New Guitar.

[Retired]

Yes, I bought a new guitar. I had Epiphone Riviera on the mind, No-one had one, and Ol' Rob actually talked me into buying a Casino with P-90's. So I went to Guitar Center first. It was on the way to Dietze Music, but G.C. drew a big fat 0.  So on to Dietze and they had a Casino Coupe. Vintage Burst, P-90's,  Tusq nut and they offered me a big discount if I bought it before May 31.  I used to think I hated P90's. Thought they were just all heavy metal fuzz tone.  But because of all you folks here on the forum, you have testified that you love them, I have been checking them out for a couple of years on the net.  Most demonstrators go through just that loud growling  metal tone but some show the other side to them.  Like I said, Good Ol' Rob talked me into getting the Casino.  It looks like his and I sent him a photo of it so if anyone wants to see it, it's posted on the Epiphone Lounge on "Whats on your mind." 

Besides, Not that many get on the Epiphone Lounge these days and I know how Rob mainly stays on it and would love more visitors.  It shows both the front and back of the guitar.  Yes, when I got home I didn't think to check the knobs.  I played it in the store and bought it.  The guy cleaned and wiped out down real good and put it in a bag.  Got home, plugged it in the tube amp at night time when Debbie was sleeping. Thought the volume was low. The amp came on and there was a loud scream enough to wake the dead,  Man does she ever scream loud. I jumped off the seat a foot and was quickly looking for the off button.  My God is it loud. Haha. Ok...I turned all the knobs down off and started over and I love the tones. Why did I wait till I was 66 to get my first P90's?  Anyway, I'm experimenting still learning this new forum look so take a look at her on the Epiphone Lounge.  Its on there as I just looked.  Thanks everyone, You all had a say in me getting this. 

[Tekboy]

It is always nice to find a new guitar that you decide is a keeper.
Nice "wake up" story. 🙂

[rct]

I have been quite tempted a few times by those Casino Coupes.  Coupii.  Nice!

rct

[Retired]

5 hours ago, rct said:

I have been quite tempted a few times by those Casino Coupes.  Coupii.  Nice!

rct

I often wondered about them,  Rob sure loves his and tells me about its his favorite. No-one had he Riviera to try and I wasn't interested in the Casinos for $700.00 prices I was seeing.  Then Deitze has this one for $449.00 and offered it to me for $399.00 so I bit on it.  It sounds amazing on my Fender Super Champ tube amp. Out of all my guitars this Casino has amazing sustain. Even last night I could hear that unplugged. 

 

[kelly campbell]

Congratulations. They are a nice guitar.

[Retired]

Thanks for your replies, I did a set up on it last night.  The only thing I saw wrong was the intonation so did that.  It does sound amazing for sure. 

[arcticsg]

Congrats, Happy NGD! 🙂

Glad to hear the Coupes sound good.   I know the regular Casinos are awesome 😎

[Retired]

8 hours ago, arcticsg said:

Congrats, Happy NGD! 🙂

Glad to hear the Coupes sound good.   I know the regular Casinos are awesome 😎

Thanks,  I spent some time comparing the 2  listening to both, even bits of both back and forth. I couldn't hear the difference. They say the only difference is the coupe has a smaller body comparable to the Les Paul.  Yep. It's about the same size as my Gold top Standard. Then one guy liked the neck on the original Casino over the Casino Coupe. Anyhow, Thats how Coupe is spelled in the F hole.  I was concerned about that but the Coupe has a 60's style neck which I love.  Plus its so light you hardly notice your'e holding it. 

[uncle fester]

Happy NGD

[Notes_Norton]

HNGD!!!

I love the sound of my full-sized Casino. I'm sure I'd love a Coupe too. P90s are my favorite.

But you know the rules, you really don't have a new guitar until we get pictures :D

 

Notes

[arcticsg]

15 hours ago, Retired said:

Thanks,  I spent some time comparing the 2  listening to both, even bits of both back and forth. I couldn't hear the difference. They say the only difference is the coupe has a smaller body comparable to the Les Paul.  Yep. It's about the same size as my Gold top Standard. Then one guy liked the neck on the original Casino over the Casino Coupe. Anyhow, Thats how Coupe is spelled in the F hole.  I was concerned about that but the Coupe has a 60's style neck which I love.  Plus its so light you hardly notice your'e holding it. 

 

Speaking of weight, I have two Casinos.  One is an older Peerless model made in Korea and the other is the newer 2018 that is made at the Epiphone factory in China.   The older one is fairly light and better balanced when compared to the new one (I think it sounds better as well).   I am actually surprised on the weight difference between the two, as it is quite substantial.  I don't know why that is, I can't believe it's just that the new one has a ton more polly coat on it... LOL

[Retired]

14 hours ago, Notes_Norton said:

HNGD!!!

I love the sound of my full-sized Casino. I'm sure I'd love a Coupe too. P90s are my favorite.

But you know the rules, you really don't have a new guitar until we get pictures 😄

 

Notes

Yes sir. While I haven't had the time to examine how to post on yet on the new look here; (I've been very busy cleaning up at home, all the yard work and painting the house,) It is posted on the Epiphone Lounge. Anyone can go there and take a look. It shows the front side and back side of the guitar. Rob was kind enough to post it there and i'ts on, "Whats On Your Mind " thread.  You just have to go back one page there to see it. 

[Retired]

9 hours ago, arcticsg said:

 

Speaking of weight, I have two Casinos.  One is an older Peerless model made in Korea and the other is the newer 2018 that is made at the Epiphone factory in China.   The older one is fairly light and better balanced when compared to the new one (I think it sounds better as well).   I am actually surprised on the weight difference between the two, as it is quite substantial.  I don't know why that is, I can't believe it's just that the new one has a ton more polly coat on it... LOL

Out of curiosity, I just weighed 2 guitars.  The Gibson Gold Top and the Casino Coupe are about the same size. 

The Gold Top weighed in at 7.7 lb's.  The Casino Coupe weighed 5.7 lb's. Hmm, One more guitar. I weighed my Vintage Jaguar and it came in the heaviest.  8.1 lb's. 

[merciful-evans]

Congrats Retired. 

I like Casino Coupes and I had one too. This one to be precise:

I too didnt much like P90s, but they sound fine on hollowbodies (to me).  This played and sounded good and I used it on the debut gig for Jazz outfit Vinyl Frontiers.

The only reason I gave it up was because of some instability. It seemed to need a set up every month and I'm lazy.

[Retired]

8 hours ago, merciful-evans said:

Congrats Retired. 

I like Casino Coupes and I had one too. This one to be precise:

I too didnt much like P90s, but they sound fine on hollowbodies (to me).  This played and sounded good and I used it on the debut gig for Jazz outfit Vinyl Frontiers.

The only reason I gave it up was because of some instability. It seemed to need a set up every month and I'm lazy.

I noticed I have to tune it every time, a few strings off.  Didn't know if that's because their new and still stretching?  I like the red too.  I love those bell like tones it puts out on the tube amp.  Haven't hooked it to the Mustang ll amp yet. 

[merciful-evans]

13 hours ago, Retired said:

I noticed I have to tune it every time, a few strings off.  Didn't know if that's because their new and still stretching?  I like the red too.  I love those bell like tones it puts out on the tube amp.  Haven't hooked it to the Mustang ll amp yet. 

 

Yes strings will still be settling probably. Gorgeous clean sounds for sure.

Live, I found I could not uses FX without feedback. Probably could have done if I re-positioned speakers & mics away earlier.

Lovely to hold aren't they? 😊

[Notes_Norton]

After about  a year gigging with my Casino (Peerless - Japan) and getting a gig on a salt water pier where I didn't want the salt inside the hollow body, I played a Humbucker Faux-LP. I realized then, once you get used to the sound of P90s, everything else sounds dull. I put P90s on the LP.

My gigging guitar now has Duncan P-Rails and can be switched to P90, Rail, Series Humbucker and Parallel Humbucker. I use the P90 configuration about 90% of the time.

Insights and incites by Notes

[Retired]

On 5/30/2019 at 6:01 AM, merciful-evans said:

 

Yes strings will still be settling probably. Gorgeous clean sounds for sure.

Live, I found I could not uses FX without feedback. Probably could have done if I re-positioned speakers & mics away earlier.

Lovely to hold aren't they? 😊

I hate to say it, but it puts my LP Gold Top to shame. The Alnico's have their place with songs but the P-90's can cover so much more.  Every time I get it out I just want to crank it up a bit to hear those beautiful tones. Deb's in the other room so I try to keep it down.  I just wait for days when she goes out with friends or for sewing so I can hook it up.

[Retired]

On 5/30/2019 at 4:01 PM, Notes_Norton said:

After about  a year gigging with my Casino (Peerless - Japan) and getting a gig on a salt water pier where I didn't want the salt inside the hollow body, I played a Humbucker Faux-LP. I realized then, once you get used to the sound of P90s, everything else sounds dull. I put P90s on the LP.

My gigging guitar now has Duncan P-Rails and can be switched to P90, Rail, Series Humbucker and Parallel Humbucker. I use the P90 configuration about 90% of the time.

Insights and incites by Notes

I thought about trading my Gretsch Streamliner for the Riviera which has 3 P-90's in it with 3 separate volume controls for each. Also considering putting 57 Classics in the Gold Top and having just 3 electric guitars instead of 5. John said he wants his Custom Pro back that has Burst buckers in it and that's very nice too.  So I can trade the Standard when I get it back which he has now and 2 others.  Keep the Ovation Acoustic and 12 string.  That will give me 5.  I went to Guitar Center today and they didn't have one single Gibson in the Acoustic room.  Mostly all Taylors and Martins. 

[Notes_Norton]

Being a multi-instrumentalist and a gigging musician (read: underpaid) I have to make my tools multi-functional if I can.

Although I love P90s and use them for about 90% of the songs I do on stage, there are a few songs where a humbucker or rail sounds better. Thus the P-Rail pickups that give me 4 sounds. OK the P90 sound isn't quite the same as a soap bar, but it's very close. A little more treble to my ears, so I adjust the tone control.

Also there is one place that I play at, once or twice a year, that has something weird in the electric system. Using a P90 pickup hums. I use a line conditioner, and everything gets plugged into one outlet so there is a common ground. It only happens here. The little yellow light on my line conditioner sometimes lights up telling me the voltage is low, but I have no idea if that is the cause or a coincidence. In this place I use the humbuckers all night and suffer through not having the attack of the P90s.

And that's what I like about P90s the most. Picking hard puts a nice accented burst that is more tone and less noise than rails or buckers, and picking soft makes for almost no picking sound. The dynamic range of attack is much greater than the other style pickups, and when using rails or buckers I am missing those nuances. Plus the pure tone of a P90 is as clear as a bell. It can be made dirty with FX, no problem, but you can't clean up a tone that isn't pure to begin with.

So my Parker with P-Rails is my gigging guitar. It's kind of the "Swiss Army Knife" of guitars in that it can do so many things (there is also a piezo under the bridge that can be played alone or blended with the Mag pickups). And it's light in weight. For a guy picking up the sax one song, the wind synth another, the guitar another and sometimes two instruments in one song, light is important.

Parkers are gone (R.I.P. Parker). If my Dragonfly fails, I'll probably get a cheap Gibson SG, the kind with one tone and one volume, replace the pickups with P-Rails and triple shot rings, and use it. Light weight, and the simplicity of one master volume and one tone allow me to spend more time playing and less time twiddling knobs.

I guess that's TMI, feel free to ignore parts or all ;)

Insights and incites by Notes

[Retired]

Thanks Notes, for the reply. Yeah, since I don't gig,  before each song I play, I experiment on the guitar and tube amp for the sound I want to achieve.  Make sure the guitar is in tune and then play. Next song might be a whole different setting and at times I play along with a DVD.  When I get into Surf, which I love, I get the Jaguar out.  For American Woman, which I start on the acoustical introduction,  then play the electric parts on the Gretsch or Gibson. Now the Casino covers that song so much better.  Playing with the amp I can get more fuzz tones than the Gibson with the Casino. I tried the Fender Mustang ll amp and it was great too.  I do like some Willie Nelson songs and get the Acoustic out for them. So there's about 5 guitars I play mostly. I have never added or changed a pickup yet, and am a little scared of trying as I don't want to screw the guitar up.  But what I have so far covers about any rock & roll song I'll ever play.  I've been slowly working on Blues  and may switch over to Blues if I ever master it. And yes, some or several songs I play are really Blues. 

[Notes_Norton]

Different needs for different folks. Your 5 guitars sound like a lot of fun. If I ever get famous and can hire roadies, I might join you :)

Notes

[Retired]

On 6/9/2019 at 9:02 AM, Notes_Norton said:

Different needs for different folks. Your 5 guitars sound like a lot of fun. If I ever get famous and can hire roadies, I might join you 🙂

Notes

Well, Thank You for that.  I gave you a plus. I changed strings and did a setup on the Casino and surprisingly it now stays in tune.  Have no idea what they had on it but I put Boomers round wound 10-46's on it. Now, next morning I had to retune a couple or so strings but now they all stay pretty much right on tune. 

[Notes_Norton]

Of all my guitars, my Parkers stay in tune the best. Probably because they have Sperzel tuners. The string goes through the hole in the tuner, a thumb wheel locks it in, and you tune from there. What happens is the string never gets a full wrap around the post, so there is no settling in the windings.

It also makes it easier and quicker to put the strings on or off. If my 1970 Gibson wasn't stock and a classic, I'd put them on that guitar, just for the convenience of stringing in a hurry.

Thanks for the +

Notes

 

[Retired]

15 hours ago, Notes_Norton said:

Of all my guitars, my Parkers stay in tune the best. Probably because they have Sperzel tuners. The string goes through the hole in the tuner, a thumb wheel locks it in, and you tune from there. What happens is the string never gets a full wrap around the post, so there is no settling in the windings.

It also makes it easier and quicker to put the strings on or off. If my 1970 Gibson wasn't stock and a classic, I'd put them on that guitar, just for the convenience of stringing in a hurry.

Thanks for the +

Notes

 

You're very welcome.  My goal is to find some D'Addario NYXL  Nickel Wounds to try.  Just here in the guitar shop I go to unless I have to order on line. I read some great stuff about them and they hold tune gig after gig. Bend farther & sound great. 6 years playing again, I've played around with lots of strings and dumped many for good.  These D'Addario's are supposed to cost $12.99 a set. Also thinking of going heavier. I've been playing  9-42's and while I love the playability and able to bend like crazy plus they don't hurt the tips of the fingers, I have noticed fret buzz at the 12th fret.  Which I read is common. It's been driving me nuts and is why I went back to 10-46. 

Also want to try  .011-.049's once.  Maybe on the Gretsch where I play chords mostly and don't bend.  I've never tried Parkers before.  Now I completely forgot what the heck I stuck on the 12 string Acoustic Guitar, But it rings out great, and I never have to retune it.  Guess I need a log book what I do.?  HaHa.