ones had some quality problems (e.g. bridge pickups too close to the strings), so that I was a bit worried how my guitar would be.

What can I say? I?m a lucky guy (or Epiphone builds great hollowbody guitars these days). My one is a perfectly built guitar. I can hardly believe that one can buy a quality hollowbody these days for such a low price. My explana-tion: Korea is under intense pressure from the Chinese (think of Ibanez? AF series which is surprisingly good for an even lower price).

My Casino VS has got all the features I expect and want from a classic Ca-sino. It looks like the 1966 Beatles? guitars with the longer headstock. I added a US-made Bigsby (125 euros) myself: I chose a B3 because a B6, which otherwise would look a bit nicer, would produce a very flat string an-gle. A B7 would be historically correct - remember George! - but I hate drilling holes into the guitar?s top. Adding the Bigsby was a minor operation: simply removed the tailpiece and threw the B3 in - even the screws fit on mine.
And I added a DeArmond roller bridge with more weight than the factory T-O-M bridge. It makes the guitar sound even fatter.

Now the pickups: It?s got two P-90s, ?Alnico, designed by Gibson?, as the sticker read. These must be new because they are apparently more powerful than earlier ones: both 11,3 kOhms (measured). And they are perfectly aligned: The bridge p.u. is higher and closer to the strings than the neck p.u. The middle position is not hum-cancelling but you can hardly hear the noise.

It?s the lightest guitar I own: 2900 metric grams with the B3, 2700 with the tailpiece. That is 6,4 resp. 5,9 US pounds.

Friends (among them professional guitarists) and I tested the Casino with some Fender tube amps (Deluxe Reverb RI, Vibrolux RI, an old Super-Champ, a first-series Roland Jazz Chorus etc.) together with two bands and on our own in the living-room. The guitar has got the classic powerful P-90 sound - and it sings!
All strings (10 - 46, Fender 150s) are equally loud on every p.u. The bridge is full and twangy but not harsh or shrill, the neck clear and warm but not muddy. It?s very authentic for oldie music (50s and 60s) and blues. You can use it for modern tunes, too, but a Gretsch (like my new G5125 - look up my review) is more versatile as it sounds a bit crisper.
The sound is a ?10? for a Casino but the restricted use is my reason for giv-ing it only a ?9?.

I have never had a better guitar as far as far as this chapter is concerned. The craftsmanship is outstanding. String action can be set incredibly low without buzz. Painting and fretting are perfect.
Just yesterday I made a tour through some guitar stores and played several guitars, from 500 to 3000 euros. Regular Epiphones are not in the same league as this one. It plays on the same level as Gibsons in the 2.000 euro range.
My impression is that the Casino has a special rank in the Epi product line: it?s a true hollowbody (thus harder to build) and it?s of historic significance (Beatles!). They probably let their best builders work on it.
The only guitar I had (among ca. 30 others) that is equally well built is my Gretsch 5125.
Oh yes, there is one disappointment like one of the latest reviwers said: Epi used one part that is real junk - the pickup switch. That one needs replace-ment soon. It?s flimsy, sometimes not working properly - that?s no honor for this great guitar. That's why it only gets a "9".

I play the Casino for 5 hours on rehearsals without any problem at all - beside the p.u. switch (but I play mostly in the middle position anyway). The Bigsby stays in tune perfectly.
Ranking would be a "10" without the p.u. switch issue.

No idea. I?ll ask the dealer for a new switch (see ?action & fit?). If necessary. I?ll buy one for 10 euros or so and solder it myself.

It?s a wonderful guitar and I?m happy I bought it. I play it almost every day at home (Vox Pathfinder 15) and take it out to the band. The G5125 and the Casino are my main axes now.

Mine is like all the others, however it is finished in gold flake, with a clear coat. The back sides and back of the headstock and neck are also gold flake painted. I assume this one was made in Korea, but I don't know for sure. Really an eye grabber, well applied paint. DOes any one know about these gold flake ones? Were they a limited production, what's the history. Were they made in Korea too? E-mail the info to garyguitar1117@yahoo.com

This is the best part. One of the better bang for the bucks bargains. Upgrade the pickup switch, and pots and maybe pickups.
The pickups on this particular Casino are mighty fine. I have had a Gibson 330 ('62) and also a '66 that I just sold, and these pickups to my ear sound as good.

For the bucks, really well done. Slick gold flake paint job, good looking hardware. Fret work is better than adequate. The worst features are the pickup switch that is loose and sloppy, and the tuners are barely adequate. I bought this on ebay and when I got it, the tone and volume controls were loose, but I had them tightened in 30 minutes. I am going to replace the tuners and switch immediately and later all the pots. Plays fine after I adjusted it a little and put 10's on it instead of the 9's. I also raised the bridge a little, the neck is medium beefy and is almost straight with a slight relief. Plays as good as my Gibson 335.

As I said, fine finish, cheap hardware ( I always enjoy replacing this stuff and seeing the improvement). These true hollowbodies with P-90's will squeal like a pig caught in the gate unless you play quietly, at stage volume, there are few remedies that help. I have already stuffed this one with foam, then covered the foam with black felt with a peel-and-stick backing that I didn't peel. This helped quite a bit. On my '62 Gibson 330, I installed sound posts made from dowel rods and stuffed it too. These remedies help, but you also need to mute with your palm and find the best position and distance in relation to your amp to stand while performing.

Gibson has been helpful to me before, but I am fairly proficient at set ups and minor repairs, and I would rather do them myself.

Been playing since 1955, mostly in a working band. The best feature of this guitar is the tone. It has a very musical, usuable tone. You can get a believeable fat jazz tone, a rude agressive rock tone, and a great blues tone. To my ears, these hollowbodies with P-90's sound better than humbuckers. I have owned MANY guitars from '55 Les Pauls to '57 Strats, PRS's, 335's, ES-175's on and on, blah blah. File this in the "who cares?" file. I wish I had my 1966 ES-330 w/Bigsby back. Let me know if you have info on these gold flake models, thanks.

2004 Epiphone Casino made in korea. I wanted a sunburst but apparantly Epiphone does not make it much anymore, so decided on a cherry. It still looks great, but you must wipe it down occasionally because finger prints really show up on it. It's a semi-hollowbody Gibson 335 look alike. Unlike other semi-hollowbodys, though, it has no center block, which creatves a very unique sound. Has 22 frets but due to the shape of the body the first 16 are most accesable and it gets a little harder drom there. One volume and tone control for each pickup. The pickup selector allows you to switch between the neck pickup, bridge pickup, or a mix of the two. The pickups are very warm sounding P-90s. Neck is thin and well made, and it's easy to quickly move up and down the neck. The stock tuners are vintage non-locking, and in my experience were VERY shoddy. After a few weeks I replaced them with some Sperzel locking tuners which fixed the problems. I'd reccomend changing the stock tuners if you plan to do gigs. Bridge is Tune-O-Matic, which has been fine for me, but I might replace it with a bigsby vibrato one day. No included accessories.

The combined factors of the P-90 pickups and body shape create a very unique mellow sound. It's perfect for 60s and 70s British clean rock (Beatles) and sounds very good overdriven, emulating Classic Rock guitar riffs flawlessly. On clean channel you get a very bright mellow sound. It also sounds superb with my Dunlop Wah pedal and Marshall 30 watt amp, turning out Hendrix like sounds. The only styles of music I cannot see the Casino useful for is metal, grunge, and other styles that use heavy distortion. The Casino can't play that "deep" style of distortion due to the pickups and feedback issues. At high volumes you must stand at a distance from the amp facing away for it, or you WILL have feedback issues. I've heard that stuffing a rag in the body will reduce feedback, but have never tried it.

For what I play (Classic Rock, Jazz, Blues) the Epiphone Casino fits well. I love the sound but will admit the feedback can be a problem if not properly controlled.

I bought my guitar from Guitar Center so they set it up at the shop. The action is set low and the guitar is very easy playable. It's easy to quickly move up and down the neck. I've heard that people have problems with the pickup selector, but have not had one yet and I've used the guitar for 4 months now. I probably will end up changing it anyway. The volume buttons are all fine and work as intended with no problems. The only problem I had with the hardware was the tuners, as I mentioned earlier. I don't know if I recieved a guitar with badly set up tuning heads or if all Casinos are like that, but the tuning problems did become quite bad and it was tedious to have to retune the guitar every 5 minutes.

I wouldn't reccomend gigging with the Casino from it's stock setup. Tuning problems may be an issue. Also, make sure you know of the feedback and how to properly play at high volumes with it. The finish looks great but needs to be taken care of. Wiping it down with a cleaning cloth is advisable. Although the strap bottons were solid, I would reccomend strap locks due to the fact that semi-hollowbodys cannot take a beating like a solidbody and would not risk it falling. With the new tuners I would use it on a gig without a backup with no worries.

Have never had to deal with Epiphone customer service, but the warranty is a year long and gurantees quality. If anything electrical breaks, it will be replaced. I am satisfied.

Overall the Epiphone Casino in my experience has been a great guitar that I can use in many different situations. I bought it hoping to achieve a Beatles and The Who sound and am very pleased. If it were stolen I would replace it immediatly. The only flaw I've experienced is the tuning heads.

Basic standard Casino, '96 or '97 Korean made in black finish. Standard Casino configuration: hollowbody, double cut, 22 frets, 2 P90, standard Gibson style controls (2 volume, 2 tone), laminiated maple back/sides, and supposedly a spruce top (however, I suspect the top is laminated maple). Purchased used...that makes me the third owner.

First thing about this guitar: forget about running this through an effects box as you'll loose much of the character that makes this guitar unique. If you use an amp, use a tube amp. If you use an effects box, be sure it's a good one. Played through a Fender HotRod Delux, this baby kicks ass; played through my Adrenalinn II, this baby still kicks ass (particulary with the class A amp models).

I bought this because I wanted the twang and growl of P90s, controllable feedback, and that spanky hollow body character. Excellent for blues, old-school R&B (think Beatles, Stones, Who), jazz, country -- this guitar is versatile. In comparison to my G&L Legacy, the single coil P90s are slightly warmer yet retain the single coil twang one could never get from humbuckers. And that's why single coils rule the universe.

Well, like I said, this was purchased used. One of the previous owners had some work done on it as the frets were leveled and filed on at the edges of the neck. Epiphone has a bad reputation when it comes to their fretwork, so additional fretwork is often required to make an Epiphone playable. The previous owner had this guitar setup for low action and gauge 9 strings. For the Casino, this is the wrong setup to have: first one needs to use heavier strings (10s or 11s) and the action needs to be raised. This will need a professional setup. And a fret polishing, strictly for cosmetic purposes, would not be all that bad either.

The Casino is a solidly build guitar, just don't pull a Pete Townshend on stage and you'll be fine. Seriously, you'll need stap locks.

My Casino in it's current condition needs some more work before it's gig-worthy: the output jack needs to be replaced, the setup needs to be redone to my specifications, and the stock tuners could use an upgrade to the locking variety (Grovers or Schallers would be a good choice). Once this is done, she's ready to roll.

Backup? Backup? Don't need no steenkin' backup. In a gig situation, I'd trade off with the G&L depending on what we're playing.

Well there's a lifetime warrantee, but this expired two owners ago.

Well, if it was lost, stolen, burned or mutilated, I'd have to get a replacement. I'd probably buy another used one. Casinos generally retail around $600, which is over priced since these generally require additional work. Bottomline: if you want a classic hollowbody sound and you love single coils, this is the bitch for you.

Pretty much as listed in other reviews. It looks like a Epiphone Casino from any era. Thin-line double cutaway hollowbody Gibson ES-330 lookalike. I bought mine from ebay, second hand. The fellow before me did the right things: replaced switches and pick-ups.

This is an affordable alternative to a Gibson hollow body, especially if, like me, you long for a single coil hollow body like the old jaazers and blues men played. There are not enough models being made these days with these features. Even the Epiphone Elite Byrdland sports humbuckers. Forget Gibson. Even their custom shop axes have humbuckers. For rockabilly, swing, and early blues styles one really needs to have that single coil sound. This particular guitar was retro fitted with Rio Grande p90s (Jazzdawgs and Blueshounds). They are HIGH output p90s. Real good sounding but they overdrive my tweed Deluxe too much.

This is an excellent blues-mobile, if we're talking pre-humbucker style B.B. King, T-Bone Walker, et al. I am a Chuck Berry nut and feel his best sound was on his ES 350 pre-Humbucker, and for a time in the late 60s and early 70s when he was liable to show up with a 330 rather than 345 or the other humbucking models. The live stuff on "London Sessions" is a 330 and for me that is THE sound. It has fullness AND bite. Yes the Bealtes played Casinos in '66 and on and off in later years (particularly John). I feel this connection is somewhat over-stated, as the Gretsch/Rickenbacker sound is more classic Beatles, in my opinion, and in the studio they used Les Pauls and Fenders as well.

I put heavy strings on 12's to 52's with an unwound "G" for bending purposes. Had it set up appropriately. No flaws that I can determine. Playable action.

I started out figuring this would be a back-up to my '67 Gretsch Anniversary but lately it has been axe # 1 on gigs. I really enjoy the light weight and thin neck after years of struggling with a big fat guitar with a fat neck. Still new to me but it seems sturdy and reliable.

Not applicable.

A damn good alternative to much more expensive Gibsons (and Epiphones). One would probably want to invest on upgrading the electronics. As far as snob factor, this is something that in the 21 century were all going to have to get over. Just try to buy a quality American made hollow body guitar with P90s on a modest budget. Good luck.

I don't know what year it was made. Not too long ago, anyway. I bought it second-hand with case, absolutely spic and span for 375 euro's, a nice deal. It is a cherry-red one with white bindings and a black head. The transparant red laquer looks more like red wine than cherry IMO. Anyway, it looks gorgeous. Chuck Berry played this version a lot. It has a white-black-white laminated pickguard fitted to it, with a large black and chrome Epiphone trident-E-logo on it. The Casino is an Epiphone original, the Gibson versions came out later, a couple of years after they bought Epiphone.

It is a true hollow-body, which means that it produces quite some sound when played unamplified. This gives the guitar a somewhat other sound than other, comparable semi-hollow-body guitars, like the epiphone Dot, Sheraton and Lucille. Of course this is also largely due to the fact that the Casino has totally different pickups.

The guitar is quite lightweight, but it has some presence, and the balance is good.

The body is made from laminated maple, and is very well built, and nicely finished. The guitar has a trapeze tailpiece.

The two chromed, single-coil Gibson P-90 pickups are wound reversely, so you can turn them both on and then cancel one out with its volume knob while it still cancels the other one's noise. In fact they can act as a gigantic humbucker. The pickups are both height-adjustable per string. They are a bit susceptible to getting scratched by the plectrum.

It has a lovely rosewood fretboard and a mahogany neck. The neck is glued in very, very precise. Aparently, the guitar has been laquered afterwards, in one piece. The action is very easily adjustable, and can be set incredibly low, which i think is lovely. The head has just the standard Epiphone-inlay (done very nicely), the fretboard has parallelogram inlays, which were not placed very accurately, but finished nicely. Every inlay has different dimensions (larger towards the head) which I think is cool.

The Casino features chromed, non-locking tuners, which aren't bad, but could have been better. Fetishists will probably replace them. They look very nice anyway.

Unfortunately, one thing on this guitar absolutely SUCKS: the 3-way pickup selector swith. Within no time the contacts go bad (unexpected silences), it rattles, it feels flimsy, AAARGH! Why didn't they spend $2 more on just a decent switch?! A disgrace to this guitar, which is overall of awesome quality.

The casino is a very versatile guitar, which can produce a vast amount of totally different sounds, from very clean and bright to a deep, warm sound with a lot of Bass. You can use it to play Rock-'n'-Roll (like Chuck Berry did), it is THE typical John Lennon guitar, Reggae, ska, jazz, but it's suitable for almost anything you can think of, except for metal and Slipknot-like music; but hey, wouldn't it look a bit awkward playing Rammstein on a hollow-body?
Further, you have to keep in mind that this guitar has single coil-pickups. No matter how versatile it is, it will never sound like for example a Les Paul. It has a unique sound that some people just may not like.

Coming from a strat, the pickups give high output and a lot of bass, and an overall clear sound. They're not too noisy IMO. As mentioned before, you can cancel the noise a great deal using both elements.

When using overdrive you'll find a whole new spectrum of sounds, from a warm light tube drive to an absolutely awesome, brutal, barking, throaty sound. It's not suitable for metal I suppose (just not the right sound), but to make an incredible amount of ear-shattering noise is not a problem. To get everything out of this guitar, I recommend buying an amp with both tube and transistor drive.

The amp choice is very important, as with all guitars, but especially with this one. I Use a Trace Elliot Super Tramp 100W combo (no longer produced) which features both transistor and tube drive, and a MOSFET (transistor) power stage - and sometimes a somewhat smaller BOSS/Roland transistor amp. The difference between the two sounds, besides volume, is stunning.

Sometimes I use it for playing blues, but I guess a guitar with humbuckers fitted is preferable. The Casino might sound a bit too bright and clean. However, if you want to use some overdrive/distortion, this is definately the one to go for.

I fix the resonance 'problem' at high volume, mentioned in a lot of other reviews, (it's more like a feature you should expect from a true hollow-body IMO) by stuffing a towel into the body.

It's very sensitive to the way you play it, it really responds tremendously to everything you do. An imperfect setup immediately kills this guitar. When you practice a little, you'll be amazed of how many different accents and sounds you can put into your playing. Of couse, this also means that this guitar is very picky. Coming from e.g. a Stratocaster, you'll be disappointed at first - don't blame the guitar; it's your skills and technique.

Dislike: sometimes i find that this guitar produces too much bass - even from the bridge pickup. Maybe an equalizer pedal could be useful sometimes.

I don't know how well this guitar was set-up at the factory, because I bought it second-hand. The guy I bought it from did a terrible job. For this guitar, it's absolutely neccesary to get the setup EXACTLY right - it really makes a tremendous difference. Luckily, everything is very easily adjustable.

The action can be set incredibly low without any problem, and very high as well (e.g. for slide playing). This guitar plays very easily, and it's possible to play incredibly fast on it.

As mentioned before, the pickup selector switch is of absolutely laughable quality, I'm looking for an alternative. I guess my patience will be put to the test when I replace it, because the only way to reach inside the body is via one of the f-holes which aren't that big...

Overall the finish is nice and beautiful. Apart from the switch, and to a lesser extent the tuners, mine is absolutely flawless.

This guitar looks a bit vulnerable at first glance, but now i can say that it will withstand live playing easily. It can take quite some beating and accidents without being damaged at all. Still, it's less violence-proof than most solid-body guitars, of course.

The hardware looks fine overall, maybe I'll replace the tuners one day, the selector switch is a piece of crap, the volume/tone knobs are not bullet-proof, but they're ok.

The finish is downright fabulous and very durable.

The strap buttons are good quality examples of the usual cone-shaped type.

I can depend on this guitar, and I use it without a backup.

N/A

I love it, except for the switch...

I own a Fender strat too, I'd love to have a gibson/epiphone SG or Les Paul.

If it were stolen, I'd definately save up for another Casino.

Sunburst finish. According to the serial # is made in Korea in 1997. Bought second hand, fairly good overall conditions. Price paid (May 2004) Euro 450,00 including hardcase. It has all the stock features.

Since I adore the FabFour I couldn't miss such guitar. Please note: I already have a vintage Casino (1967 - Kalamazoo 230TD cherry) with specs matching tighly the ones owned by certain mssrs Lennon, McCartney & Harrison. Since theirs Casino's sported the sunburst finish I got this last one mainly for a closer visual connection. Once back home with the newer Casino the next thing I did was an A/B comparison between the 2 worlds. Of course regarding the sound I expected the 1967 as being the front-runner: believe or not, the winner is the Korean! Much punchier and a wider range even on the bass side. Those who know the Beatles 1966-1969 repertoire can understand what I mean. Plug this baby into a Vox Conqueror with its built-in fuzz and you are John Lennon playing Revolution or Yer Blues. Or, if like more recent groups, you can get easily an Oasis or Strokes sound. While it's ideal for a Britpop style band this guitar could work pretty well in a jazz/ blues ensemble.

Action: it's where the 1967 Casino claims its revenge. The Korean model is more edged on bindings so its playing is slightly affected when compared to its older relative. Dealing with the fretboard on the ol' brother is like sailing on a sea of oil! When I got the guitar the setup left something to desire especially about the intonation on certain strings (D,B), then after some adjustments on the bridge things got fairly better. Those Kluson style tuners aren't perfect either, they seem sometimes a bit loose so they cannot guarantee a steady tuning for longer times specially on live situations.

Everything is like an average current stock model.

No warranty, no contact! (so far)

I've been playing guitar for 25 years, even though I consider myself mainly a bass player. Gear owned: tons of Rickenbacker, Gretsch, Hofner, Vox, etc. stuff. I can master pretty well sounds a la Beatles. If stolen I'd probaly get another other one. A good instrument to own even for a non-Beatles nuts. My moral of the story: never think that a vintage instrument is 100% better than its current production counterpart!

2004 Epiphone very well made in Korea. I'm sure it's laminate city where the woods are concerned, but then even the expensive Gibson and Elite Epiphones hollow and semi-hollows are laminates. There was not a flaw on it. No space around inlays, the binding is simple but perfect, no extra glue showing through. This one is the beautiful red finish with a bit of grain showing through. Two volume and two tone and a pick-up selector switch. The only improvement over this set-up might be a master volume for those who like to keep a particular blend across all volumes.

It has a wonderful sound. I use it for Chet style finger-picking and favor the neck pick-up. It has single coils but is much less noisey than my strat.

I pulled new out of the box at Guitar Center. I could find no flaws with the factory set-up. The action is right on although they ship it with 9's. When I switched to 10's, I gave the bridge a slight drop in height and the action is still great with no buzz on any fret. The screw and net holding the pick-guard was slightly loose but was easily finger tightened.
The frets are perfect.

This is not the guitar for loud live playing. It is a true hollow body so the top will vibrate and cause feedback. Go for the Sheraton II if you have a loud stage volume. Everything else about the guitar is road worthy. It is a light guitar and may appear delicate as a result fo being hollow.

I've been playing 35 years and own several guitars. The Casion and Sheraton II korean made Epiphones are probably the best deals on the market today.

It's a standard Casino in natural finish

I play in a beatle tribute band. So this is an excelent guitar for the lennon parts during let it be and the white album periods. I use a Fender m-80 amp through a Fender vibratone cab. It isn't a noisy guitar. The output is pretty high. It has a very warm sound even wehen i play on the bridge pick up it's is warm. The only thing that's a pitty is that it's feed backing like hell. When i'm performing i can't turn my guitar to my amp and not play a note, cause then the audience will be deaf.

When i bought this guitar the action was pretty high. So this was "fixed" in the store. Now it's lovely. The rest of it was great

I've been playing on this guitar for 4 years now. the last 2 years i've giged with it. never had any problems.

Never had contact with them.

This is a great guitar. if it would crack or something i would buy a new one immediatly. So what I want to say: if you want a good sounding reliable guitar: BUY AN EPIPHONE CASINO

My Epiphone Casino has the usual features, but it dates from the early 1980s and so was made in Japan.

I like semi-acoustics for their looks and versatility. You can get a rock'n'roll or funky sound just by the way you play them, without changing anything on the amp.

I have played the Casino both through Marshall valve amps and a Laney solid state one. It worked well with both, but feedback and noise was more of a problem with the transistor amp.

It has a great sound unamplified and is lound enough for you to practice and learn new songs without using an amp. It is superior in this regard to other copies of the Gibson semiacoutics.

There were no problems for many years. I just had to have the frets leveled after a couple of years since they had developed holes.

I'm probably being a bit mean giving only a 6. I got many years of trouble-free playing out of the guitar. However, I had to stop playing it recently since the electics were shot (it developed a nasty hum and the neck pick-up would stop working altogether sometimes) and it became almost impossible to tune or to keep in tune (the fiddly little knobs don't help). I bought a second-hand Vantage for ?200, since it was quicker and cheaper than getting the Epiphone repaired.

Didn't try. The guarantee had expired long before the problems arose.

If current production is as good as the earlier models then they are good value. They cost the same today as mine did almost 20 years ago!

As mentioned above, I have now bought a Vantage semi-acoustic. It does not sound so nice and is quieter when not amplified, but otherwise it as good or better than the Epiphone (less noise and feed back, lower action, longer neck, larger tuning nobs).

Just for the record: this Casino is a fully hollow archtop with a small peg inside supporting the bridge. Trapeze bridge, P-90 singlecoil pickups, vintage tuners, parallelogram inlays, etc. Check the website for further details.

The sound is very unique. This sounds very different from a 335 with humbuckers. It's hollower, more note drop off, but with more dynamics and an acoustic quality that a 335 just doesn't have. The pickups are somewhat noisy, being singlecoils, but not terribly bad at sane volumes. I found using my Boss EQ pedal with a slight bump at 1.6k and 3.5k through my Deluxe Reverb really did wonders for tone. The guitar is really sensitive to the player's dynamics. Sounds good acoustically, too.

The fretwork was a little poor, some dead spots and choked notes. I got it fixed. The pickups are flush with the body, you adjust the pole pieces. I'm a little nervous about that infamous pickup selector switch, but things have been fine so far.

Stays in tune well. I've gigged twice with it with no problems. It's got a hard case, which I highly recommend. The guitar is extremeley lightweight and a little neck-heavy, so a proper strap helps. In my opinion, it's a professional instrument.

n/a

A nice guitar. Certainly not one for all applications. I think it favors more clean or slightly overdriven tones, but that's just me. The Beatles influence was obviously strong in my choice. I like the shape. It's red. It's nice.

Brand new Korean made thin hollow-body with two single coil pickups.
3 way pickup selector, individual volume and tone knobs.
Mine has the natural finish.
Tune-o-matic bridge.
I bought the hard shell case as well.

I play a variety of styles on live gigs, and home recordings - rock, blues, country,Irish nusic, and soft-rock.
I really like the clean rhythm guitar tone with both pickups on, but with the neck pickup volume down a little from full.
I've used on two gigs recently - one through an amp (73 Fender Deluxe Reverb), and one through a Mesa Boogie V-Twin direct through the PA.
Through the amp, and using a Rat overdrive pedal for occasional distorted leads, I had to back off the gain and the volume on the Rat or I'd get feedback - not surprising, the guitar is hollow, with no center block like on a Gibson 335.
Through the Mesa V-Twin and a PA, on a stage with dimmers for the lights, the guitar was noisy...on some single coil gtrs. with two pickups, the "both on" setting is quiet due to the pickups being reverse wound, but that does not seem to be the case on the Casino.
When I play the same room with the same set-up next week, I will bring a different guitar.
I do like the sounds the guitar produces, but it certainly is not the right guitar for high gain sounds, and I'll bring an additional guitar at least for the first time I bring the Casino into a room I haven't used it in yet, in case the noise is too great.

Action was set up great - I'm used to .010s on Gibson scale length guitars, and this came with .009s, and the action low, but I may stick with the .009s.
I'm not much of an expert on finish flaws and the other things in this category, but I haven't found any flaws yet.
I've heard that the Korean pickup selectors were noisy or defective, but the one on mine seems to be fine.

This would seem to be a more delicate guitar than say a Tele or a Les Paul, so I wouldn't beat on it too hard.
I'd use it without a backup once I determine which rooms it'll be quiet enough in...

I've been playing for over 35 years.
I own 12 guitars including this one (3 acoustics, a bass, and 8 electrics, including a Les Paul Custom, a Les Paul Special, a Telecaster and a Rickenbacker 12 string.
I pretty much knew what the Casino's good and bad points were before I bought it, so there were no major surprises...I might buy another if it were stolen or lost.
One really great feature - it weighs next to nothing compared to a solid body, so wearing it all night on a gig is a breeze.

2003 Casino, in Cherry red, Korean Made, Lamnate maple all around, mahogany neck, pair of p-90's wired in series... The standard as can be viewed on the manufacturers website.

It's a pretty typical no frills 6 string, but I do like that it has lots of ways to adjust your fit, feel and intonation

Ok, here's where it gets interesting. This guitar sounds absolutely beautiful when played cleanly, or with a light drive. It's sparkly, resonant, and beautiful. Quite frankly, it's become my favorite guitar for using on recordings and live when a clean sound in desired.

The bad part is, high gain. This poor critter doesn't do high gain, period paragraph. It will squeal like a wounded beast, and make you want to claw your face off with the noises that pour out from within. This in mind....

Effects like chorus, tremolo, reverbs, and a genuine tube with a touch of overdrive sound truly wonderful. Just a sweetheart of a sound... It's sold as a "retro rock" guitar, but keep in mind that the first real distored lead sounds didn't come around til around 64.... this guitar does what it was made to do beatufully, hook it up to a distortion pedal, or a fuzz tone, and it will give you nightmares.

For a clean rhythm guitar, there's nothing finer in this price range I do believe.

he he... welll.... Setup was mighty fine, except for the 9's for strings... 9's on a hollow body? come on... 10's work great, so that's what I run with on it now... Epi's are quite a bit better than they were a few years back... I can't say that this one is really flawed, a few minor paint lines imperfect, and the pick guard cut-out could be a touch neater. The pickgurd liked to vibrate on the pickup housing, so I added a piece of cloth in there to stop it... now all is happy.

It's light, so for a gig it's be great as to not fatigue me... and the build looks to be quite nice... the neck strap button makes me wonder, but the light weight makes it easier on the straps.

When I first checked it out, I was thinking.... Oh crap... Kluson style tuners... another needed tuner change. However I'm pleased to report that these are better than earlier epi models... they hold tune well for a change, but I wish the gear ratio were lower.

I don't see why it wouldn't hold up, and it will most certainly accompany me to select shows... I'd have to use something else if I wanted to play distortion sounds though.

They've backed up their warranty on other epi's and answered my quiestions satisfactory... not bad

I have 11 guitars now... and about 4 years into playing like an addict... Great guitar for what it does, love the feel, love to play it, gonna get some similar ones like a sheraton or a riviera.. love the feel, awesome sound clean. Play one, perhaps you'll fall in love.

This is a follow up review. Please see my prior review.

O>K> In my first review of this guitar- I ended up returning the instrument due to several cosmetic and quality issues. This is my second Casino purchased from Musicians Friend. This Casino has no cosmetic issues at all that I could find. The toggle swith works on this one and is nice and tight.No misaligned tuners. The bridge is very quiet (no rattle like the first on), although I did put a drop of clear fingernail polish (and old trick) on all of the moving bridge parts to KEEP it quiet.
The neck is extremely straight however the frets were a mess- It needed a full fret level and dressing right out of the box ($80 with set up and a new set of 10's included). My tech found several high frets and three loose ones that had to be reseated. It now plays perfectly with no buzzing and action as low as desired, although I personally like a medium action (5/64" on the 6th string down to 3/64th" on the first string, measured at the 12th fret).
My tech said there are a lot of beautiful guitars coming out of Korea these days, the weak link being the fret work. I'm giving this guitar a 10 for the finish, and a 7 for action and fit before the fret work.

Should you have to spend $80 for fretwork and a set up on a brand new guitar? Apparently the answer (unfortunately) is yes, and it's not just on the imported guitars. I bought a Gibson ES333 that was a total dog. Had that infamous hump on the neck where it joins the body making it impossible to set up. Right out of the box it needed a refret ($275). Total crap. I've played several Gibsons since then from Pauls to 335's and the majority had neck/fret problems as well as among the worst factory setups I have ever seen. I have talked to many luthiers and techs that have had to do refrets on brand new $6000 "custom shop" Gibsons. At least the Casino ,and also a brand new Tobacco Sunburst (rare color) Sheraton I recently bought only needed a level and dressing. I suppose I could have kept returning them in hopes of getting perfect ones, but I'm convinced such a bird does not exist, and since they were cosmetically perfect with nice straight tight necks, the fretwork was a small price to pay. Now both of these guitars (Casino and Sheraton)are 10's, but I'm rating at 9 because of the extra work and expense of making them playable.

2003 Sunburst model with all the features a thinline archtop should have.

P-90's sound great, Nails that classic Beatles "Revolver" sound, ie:Taxman, He Said She Said, Your Bird Can Sing, etc. Also sounds great for Blues, which I play a great deal of. All in all a great, classic sounding guitar. P-90 single coils were much quieter than I expected, and much fatter sounding than my American made Strat. Nothing thin about the sound of this guitar.

Here's where all of the problems arose with this guitar, and the main reason I am writing this review. About a half dozen black specs which went through the polyurethane finish of the top side of the guitar. An area about the size of a nickel on the bottom side had no Sunburst finish at all, just unfinished wood that had been polyurethaned over. Three position toggle switch was defective right out of the box. Bridge rattled more than any I have ever heard. Made me wonder what was even holding it together.Misaligned tuners. Left side in a straight line, right side top tuner positioned out of line. This guitar was NOT a factory second, but clearly should have been.On the plus side the neck was straight with low action and only very slight buzzing.Adjusting the Truss Rod and raising the bridge a bit eliminated the buzz while still maintaining a pretty low action. No excess filler around the trapezoid inlays as some have mentioned.No overspray around the headstock or F-holes. Really nice fret work. All in all, though, very disappointing.

Sent it back immediately so did not have a chance to put it in a gigging situation.

Don't know about Epiphone, but Musicians Friend emailed me a prepaid Fedex label immediately and are sending another guitar. They could save themselves a lot of return shipping by simply checking out their gear before they sell it. I have never experienced a problem dealing with Musicians Friend.

I have been playing approximatly 35-40 years. I had read all available reviews for this model and was really looking forward to getting it. I'm going to try again , but what a disappointment this was! Incidently, I also ordered an Epiphone Deluxe Hardshell case for this guitar which arrived with a defective lock, so THAT had to be sent back as well- C'mon!!! I just bought a Diary at the 99 Cent store for one of my students and the lock worked perfectly- gimme a break! (And believe me, the case lock was no more complex).

I didn't think Gibson's horrendous quality control (which is another story altogether) had bled over into the Epiphone Division, but apparently it has. Hopefully the one I got was a fluke and the next one will be better- I'll let you know as soon as I recieve it!

This guitar was made in 2001 I think, by the SN, in Korea. 21 frets with a laminated maple top, back and sides; 2 P-90 open coil pickups with a volume and tone control for each and a 3-way selector switch. Neck is mahognay with a rosewood fretboard. The guitar features a glossy poly finish over a curly maple top; the body is fully hollow with 2 f holes. The guitar also features a tune-o-matic bridge, trapeze tailpiece and Kluson-type tuners. Like most guitars in this price range, the deal includes nothing else--no case, strap, cable, no nothin'. It seems that someone who can afford a Gibson ES335 or similar guitar would be able to afford the case as well, but the case is always included with guitars at that level.

I've been a folkie, strumming away on accoustics for years and decided to learn to play jazz. This unit has a great jazz tone with 11-guage strings (shipped with nines) and it was just what I was looking for. It does feed back but controlling it is a simple matter of adjusting your position relative to the amp. Not much tonal variety, but I mostly play it on the neck pickup with the tone control rolled down.

Chris at Robert M. Sides in Williamsport, PA where I got it did a great job of setting it up, but it didn't really need much right out of the box. I had to have it set up again (by Jack at Magdon Music in Olyphant, PA this time--closer to home) when I went with the heavier guage strings. Everything is great now--perfectly balanced pickups, low-but-not-too-low action and again, just the sound I was looking for. Now that I think of it, I should have had the pickup selector switch replaced while it was in the shop for that last set up. I am having the usual problems with that.

This guitar would be great for a live gig, but treat it gently--it IS delicate. I would have no choice but to play without a backup, as it is my only electric. The strap buttons seemed solid, but I replaced them with Strap-Loks anyway because I'm afraid that even one hit would knock the guitar seriously out of whack.

Haven't had to deal with customer service yet but I do know from experience on other purchases that Sides backs up what they sell very well, and I would probably never have to deal with Gibson/Epiphone directly.

I have been playing for about 30 years, but as I said, mostly as a folkie accoustic strummer. I have a 1981 Madiera, a 2000 Epiphone AJ 15E acoustic/electric, and a 1934 Gibson L4. This is my only electric and I chose it for its fat jazz tone, looks, price, and reputation. There is nothing that I especially love or hate about it; it was simply the guitar that had the most of what I was looking for at a price that I could handle.