Epiphone Casino

Korean made, cherry coloured Casino... you know the rest...

I'll admit that I was incredibly disappointed with this guitar. I bought it being a massive fan of The Beatles and Oasis and after reading many glowing reviews of it on here...
I played it through a Marshall G50RCD and however much I tried I just couldn't get an inspiring sound from it... The feedback at just normal volumes became unbearable and I ended up selling it after 6 months... i did give it a fair chance...

I had no gripe with this part... It was very easy to play and looked great

You have to treat her well... she's fragile being a hollowbody and all...

didn't need it..

Just found it a tad uninspiring... I was kinda glad when I sold it..

Okay, anybody who'll say something about it being an Epiphone and not a Gibson clearly knows nothing. The Casino is an original Epiphone signature model, from before their name was just used for Gibson models made in Indonesia. Why else would all 3 guitar-playing Beatles use them? Anyway, the guitar's features are perfect. I didn't want a locking whammy bar or an EVH D-Tuner or any other gimmicky crap. I wanted 2 P-90s and 4 knobs and they all work.

It sounds like rock 'n' roll. Hollowbody guitars, especially with P-90s, have the perfect 50s and 60s rock sound. Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, John Lennon. That's all one really has to say.

I took it out of the box and played for about 8 hours without so much as stringing it.

It's fine. About as good as a thin, hollow-body could be. You can't expect it to take a huge amount of abuse. The screw on neck-join strap button is a little loose. I plan on gigging and playing for many years without a back-up.

I'm not too sure. I bought the guitar from Long & McQuade, who have discontinued sale of the Casino model. I'm guessing I might be on my own.

I've been playing for about 5 years now. I have some older stuff and some newer stuff. I suppose I chose the guitar based on the Beatles' use of it, but I think that anybody who likes the roots of rock or blues would really dig this guitar. On top of that, the turquoise finish looks really nice, and the price is outstanding.

First off, I didn't buy a Gibson, so I won't say anything else about them. I bought an Epiphone, because that's what I wanted, not a Gibson knock-off, or a cheap alternative. I wanted an Epiphone, and that's what I got.

Anyway, the Casino 2 P-90's, 2 volume and 2 tone knobs, 3 way switch. Time-proven setup. The Casino is a completely hollow guitar, which makes for a good little bit of honk, but not so much in the way of sustain. I got the Vintage Sunburst finish. This guitar has everything it needs to sound great.

One thing that surprised me on this guitar was the width of the neck. Being primarily a Strat man myself, I have grown accustom to the weenie-width of the Strat neck, and I was expecting a big difference on the Casino. However, much to my surprise, none could be found. The neck is of a comfortable, thin profile that I instantly found easy to play. After playing Strats with little thin necks for so long, I didn't even notice that the Casino was lacking the charachteristic fatty necks that most guitars of this type have. I was pleased.

This is where it counts. The sound on this thing is excellent. I didn't think that at first, because for the better part of my life, I had played mainly solid-body Fender guitars, so it sounded different. It definitely took some getting used to, but once I got over the fact that it wasn't a thin-coil solid-body, I really liked the sound. It's got a nice fat sound thanks to the P-90's, and it's unbelievably mellow because of the hollow body. Even on the highest tone setting on the bridge pickup, I still couldn't get anything more twangy than a smooth, mellow shimmer. In combination with the neck pickup, it produces that sweet midrange that the Beatles used to put the Casino on the map. The neck pickup by itself can be slightly prone to muddiness, but if you keep your tone knob in check, you can avert unwanted mud.

Another great thing about this guitar is it sounds good, as dirty or clean as you want it. Obviously, a guitar like this was not intended for the fuzz/high-gain world, but even under heavy overdrive situations, it still maintians it's pristine mellow charachteristics.

It's also worth mentioning that one of the biggest influences to buy this guitar was the "Beatles" sound. I'm a huge fan of the Beatles, and this guitar really nails the sound.

I was a bit displeased to see that, on the back near the binding, there was a chip on it, right out of the factory. However, such a minor defect was nothing I was willing to give up my guitar for. the rest of the guitar was in good, finished condition. The laquer was a bit thin around the edges of the F-holes, but such can be expected from a guitar in this price range. The finish on the top, sides, and back is smooth and evenly-applied, and the neck is set into the guitar with no seam whatsoever.

The fretboard left me with mixed feelings. The fake plastic mother-of-pearl looks decent, but was set into a larger hole on the fretboard, leaving small gaps between the inlay and the fretboard, though only closely-scrutinizing eyes would pick up on that. Another thing on the fretboard that I found a tad less than aesthetically-pleasing was the fretboard itself. Down the fretboard there are two large light-red streaks, giving an uneven appearence to the fretboard. However, neither of these aesthetic flaws affected the playability, and as such I am still fairly satisfied.

I've heard that Epiphone is a bit hit-and-miss with their wiring and electronics, but this guitar seems to check out just fine, as did my Epiphone Zephyr Blues Deluxe. The switch seems sound, and the knobs all operate smoothly with no crackle. The pickups both seem sound as well. I don't know about any others, but the Epi's I've owned have all been quite satisfactory.

Never dealt with them. However, Musician's FEIND is usually pretty decent about hooking you up with info to get the company to honor the warranty.

I've been playing for about 10 years, and I've played just about every type of guitar under the sun. I favor Fenders, but I needed something to round out my sound in the studio. Enter the Epiphone. It was an inexpensive, well-made guitar that sounds great and plays very nicely. Epiphone doesn't scrimp on features, extras, or aesthetics, and I respect that a lot.

One word for the haters, the price-tag snobs, and the substitute Gibson buyers: Be proud of what you have. These guitars are not sub-par Gibsons. They're just excellent guitars, straight up. The reason Epi's get such bad raps is because they have to live in the shadow of their Big Brother, Gibson. Obviously, you're going to be pretty hard-pressed to find a guitar that can compete with Gibson's quality, but if you forget for just a second or two that your Casino is an ES 330 spinoff, or that your Les Paul doesn't say Gibson on the headstock, and just take the guitar at face value, you'll see that these guitars are not cheap; they're merely inexpensive. If you're going to buy an Epiphone, be proud of the name, becuase they're quality guitars. Don't compare, don't pretend it's something else, and don't keep yourself from enjoying the guitar because it wasn't $3000. These guitars are tops, and I stand by my axe 100%. I'm proud to be an Epi owner, and I really have no desire to buy the Gibson counterpart. I like my guitar, I like the price, I like the features, and I like the name. So do yourself a favor, forget it's Gibson's sub-company for a moment and treat yourself to a fine guitar. You may know what you're missing, but if you look at an Epiphone, you probably won't care.

stock, poor quality. never stayed in tune. i put on new kluson tuners. pickup switch is crap and cuts out on neck pickup, needs to be replaced. potentiometer shafts are bents, knob's aren't straight, doesn't affect playability. the pickup pole pieces don't align with string, brisge is shaky. binding is poorquality. the rosewood fingerboard is very porous. action is ok but not great. low rating because it has lot's of features but their poor quality, and many need to be replaced.

p-90s sound awesome. this guitar sounds incredible. if i had $2000, i'd buy a 60's ES-330, because epiphones are not good construction.
great for rock and blues.

not good. strings don't line up woth polepieces.action is not so good. tune-o-matic sucks. mine is turquoise finish, looks good, but binding has flaws.

good so far

dunno

i'd pay $250. not that great in features and construction, but killer sound

This is a 2003 Epiphone Casino (natural) made in Korea. Standard features (see musician's friend or other site for details). The only reason i didn't give it a 10 is because it doesn't have humbuckers.

Ive been playing since 1967. I like rock, jazz, and blues. This guitar is well suited for all three styles. It's a hollow body, so don't expect it to sound like an ES 335. Ive owned and ES 330 and a les paul and the casino is my favorite for sound.

Excellent finish, no flaws. Vol and tone knobs lean when turned, as if the shaft is bent. I don't care. I love to play it - very light and well configured. Action is fine.

N/A Haven't had it long enough.

Ive finally found the perfect guitar for me (since i can only have one cause my wife says so). I would replace it if stolen or lost. Made in USA is no longer the gold standard for me.

I purchased my ebony Epiphone Casino about a year ago. It was second hand, but in excellent condition. It was made in 1997. It is all stock with great P90's on it. I was pleased with the quality of workmanship on this guitar. The only thing I don't like about this guitar is the weight. It is too light, and the neck doesn't balance too well. If there was more weight on the headstock, it'd be ideal. I love the trapeze tailpiece, and you can never go wrong with a Tune-O-Matic bridge. This guitar is very 60's, that's what drew me to it. The tuning pegs are crap, and a little loose. Not so they rattle, but not as rigid as i'd like. I can't see a way of tightening them. I didn't like the scratch plate, with it's big "E" on it. It looked like a euro sign. I removed the scratch plate all together to give the guitar a sleeker look. The neck is nice, and the frets are in good shape. The quality of the fret board is as good as my Gibson. It has all the features you need for a guitar like this.

The Casino has a great treble (jangly) sound that gives a sharp distortion. It has the body for an array of rhythm tones that will cover all sorts of music. The pick-ups are good and clean, no buzzing at all. It is good for blues and most lead stuff. I've strung it with 11's, which seem perfect for it. This guitar will always go to the studio with me. With the guitar being so light, it feed backs quickly, but you're always gonna get that with a hollow body.

The set-up was very good when I got the guitar. It needed a few tweaks here and there, and the intonation was a little out, but theses were very easily sorted out. I've not had any problems with the electrics, eveything is smooth and quiet. The "E" on the pick guard had glue comin off it, but that didn't matter to me coz I removed it anyway.

This guitar will age well. When it is freshly strung and nicely polished, it looks sensational, and plays like a beauty. Thats what I love about my "Jezabel"- She always looks great, I can play with her when I like, she doesn't speak unless I make her, and you can put her in a case when you've had enough. I wouldn't gig without a backup, I'm too paranoid. This guitar is very versatile an dependable.

Never had a problem with the guitar.

I've been playin 10 years. I also own a Gibson SG standard and a Fender JM. This guitar is right up there with them, even though it was cheaper. It was a bargain! If it were stolen, I'd definitely replace it with one as close as I could get. I love this guitar. Maybe I should get heavy tuners and solve all my problems.

I bought it in 2002, Natural finish, trapize bridge, everything else is stock parts

I have only tried to use it a couple of times because it keeps flying out of tune every couple of seconds, every time you touch lightly on the body it gives a huge dip in the sound (wammy effect) and also I have not been able to get rid of the feedback playing through mine (marshall 65 watt aniversery series) or any amps i have tried.

Finish is amazing,

Can't play live, won't stay in tune also feedback

n/a

Unless someone can help me with the problems i am having I would not recomend this guitar unless it is to put on display if you are a Lennon fan!

2002 Epiphone Casino, double cutaway cherry finish, hollowbody with two p-90's. Good basic features for simple but elegant guitar. Looks much better without the pickguard.

This sound of this guitar is brighter than my Epiphone Les Paul but warmer than my brothers Fender Telecaster. It is a perfect in between. The clean sound is bright but warm and beautiful and the distorted sound is warm but much clearer than most humbucker guitars. The overall tone is powerful but distiguished like no other guitar I've ever played. Although it is most importantly perfect for the original music I make, I will try and give you a idea of what I think it's good for. I play all kinds of rock n' roll but mainly brit-rock (Oasis, The Verve, Travis) and throwback rock (Superdrag, The Strokes, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club). this guitar is very good for all of those bands considering that Noel Gallagher of Oasis has played casinos, John Davis of Superdrag has plays a casino, and Nick Valensi from The Strokes plays a casino.

The on this guitar is very good. It is alot easier to play bar chords on this guitar than any other guitar I've ever played. The cherry finish is flawless and the overall look of the guitar is beautiful. Unfortunatly the pickup selector is already going crap and the bridge pickup cover wasn't properly soldered on one side and buzzed horribly. These problems are easily fixed and well worth it for the sound and playibility.

It is a hollow body and is therefore quite literally less solid than a Les Paul or Tele but other than the faulty hardware the guitar seems very reliable and I would gig without a backup (if I didn't have the Les Paul). The strap buttons look solid even though I will get strap locks eventually. With a little work, very dependable.

Never dealt with them.

This a very rock n' roll guitar. It's very unique and you should definately play before you buy, but if you play any kind of more traditional rock music it's an amazing value. With a little bit of work it can easily become a professional quality guitar. Compared to my Les Paul and my brothers Tele it's definitely my favorite. One the coolest guitars I've ever played.

I had an epiphone casino that i got for a xmas present, and it was the worst guitar i've ever had, the strings were too close together, couldnt get any distortion out of it, and the selector switch broke after a few weeks. i traded it in for a epiphone dot and thats sooo much better.

sound = s**t, sounds like a bad strat copy when it gets distorted. oh and the hum from those pickups arrggh.

the strings are too close together, if u have normal sized fingers playing chords other than fiths is virtually impossible without touching strings u dont want to.

flimsy, very flimsy, the pickup selector switch (mainly the little plastic tip) will break quick. dont do a gig without having another guitar ready to switch too.

epiphone are very eager to help and they are quick to send replacement parts out for a fee.

I've been playing 8 years now and i have an ibanez rg-7620 in black which is probably the best guitar i have ever played, i have a POD 2 into a marshall vs102r. i really think that this is a bad guitar, if u want a beginners guitar get a squire telecaster, its cheaper, will last longer and is easier to play.

1997 'Aged Natural casino' (more of an Orangy color, not the white they are making now,the best looking i have seen of all the casinos). 22 frets, set up in USa (and well too!). Case came with it,..

Perfect. almost. the 'lead' pickup is the best ive heard. i love playing through it.. the 'rhythm', however can get muddy with insufficient Tone, so be careful with that. Of all the hollowbodies ive played, This ones the best; Riviera- great to play, but tone is warbly and mixed up (i.e. the bass is TOO bassy and the highs are too high, the mids not really there), es-335 being muddy (same with other gibson HBs).
Like i said, the 'lead' can give this amazing treble sound ive only heard with others using this guitar (ie the BEATLES and other users of this guitar. but dont get it just because the beatles did.. it has a life of its own).
The rhythm can get muddy, but maybe its just my amp, having a small practice 10w. amp and wanting something near 100w (plus or minus a few of course) to move up on (ANY SUGGESTIONS? PLLLEAAASEEE because i dont know where to start in looking for amps.... )

Also. Feedback: ive never played more than ten watts for a long period of time, so this hasnt been a problem for me. i played through some big vox amp once and turned it up pretty far (not knowing its full potential..me the dummy). i played some chord and the sound blew me away. not so much the beauty of it, just the quantity. Thats how far ive gotten with loudness, no feeback.
AND if you do want to get some, heres a neat little trick ive found to get some *controled* feedback.

1. Put on the 'distortion' or 'overdrive' on the amp. if you need an effects pedal, im not sure if itll work. try it anyway.
2. play any open string hard (ive found an open A works best). pluck it as hard as you can without breaking it
3. behind the bridge but in front of the tailpiece theres 4 inches of string. press on the corresponding string (with me its an A, behind the bridge) until the string vibrates (giving a 'vibrato' sound).

4. do this press on it REALLY fast, with increasing rhythm.
Out of the amp will start to come this almost haunting A note..turning into some REALLY COOL feedback.

you can stop here, learn it better to where you can do it very quickly and any time you have an open A whole note (maybe half if you are really good at it) you can do this to get a cool effect.

however, heres something i like to do even more:

Find an Ab/G# note an octave higher (like first fret G string) while doing the original vibrato motion behind the A string.

What you should get (with some practice) is this..let me try to describe.. flangy, rotating mess that sounds AMAZING when playing some late 60s/early 70s rock (IE JIMI HENDRIX). if you are copying his rendition of 'the star spangled banner', look for an A note and do this to add the the imagery.

Dont think it sounds horrible, used right, it can be the coolest thing ever..

Thats my bit for feedback, thanks.


The other stuff i like to play is jazz. i really like playing django reinhardt and 'gypsy jazz', but also charles mingus and such. oh! and STAN GETZ>>>>>>>AMAZING!!

however, you have to do some serious twitching to get some great jazz tones. for django, leave it at treble and get some vintage tones that make you think of record players.
other jazz, however, can be hard to play along to with this guitar.
maybe i havent found the 'sweet spot' yet, or maybe its my amp (i hope so..) but theres a very fine line between mellow and muddy with this thing.
i really like the stock p90s though, so i wont be changing them. the jazz situation, well its really not horrible. you just have to do some adjusting on the amp as well as your guitar (you may put it on the 'rhythm' channel on your guitar, but youll have to raise the treble on the amp, stuff like that, to balance each other out).

someone else said 'it has the ability to really bite'. they put it best. youll be on a clean channel when you play some double stops and get some distortion. but not bad distortion. just a little frill...a bite really. a growl. its amazing. this guitar's a person

Everything here, great. its used too.

dunno..ive had it for a quarter year.

however, it seems to be quite sturdy. sure its not nearly as strong as a tele or something, but compared to other hollowbodies this is a tank. And the finish (not sure..polyurethane?) alows you to rub it against something and not leave a mark (i doubt youd want to test it with this beauty though..)

i would use it on a gig without a backup. for sure. its never gone down on me.

its used.

everyone says this is just a hyped 'beginners guitar'.
id barely consider myself a beginner, and this is the nicest guitar ive owned. im not a fender fan, i used to like gibsons (until i played a few!) so this seems to be MY GUITAR!! perfect! its my beauty. on past guitars, id have it for three months and id already be trying to surf on it.

if i lost it or if it was stolen (God forbid!) id buy another one. once i found 'the next one' (second only to 'the one').

i love everything about it. its almost as if its a person you love. its not perfect, but you keep finding out more about it you love until its your 'mate'.

Purchased in 2001, Made in Korea, Set up in the U.S.A. says the sticker on the back. Laminated spruce top, laminated maple body. 3 way pickup selector switch - neck, bridge, neck + bridge. Chrome Alnico P90s. Mahogany neck. Rosewood fretboard. Ebony finish. This is an archtop electric guitar. Trapeze tailpiece, not the tremolo. Stock tuners. Independent volume and tone dials (4 dials total) for both pickups. One strap peg on the back where the neck meets the body. It's a good proper electric guitar with great looks and a strong pro usage history. I'm giving it a 10 since I'm not lacking for a feature within my beginner's electric guitar expectations.

Ideal for Beatles and Oasis tunes of course! I use it mainly for their British rock n' roll sound, which it does perfectly (kind of obvious since they were the ones who made this guitar popular.) I run it through a POD 2.0 to headphones and use it to practice. It turns out that single coil pickups are notorious/loved/hated for being sensitive to interference and generate a lot of hum/noise - I didn't pick up on this until I used it for a sampling experiment and couldn't understand where the noise was coming from. Apparently that's just how it is; but you do get a very pleasing characteristic sound on the up side. The workaround is to set the selector switch to 1+2 and crank up both volume dials, which mostly nullfies the pickup noise. Or you can twist and gyrate until you find a good position with minimum noise.

The action is comfortable and very easy to play with the factory set-up. The Casino's tuning stability/consistency up the fretboard seems a little off at very high frets (past #18). In terms of cosmetics it's a beautiful instrument with no flaws, irregularities, etc. However, the construction quality has some rough points - wobbly cheap feeling selector switch, input jack gets loose (I keep tightening it by hand from time to time), and the Epiphone 'E' on the pickguard is threatening to fall off. Despite these flaws the actual playability of the instrument is unaffected.

I don't do any live playing and I take very good care of it. It does seem somewhat delicate compared to a solid body guitar.

I haven't needed to contact customer support.

I've been playing off and on for about three years. I have an acoustic guitar, a Tech 21 Trademark 10 amp, and a POD 2.0, that's it for guitar related equipment. I would definitely buy it again if it were stolen or lost. It's a great beginner's electric guitar as it can also be played like an acoustic, being a hollowbody, and just plain comfortable to play. I love the look, sound, and feel. The small construction glitches are my only real gripes. If you're looking for a serious beginner's electric guitar, this is definitely worth it.

cherry color. i wish i would have gotten the sunburst one. but oh well, color doesnt matter that much, and cherry is also very nice and flashy. also, i took off the pick guard...it adds to the looks of the guitar. i really dont like the pick guard and it sometimes got in the way of my picking technique, but rarely. i mainly took it off because of asthetic reasons. it looks way cooler i think.

this guitar features a complete hollowbody with two P-90's single coil pickup ups. i really like the full hollow body aspect of this guitar because it allows me to practice without having to plug it in all the time. also, it give me a good excuse to not have to buy an acoustic guitar. it has two volume and tone controls for each pick up. blah, blah, blah. you know the rest.

i play all sorts of music but primarily rock. im not one of those distortion junkies though (although i do own quite a few distortion and overdrive pedals), and appreciate the sound of a clean guitar. my ideal sound that is always running through my head is Radiohead "Let Down" the intro. if you dont know what i am talking about, download online and listen and you will know what i am talking about. absolute pure clean bliss.

i bought this guitar innitially because i was ridiculously impressed with the clean tone of this guitar. i own a fender twin reverb and blues deville and the combo of the two is just beautiful. the reverb and vibrato of the amp combined with the CAsino makes a unique chimey and even twangy sound. i love it. further more, for the price of the guitar you are getting an incredible deal. not many $500 dollar guitars sound the way this one does.

to add to my love of this guitar...it has the ability to really bite. what i mean is that when you kick the distortion pedal this guitar can really sing. its got so much more snarl than you'd think a hollowbody single coil has. now you wont get humbucker fatness with this guitar or even come close to that but i liken it to this---if a les paul is a sledge hammer then the Casino is an arrow. this guitar handles distortions in real well and cuts through the messy noise of a band. i love it.

oh one more thing here's my rig...fender twin reverb--Boss DD-3 (hope to upgrade soon, but a cool pedal)- Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pi - Marshall Blues Breaker (the old black box one, awesome compressed tone)- Boss BD-2. i really enjoy the 3 dirty tones of the pedals. i find that i like the clean tone of this guitar and amp combo so much that i really do not need any effects that mess with the clean tone. ive own various flangers and phasers and find that they are a bit too much for me. this guitar is perfect clean, and very aggressive dirty. awesome guitar.

when the guitar is in conjuction with an overdrive or distortion it does tend to feedback like others have said, i found that you can control this by rolling back the volume of the guitar. it even adds the tone of your guitar. maybe with another guitar you could do that, but with this guitar you are best off rolling back the volume. it does take away some of the cool snarling biting but you can get that cool controlled overdrive/distortion sound that everyone seeks.

i love the p-90's there is no reason to mess with them. korean guitars are very underated. one small thing though. my low E string is always a little flat. but it can be easily fixed.

dont go slamming this guitar around. it is a full hollowbody and cant take as much punishment as solid body. but when you buy this guitar you get a great hardshell case for it. so that helps with taking care of the guitar.

never had to deal with them...hopefully it stays that way. ha

FANTASTIC VALUE. ive been playing for 3 years but i take guitar very seriously. i am hugely influenced by Radiohead, Pete Yorn, Beatles, and lots of British music. this was my first electric guitar and i love it. it wont do it all for you but if you like clean tones, this guitar will stand up to most. buy it!!!!

My casino was made in 1999 in Korea. I recently bought it used from someone who special ordered it for a Beatles tribute band. By the time the guitar arrived, the band was no more! The guitar was only played around the house and that very sparingly! The guitar is a standard Korean made casino and is vintage sunburst. It is in perfect condition. It came with an Epiphone case which is also in perfect condition.

I've been playing for about a year. I only play Beatles songs so this was the guitar for me! I bought a Vox Pathfinder amp and I must say that the sound is very Beatlesque!

I've read some critical reviews of the Korean made casinos but I must say that the quality of this one is exceptional. Fit and finish is excellent. Action is low and fast. I did change the strings to a lighter guage. The pickguard seems a little high. No buzzing but I can see why many people remove the pickguard.

I only intend to play for my own enjoyment at home but the guitar, despite its light weight, appears to be very durable. I wouldn't hesitate to use it in concert.

Alas, since I bought this guitar used, there is no warranty. No experience dealing with Epiphone.

I started playing last October. I don't have any other hobbies and have always wanted to play the guitar, so I just decided to take the plunge and do it. My first guitar was an Ibanez GAX 70 with Peavey Rage amp. After buying my Casino, I traded my Ibanez for a Taylor Big Baby. I have no complaints about my Casino. It is perfect for what I wanted. The sound is excellent and the guitar is of high quality. If lost or stolen, I would definitely replace it, probably with the new Epiphone Elite version. My next purchase hopefully will be an Epiphone EJ160E John Lennon. The Epiphone Casino is an excellent value.

2001 model, Made in Korea, set up in USA, 22 frets, archtop hollowbody, cherry finish, body and neck binding, rosewood fingerboard, crap Korean stock P-90 pickups. Beautiful cherry finish, just adorable. Light as a feather and easy to play.

Sounds fantastic. Love the feel and playability. Use it with a ToneBlaster Ibanez stereo amp and Digitech RP 200 effects pedal. This axe can rock! Watch for feedback at high volumes, but overall I love the sound.

Nice set up. Very easy to play. No complaints here.

Neck pickup went out about a week after I got it, but it was used, so no big deal, it cost me 35 bucks for a resolder job at the pots. Seems very durable even though kind of light. I'd use it without a backup.

N/A bought it used from a pawn shop, great deal for a like new axe, these go for $600 at Guitar Center or Musician's Friend, so I scored.

Love this axe, it's my number one! Everyone who plays it loves it too.

This is an update to a previous review. I upgraded the guitar by replacing the pickups with a Rio Grande Bluesdawg in the bridge and Jazzdawg in the neck. Relaced the volume and tone pots with stock gibson and wiring as well. New Grover tuners and bone nut. Switchcraft pickup switch.

Incredible. Much better tone and no more feedback, even at high volume and gain.

Better electronics and pickups so I expect reliability.

Looks and sounds great.

Don't know too much about this. I'm not much of techie.

I had it tested by a physics teacher who said electrics won't have good sound. The waves came out perfect with or without distortion. I've managed to squeeze just about every sound I need out of it. I play through a Fender RocPro with a subpar Carvin 4X12 with only 2 12s. I played it through a Marshall at some shows and it sounded great. The treble pickup is way too out there. I tend to stay on the meatier toned pickups.

Great action. Great finish. A very pretty guitar. It's good to have the action adjusted frequently. I also had to get the pots and switches swapped which seems to be the biggest complaint.

Plays great live once I get it in tune and I have new strings. I had to get the electronics swapped (pots, switch). Finish lasts. Strap buttons are solid, but get a good strap. I can always depend on it. Sometimes, out of nowhere it will go out of tune though. I've never played with a backup.

Never used it.

I've been playing for about eight years and owned a Peavey Rapter before this. HUGE improvement, obviously. I have a Fender SJ 65S acoustic, a Hohner HW440G, and an Oscar Schmidtt which is broken, but I still love it. I'd probably buy something else if lost or stolen, just 'cause I like MY Casino, not others. I love its playability. It is very easy, low action, nice feel, sounds great on anything. I even play heavy metal with it now and again. I tried out Gibson Blueshawks and Les Pauls, like this one a lot more. It's much lighter.

Just the usual, a stock model with the trapeze tailpiece, cherry red.

2 p-90's, toggle selector (might need changing) Tuning pegs aren't very good, but once it's in tune, it seems to stay that way.

This is why I'm bothering to write. I traded in a Burns electric 12 string in at electro music, Doncaster and was offered a go on a few Casinos, which is what I was after. Identical guitars, in terms of, well everything, sound wildly different.

I wanted a Casino for a spare, as much as anything (I generally play a 335). Going on the first couple that were offered, I thought, yeah, Korean guitars, they're alright, at best. They were all finished well, stayed in tune and were without crackles or bent necks, but they did sound a bit wimpy. Until I decided to help myself to one that was hanging up, out of the way, slightly. And My God, there was the sound, instantly. 100% creamier, either (both) pick-ups, clean/dirty, totally gorgeous. I bought it within minutes.

The nut is crap, without any doubt, but a set of needle files can sort that out pretty quickly. The action was okay from the shop, but it's not so hard to sort out. It's a basic guitar, simple as in uncomplicated.

The finish was pretty good, a couple of flaws in the paintwork, but only tiny, I'm not bothered by that. I may strip it anyway.

Being totally hollow, you wouldn't want to sling it around, because it WILL break. Be nice to it, make sure you have a case. Strap buttons adequate. Buy Grolsch beer bottles and take the red rubber off of the cap and stick them over your strap, much cheaper than strap locks, and they've never let me down (10 years on, same rubber bits). When playing gigs, you never know what's going to happen. I don't expect It'd pack up on me, but you need a spare guitar at gigs for all sorts of reasons.

No need. Touch wood.

I've been playing for 10 years, in original and covers bands (occasionally). The sort of stuff is tuneful, melodic guitar pop (Beatles, Stone Roses, CSN&Y,etc). This is a beautiful looking and sounding instrument, but I would say to anyone, buying any guitar, try a few out, the quality varies enormously, and it's easy to buy something less the perfect, when you don't have to. What I'm saying is -DON'T BUY MAIL ORDER, you don't know what you're getting. Guitars vary, one may be a lot better than the next, for no apparent reason. Use your ears.

I've had the Korean Casino for about 6-8 months. Natural finish with stock tail piece. I got mine with the stock Epi case which is functional but not lavish. Since owning the guitar I've changed out the pick-ups from stock Korean whatever to Gibson P-90s as well as the potts and selector switch.

Off the rack the sound was good; however, after a couple months I got fed up with microphonic feedback. When the pick-up switch broke I had the pick-ups changed out as well. WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!! Still prone to feed back at high volumes but sweet and controlable. The sound is brighter. Tends to run in the mid-range but a fabulous blues sound. Obvious choice for retro sixties..Beatles...etc. On the bridge pick-up through a Vox AC-15 TBX you get Day Tripper. Closest I've ever heard.

Action is good. I've had a set up as the factory set up was ok but not great. Needed some tweaking to the higher frets. The tuning stability is still not all that great. I'm going to get a new nut and look at replacing the tuners which are cheap.

I play out alot and have done so part-time for 20 plus years. Largely a Fender devotee I play out with strats, a tele, through Vox and Fender amps. This guitar appears more fragile than what I'm used to. The volume/tone pots failed in the first month as did the selector switch. New pots and a Switchcraft replacement switch are welcome replacements. If Epiphone would put out just a few dollars more for quality electronics...this would be an unbelievable bargin.

I love this guitar for the looks and vibe alone. The sound in the stock model is good...but I strongly recommend getting Duncans, Dimarzio, or stock Gibson replacements. This makes a huge difference. The basic electronics did not hold up any time at all...get 'em replaced. As noted I plan on changing out the tuners and the nut. So...in effect I bought a new guitar and replaced all the critical parts except the neck and frets. But its still a bargain when compared to the Lennon Model at $2000 plus. This guitar rocks..its comfortable. Fits alot of playing styles except Thrash/Metal.

It's a thin hollowbody, made in Korea, probably in 1997. 22 frets and laminated top. Two volumes, two tones and a three-way switch, as usual. It Sports two dog-ear P90 single coils, arranged so that when both pickups are on (and at the same volume), noise cancellation occurs. The pickup are "Epiphone" branded, which probably means that they are also made in Korea. My model is natural finish, maple top, back and sides (strangely enough, Epiphone site states that the top is "laminated spruce", which is obviously incorrect). The neck is glued in, all mahogany (many, many pieces of mahogany indeed!) and with a fine rosewood fingerboard; it joins the body at the 17th fret. My 1997 model has a 1.62" nut, while the more recent models have a 1.68". Belive me, this makes a lot of differece as far as playability and comfort are concerned. I suggest that you try both necks, if you can, before buying. Bridge is a tune-o-matic clone, tailpiece is a standard, ES330-style trapeze. Tuners are brand-X, Kluson-like shape and behavior. All hardware finish is chrome (including P90 covers, of course!). The guitar comes with a not-so-hard case, which anyway serves its purpose.

This guitar sounds great. P90s are absolutely fantastic. I play jazz/blues/rock with a Line6 POD, mainly clean or sligthly crunch and I'm completely satisfied of the huge variety of sounds I can get.
Please, remember that this is a true (though slim) hollowbody, and hence it is very prone to feedback, even at medum volumes with high overdrive. So I think this is better suited for those styles which don't require distortion and/or very high levels. So it's simply perfect for home playing/recording, club performances, jazz, standard blues, rock 'n roll or pop (do you remeber the Beatles?) and basically everything except hard rock/heavy metal.
P90s are single coil, and so they are noisy. But they just work that way. Remember anyhow that in the 1+2 position you get a good (not perfect) noise cancellation.
And now a little story. Six month ago, I replaced the stock P90 with a couple of Kent Armstrong WPU90. I was seeking a cleaner, more "sophisticated and professional" sound. Big mistake. The stock pickups are much better than their renowed (and expensive) brothers: same power but much more harmonics and a clearer sound. So I restored the originals and get rid of the WPU90s.

The finish is good: no noticeable flaws.
The setup was completely unsatisfactory. The bridge was quite buzzy: the posts and the saddles were rather loose, and so I replaced it with a Gotoh copy. The neck pickup was misaligned with the strings: during pickup replacement experience I filled the screwholes and drilled a couple of new ones, and now it's perfect. The switch was noisy and rattling, so I replaced it with a better one. Unfortunately, these problems are quite normal on most industrial production instruments (even Gibson or Fender guitars sometimes need serious work). Anyhow, I could resolve everything by myself, being a medium skill DIYer.
Most important: since I love low action, I had a professional fretwork done by a luther, wich is also a friend of mine. In that occasion, I had the nut replaced with a graphite one, and that improved a lot the tuning stability (which was rather poor).
After those massive operations, the guitar is absolutely perfect. Very low action with no buzzes or dead notes. A dream to play.
I think that a professional setup, maybe with a good fretwork, can really improve the playability of any guitar. And certainly, it was a blessing for this one!

I play mainly at home, and so I have no direct experience of live behavior. But I think that paying a reasonable attention, this guitar can survive to the owner.

I dont belive that much in warranties given by italian vendors on american-distributed-korean-made instruments. Anyhow, italian law dictates one-year warranty. One year has passed. So far, so good.

I've been strumming for 25 years, but I became serious about five years ago. I owned an awful lot of guitars in my carreer, mostly brand-X and cheap instruments, but also some valuable piece of hardware, like a Gibson SG standard ad a Ibanez JSM100, which still own and love.
The Casino is by far the best guitar I owned, and also one of the best I could play and listen in the last ten years. When I tried it for the first time, two years ago, I didn'k known anything about hollowbodies. It was an enlightment! In that moment I realized that I was born to play a thinline, hollowbody, double cutaway guitar. Everything in the Casino is perfect for me: the weight (it's very ligth), the size, the neck (but I think that the 1.68" profile could be even more confortable), the possibility of practicing unplugged (being hollowbody, it still produces a decent volume) and, of course, the sound. I think I will never give it away and if stolen or lost, I will immediately buy another one. Only, I would try a few samples before buying.
Actually, my only complaint is in the relative "cheapness" of this guitar: I wish there exists a better model, with better quality hardware and woods, but not as expensive as the John Lennon limited edition, which I found to have the same flaws of the lesser model. Some time ago, I tried also a 1967 Gibson ES-330, which is the model that inspired the original '60-Casino. "The real thing" was quite a delusion: the sound compared very similar and the instrument wasn't as comfortable as my Epi (moveover, I don't like sunburst and I don't like spending tons of bucks for that silly vintage fashon).
In the end, I strongly suggest to everyone who never tried a hollowbody to give a chance to this little beauty. I'm sure it will impress you, as it did with me.

2001 model made in korea. Cherry red finish hollow body. Two P90 pickups, each with a separate tone control. Rosewood fretboard, 22 frets. Shaller type tuners.

I bought this guitar for jazz as well as rock n roll. I play it through a mesa/boogie subway rocket reverb and a route 66 pedal by visual sound. The guitar sounds great. Nice highs and lows. Each pickup configuration has a nice usable sound and added flexability with the 2 tone controls. The only problem I have with the guitar is that it feeds back with higher gain or volume. I had some problems with the pickup selector switch but a little mechanical switch cleaner solved that problem.

Setup was good from the factory but I wanted 11 gauge strings so it had to be set up again. Nice finish and apparently well made. Very light and somewhat fragile. No detectible flaws.

The guitar is a hollowbody so you don't want to drop it. If you take care of it, it should withstand the test of time. The pickup selector switch seems weak and will probably need to be replaced in time. The guitar has a lifetime warranty so no worries. I would use a backup primarily to have a different sound available but I think the casino would prove reliable.

E-mailed once a received an immediate and helpful response.

Great sound for a great price. I love this guitar for what I wanted it for. I have been playing for 5 years and prefer my fender strat for blues but love this guitar for early rock and roll and jazz.

This Casino was made in Korea, probably 2001. 22 frets, hollow-body, cherry red finish with rosewood fingerboard. 2 P-90 dog ear pickups with a 3-way pickup switch. One volume and one tone control for each pickup. Trapeze tailpiece.

I love the sound this guitar can make! By adjusting the volume and tone on the two pickups, you can play anything from a sweet high to a growling low. I play this through a Fender Stage 100, which also adds a lot of flexibility with the sound, especially with a little reverb and drive. But watch the volume on the amp because this hollow body will give you feedback if not careful! The pickups are a little noisy, but I expected some of that with the P-90's. These are not humbuckers!

Being hollow body, you can play this without plugging it in, which is great when the wife is asleep and I still want to practice or just play around.

Action is fantastic, no additional setup was required, although Guitar Center does an excellent job of checking it out before you leave the store. Everthing that I could see about this guitar was flawless. It's a beautiful piece. Probably the only flaw I saw was the Epiphone "E" glued onto the pick guard. It fell off within a few hours of playing. This guitar feels great, is smooth and, of course, light weight. Be careful - with all the weight in the neck, it's easy for this strapped on guitar to take a drop if you let go.

There is one major flaw - the pickup selector switch. Sometimes, the neck pickup will cut out. Wiggling the switch, you get a lot of static which tells me it probably should be replaced. I've heard this is a common problem with Epiphone, but should be covered under the lifetime warranty.

I see no reason why this guitar can't withstand live playing or would fail to last, with reason. Being hollow body, it's more delicate than a solid body, yet it's built well and should hold up as long as you care for it as you would an acoustic. I can only see using a backup if you wanted another guitar with a slightly different sound or if the feedback became too much.

As I said, I bought it from Guitar Center, who did an excellent job of letting me try it out, ask questions and checked it out before I left the store. I do need to have the pickup selector checked out or replaced and, with the Epiphone warranty, I'll need to return it to an authorized repair shop. Fortunately, there's one in town. Haven't dealt with them. For some, this could be the sticky point, since not all shops would be authorized by Epiphone.

Been playing off and on for around 20 years. Primarily, my focus has been bass, but I started on guitar years ago. I've played a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe and this is as good quality as that instrument. I wanted something not as heavy as the LP, and this was it. I also wanted something that would give me a variety of sounds, from blues to rock. This guitar fit the bill. I'd buy one again if I lost this one. On the other hand, I've been looking at the Fender Strat just to give some flexibility in sound.

The hum and the pickup selector are the only two annoyances. I feel the hum is probably more due to where I play it in the house, picking up a lot of electrical disturbance from appliances and such. The selector is a manufacturing defect, which hopefully can be fixed.

OK, my guitar is in fact a VT Casino, made in Korea. The "VT" stands for "Vibratone", which is a very accurate reproduction of the Bigsby design, right down to the alloy used in its construction. Besides that feature, my guitar sports a silver sparkle finish, flawlessly executed. Chrome hardware, including the "dog ear" P90's, Kluson-style vintage tuners, 22 medium frets (well dressed and crowned), bound rosewood fingerboard. The neck acess is quite restricted (neck joint at 19th fret), but with superb playability. Hollowbody design with laminated materials (maple on top), 2T-2V control configuration. Comes with an Epi hardcase - nothing too flashy, but nice enough.

Since I play a wil variety of styles, I prefer to find the right tools (guitars, ahem) for each one of them instead of trying to find a jack-of-all-trades. For retro-pop, janglin'rhythm guitar work - or even for Neil Young-inspired feedback rides (the bigsby helps a lot), this guitar is perfect. The P90s installed have the level of hum you'd expect from most single-coil pickups that don't have tone-sucking devices to make them quiet - and I like it that way. The brodge position yields a bite that'll cut in even in dense mixes, adding clarity to rhythm and lead work. The neck pickup provides a warm and round sound - this guitar can even double as a jazz axe (even though I doubt ANY jazz player would dare to mix a silver sparkle guitar with tweed jackets and whatnot...). Combined, both pickups will serve you with a robust tone that can be further adjusted with clever playing with both tone and volume controls. I spent two hours with the guitar before actually buying it, and I just couldn't dial nary a bad sound out of it.

For a non-US guitar, the finish is almost flawless. The pait job is nothing short of spetacular, very smooth and even - and the silver sparkle will behave wildly under stage lights, believe me!! The pickups height cannot be adjusted - you'll have to rely solely on the po'lepieces to provide string balance. In my case, that was not necessary - very good job. The fretwire was well dressed, and the medium gauge used provides a nice playing feel. The neck needed a little adjustment, but just to suit my taste with higher action. The Vibratone Bigsby copy peformed very well - it's not designed for divembombs or Diamond Darrel-squeals, but performs nicely for adding subtle vibrato effects. All in all, this guitar proved to me that Korea CAN build top-notch instruments. My only complaint is the cheap feel of the pickup selector - it cracks a bit and does not feel very solid. Anyways, the visual aspect of the instrument is striking: the cool retro vibe is only augmented by the Bigsby vibrato.

Well, this ain't a Tele, so it won't serve you as a bat in your next stage invasion experience or other riot-related road casualties. As any hollow (or semi-hollow) guitar, it's more delicate and I don't think it can withstand major abuse. The hardware, with the exception of the pickup selector, feels solid. The Kluson-copy tuners are not that great, but I never experienced any serious tuning problems yet, even with constant use of the bigsby. The strap buttons are solid, but as with all my other instruments, I discarded them in favour of Schaller straplocks. Since I'm not that wild onstage, I'd gig with this guitar with no backup - but I can't resist not bringing at least one more axe to a gig.

Lifetime warranty

I've been playing for 16 years. Since I operate a project studio, I won't mention all the gear involved. My main electrics are a PRS Custom 10 Top, a Telecaster '52 RI and a Fender Relic Strat. I play thru a variety of amps, though generally I rely either on a Doctor Z Route 66 or a Mesa-Boogie combo. My pedalboard is in constant mutation. Right now it's down to a RMC wah, Fulltone '69 Fuzz and Full Drive 2, Voodoo Labs MicroVibe and a Line 6 Delay Modeler. I tried the Casino thru this setup and straight to my beloved Vox AC30. Needless to say, I was in Tone Heaven. The P90s sounded amazing thru the '69 Fuzz, and sound surprisingly tight with other distortion boxes in my arsenal (specially my Menatone Red Snapper).
Like I said, I didn't expect versatily - I expected that this particular instrument would provide me a specific set of tone colours. It passed the terst in absolute triumph. It's not a cheap guitar like other Epis, but it's a bargain considering the vibe and sounds you can coach out of it. A winner.

Made in Korea, in the year 2000. You know the rest.

It sounds beautiful on anything you need a clean sound for. It's great for rock and roll. The distorted sound isn't bad either. Right now I'm using a Marshall Valvestate amp, I might move up to either a Fender/ Vox/ Marshall tube amp. The sound is very full, great for rhythm playing. It can be very bright and it can be very jazzy, meaning very bassy sort of sound. It does feed back a lot on distorted settings but it's another color to the sound. O like everything about it.

Got it straight from Epiphone and the set-up was very well done.

Should last with proper care, not too much care, just proper care. We tend to mess up things when we're too careful.

Been playing for almost 4 years. And guitar/music playing is the only vice that I have. It satisfies me most of the time, probably 98% of the time. I love it more than anything else. I'm very glad that I bought this guitar, whenever I start playing it, it's so hard to put it down. Very pleasant sound. I wonder why all guitarist's don't have a Casino, it's just a great piece of work. I recommend that you BUY IT. GO FOR IT MAN!

2001 model, cherry red finish mahogany set neck, maple back and sides. MAPLE TOP!!. According to Epiphone specs, the top is supposed to be laminated spruce, but I have yet to encounter one with a spruce top. You have to be careful when you check out specs on Epi's instruments cause the info on wood types is sometimes not accurate. Two "dog ear" p90's, fake pearl position markers on boundrosewood fingerboard, but looks like real pearl logo on headstock. Trapeze tailpiece. Fully hollow bound body.

I know most people acquire these instruments to get the John Lennon sound, but I decided to get it because it has the same specs as a Gibson ES-330, without the ridiculous rip-off price of that instrument's reissue (which is often even more expensive than the vintage originals from the 60's!).
I play jazz on the instrument, and for the price it really sounds wonderful. Gives me a good approximation of the Grant Green sound. I run it straight through a fender or Peavy Classic tube amp on clean. The P90's sound suprisingly rich for korean cheapies.

Action was wonderful right out of the box. It came with 10's, but I switched them to 12 guage flat wounds. The action required a little tweaking after that, and I 'll probably need a neck adjustment to compensate for the harder tension. Intonation was fine. Finish was flawless.

The hardware is cheap, but we'll see how it holds up. The instrument is really well made, so I'm sure it will stand up to the rigors of live playing.

I have been playing for over 20 years, and I bought this guitar to take around without worry because I have a very expensive jazz guitar that I do worry about and do not want to drag around. Now I can use it just for recording, cause the Epi is fine for all other applications. If it got stolen I would probably get another one. For the price, it's a great instrument. Note: Don't buy one from a store cause you will overpay a lot. Get it from ebay or another auction site. I have seen some stores selling these guitars for up to 700 bucks! That's to much for a Korean istrument.

My Casino is Korean made probably in 2001 and features double cutaway and a natural finish. The top is laminated spruce, and has two P-90 single coil pickups. There are two volume and two tone controls with a toggle to distribute the sound between the pickups. The body is maple laminate and the neck is made of mahogany. The headstock appears to be made of three pieces. Neck and body are bound and there are two F-holes with no binding. The bridge is fully adjustable with a trapeze tailpiece. The neck is delightfully thin and slick. The entire guitar features a shiny lacquer finish.

The sound of this guitar is why I purchased it. I play mostly rock and blues and this fits the bill real well. The sound seems to be somewhere in the middle between the sound of my Strat and a full hollow-bodied jazz guitar. It doesn't get extremely bright highs nor deep lows, but rather takes the middle ground beautifully. I absolutely love the sound of this guitar! Play it clean through my Hot Rod Deluxe and the sound is sweet and mellow. Crank up the reverb a bit, and it's surprising how she can screem!
One of the things I am particularly crazy about is that this guitar is a hollow bodied guitar...there is no center block, and as such it is loud enough to use for practice sessions when you don't want to plug in. This is great for those late night urges when you feel like playing without waking the entire household! The hollow bodied feature also makes this guitar light as a feather and so it very easy to hold. Because of the thin body design it seems to just snug up to my side.
On the negative side, I've noticed that I am getting some buzzing from within the body when I play it acoustically. Sounds like one of the wires inside vibrating, but this does not effect the sound when plugged in and really isn't at the point of being annoying.

This guitar is made in Korea, then shipped to Gibson in the USA where it set up. The way it came from the factory was really perfect.The action is smooth and slick.
The wood on this guitar is absolutely perfect and fit and finish is amazingly flawless. Aesthetically, this is a very beautiful guitar! The entire package is certainly eye pleasing to say the least.

Will this guitar hold up over time? This is difficult to say, but it seems to be well made and I think it will last a long time. If there is one thing that seems a little cheesy I would say it is the machine heads, and I am thinking of changing them with a set of vintage Grovers.

I have had no reason to deal with the company, so I really can't say.

I started playing almost 40 years ago, but took a long break ( about 30 years! ) while I was taking care of family matters. For the past four years I've been caring for myself and one of those things I've been doing is a lot of guitar playing.
Back then, I wanted a Gibson ES330 but I couldn't afford it. Now I can afford it, but Gibson no longer makes it! This guitar is identical in every respect to the Gibson ES 330 so I guess you might say I'm fulfilling a youthful dream.
Overall what amazes me about this guitar is the high level of quality from a Korean guitar, and considering some of the crap I've seen from Gibson USA for enormous amounts of money, this guitar is a real bargain!