merciful-evans Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 I was trying to buy one of these a couple of months back (I did have a thread here but cant find it). Now, having just returned from a 3 week Med cruise (and all the poorer for it) the shop finally got one in. I noticed it today and nipped over to try it out. Here it is... https://www.nevadamusic.co.uk/p/ETCCCHNH1/electric-guitars/epiphone/epiphone-casino-coupe-cherry As this is now gone from stock the link may disappear soon, but this one shown is the actual one I've bought. It played better than I thought it would and sounds sweeter than other P90 models Ive tried too. It was an easy decision. I obviously have compared it to the Gibson ES-339 I got early this year, but it is very different. The Coupe has a heavy chunky neck. I quickly forgot about that as I took it for a spin through some jazz territory and then out on some rocky roads. Its lighter than the 339 of course, and is louder acoustically too. My only concern was the neck relief was marginally uneven on each side, but the action is good as is the intonation. No buzzes anywhere, so I lowered the bridge slightly in the shop. I finally hit a slight buzz at the 10th fret area so raised it slightly again. It may look like the 339 but it handles differently & sounds very different. The Coupe has authentic semi-acoustic sound colour using P90s, while the 339 is closer to a solidbody with 57 classic HBs. I may in time try the Coupe in the Jazz band I have just joined. I would expect feedback issues in the louder Soul/Ska band I also play in. It will be also useful to practice on the Coupe at home when preparing for a gig with the 339. Both guitars are cherry coloured. with black binding on the 339 and cream binding on the Coupe. I can also use the 339 case for both guitars of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kensh999 Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 Thanks for your post. I am also a Casino Coupe owner and I have sung its praises in other posts on this board. I'm still loving it. It would be great to see some photos of your Casino Coupe in action, hope you can post some pictures from your next gig. Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve112 Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 I was trying to buy one of these a couple of months back (I did have a thread here but cant find it). Now, having just returned from a 3 week Med cruise (and all the poorer for it) the shop finally got one in. I noticed it today and nipped over to try it out. Here it is... https://www.nevadamusic.co.uk/p/ETCCCHNH1/electric-guitars/epiphone/epiphone-casino-coupe-cherry As this is now gone from stock the link may disappear soon, but this one shown is the actual one I've bought. It played better than I thought it would and sounds sweeter than other P90 models Ive tried too. It was an easy decision. I obviously have compared it to the Gibson ES-339 I got early this year, but it is very different. The Coupe has a heavy chunky neck. I quickly forgot about that as I took it for a spin through some jazz territory and then out on some rocky roads. Its lighter than the 339 of course, and is louder acoustically too. My only concern was the neck relief was marginally uneven on each side, but the action is good as is the intonation. No buzzes anywhere, so I lowered the bridge slightly in the shop. I finally hit a slight buzz at the 10th fret area so raised it slightly again. It may look like the 339 but it handles differently & sounds very different. The Coupe has authentic semi-acoustic sound colour using P90s, while the 339 is closer to a solidbody with 57 classic HBs. I may in time try the Coupe in the Jazz band I have just joined. I would expect feedback issues in the louder Soul/Ska band I also play in. It will be also useful to practice on the Coupe at home when preparing for a gig with the 339. Both guitars are cherry coloured. with black binding on the 339 and cream binding on the Coupe. I can also use the 339 case for both guitars of course. HNCCD, (Happy New Casino Coupe Day) merciful-evans. Your description of the 339 tone is bang on. I originally bought an Epi 339 specifically for the humbucker tone and hollowbody bluesy-jazzy tones but found it a bit lacking. As it happened, the 339 trussrod broke and wanting to stay with the hb sound and tone, I replaced it with a very good playing and sounding Epi Dot in the cherry finish. It has "that" tone in spades and having had a complete pro setup, it plays as well as any Gibson in recent memory. (owned a Gibson ES335, ES330 and SG Standard by comparison) That said, I liked your description of the Casino Coupe's tone with the P90s and I realize that at some point I'll most likely have to acquire just one more............just. one. more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted September 1, 2015 Author Share Posted September 1, 2015 Thanks for your post. I am also a Casino Coupe owner and I have sung its praises in other posts on this board. I'm still loving it. It would be great to see some photos of your Casino Coupe in action, hope you can post some pictures from your next gig. Ken Thanks Ken But the Coupe will not be gigged anywhere near yet. The Jazz bands debut gig (at Winchester Festival) is not until the end of the month, and I will be using a more familiar larger scale guitar for that one. hell, I've not even gigged the 339 yet! ...As it happened, the 339 trussrod broke and wanting to stay with the hb sound and tone, I replaced it with a very good playing and sounding Epi Dot in the cherry finish. It has "that" tone in spades and having had a complete pro setup, it plays as well as any Gibson in recent memory. Hi Steve, I am obviously still evaluating the Coupe's hardware, but so far the tuners seem pretty good. I am unlikely to change pickups. At most I will change switches and sockets probably. At some stage I will tailor the signal processor tone-patches I use to the Coupe. I have four basic sounds I use, and all are individually fine-tuned to each electric guitar I have. They all still sound different of course. I've spent all morning going through the jazz set list using the Coupe. That is about 5 hours playing, and its been just fine. I stretched the strings properly yesterday and today only had to fine tune a little from time to time. I haven't even removed the film from the pickups & pickguard yet. In the shop yesterday I spent some time looking all over the body for cracks, stress marks and fissures. I've said elsewhere that the Chinese have raised their game with guitar building over the last few years (I have played a fair few, and own another too), and as far as I can make out, the joinery is flawless. The serial number confirms it was made in Qingdao (15 prefix). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kensh999 Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 I'll be there in spirit, if not in person since I'm half a world away in California. Also wanted to mention the only upgrade I made was a set of Grover Vintage 133N style tuners, which are split-post (my favorite kind) and drop right in to the existing mounting holes. Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted September 1, 2015 Author Share Posted September 1, 2015 I'll be there in spirit, if not in person since I'm half a world away in California. Also wanted to mention the only upgrade I made was a set of Grover Vintage 133N style tuners, which are split-post (my favorite kind) and drop right in to the existing mounting holes. Ken I haven't been to California in 36 years. Yes it is a bit far :) Thanks for the tip re: the 133N tuners. If I need to replace them, I dont want extra holes. I took pictures of the Coupe alongside the 339 earlier but the light was awful. I'll try again and hopefully post at the weekend. ATB Evans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted September 15, 2015 Author Share Posted September 15, 2015 I did take pics but wasnt happy with them (not enough light) so still have this to do. However... I used the Coupe at last weeks band practice and it sounded better for jazz than the PRS Custom I used the week prior. I have become so used to the Coupe, that I have now changed my mind about gigging it for the band debut next Sunday. I'm going for it. I played it yesterday using a pick I am evaluating, a V-Pick screamer. I dont know why they call it 'screamer', it produced warm mellow tones. It sounded so different (from the V-Pick Pointed and Gibson Triangle) that I carried on playing well past the practice and on into the evening. I loved it. So the little Coupe has the gig. I may take the PRS along as backup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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