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Particle Board Casino?


DizzyFingers

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I believe Dizzy said this was from one of three standard Korean Casinos in his family...

 

Yes I have three ebony Casino's in my family...another one is going to get the same treatment once I do some finagaling at my local music shop...

 

"My herd of guitars is getting to large"...:-

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So it looks like there are six distinct layers to a Casino...I'm with Red 333 the white wood could definitley be poplar or birch....

 

 

There are a bazillion poplar trees in Canada and this could prove to be something that Epi would use as the cost factor would be low...

 

When I mod my other Casino I would definitely like to send BrianH another sample...since he has done such an outstanding job with this one....!

 

P1020482800x400.jpg

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P1020507.jpg

P1020424.jpg

 

Just a guess' date=' but it looks like:

1. Finish/primer/grain filler

2. Mahogany veneer

3. Maple core

4. Mahogany laminate

5. Mahogany core

6. Mahogany veneer

[/quote']

 

I agree with that assessment, but it's not what I expect a sample from a Casino to look like.

 

casino%20back.jpg

 

casino%20f-hole.jpg

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PS: Jerry' date=' remember that the sample is only about an inch square...

[/quote']

 

I understand that, but your very excellent photos show the back and what would be the inside of the f-hole. They don't gel, and if it doesn't gel, it isn't aspic.

 

PS - I used to use a 50mm f 3.5 Elmar on my Leica IIIc way back when. Not very fast, but a great lens. Glad to see the name still being used.

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All credit goes to this little guy:

PanaTZ5.jpg

The Leica lens really takes "point-and-shoot" to a whole other level...

 

PS: Jerry' date=' remember that the sample is only about an inch square...[/quote']

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Very nice work Brian... If I ever deside to disect one of mine, I'll be sure to send you the lab samples, so my wife can resell my collection, this is of course after she has buried me.

 

wives/gas....that can be worked out, a biology exercise on one she helped pay for, murder in the first degree.

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That's just what I expected to see, it's Maple under the black poly, and to tell you the truth it looks like some variety of Maple on the backside also.

 

So at the end of the day it's a Maple plywood with a Mahogany core, when sanded and painted at the F hole it would look exactly like the picture above.

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What do you expect? Do you think it's a "forgery"...?

 

I wouldn't go there without actually seeing some photos of your guitar. I'd like to see a photo looking inside the f-hole. Maybe sending them to Gibson customer service for an explanation.

 

The Epiphone Specs say the top back & sides are maple laminate on the Standard. The Elitist are also listed as maple' date=' but 5 ply instead of 3. The Lennon specs are 5 ply Maple & Birch, specifically M/B/M/B/M. They are very specific in describing the materials, and frankly, they would be inviting a lot of trouble if they used particle board or Poplar or Mahogany while claiming it was maple.

 

Even with the Maple / Birch laminate bodies, they go to some lengths to specify Maple / Birch / Maple / Birch / Maple. All visible wood on the various Casinos should be Maple (except the neck). Now even if they're going to sneak some cheap Asian mahogany in the laminate, it makes sense that they would hide it in the middle and use a maple veneer on the outsides. So it looks like the examples I posted earlier today. The photo of your sample [i']seems[/i] to show a white wood (maple???) in the middle and a mahogany looking veneer on the outsides. See if you can post some pictures of the guitar, it might help. Besides, I'd like to see what it looks like with the black B-70. Sounds spiffy.

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That's just what I expected to see' date=' it's Maple under the black poly, and to tell you the truth it looks like some variety of Maple on the backside also.

 

So at the end of the day it's a Maple plywood with a Mahogany core, when sanded and painted at the F hole it would look exactly like the picture above.[/quote']

 

That's completely the opposite of what you said before:

I'd say it's all Asian Mahogany except perhaps the white layer, it's hard to say but many of the Asian Mahoganies (Banak for example) are very white, so it could easily be an all Asian Mahogany plywood. It's all wood for sure but hard to say what type of wood the white layer is.

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Maple (top veneer)' date=' birch or poplar (or similar), mahogany, birch/poplar, mahogany x 2.

 

Just my guess.

 

Red 333[/quote']

 

Actually, now that I look more carefully at the bottom two plys, which I previouly guessed were both mahogany, I now think the very bottom is maple. So my REVISED guess is maple (top veneer), birch or polar, mahogany, birch/poplar, mahogany, maple.

 

Um, how does the guitar sound, anyway?

 

Red 333

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Mahogany, swietenia macrophylla, (C.S Am.)

Smaller, open pores, light density. Finishes to a red brown. Light, yet stable and stiff. Dents rather easily, but still highly desirable.

 

Maple, Acer spp., (US)

Hard, moderately heavy, closed pores. Oils to a golden color. Very popular for fine furniture. Some species are softer than others and thus, you hear the terms "Soft Maple" and "Hard Maple" and even "Rock Maple". The eastern maples tend to be predominantly of the hard variety so some people say "Eastern Maple" to refer to the hard variety.

 

Maple is closed grained, no open pores. That's why you don't need grain filler when you finish it. Mahogany is open grain and reddish in color. Here's Brian's photo with an insert of a piece of mahogany I have:

 

mahogany%20back%20insert.jpg

 

Here's a photo of a mahogany Tele I built along with a 1970s Gibson Les Paul Deluxe I restored:

 

lpd.jpg

 

Look at the top of the LP, no little open pores like the ones in Brian's photo. Look at the Maple fretboard on the Tele. Maple is smooth - When I got finished sanding the LP, the top was like glass. One more example of the differences:

 

2%20backs%20ric%20guild.jpg

 

IMO, the open grain and color of the sample wood is typical of mahogany, not maple.

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The photo of your sample seems to show a white wood (maple???) in the middle and a mahogany looking veneer on the outsides. See if you can post some pictures of the guitar, it might help. Besides, I'd like to see what it looks like with the black B-70. Sounds spiffy.

 

_______

 

IMG_0210.jpg

 

This guitar has Grover Deluxe tuners, GFS P90's, Wilkinson Roller Bridge, Black Bigsby...

 

Dizzy

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IMG_0210.jpg

 

This guitar has Grover Deluxe tuners' date=' GFS P90's, Wilkinson Roller Bridge, Black Bigsby...

 

Dizzy[/quote']

That is cool Diz, I've never seen a "blackout" Casino before. (Needs black speed knobs tho....)

 

I didn't even know you could get Bigsbys in black...

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That is cool Diz, I've never seen a "blackout" Casino before. (Needs black speed knobs tho....)

 

I didn't even know you could get Bigsbys in black...

 

This photo is an older one...it now sports black bell knobs with pointers...

 

I checked on Bigsby's site and it doesn't exist anymore I don't think...I think mine is a B-700...and it has a black selector switch knob, which you can see in the photo...

 

Dizzy

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This guitar has Grover Deluxe tuners' date=' GFS P90's, Wilkinson Roller Bridge, Black Bigsby...

 

Dizzy[/quote']

 

Really nice, I like the BlackOut. It certainly looks legit to me.

 

If you get another chunk, would you consider sending it to me. I'd like to take a look at it, actually feel the wood. No matter what one's interpretation of the photos is, it's obvious that there's different kinds of wood being used for the laminate, and it should be all maple according to their specs. If it's not, I think Gibson owes their buyers an explanation and I would like to forward the same to them.

 

I'm planning to take a trip into the LA area soon, I want to check out the Inspired Lennons and compare them to the Standards. What year and factory is yours??? I had an Ebony Standard a few years ago, I think it was a Peerless:

 

CASINO_INCASE.jpg

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Your guitar was made at the

Peerless Plant, Korea

February 2007

Production Number: 0556

 

From Guitar Dater...

 

When I get another one done I'll send you a piece most definitely...

 

I'm no wood expert but what is on my Casino's does not look like Maple to me...!

 

Dizzy

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Your guitar was made at the

Peerless Plant' date=' Korea

February 2007

Production Number: 0556

 

From Guitar Dater...

 

When I get another one done I'll send you a piece most definitely...

 

I'm no wood expert but what is on my Casino's does not look like Maple to me...!

 

Dizzy[/quote']

 

Take a look at this.

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Yeah' date=' that and the Wizard noted in a different thread look fantastic:

 

http://www.peerlessguitars.co.uk/#/wizard/4523593998

 

Too bad no one ditributes Peerless guitars in the US....[/quote']

 

So...What's wrong with buying out of the country...?

 

Annnd they use laminated maple for their "Songbird"...Jerrymac are you suggesting something...?

 

Dizzy

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Annnd they use laminated maple for their "Songbird"...Jerrymac are you suggesting something...?

 

Dizzy

 

I was curious to see what Peerless used on their version of the Casino' date=' seems to be the same construction. They're pretty clear when they say [i']All Maple Laminate...[/i] That's basically what I thought, it should be all maple. Maybe Epiphone could shed some light on the matter.

 

...and the Wizard noted in a different thread look fantastic

 

I love 17" wide thinlines...

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