Howdy guys, new to the forum!
Just recently acquired what apparently is a Casino built out from a leftover Lennon Revolution Casino husk, purchased by a former Epiphone employee and built out. Has Lennon's serial number on the back of the headstock and the thin nitro finish, but since it never made production, it never received a proper serial number/label. I've looked over the specs/cross referenced photos and it seems legit to me. I can tell you, it sure feels like a superbly built Casino - no way it's a cheaper one that was refinished. I can hardly put it down. It even has the binding fret nibs and the proper truss rod routing for a two hole truss rod cover. The previous owner outfitted it with Fralin P90s, CTS and switchcraft electronics, and black hardware. Only issue is no pickguard or truss rod cover. I also noticed the P90s individually are considerably noisier than most I've experienced before, but it may be the plastic covers? It came with chrome hardware and gold knobs too so I'll be switching it over to those soon, hopefully the covers help with the noise? Or maybe my new apartment wiring is crappy and not helping with 60 cycle hum.
I've been looking for a good Casino project for a while to do a Pelham Blue Casino, and I think this is the one. While I really like the stripped feeling + look, finding a nitro finished Casino for a reasonable price has proven to be pretty impossible so I feel like I got pretty lucky with this one. Stripping a Chinese/Korean made Casino just to spend two or three times as much on a quality nitro refinish seemed foolish (also super labor intensive) so this worked out perfectly.
My question now is, any clue where to source a proper two hole Epiphone truss rod cover? I can't find any online, anywhere. I know that generally finding an Epiphone with a two hole truss rod cover is pretty rare, as not many were spec'd out for that and those that were were fairly limited. I once had a AISUA Sheraton with the two hole truss rod cover that I got for a steal, and the truss rod cover was a dead giveaway that it wasn't your standard Epiphone. Only luck I've had finding them has been replicas made by enthusiasts. I found someone in the UK who could make me one but curious if anyone here knows of a way to get one here in the states. I called Epiphone about it and the guy said it's not a part that they sell because they don't really make them except to go with the guitar that would receive it during production. The other thing is this one was never drilled for a truss rod cover (as it didn't make production) so while it's kind of a blank slate and could take any spec, I'd rather try to find something that would be original to the guitar. Also trying to find a proper spec pickguard if you have any suggestions(guitar is not drilled for one either), and it'll get a Bigsby B7 at some point.
Cheers!
Ruben
