its98tonight
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Posts posted by its98tonight
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1 hour ago, bilferd said:
I have a Casino Worn (CME Exclusive orange). I have not experimented with pickup height, but so far I definitely have a desire to replace the pickups (and maybe wiring - trying to decide if I can get away without). I can’t get them to sound good in my tube amps (early 60s fender bandmaster and tweed champ reissue). It does sound good through my solid state amps (Roland jc40 and soldano slo-mini).
Reach out if you have any questions. It's was a huge improvement over the factory pickups IMO. Just to reiterate, don't try to use CTS pots/jacks/switches because they won't fit and you don't want to drill into the guitar to make them fit. Also, have the pickup builder custom wind a set that will fit into your existing covers. That way you can drop them directly back into the holes they drilled at the factory to install the covers. Lollar did mine and they were very accommodating.
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It's a significant investment to change the wiring harness and have Lollar install their 50s wind inside the stock covers but it's a major improvement on tone. I made my own 50s style harness by purchasing a soldering station, new Alpha A500k and B500k pots, along with a genuine Epiphone switch and jack, orange drop caps as well as braided and cloth wiring. You might save the headache and buy those parts to then give them to a trusted Luthier. Hollow bodies are a pain to work on. I opted for those parts not because they were the best but because they would not require any drilling.
Let's say all that costs you around $500, then your $799 just became $1299.
Me being me, I went ALL IN and paid someone to Install a B7 onto my Casino. I have just over $1,600 total invested in the Casino. Anymore and it'll be creeping into Gibson Memphis ES-330 territory.
That being said, the guitar sounds absolutely incredible. I think the addition of the Bigsby did something special. I'm just making an assumption here but I wondering if the surface contact that the B7 makes with the arch top kind of limits how much the guitar can resonate.
Either way, it's a great player and I don't sweat bullets when I take it out to gigs like I do with some of my other more expensive guitars.
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Bigsby B7 tremolos are tough to get at the moment. I did manage to find a new one in the aluminum finish from a seller on reverb for just over $170 but the photos were stock images. In the image, the Patent information was not painted over. On other sites, such as Guitar Center and Musician’s Friend, Bigsby B7 tremolos are back ordered, listed for $225+ and their stock photos show the Patent information covered in black paint. Again, my question is only in regards to the non-gold finished B7 tremolos and whether black paint covering or not covering the Patent information signifies anything. I’ve included links below, for your perusal.
What I purchased:
https://reverb.com/item/2973234-vibrato-bigsby-b7-for-arch-top-electric-guitars-color-aluminum
Musician’s Friend:
https://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/bigsby-b7-vibrato-kit--arch-top-solid-body-guitars
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They are nice looking and I’d really like to have one for my MIC. I’ve read where they were sold with models in the past and most currently are being sold with the made in USA Casinos.
Any leads are much appreciated!
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On 8/6/2021 at 8:40 AM, Larsongs said:
It is the Coupe version which IMO isn’t a real Casino… You should try the traditional standard sized Casino’s before making a final decision.. A quality version like an Elitist, Elite, IBJL or 50th Anniv. Reissue are excellent quality offshore built, with real USA Gibson P90’s & other USA components including Switchcraft Jacks & Switches… They are great players & probably the most versatile Electric Guitar you can buy… They are available in the Used market..
I second trying a “full-size” MIC Casino. Pickup swap will really brighten things up if you’re willing to make that investment. I just watched this video of the new USA made Casino and was pretty horrified by the quality.
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16 hours ago, lazybear said:
Hi all,
Hope you're all doing well. First time poster here, I just received my new Epiphone Casino Coupe in Vintage Sunburst today. While the guitar is a beauty, the neck plays decently enough and the P90s sound alright, I have some reservations about it and wanted to ask if a few issues that I noticed are things that are normal and fixable with a good setup and/or regular usage, or whether they warrant returning the guitar. I've mostly played solidbodies for the past 16 years so I'm completely new to this type of guitar.
First of all, the guitar has a very strong and distinct buzz when you play it, this gets so strong when you fret the 3 bass strings around the 9th fret that it cuts through to the amplifier/mix where you can hear it too.
Secondly, the bridge pickup seems to have "sunken" into the body, you can see it in the picture that the screws are inside the pickup instead of protruding through it.
I can also feel/hear something loose inside the body around the control knobs when I pick up the guitar, it seems to be shifting around whenever the guitar is moved.
I do think this is a very unique and beautiful guitar and while it definitely won't be my last semi-hollow/hollowbody, I prefer to fix it and give it a good setup and adjustment instead of returning it unless I have to. Other than some minor flaws in the binding and finish, and some parts feeling generally cheap (and control knobs that all face different directions vertically), I would prefer to keep this guitar as it fills a niche that not many others do.
Thanks a lot and sorry about the newbie questions!
Best,
lazybear
I’m the guy who also had a broken bridge pickup. If you like the guitar I would HIGHLY suggest doing the following. Ask the seller for a discount, remove the pickups, send them to Lollar to have them install a custom set of their 50s wind P90s into those covers ($300).
Those epi P90s don’t hold a candle to the 50s winds I just installed. Best part is, it’s the original cover so you’d never know visually, but audibly it’s a night/day difference.
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Replacement Casino is here and everything seems okay. Visually, the body’s wood grain has a bit more character and the Pau Ferro neck is much darker than the first. The pick guards were haphazardly cut out on both guitars but I doubt I’ll be playing with one anyway. There is some buzzing happening but if I don’t play heavy handed, the buzzing completely disappears. The frets are very gritty. I need to get some synthetic steel wool and polish them. Overall, the guitar is good but it is much darker than I’m used to.
I’ve been playing a Telecaster through an original 68 Princeton for the past 10 years or so. With the Tele, treble and bass knobs were usually sat around 4-5 and 3-4, respectively. With the Casino and it’s metal pickup covers, I’m having to almost dime my treble and completely cut the bass. When I do that, the guitar sounds amazing. Not really an issue, but a little concerning if I were to ever get stuck with a backline amp that’s not a bright as a Fender. Amps aside, I probably just need time to get acclimated to P90s.
Little side note, I have average sized hands and after playing a tele for the past decade, this scale length is much more comfortable. Chord shapes that were difficult before are now played with ease. Also, (stop me if this is all in my head but) my tele has 6105 narrow tall fret wire and the combination of the scale length and string tension causes me to press significantly hard with certain chord shapes. This can sometimes lead to pitchy notes. With the 6130 medium jumbo frets and smaller scale length, I haven’t encountered those problems.
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I stumbled upon a 2019 release of a 12-string Epiphone Riviera. After doing a little digging, it seemed like American Musical Supply were indeed the exclusive dealer of said guitar (never know with marketing these days). I thought it was interesting to see an actual exclusive guitar being offered by a dealer as opposed to just an exclusive finish, of exclusive spec (i.e. factory bigsby), etc. Anyways, I’m hoping Epiphone decides to do another run as I’m not able to find one second hand.
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21 hours ago, mihcmac said:
The coil chassis is supposed to be securely soldered to the cover and usually the top of the coil is very close to the top of the cover, with the adjustable pole screws coming through the cover.. Like Larsongs said you may want to exchange it.
Exchange is already underway. I did enjoy the way it played underneath all the horrible buzzing. Unfortunate about the solder but I image the QC sticker is worth about as much as the paper it’s printed on. I’m curious what the differences in tuners, bridge, tailpiece are between the MIC and USA Casinos. Regardless, I doubt upgrading is as easy as I’m imagining (imperial vs metric). Other than that, maybe a bone nut? Great guitar for the price. Hoping this incoming replacement is the ONE.
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After a 4 week wait, the MIC Epiphone Casino was delivered today. There is a broken solder point on the bridge P90’s bass side. I am opting to return rather than solder myself because I don’t want to risk discoloration of the cover.
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I don’t really understand how a half-dozen specs require an additional $2k...
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5 hours ago, Larsongs said:
(This is just about standard sized Casinos)
There have been all kinds of Casino models. MIC, MIK, MIJ & Made in the USA... All kinds of Pickups & all the other components.. Most of the MIC & MIK have all Asian Pickups & components.. IMO the Asian P90’s sound harsh at higher volume.
A few models like the, IBJL, 60th Anniv 1961 & Gary Clark Jr Series had Gibson USA P90’s & Swtchcraft components.. Excellent Guitars & medium price range..
Then there were MIJ Series.. Elite, Elitist & 65 RI models.. All are Top of the line & built at the Terada factory.. Pricey but worth it.
Now there is the newly released USA Casino…
Many can’t hear the difference or the Asian Pickups are good enough. But, If you want your MIC Casino to sound like the Casinos with Gibson USA P90’s you need to upgrade to comparable P90 Pickups. Like Fralin, Lollar, Duncan & Tho Bak…
The $2k price difference between the MIC and USA Casinos had me taking a hard look at what the differences were, some being changeable (electronics, hardware) and others being more permanent fixtures (fretboard material, finish). Obviously, there are an array of differences but my main concern was what makes a Casino sound like a Casino...
What it came down to was 5-ply layered maple with brass wood bracing construction in the MIC vs. 3-ply maple/poplar/maple construction in the USA. This information is from the Epiphone site (the same site that reserves the right to change specifications at any time) so take it for what it’s worth. That being said, I’m interested to see if the MIC scratches the itch as they seem to have generally favorable reviews. As for the USA model, I’m sure it’s fantastic but I’m just not a fan of the “Open Book,” look.
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20 hours ago, mihcmac said:
There are 3 different MIC Casino's in production now, the Casino Coupe, Casino Worn and the Casino, each are slightly different with slightly different hardware and in the past more MIC model variations.
Need to define which model you are talking about as the MIC Casino's use different pickups and whether you like sound of them is purely personal taste.
Whether your MIC Casino has the P-90 Classic™or the Epiphone PRO P-90..
Also note that the earlier Korean P-90's, I think, were wound like the P-90 Classic, possibly and not to forget the Indonesian P-90's. Also the Epiphone USA P-90 supposedly wound like the Gibson P-90.
So basically I am proposing that there were more Epiphone P-90 types at different times. I have Pro's, Classics and Indonesian that sound different and measure differently.
I don’t know what you’re on about with the mention of worn, coupe, Korean and Indonesian... The original post says 2021 MIC Epiphone Casino...
Here’s a link if any further clarification is needed:https://www.epiphone.com/Guitar/EPIBDM867/Casino/Natural
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21 hours ago, Larsongs said:
That’s why I’d go with Makers like Fralin, Lollar or Duncan…. Or if I wanted to spend the money Thro-Bak’s which are arguably the best.. The Neck Pickup & the Bridge Pickups are sized different.
Here’s a link to Fralin website.. They will be my choice for my MIC Casino… I just discovered they have Chrome Dogears back in Stock!
I was reading this blog post on Lollar’s website. I didn’t realize there was minute differences in the spacing, depending on the Casino. Was surprised to read that they’ll wind new P90s and install them in the old chrome dogears. I think that might be easiest...
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18 hours ago, Larsongs said:
It’s not that their too Hot. The ones in my MIC Casino are harsher sounding than my Casinos with Gibson USA P90’s which sound beautiful!
I was just watching a video on installing aftermarket P90s in a MIC Casino. It looks like the stock pickups are curved to match the contour of the body but most aftermarket pickups are flat and come with shims. Is that a huge deal?
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On 6/14/2021 at 10:12 PM, Larsongs said:
They’re actually pretty decent Guitars.. You could sink many hundreds of dollars trying to make really great.. But, you’d be better off buying an IBJL or Elitist.. Both have Gibson USA P90’s, Switchcraft components & basically better everything...
For your Guitar the most I’d invest would be a set of Fralin, Lollar or Duncan P90’s & a really good Set Up.. It will sound as good as just about any Casino.. I’d suggest Thro Bak P90’s but they’re pretty pricey...
Congrats on your NGD! Casino’s are really great versatile Guitars! I own 3 & have the new made in USA on Order...
If the pickups are super hot then that may be a necessary swap. I almost went for the USA but again, the goal was to get something up a little cheaper (<$1k) to gig with. Hoping they continue to manufacture (what is frankly a model that deserve a permanent place in the Custom Shop) in the USA. As for the rest... I don’t doubt they’re worth it, but the price tags on the MIJ guitars seems a little inflated to me. I’m guessing because there just hasn’t been any options in the past (MIC, MIJ or Vintage). Good luck with the wait, I hate buying something sight unseen but there’s not much of a choice these days...
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I bought a 2021 MIC Casino. Wondering what will need tending to outside of a typical “new guitar set-up.” I’ve read where the fretwork was rough in the past. Not sure if the pickups, bridge or tuners need any attention. I own a custom shop Fender and Martin and while I appreciate to build quality those guitars, I wanted a hollow-body for rhythm playing that wouldn’t give me anxiety just for bringing to a gig. Not expecting it to play like a dream directly out of it’s cardboard box, but I’m hoping if give attention to the right places, it’ll be a nice little instrument.
MIC Epiphone Casino
in Epiphone Electrics
Posted
OP here, I just purchased another MIC Casino from 2013. I was surprised to find some subtle differences. 2013 has a small square block under the bridge that 2021 does not have. 2013 also features a chunkier neck and thicker headstock (2013 = 5/8”, 2021=1/2”). I just installed Lollar’s in the 2013 and it sounds amazing. B7 soon to follow!