Casino questions.....

[osueric27]

I am looking to add a Casino to my collection. I have a few questions and figured this was the best lace to ask.

 

1. As far as quality should I be looking for an early 90's model? From what I understand this was when Gibson got back behind the Epiphone brand.

 

2. If the current models are as good as the 90's models, which plant produces the best quality?

 

3. Has anyone switched out the tail piece for a frequensator? If so, how hard is it?

 

4. What are your suggestions for P90 replacements.

 

5. How are the electronics such as POTs, switch, and wiring? Should they be replaced?

 

6. SHould the tuners be replaced or are they pretty good?

 

Thanks for the help!

[Digger]

G'day,

 

I'm not an expert but I recently bought a Casino new which is an '06 model made in Korea in the Unsung plant.

 

There are many on the forum that will sing the praises out of the Qingdao plant in China (EE prefix S/No's) but my experience was that I still had to sift carefully though the stock to find the best guitar I could. I am very happy with my "Cassie" in all aspects.

 

Answering you questions from my limited experience, I see no need to alter anything on the guitar except for the stings which are usually pretty poor ex factory, but there will be many more with other opinions and more experience than myself.

 

Good hunting.

 

 

Digger

[Mark]

I own a Casino and play it almost everyday. I had the same question and Bob "Notes" helped me with my cosmetic

upgrades. I would like to install a Frequensator as well ( I just like the look). Have you found that tail piece for sale?

[pohatu771]

I have a 2001 Casino from the Peerless factory.

 

At this point, I'm probably going to replace the switch, and I'm considering replacing the tuners. They hold a tune just fine, but it's not the easiest to get them there in the first place.

[byrds1965]

Check the Casino thread Korean vs China from a week ago.

 

Just play as many as possible and pick the one you love.

 

If I was not a Beatles fan and had to have a burst and a natural I would have kept my red Peerless plant one. It was the best of the bunch from 98 or 99 I think.

 

The build on that one was just as good as a Gibson, solid, binding perfect, well shot and masked, no casino rattle, pickups well balanced, great woody tone. That guitar had the solid white inlays without the swirl to them.

 

Every plant has a bad guitar day, but I can say out of my collection the Peerless plant stuff seems more solid and better built, attention to detail, than the rest. Just my opinion.

[Lerxst1281733995]

I have an '06 Casino made in the Saein factory that's absolutely perfect... The only thing I changed on it was the bridge.. It had the famous buzz and rattle..

 

I wouldn't dare change the P-90's on mine.. They sound like money! 11k neck and 12k bridge..

 

Had some tuning problems at first, but a little lubrication in the nut slots took care of that...

 

As far as the pots and switch go, I say if it aint broke, don't fix it.. If the switch junks out at some point (as is common) I'll replace the whole kaboodle while I'm at it.. But in the meantime... I just smile and enjoy!

[TWANG]

4. What are your suggestions for P90 replacements.

 

just sold three sets of Kent Armstrong P90s.. and I have KA p90s in two of my guitars, so I guess that says it for me.

 

 

5. How are the electronics such as POTs, switch, and wiring? Should they be replaced?

 

You can get a little more out of it with better pots, keeping the wiring short, and better caps.. the switches are a tad on the cheap side.

I've had four different ones in my sheraton and I've finally found a really good one.

 

 

6. SHould the tuners be replaced or are they pretty good?

 

It varies, by the actual tuners you have.. and by the person.

Some people like a higher ratio than the casino stock tuners have. typically going for Grovers. The fit exactly, have 18:1 ratio and

allow great fine tuning.

But, I've left the tuners on my sheri for 15 years now without a problem. A good set is a good set.

 

I'm a believer in tweaks and mods well considered.

and I'm also a believer in personalisation and general 'mojo'.

After the practical advice, I usually consider cosmetic, then more nebulous things..

Like the gold switch tip on my toggle.. or whether or not I can really hear the difference between a good generic poly cap and an

orange drop.

 

On small things, if it feels good, do it. *s*

 

TWANG

[Larry1281734007]

I picked up a 96 Korean Casino off of Craigs list and I really love it. It's pushed my Jimmy Vaughn Strat into second place on stage. As far as changes, the input jack was causing problems, so I replaced it. While I had the harness out (that was fun), I also upgraded the pots and switch. I also replaced the tuners with some Gibson keystone tuners I had which look very cool, and put on a Frequensator tailpiece I got on line from Allparts (It was quite simple to switch the tailpece). I'm still debating whether to change the pickups. The stock ones sound pretty good, and I'm not sure I can improve on the sound, but if I do I'll probably look at Kent Armstrong or Gibson P90s.

[Notes_Norton]

I have a 2001 Casino from the Peerless plant in Korea. It is an excellent guitar, with a build as good as my 1970 Gibson ES-330 (Of course the Gibson has a nitro finish, 3 ply body and real pearl inlays).

 

I bought the Casino used at GC. The previous owner replaced the pots and switch with USA sized parts and the tuners with grovers. Personally, I don't think the tuner replacement is necessary, as I've never had a problem with the Klusons. Given all this, I suspect the pickups may have also been changed, but that's just a guess.

 

I changed the pickguard and knobs so IMHO it looks more "refined". I never liked the white pickguard and the gold knobs just seemed to clash with the natural finish.

 

I'm sure most people have seen these, but here are the before and after pictures again

I need to take some new pictures ;)

Before:

 

After:

 

Anyway, if my Casino is any example, the Peerless plant is capable of making some fine guitars.

 

Notes

[Biff]

I would like to install a Frequensator as well ( I just like the look). Have you found that tail piece for sale?

 

Guess what.. GFS has them for $9.95 ;) http://store.guitarfetish.com/clepcagiesst.html

[Redddog]

I'm one of the guys who just bought from Twang.

 

I ordered the Kent Armstrongs, a bigsby, pots, switch, jack, a bone nut and wiring. I figured "what the hell." The guitar is built very well. (I have a peerless I think. S/N starts with an R). I played it for a good 6 months before I decided to upgrade. It plays very well - as good as my '67 335. No Joke. The guitar deserves to have high quality parts to it.

 

I also went with the black motif that Notes_norton went with. I guess guys just like what they like. It's funny. My 335 is exactly the same color as his but it has humbuckers and a stop tail piece. Weird.

 

I haven't gotten delivery yet so I can't comment on any of it but I can vouch for Twang. Great guy. Very knowledgeable and honest. And the great thing is that he's going to wire up everything and send it along. So all I have to do is connect the pickups and the ground wire and I'm good. That was a really cool thing to me.

 

I had some new Grovers laying around when I bought it and that was the first thing I changed. Those and the switch are shite and would be the first thing to go for me. Grovers alone made the guitar worlds better. The last thing I feel like compromising is the ability to tune. I couldn't go from Grovers to the stock Epi tuners but that's me.

 

Good luck. I think it's definitely worth it. The Casino is great as is. Don't get me wrong. But I wanted it to be every thing it could be.

[cabeza]

I love my 05 Korean Casino. Is the "R" for Peerless?

Anyways, the only upgrade I did was to replace the stock tuners, as they truly sucked major azz. I took a chance with GFS' vintage Kluson style Green Key tuners, and they do the job just fine. Looks cool, too. Many complain about Epi's p90's being overwound or whatever, but I absolutely love the sound I get. I strongly advise you play with poles for each string.. major difference! I've toyed with the idea of getting a frequensator tailpiece (like Daniel Kessler of Interpol), but I don't wanna' mess with the great tones I'm getting out of this love box. If anything, I do plan on one day obtaining another Casino, specifically to try some Gibson p90's on it, and probably that frequensator thingie as well.

Buy it, dude.. Seriously. Casinos are the s%$t.