Kriszuki Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 Hi, I am new to the forum, excited to get some views from you about my Casino elitist project on the go at the mo. I bought a natural finish elitist last month and have been looking into ways of personalising the guitar. I know that's what the great JL did, I want to just to say from the offset I am not looking to replicate his guitar or his efforts in any way, I just love to play instruments that I have put time into to improve the looks and playability sound etc The guitar I have is beautiful to play and sounds good. I reckon it needs a good 10 years of playing in and maturing till it will become really great. But I did have a problem with a couple of things from when I bought it new and thanks to this forum I have found solutions. First up there was a bad buzzing sound happening from the neck pickup, it turned out to be a bad solder joint and it was simply fixed at the shop I bought it from with a big *** soldering iron, the base of the pickup had come loose. The next problem I had was also buzzing related, but this time very subtle, the buzz is very high pitched and bloomed after the note was picked. I had a recording session and the engineer actually lent over my guitar as I was playing and tried to mute the strings behind the bridge to solve the problem. The ringing did come through on the recording which was not great tbh. But I must say that at this juncture I have never listened to a great guitarist and thought 'that buzzing note is putting me off!' Which to be fair is probably down to the fact that great guitarists play great guitars that are well kept and also when the music is good who cares about imperfections.. But for me if its a problem that can be solved it should be. I had two separate luthiers look at it and ended up concluding it needed a new bridge(confirmed by holding the bridge with my fingers whilst the tech played the buzzing notes, nb this was not down to the retaining wire, something was buzzing from the saddle itself(not the screw) So I thought 'bugger it' and bought the Callaham ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic Bridge, Vintage Studs I will install shortly and report back! Next up was a case of part vanity and part preference in feel. I recently refinished a strat and striped the poly and finished with wax, I love the way it looks and feels now and it inspired me to look into getting the casino stripped of its poly coat and refinished. I was advised not to do this myself and have left it with a luthier to do it professionally. I have asked him to remove all the poly from top to tail and then finish with wax. A couple of things about the elitist I don't like is the elitist trc, the elitist logo painted on the back of the headstock and the elitist logo on the guitar case (which has already broken a hinge but being fixed or replaced by the shop I bought it from) what a horrible name for a guitar.. So refinishing will sort some of that. But essentially it is the finish that bothered me, it was too shiny and dare i say it fake. I am also aware that the poly finish will never get better with age and as I will keep this guitar for the rest of my life I wanted the finish to age well over the years. I know that poly will improve the guitar's sound no better or worse than other finishes once amplified but there is something very gratifying about having an instrument feeling right when in your lap. The finish on the casino natural is pretty pale, which I dont mind but check out the natural finish on the grande below, I think that is knock out! Be interested if anybody here knows how to go about getting a finish on the casino like that? Maybe its down to aging or wood types.. I am going to use wax so I suppose a wax with a tint in it may work. Next up is pickup upgrades, the elitist uses the gibson ones and they are pretty unbalanced between bridge and neck, they do sound very nice and full but I had the chance to play a friends guitar with lollar p90 50s lower output pups and the experience sold me on them over the usa gibsons (which I will sell shortly if anyone is interested). I also ordered them in cream which is not typical for a casino but I think will go very nicely with a natural finish. I am now looking to change up the pots to 500k audio for the tones and 500k linear for the volumes and find a couple of oil in paper caps to go with them. Has anybody made any upgrades to the elitist wiring/parts that they can recommend? I really like the bikini logo on certain epis, I am looking into putting one on the elitist, the thing is the headstock is not of the wider style they are normally found on- so was wondering if anyone has tried to do this or whether the dimensions can work? I know it won't be vintage correct but I love the bikini design and I am hoping it will fit the casino headstock nicely. I will swap out the trc for one with no lettering and take off the pickguard. I would also like to find some vintage style knobs to replace the existing one that hark back to the early epi years (I am very interested in the roots of the company as my family were from Smyrna where the Stathopoulo family immigrated to the states from) I like the carousel ones very much, again anyone with any ideas on whether this is feasible or would look any good be interested to hear from you. Long post eh! Hope that it may interest someone out there. Look forward to hearing your comments, please be gentle with me, I know the casino is a brilliant guitar stock I am just a tinkerer, don't hold it against me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 Wow, that is a tidy looking guitar. I think its fine that you are customising it. You certainly have great enthusiasm for it. Any chance of hearing something of it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 I'm confused. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuddyHollywood Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 I thought the Elitist models are finished in nitrocellulose lacquer, not polyurethane. As far as the Gibson P90s, a less expensive fix is to buy a pack of P90 risers from Lollar and raise up the bridge pickup. I did this with my 1961 reissue Casino and it perfectly balances the pickups. The Gibson P90's are the standard P90 all other P90s are based on. Many bridges rattle. If you want a one piece bar bridge with no moving parts to rattle, check out Tru-Arc bridges online. They make a compensated bar bridge called a Serpentune. I heard the owner of the company put one of his bridges on his own Casino. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kriszuki Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 sorry for the confusion - - The guitar in the picture is not mine, unfortunately, I posted it as an example of the finish I was hoping to get by refinishing my casino. But I am up for posting some music once the guitar has been fixed up. The elitist model I have is poly, there is another elitist model that is sold in Japan only that is nitro. I will check out Tru-Arc bridges, but I have already bought the Callaham one. Good point about the shim option, I would have gone that route, but I was so into the lollar 50s wind sound I heard on another guitar I jumped ship from the gibson usa. Anybody had any experience using the carousel knobs on a modern cts pot? Will they fit? Similarly will the bikini badge fit on a elitist epi headstock? My guitar is at the tech workshop being refinished so I can't do the measurements. The width of the bikini badge is 2.5", the only way I can communicate with the guitar tech is by visiting him in person, he wont answer telephone calls so if any one can confirm the width of the widest point of their casino headstock I would be really grateful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis G Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 I thought the Elitist models are finished in nitrocellulose lacquer, not polyurethane. I have a five year old Elitist (MIJ) and it has a poly finish, not nitro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kriszuki Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 Hi can anyone can post up the width of the widest point of their casino headstock? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 - removed - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis G Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Hi can anyone can post up the width of the widest point of their casino headstock? Cheers Mine is approx 3 1/4 inches wide at the top (where the Epi logo is). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kriszuki Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 Mine is approx 3 1/4 inches wide at the top (where the Epi logo is). That's great, thanks for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old mark Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 I routinely replace TOM's on most Epi and Gibsons with GOTOH's. Far better bridge overall, solid, wider and a little heavier...$35. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 I routinely replace TOM's on most Epi and Gibsons with GOTOH's. Far better bridge overall, solid, wider and a little heavier...$35. Which ones do you use from the GOTOH range? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kriszuki Posted November 4, 2015 Author Share Posted November 4, 2015 Anyone know the specs for the pots and hole diameters, switches and electronics in a Casino Elitist? (The Epiphone website does not specify these details) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 I thought the Elitist models are finished in nitrocellulose lacquer, not polyurethane. As far as the Gibson P90s, a less expensive fix is to buy a pack of P90 risers from Lollar and raise up the bridge pickup. I did this with my 1961 reissue Casino and it perfectly balances the pickups. The Gibson P90's are the standard P90 all other P90s are based on. The Elitists are finished in hand-rubbed poly unless started otherwise. The recent Elitist 1966 Riviera Custom and 1965 Casino Vintage were exceptions and finished in nitrocellulose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kriszuki Posted November 8, 2015 Author Share Posted November 8, 2015 The Elitists are finished in hand-rubbed poly unless started otherwise. The recent Elitist 1966 Riviera Custom and 1965 Casino Vintage were exceptions and finished in nitrocellulose. I just found the finish on my elitist to be very glossy or shiny, it was done very well, but not the feel and look I like unfortunately. I think if I knew it would age gracefully I would stick with it, but am I right in thinking poly does not improve with age in the way that nitro does? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis G Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 I just found the finish on my elitist to be very glossy or shiny, it was done very well, but not the feel and look I like unfortunately. I think if I knew it would age gracefully I would stick with it, but am I right in thinking poly does not improve with age in the way that nitro does? Poly is as poly is. Not going to age like a nitro finish, at least in my experience. If it really bothers you, there are some DIY threads here (I think) and on the MLP forum where guys have dulled the finish with scotchbrite pads and patience. I'm just leaving well enough alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kriszuki Posted November 8, 2015 Author Share Posted November 8, 2015 Poly is as poly is. Not going to age like a nitro finish, at least in my experience. If it really bothers you, there are some DIY threads here (I think) and on the MLP forum where guys have dulled the finish with scotchbrite pads and patience. I'm just leaving well enough alone. My decision was to take all the poly off the guitar from body to head and re-finish with wax. I am not doing the job myself as I would only trust someone who has done this many times before. I have not seen the guitar yet but I will post up results as and when. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.