fazeka

Hi, I have always wondered why the truss rod cover on the 2017 run of the 1962 J160E has only one top screw securing the truss rod cover. Anyone know? Was Lennon's/Harrison's like this? I never noticed this on any (vintage) Gibson, ever. Was it an error of the particular run? If I were to put on a two-screw truss rod cover, would it have wood there for the lower screw to bite into?

Four sunburst, three natural: https://i.imgur.com/n4fWx5h.jpg

I agree with bobouz. BTW, here's the link using the wayback machine: http://web.archive.org/web/20171225181207/https://www.epiphone.com/News/Features/2017/The-Long-and-Loud-History-of-the-Epiphone-Casino.aspx I don't see any evidence within that link of the Casino being designed pre-acquisition.

The US made Casinos will be good. Teradas are good too.

Source of info on this? His original '61 "Cavern" bass was a factory lefty AFAIK, and not a converted RH.

Well, they're not made in the custom shop but on the regular production line. But they will be fine, I'm sure.

Also to be clear, when I replied that John's Casino was "never refinished after he stripped it" in response to your original comment you said about John painted it psychedelic after he sanded it, what I meant was that he never refinished it in a non-clear coat post the stripping. IOW, the events went like this: original sunburst finish->"psychedelic" spray paint on rear with paint runs on interior cutaway rims->stripped finish.

I don't know if George clear-coated his after he stripped it. I presume so as I think George was savvy enough to know that unfinished wood would stain/discolor due to sweat/oils etc. from handling. John, on the other hand, probably could care less and was more about function, with aesthetics taking a back seat. Look at his original 325 Rick after it was refinished black. Detailed photos of the time show various nicks/dents in the finish. Hell, the vibrato arm on his second 325 is bent in an unusual way, as well. I think I remember reading that when the Gibson rep inspected his Casino in '97 that the body's surface (I'm paraphrasing here) was "porous". That indicates to me that if indeed it was finished, there wasn't much there at best. So yes, I suspect John's Casino's finish is closer to what you say. In John's eyes, I suspect he considered his gear as mere tools. I think George took a little better care of his gear, relatively speaking.

Hmmm... George indeed did scrape the finish off his Casino: https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W1fvUtW48h4/WixZteVV4uI/AAAAAAAAB_4/Saq9IteMqcgtujAYhmrmRiZy77EbewsBQCLcBGAs/s1600/GH3.jpg John scraped/sanded the finish off his after his psychedelic finish attempt in '67 (I think this meant spraying the back?) http://www.thecanteen.com/casinoback.jpg https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yJ8IqsbxlPA/XAexEZC_grI/AAAAAAAAP3M/R4RNq-mxELQQvrDtPNDpq7R7hreeAuoywCLcBGAs/s1600/JL%2B23.jpg Never was refinished after he stripped it. Here it is in '97 being measured for the 1999 reissue: http://www.thecanteen.com/casino2a.jpg

One thing pointing to a summer release... there was another rumor that these USA Casinos at NAMM served as a preview to the summer NAMM... ??? ...which, if true, is kinda like a preview to the preview. 😕 Would explain why the USA Casino is not shown/marketed on the Epiphone site. On the other hand, someone else on another site said their friend that was a dealer is going to be ordering some soon. Best thing we can do is just hang tight, I guess.

For the Casino, the rumor I heard was $2799. Summertime availability.

The former.

There's a private forum I frequent that had a really great write up on the history of Epiphone in the '60s. It addresses especially the consideration of pricing and will be invaluable to those that weren't around or don't remember Gibson US-made Epiphones. I thought it was very well written and I wish I could just post a link to it. Failing that, here's the post: "That's why there WAS an Epiphone brand, so the parent company CMI could sell guitars to a second dealer when there was already a Gibson dealer in that territory. If a Gibson dealer had a territory, CMI could not sell Gibsons to another store within it. But they could sell Epiphones to the store next door without violating the letter of the agreement. Originally, CMI bought Epiphone in a sort of salvage sale, to gain access to its machines and parts for making basses. They soon realized that the brand name itself was valuable, because it gave the a way to get more sales in existing, protected territories by offering a line up that closely mirrored Gibson's to dealers that othwerwise had Gibson unavailable to them. Kalamazoo-made Epiphones were never less expensive, second class citizens. In the '60s they were the equivalent of Gibsons in both in price and quality and made in the same facilities, though there were minor price variances that reflected special features and ornamentation, as you'd expect. Some Epiphones were MORE EXPENSIVE than Gibsons, like the Excellente acoustic that has been recently reissued. Epiphone became a budget brand when manufacturing was outsourced to various offshore makers on the '70s to combat the rise of low-cost import brands."

I understand (probably thru an unofficial source) that these were a preview to the summer NAMM. Which, if true, could explain why Epiphone doesn't have it listed on their site. And why there ain't a whole lotta pics available. Also, if true, won't ship till later this year. Looks to be early 60s specs (old style headstock, old style trapeze, etc.). Royal Tan with nickel p-up covers, sunburst with black plastic p-up covers. My suspicion is that they will be built by Gibson (weren't they next to Gibson's area?) and I've heard they will list around $2800.