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Epiphone casino


slasher1319

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The only thing that can compare to a Casino is a Gibson ES-330.

 

The are both basically the same guitar.

 

Advantages:

1) Light weight

2) Touch-and-go neck (short scale, long radius, slim taper)

3) P90 Pickups - nothing sounds better to me than a P90

4) It works as an acoustic guitar too, so you don't need to plug it in to practice

5) They are beautiful to look at

 

Disadvantages:

1) Feeds back at high volume levels. However, if you are playing that loud, you are permanently damaging your ears anyway.

2) Single coil pickups tend to hum a little. P90 and Fender lovers don't care because the music we play is loud enough to mask the slight hum and the tone is so great it's worth it.

 

GuitarCousins3.JPG

 

Notes

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I’ve always liked the Casinos I’ve played (all standards … never touched an Elitist), and I’ve always intended to own one some day. However, a couple of days ago while killing some time in a Sam Ash store, I picked up a new one and was very surprised.

 

First of all it felt like it was made out of tongue depressors … very flimsy. Not the slightest bit of grain in the wood … seriously, this thing could have been cardboard painted tan! The neck was okay and it sounded pretty good, but it just felt so cheap compared to others I had played. Hell … this felt cheap compared to any of the Dots I picked up and they were $200 less!

 

So is this the new offering from China or did I just grab a bad one?

 

Jim

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I’ve always liked the Casinos I’ve played (all standards … never touched an Elitist)' date=' and I’ve always intended to own one some day. However, a couple of days ago while killing some time in a Sam Ash store, I picked up a new one and was very surprised.

 

First of all it felt like it was made out of tongue depressors … very flimsy. Not the slightest bit of grain in the wood … seriously, this thing could have been cardboard painted tan! The neck was okay and it sounded pretty good, but it just felt so cheap compared to others I had played. Hell … this felt cheap compared to any of the Dots I picked up and they were $200 less!

 

So is this the new offering from China or did I just grab a bad one?

 

Jim

[/quote']

 

Your experience seems to match what the rest of us that own the MIKs models have found.

 

My bandmate bought an new EE Casino in Natural and it is much lighter than mine, the wood grain has a greyish tint to it rather than the brown top cap grain, the trapeze has a slight bend in it where it joins at the string anchor, and it has a clear coat finish. My MIK I model has more of a honey tone to its finish.

 

His neck seems a bit chunkier than mine and my natural has a bigger neck than my burst. I play the natrual more as the neck shape is closer to a Dot or 335 so the transition when I play it easier.

 

Plugged in to my amp when he bought his and A/Bed with my Natural they had the same electric tone. Ok yes a bit different, but you had to be real anal to tell. The new MIC Casinos regardless of wood quality/ and finish still sound like Casinos.

 

If you want a nice one to look at find a MIK, best of all stock line MIKs track down a Peerless model, if you just want the Casino tone the MIC ones are fine.

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In my experience it really helps to try more than one. I started with a Korean one (Samick plant), and even after a full set-up and a fair amount of time I just couldn't bond with it. Man, I wanted to, but it just didn't resonate and it felt a bit cheap.

 

I sold it and gave up my Casino lust, but then my favorite local shop picked up Gibson/Epiphone and ordered in an Elitist Casino. Man, it just sang. Super-responsive and resonant, and tone for days through a Vox CC they had in the amp room. I must have visited it five times, and by the time I was ready to try to make a deal it was gone.

 

Enter Ebay a few weeks later, where I ended up with a natural Elitist w/black Fralin P-90's. One black pickguard and a B-7 Bigsby later, it's my number one.

 

If I hadn't come across that second guitar I never would have known what I was missing. Find a few if you can, and hopefully one will be THE ONE.

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I’ve always liked the Casinos I’ve played (all standards … never touched an Elitist)' date=' and I’ve always intended to own one some day. However, a couple of days ago while killing some time in a Sam Ash store, I picked up a new one and was very surprised.

 

First of all it felt like it was made out of tongue depressors … very flimsy. Not the slightest bit of grain in the wood … seriously, this thing could have been cardboard painted tan! The neck was okay and it sounded pretty good, but it just felt so cheap compared to others I had played. Hell … this felt cheap compared to any of the Dots I picked up and they were $200 less!

 

So is this the new offering from China or did I just grab a bad one?

 

Jim

[/quote']

 

I reckon you just got a bad one, Jim.

 

I played a natural Chinese made EE serial number in Guitar Center a few months back, and it was quite a nice guitar. Although it was the usual price ($699), it had an Epiphone Ltd Edition custom shop logo on the back of the headstock. The grain was a little bland, but it didn't feel like Balsa wood at all. Wasn't dipped in clear plastic either. And it had the Casino tone aplenty, no doubt about it.

 

Unfortunately, Guitar Center weren't interested in doing a deal. I asked for a price with a hard-shell-case, and, to be fair, the salesman quoted me one...$699 for the guitar, $95 for a case (not an Epi case), and 7% NC sales tax on both items! I said that wasn't quite what I was looking for, he shrugged, so I went home Casino-less.

 

In the current climate I am not serious about adding to my collection (unless something amazing comes along). However I saw this at Fuller's website:

 

lpelitisteb-casinobigsby_8487.jpg

 

http://www.fullersguitar.com/component/page,shop.product_details/flypage,shop.flypage/product_id,2347/category_id,131/manufacturer_id,0/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,27/

 

I seem to remember that these were very favorably reviewed, and its unusual to see a new one still for sale at a dealer.

 

I could be tempted...but it's probably just passing GAS...

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Any good?

 

There are none to be found around my town. As soon as they are put on display' date=' they are snatched up. That speaks volumes.

 

The moment I lifted mine off the rack, I knew it was coming home with me. I didn't even plug it into an amp. The same day, I compared mine to a Japanese elitist casino. There was not enough difference to warrant the price difference. The two felt and sounded the same. With exposure to the sun's ultraviolet light, mine is starting to yellow nicely. Here it is on HNGD.

 

[img']http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk239/avmusician/Guitars/Epiphone005.jpg[/img]

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I’ve always liked the Casinos I’ve played (all standards … never touched an Elitist)' date=' and I’ve always intended to own one some day. However, a couple of days ago while killing some time in a Sam Ash store, I picked up a new one and was very surprised.

 

First of all it felt like it was made out of tongue depressors … very flimsy. Not the slightest bit of grain in the wood … seriously, this thing could have been cardboard painted tan! The neck was okay and it sounded pretty good, but it just felt so cheap compared to others I had played. Hell … this felt cheap compared to any of the Dots I picked up and they were $200 less!

 

So is this the new offering from China or did I just grab a bad one?

 

Jim

[/quote']

 

That is pretty much what my Ibanez Artcore looked and felt like. I gave it to my church, and may do time in hell as a result. The cherry finish seemed translucent as I could not detect any wood grain. Perhaps it was masonite or particleboard.

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