The Casino The Epiphone Casino’s unique design put it in a class of it’s own, sporting a smaller body depth and a big clear tone. It’s ability to feedback and be overdriven immediately attracted the attention of Paul McCartney, and soon gained a following by the likes of The Beach Boys, Keith Richards and Gary Clark Jr. The Epiphone Casino is a thinline hollow body electric guitar manufactured by Epiphone, a branch of Gibson.The guitar debuted in 1961 and has been associated with such guitarists as Howlin' Wolf, George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Keith Richards, Dave Davies, Paul Weller, The Edge, Josh Homme, Daniel Kessler, Noel Gallagher, Brendon Urie, Gary Clark, Jr., Glenn Frey, John Illsley. Jan 17, 2020 Well, one thing everyone can get behind is a high-quality, US-made Epiphone Casino—which Gibson has quietly unveiled at its booth at the NAMM 2020 show. Two Made-In-USA Casinos are on display right next to the Texans, one sporting a classy Vintage Burst finish and the other in a Royal Tan. But that's all the available info right now.

The Epiphone Casino is a thinline hollow body electric guitar manufactured by Epiphone, a branch of Gibson. The guitar debuted in 1961 and has been associated with such guitarists as Howlin' Wolf, George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Keith Richards, Dave Davies, Paul Weller, The Edge, Josh Homme, Daniel Kessler, Noel Gallagher, Brendon Urie, Gary Clark, Jr., Glenn Frey, John Illsley, Peter Green and Dave Grohl.^[1][2]

Casinos have been manufactured in the United States, Japan, Korea and China.

Construction[edit]

The Casino, also designed by Epiphone as model E230TD, is a thinline hollow-bodied guitar with two Gibson P-90 pick-ups. Although generally fitted with a trapeze-type tailpiece, often a Bigsby vibrato tailpiece is used in its place (either as a factory direct feature or as an aftermarket upgrade). Unlike semi-hollow body guitars such as the Gibson ES-335, which have a center block to promote sustain and reduce feedback, the Casino and its cousin, the Gibson ES-330 are true hollow-bodied guitars. This makes it lighter, and louder when played without an amplifier, but much more prone to feedback than semi-hollow or solid-body electrics.

Early versions of the Casino had a spruce top. Through 1970, the Casino headstock was set at a 17-degree angle and the top was made of five laminated layers of maple, birch, maple, birch, and maple.^[1][3] With the exception of the John Lennon models, subsequent Casinos have been made with 14-degree headstock angle with five layer all maple laminated tops. Current versions have a laminated maple top, sides, and back, and a mahogany neck.^[1]

Factory string gauge guide for Casino[edit]

Per the Epiphone String Gauge Guide, the Casino comes with string gauges (from high to low): 0.010' 0.013' 0.017' 0.026' 0.036' 0.046'.^[4]

Use by the Beatles[edit]

In 1964, Paul McCartney, The Beatles' bass player, was the first Beatle to acquire a Casino^[5] (a 1962 model), using it for his studio forays into guitar work, including his guitar solos on 'Ticket to Ride' (1965), 'Drive My Car' (1965) and 'Taxman' (1966). In 1965 John Lennon and George Harrison bought 1965 Casinos,^[5] which are clearly seen in photos of Japan concerts (last World Tour, 1966).

John Lennon used the Epiphone Casino as his main instrument during the remainder of his time with the Beatles.^[5] In 1968 when the Beatles were making the White Album, Lennon had the pick guard removed from his Casino and professionally sanded to bare wood and lightly lacquered with two thin coats of nitro-cellulose.^{[citation needed]} In the early seventies, the original tuners were replaced with a set of gold Grover tuners or machine heads. His stripped guitar (still with the original nickel tuners) is first seen in the 'Revolution' promo film. The guitar was used at The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus in December 1968, the Apple rooftop concert on January 30, 1969, and the concert of Live Peace in Toronto 1969 with the Plastic Ono Band on September 13, 1969. It can also be seen in the Let It Be film, including the rooftop concert, and most other pictures of Lennon playing guitar after that time.

Harrison had his fitted with a Bigsby trem, removed the pickguard (it can be seen in this state in the 'Hello Goodbye' and 'Penny Lane' videos, and in pictures of the final Beatles show in San Francisco, 1966). He also had it sanded down in 1968.

Current Casinos[edit]

Epiphone currently builds several versions of the Casino. These include:

• Regular 'Archtop-Series' Casino made in China and uses non-American made parts (Korea until 2007)^[1]
• Elitist Casino. Made in Japan and set-up in America, and contains American made parts such as the pickups. Body is 5-ply maple, Gibson P-90 pickups, and nickel hardware.^[6]
• Casino Coupé. A smaller version. The body is the same size as a Gibson ES-339.^[7]
• Inspired by John Lennon were made in China with American-made 'Tribute' P-90 pickups and a five-ply maple body and are less expensive versions of the now defunct United States Collection John Lennon 1965 / Revolution Casino bodies were built in Japan and assembled in America. The 1965 version has a sunburst finish, white pick guard and small button Grover tuners. The Revolution version was based on the modifications Lennon made to his 1965 Casino during the recording of the White Album, which include a 'stripped' (natural) satin finish, gold Grover tuners, no pickguard, a deeper set-in neck, and Lennon's serial number on the back of the headstock.^[1]
• Limited Edition 1961 Casino. This limited version is offered in Royal Tan and Vintage Sunburst, with either a trapeze tailpiece or a tremotone tremolo. It sports a 5-layer maple-birch body, Gibson P-90 pickups, 'short' headstock, bullet trussrod cover, tortoiseshell pickguard, and pre-Gibson era Epiphone badge.^[8]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abcdef'Epiphone Casino'. Epiphone.com.
2. ^'Gary Clark Jr'. GaryClarkJr.com. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
3. ^'Antique Vintage Guitars collector info - collecting old VINTAGE GUITARS'. provide.net. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
4. ^'Epiphone String Gauges'(PDF). Web.archive.org. Archived from the original(PDF) on September 23, 2010. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
5. ^ ^abc'Epiphone: A History'. Epiphone.com.
6. ^'Epiphone Elitist Casino'. Epiphone.com. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
7. ^'Expert Review: Epiphone Casino Coupe - Harmony Central'. harmonycentral.com. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
8. ^'Epiphone 1961 50th Anniversary Casino'. Epiphone.com.

External links[edit]

Over the past year, Gibson has been teasing big updates to the Epiphone line, leading many fans to dream up their own personal wishlists for the famed brand.

So when Epiphone announced the 'Inspired By Gibson' series, some commenters were overjoyed to see that Kalamazoo-era headstocks would now be standard on all such models, softening the sharp-edged silhouette of Epiphone's recent output that many thought looked cheap. And still others were happy to see the Made-In-USA Texan acoustic. But some were left wondering, why just 'Inspired By Gibson' models? Why just the Texan? Why not bring back the Coronet, the Wilshire, or other vintage designs from the pre-Gibson era of the brand?

Well, one thing everyone can get behind is a high-quality, US-made Epiphone Casino—which Gibson has quietly unveiled at its booth at the NAMM 2020 show.

Two Made-In-USA Casinos are on display right next to the Texans, one sporting a classy Vintage Burst finish and the other in a Royal Tan. But that's all the available info right now. From what it sounds like from Gibson booth workers, these are brand-new models that almost didn't make it to NAMM on time, so more details such as pricing and availability very much remain to be seen.

Epiphone's biggest fans may yet have unrequited desires for the future of the brand, but this step will certainly be met with a smile—assuming, perhaps, that the Made-In-USA price-point hews closer to the median Epiphone price as opposed to the median Gibson.

For all the latest gear news and new product announcements from NAMM 2020, check our ongoing coverage here.

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