differentsky

This discussion takes the notion of "hijacking a thread" to a whole other level 😉 If anyone is willing to, unobstrusively, comment on their visit to the Gibson garage or post pictures, please do!

Hey everybody, Last time we talked (december), I was caught between the USA Casino and a used 2017 Memphis es 330... I couldn't make up my mind weighing the pros and cons for each guitar. I fell in love with the Casino's neck, but was concerned with a volume jump between the two pickups. The Gibson sounded great, had a Bigsby, but the neck wasn't as pleasing, and it was much more expensive. I decided to let go, and wait for a 330 to show up on local listings. Last week I went back to the store to check out that es330 again, with fresh ears, so to speak. Still a great sound, but still thinking about that Casino neck. Walking out of the store, I see a USA Casino on a local listing, for a grand less than new. I set up an appointment with the seller... and this was too good to pass. Same neck, balanced pickups this time, and perfect finish (the brand new one I had played had a little grey stain on the finish, not a turn-off, but still a bit annoying)... So I went home with it! What made me forget about 330s is the price I paid; if I don't bond with it for good this year, I won't be losing any money at resale. For now, Honeymoon is in full swing. What a great guitar. That neck is so easy for me, that warm, yet dynamic tone is addictive. And playing the bridge pickup with a King of tone drive, is already a lot of gain. A little more gain than with my telecaster for instance. Those p90s are great. I don't see myself using gainier pedals, it's already plenty, and I don't think I'll have feedback issues live. Can't wait to hit the stage with that Casino! First guitar with p90s for me. I can feel the gas for a Junior rising... Thanks for your help as usual! Cheers

Gibson is about to release the J-180 again, with the double pickguard. the model Taylor Swift is playing here, has a more modern appeal, with no pickguard. Considering her incredible popularity, it’s a total mystery why Gibson doesn’t jump on that wagon and put this one in production. They would sell truckloads in no time. It looks like a major miss.

For this specific model you’re looking at, they made two versions, fixed or adjustable bridge. What’s why they underline the difference in the specs.

Hey thanks. So your guess is that the memphis P90s of yesteryear are now called Gibson p90 ? Possible... So maybe the difference I'm hearing comes from the fact that the Casino's bridge pickup isn't set up close enough to the strings (on the 330 it's quite close). Yeah, I love the nickel dog ear covers too, but my favorite finish on the USA Casino, the sunburst, has the black ones.

I’ve played a 2017 Memphis 330, and I love the sound of the pickups. They are Memphis’ mhs p90s, slightly under wound. I’ve read somewhere that the USA casino also sports underwound pups. Are you experienced about differences between the two? Thanks!

Thanks. I’m still torn. I’m in love with that Casino’s neck. But the 330s’ pickups I find more appealing. Both guitars look great, even though none of them has the “ultimate”finish for me. But not a ton of options anyway so that’s fine. I’m concerned that the e-string going off the fretboard on the 330 might be more than a string spacing issue; it could be that frets and binding are worn… and that could be a big no-go. So I might go with the Casino if my assessment turns out to be true…

Thanks. That makes sense. That guitar really looks like the 2018 VOS cherry reds I've seen on line. (+ an added Bigsby). I believe they have a very good rep.

That 330 really looks like the 330 VOS dark cherry that was released in 2018... That's the only similar model one can find on line. But the label inside says 2017. Could it be that they put these stickers inside when they built the guitar, and the guitars were released a few months later, in 2018?

The pickups might have been swapped too... However they're a perfect fit for that guitar so I don't know. The bridge pickup is close enough to the strings so both pickups are very well balanced. They have slightly less mids than the Casino ones, and the 330 has more of a rock sound, when the Casino features more of that acoustic, airy tone. I played the sunburst Casino for half an hour yesterday. God, that neck is so great... So effortless and inspiring. But the guitar also had that volume drop on the bridge pickup. The pickup is pretty far from the strings, to the extent that I don't know if raising the poles would be efficient. I was very close to buying it, but the 330's tone was there at the back of my mind... Punchier, and less "acoustic" like. It's really difficult to narrow it down to what's the best guitar for me.

1) No CS logo on the headstock 2) The picture you're looking at is a Gisbson es 330, not a Casino! (my post was maybe confusing) I thought it could be a 59 or 61 reissue, but they both featured black p90s.... That one has nickel covers, a "vibramate" bigsby... Maybe all this isn't stock. That guitar is a mystery, I can't find another one like this one on the web, from 2017 or so...

Here's the only pic... Thanks!

Back from the store where I played that 2017 330 again. The main salesman wasn't there, and his guy wasn't sure about the exact model, VOS or Murphy lab. The price tag of 4.4 k (remember in Europe we face higher prices) indicates that it's not a standard production model, so it must be some higher end model. The finish is not relic'ed, the cherry red might be aged darker. The label inside only says Memphis 2017. That guitar sounds great, plays great, except for the high E string that slid off a few times in 10 minutes... The Bigsby felt good and the guitar stayed in tune so the set-up looks very good. I A/B'ed it againt the USA Casino they have (not the first one that blew my mind, it's in another store). The Casino's neck felt better to me, a bit thicker. But that guitar could benefit from a better set-up, there's a big volume drop once you reach the bridge pup. And overall the pickups lacked brightness compared to the Gibson. Tomorrow I'll go check that other Casino (sunburst), see if it wows me again. The 330 is great but I'm not sure about cherry red, and the price tag is above my price point, and I would have to take care of that string spacing... I guess I don't have many options, it's either the sunburst casino, or waiting for an hypothetical release of a 330 in 2024... Would anyone know what kind of p90s were used for VOS/Murphy labs around 2017/18? That could be helpful...

Thanks for your help! I'm the kind of guy who when set on Casino/330 is gonna have a hard time looking at something else... You probably know the feeling, you buy something, and then keep thinking about your intial gas...

Thanks. I wouldn't mind a special color indeed. But part of the appeal for me is the short neck. It brings a different mindset and it feels like everything is within reach super easily. I haven't ruled out the Casino yet. I'll go and play both the Casino and 2017 330 this week and compare. I'd like to know what pickups are in this 330, but since I can't identify the specific model and find the specs anywhere I'm at a loss here.

Thanks, but I'd rather not take that tangent... 😉 I'm only trying to understand more what I'm looking at here: a es 330 Memphis from 2017. If I look it up on Reverb, they all have a different designation (VOS, or historic, etc...) It is very hard to identify the exact model, so as to find the specs on line.

Thanks. Yeah I've been reading all that over the last few weeks. But the Casino USA hasn't been there long enough and the 330 has known many reissues, and YT videos, well, usually made by people who don't want to alienate Epi fans or Gibson fans so... It's helpful of course, but only to a certain extent. Still hoping that someone on the forum can provide a quicker overview... 😉

Thanks! What I mean is that I've been a Fender guy forever. I'd be able to answer a lot of questions about Fenders. But when it comes to Gibson, I'm lost, simply because I haven't been scrutinizing all models for the last 20 years, and I have to catch up. Last week I was even wondering if "Memphis" was a special label, like "standard", then "memphis", then "custom shop", until I came to realize that it was just standard production. See where I'm coming from ? 😉 About Fenders, there are a few consensus about some series that stand out, like the Avri from 2012 to 2017. Why would they be better than the current AV2, I don't know, but they've been getting a huge praise. So I'm wondering if there was such consensus about all the 330s RI... I've seen there were limited runs, like the 59 and the 64, and the VOS starting in 2018, but also the Memphis series (non-VOS, non-custom shop) from the 2010s... That Memphis label is very confusing when you don't know much about Gibson, because it is featured everywhere (memphis, Memphis VOS, Memphis CS), and since marketing is always telling you "that guitar is the real deal", you're just lost.

Really? Has this been debated to death already on the forum? For a non-specialist, the catalog is very confusing; Memphis, or VOS, or Custom shop, or year-reissues vs global reissues... What am I lookin' at with a "regular" Memphis 330? Is the VOS much better? Is the recent USA Casino just as serious a build as a Memphis from 2017? Thanks for your help navigating through this

Congrats! Your guitar is truly amazing. From what I understand the Gibson mod shop is not like Fender's: you don't get to make a selection, but simply browse what's available? Do you how many were made with that color, or is yours a unique model?

There's a 2017 Memphis 330 at a local store, cherry red, bigsby. It sounds great, but I'm always like this: since I don't have tons of examples to try, I'm always wondering it there's something I would like more out there... The neck on the USA Casino feels a bit better for me (but the one on the 330 is pretty comfortable), but that 330's tone is more balanced from the get go. Any opinions on these 2017s ?

Hey there, After looking at Casinos, I think I'm gonna look for a 330 instead. Since that model is not part of the regular catalog, there's only been reissues, limited runs, CS or not, Memphis or not, etc... It's very confusing and time consuming. Could you guys help me out and decipher this for me please? What are the most noteworthy examples that were released over the last 20 years? Any issues I should be aware of? Have you heard of any plans from Gibson to release a new one in 2024? Thanks for your help!

Since that first encounter, I've played another Casino, but was underwhelmed this time: the G, B, and E strings lacked punch. I've heard this could be an issue with P90s on hollow bodies; on many models you can't adjust the pickups so if the lows are overpowering the highs, there's nothing you can do about it. Would you guys confirm this? At least, the first I played was a better example. I'm trying to sell a couple of guitars to buy the right hollow bodied guitar, in the meantime any info on these is welcome!

Here's @Larsongs post.

Hello, My thread had been sleeping for 3 weeks in the Epiphone sub-forum when @Larsongs found me and suggested this topic would be more successful here, so here it is! I’ve just played one, brand new « original casino vintage », and I was blown away. The neck is just a perfect fit, it feels super familiar right away. The tone is gorgeous on all 3 pickups position. It was just a little muddy in the low end, but I’m guessing it’s inherent to the build ; I had an excellent Guild Cordoba with one p90, and it sounded very similar, with a lot of air in the sound. So what’s the consensus on these guitars ? I was blown away but it was my first encounter with a Casino, and I’m not super familiar with how it is supposed to sound. I might very well be unaware of a few things about build quality, the p90’s quality here etc… Would a Gibson 330 or 125 be very different ? I’m guessing a 125 would be close, when a 330 would be even more raw, but that’s probably influenced by the musicians I’ve seen playing them… Anyway, I’m on a p90/hollow quest, and that Casino really shook me. Thanks for your input !