Creating my perfect Casino

[frenchie1281734003]

Having owned three 80s Matsumoku`s, a John Lennon 65 signature (1171/1965), a 2003 "Elite", and a 1964 Gibson ES-330, all of which had plus/minus points, I thought it was time to put all the best bits of each of these guitars into one.

 

The best playing (As well as best looking) of all of the above, had to be my 83 Blonde Matsumoku (It`s the only one I`ve kept). So this was my starting point. It has lovely figuring, weighs 6Lb 2oz, and although the finish is poly it is very thin (See photo of jack socket for finish chips near end of tailpiece).

 

 

I replaced the stock Gotoh/Maxon p-90s for USA Epiphone EP-90s taken from a 2010 Elitist.

 

 

I left the original pots and wiring, as all was fine. Shielded pots, braided wiring, Switchcraft selector switch & jack socket.

 

I added a Kluson non wire bridge with Nylon saddles, a 6" trapeze from the old 64 330 (That had been given the Bigsby mod anyway).

 

Added a foil E to the pickguard. I made a new bone nut, and added a set of gold Grovers I had lying around, Those Rotomatics with the Kluson type butoons were just too fiddly for my fingers.

 

I took off the grey paint from the f hole edges.

 

A fret dressing and set up later I have this. I hope you enjoy the pics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

 

It plays and sounds fabulous, nails those Lennon and Weller tones. The old pickups were pretty good, but a little one dimensional in comparison. The neck profile is perfect for me, wide and flat, like my old 62 Texan.

 

I finally have the perfect Casino for me. The few shortcomings that the Matsumoku Casino had, have been addressed.

 

I couldn`t be happier.

 

Steve.

[buffalob]

Wow. I am loving your Casino!! I am on the down hill slide on my own take for the perfect casino build. (go to the epiphone lounge under Buffalo Bob's Casino Overhaul to see where I am in the process. Question...are the Epi P90s superior in your opinion? just curious.

You version is gorgeous.

 

Bob.

[bobouz]

Frenchie -

 

What was your process for removing the paint from the F-holes?

 

Sanding, or a commercial product?

 

The guitar looks lovely!

[frenchie1281734003]

I was looking at yours yesterday Bob, I really like it`s new finish. You have my admiration for all the work you have done. I was tempted to strip mine down to bare wood, but it would have been a lot of work, and I might have gone too far with the sanding. On the plus side the poly finish on my Casino is quite a bit thinner than the nitro on my Gibson J100 Xtra!.

 

As for the pickups, the Gotoh/Maxon one`s were actually very good, but lacked a little definition. They didn`t quite have the crystal high`s that the Gibson U.S. made P-90s have. However they would feed back later, and were really raunchy when overdriven. These U.S.A. EP-90s have exactly the tone I am looking for. I don`t think they are that much different to the Lennon 65 P-90s particularly when you add the Nylon saddles to the mix, which actually changes the tone somewhat.

 

Things that I`ve liked about the 80s Matsumoku`s, are 1) they were 60% hand built.

2) The lovely laminated three piece maple necks, they feel great in the hand (and don`t affect the tone at all).

3) The figured woods they used.

4) The top notch rosewood on the fretboards (possibly Brazillian, check photo`s).

5) The neck binding, which is thin like on vintage Gibson`s/Epiphone`s (The binding on the Elite/Elitists is twice as thick).

 

Here`s some more photo`s, I hope you enjoy.

 

 

 

 

Steve.

[crust]

Of all the work, I dig the saddles. I have a set of graphtech saddles for my ES 335 pro, but haven't installed them yet. I hope they reduce string breakage, as I tend to bend the higher strings a lot, improvising...just the way I tend to play, when improvising. I need to get a few string sets, remove the strings, saddles, reset the intonation...Lots of work...I need a new string set to replace the old strings if I replace the saddles.

 

 

I no longer own a Casino guitar. Again, some day, hopefully soon. Yours sure looks great.

[frenchie1281734003]

Frenchie -

 

What was your process for removing the paint from the F-holes?

 

Sanding, or a commercial product?

 

The guitar looks lovely!

 

Hi Bobouz, I scraped most of it off with a thin X-acto knife, side on, then finished up with sand paper and fine wire wool. I didn`t entirely get a uniform finish, particularly where the grain changes direction. but it looks better than the grey paint.

 

Steve.

[crust]

I like the back of that also. The little knots, to me, look cool. I have heard some exclaim they don't like the "knotty" look of the "second rate" wood used to produce Epiphone Casino's. To me, that makes each guitar look unique, which I like.

[frenchie1281734003]

Of all the work, I dig the saddles. I have a set of graphtech saddles for my ES 335 pro, but haven't installed them yet. I hope they reduce string breakage, as I tend to bend the higher strings a lot, improvising...just the way I tend to play, when improvising. I need to get a few string sets, remove the strings, saddles, reset the intonation...Lots of work...I need a new string set to replace the old strings if I replace the saddles.

 

 

I no longer own a Casino guitar. Again, some day, hopefully soon. Yours sure looks great.

 

thanks Crust. You are right about the work involved, but I kind of like that aspect of things. Unlike you, I don`t really suffer with string breakage at all (Twice in 30 years!!).

 

Good luck with all the work. the hardest job I had was unsoldering the shields on the pots to get to the solder joints , it took forever, and then they had to be soldered back together again. I owe my mate Marcus big time.

 

Here`s the wiring.

 

 

Steve.

[frenchie1281734003]

I like the back of that also. The little knots, to me, look cool. I have heard some exclaim they don't like the "knotty" look of the "second rate" wood used to produce Epiphone Casino's. To me, that makes each guitar look unique, which I like.

 

That`s the little bird`s eye burl in the wood, not knots.

 

here`s adifferent shot of the back, maybe it will show it clearer.

 

 

the neck and rims are a very nice flame maple.

 

Steve.

[crust]

nice

[crust]

The art of wood cutting, different species of wood, different ways to cut and carve it, glue, dye, stain, polishing techniques and tools, coatings, as well as the type of anomalies that can make it look the way it does and how it's cut (burls/burrs/flame/birdseye/quilt...) so interesting to me..art form.