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How can I get rid of the cheap sound of an Epiphone Casino?

capn_gaz

By capn_gaz
in Epiphone Electrics

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capn_gaz

capn_gaz

Posted
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Hi there, as the title suggests ive got an Epiphone Casino (Korean) which I'm struggling to get a good sound out of. It just sounds cheap and a bit muddy - i play it through an Epiphone Blues Custom 30 and also have an eq pedal i can use.

Does anyone have any suggestions of how to tweak the tone?

I've heard turning the volume down on the guitar and turning the amp up can help add warmth to tone but it just seem to make it muddier.

 

I'm really struggling to like this guitar and amp at the moment, even though both are highly rated, and I just cant afford something new to try with getting the tone I want.

Anybody have some good tips?

 

All the best,

 

G

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Goldie

Goldie

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Have you tried turning the amp down, and the guitar up? When you "open up" the volume pot on the guitar, you get the full tone of the pick up. Rolling off the volume can have the effect of softening(muddy) the tone. Also, since you have P90 pu's, try raising or lowering the string poles in relation to the string. Closer= overdriving the sound, lower= cleaner tones.

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antwhi2001

antwhi2001

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The Korean ones are usually Epi P90s, but believe it or not they sound very similar. Epi P90s are pretty good. You shouldn't have a problem getting a range of good tones from that guitar and amp...unless one or both are faulty. The amp controls are pretty basic. If poss, try the guitar with another amp, and vice versa.

 

Might be worth a post in the Amps section asking BC30 owners for recommendations on settings for use with P90s.

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dougg330

dougg330

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Look at your strings, too. Casinos seem to reject lights strings - if you're using 9's, try 10's; from 10's, try 11's. 11's feel like 10's on a Casino because of the trapeze, and they really beef up the tone. Nickel strings will add warmth, too.

DR Pure Blues, D'Addario Pure Nickel, Pyramid, and Snake Oil Brand (if you can find them) are all good pure nickel choices that work well with the Casino's P-90's.

Good luck!

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jamie-t

jamie-t

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I agree with what was said about trying it with your volume and tone at 10 to see how it sounds. If it sounds good like that but bad when you turn them down you could probably start with replacing the pots/caps.

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snookelputz

snookelputz

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You can also add a good EQ pedal and maybe a BBE Sonic Stomp, if you really want to open up the sound. Of course, that costs about the same as changing the pickups and electronics, but the Epi P-90s aren't bad overall.

 

A question: Do you have other guitars with P-90s? Humbuckers will usually have less clean treble than P-90s, which have less clean treble than Fender single coils. I know several players who can't get behind anything but strats because they don't like the mid-rangy tones other guitars are built around.

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james_edward

james_edward

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If your guitar is muddy and you have an amp that sounds fine with other guitars, try this - assuming your strings and set-up are good, adjust your pick-ups, the height of the pick-up as well as the individual pole pieces.

You should easily be able to dial out most of the mud this way, especially if you're willing to live with some volume imbalance between the high and low E strings

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charlie brown

charlie brown

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First "What" or "Whose" sound are you trying to get?! You're pretty vague, as to what you're after.

Also, is this your first guitar, or first "hollowbody" with P-90's? Why did you purchase it, in the first place?

Was it because a certain artist, or group, used it/them? What other amps, have you used, or used with

your Casino, at least? What are you used to, or what did you play before, that you DID like? Single coil

(Fender like), Humbuckers, Gretsch or DeArmond like tones? It's nearly impossible, for any of us, to tell

you...with any certainty...what you "should do," when we don't know what tones you're after. A Casino,

has a darker tone, than say...a Fender. But, it's more midrange, at the full open positions on volume and

tone, than Humbuckers. Being full hollow body, limits it use as a high volume, shredding maching. But, it's

excellent "clean," and for "Jazz" and "Blues" tone, as well as some Classic Rock, or even progressive rock.

It really depends on what you want, and/or what you "expect," from it. Maybe a full hollow body, thin-line,

with P-90's ISN'T what you should be using, to get "Your" tone?

 

Not trying to be "difficult" here...at all...but, without knowing, in your mind, what you consider "good/great"

tone, it's really hard to suggest things, beyond what's already been said...for you to do/try. Can you give

us some more input, examples, of what you're after, tone wise?

 

Cheers,

CB

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snookelputz

snookelputz

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If your guitar is muddy and you have an amp that sounds fine with other guitars' date=' try this - assuming your strings and set-up are good, adjust your pick-ups, the height of the pick-up as well as the individual pole pieces.

You should easily be able to dial out most of the mud this way, especially if you're willing to live with some volume imbalance between the high and low E strings[/quote']

 

Casino, dog-ear P-90s, no height adjustment past pole pieces which he has already tried to adjust, James.

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bynapkinart

bynapkinart

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I modified my Korean Casino pretty heavily to get it to where I love it. I didn't spend too much (because I actually think the Epi P90's are great), and it sounds fantastic.

 

I made a video in case you're interested: http://napkinart.tumblr.com/

 

It's the second post, scroll down a bit. You might like it, you might not, but I think that the mods I made really pump the most out of the pickups...there is a far better range to them than there used to be. I even had the tone down at around 7 or 6 for most of the vid.

 

Maybe a little bit of modding might be the cure for yours??

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ryan7olson7

ryan7olson7

Posted
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first, like previously mentioned, get some .010's or .011's on that guitar. then if you really want it nice, to get rid of the muffled sound, have a tech install some treble bypass capacitors on the volumes, or have him change it to gibson 50's wiring style. and then change the tone control capacitors to some .022 orange drops or .022 paper in wax caps. in my humble opinion the stock epi p90's are ok. a little overwound but ok. i have an epi es295, that i had to unwind the pickups from 11k to 8.5k because they were too hot. p90's sound best when wound to 8-9k.

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capn_gaz

capn_gaz

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First "What" or "Whose" sound are you trying to get?! You're pretty vague' date=' as to what you're after.

Also, is this your first guitar, or first "hollowbody" with P-90's? Why did you purchase it, in the first place?

Was it because a certain artist, or group, used it/them? What other amps, have you used, or used with

your Casino, at least? What are you used to, or what did you play before, that you DID like? Single coil

(Fender like), Humbuckers, Gretsch or DeArmond like tones? It's nearly impossible, for any of us, to tell

you...with any certainty...what you "should do," when we don't know what tones you're after. A Casino,

has a darker tone, than say...a Fender. But, it's more midrange, at the full open positions on volume and

tone, than Humbuckers. Being full hollow body, limits it use as a high volume, shredding maching. But, it's

excellent "clean," and for "Jazz" and "Blues" tone, as well as some Classic Rock, or even progressive rock.

It really depends on what you want, and/or what you "expect," from it. Maybe a full hollow body, thin-line,

with P-90's ISN'T what you should be using, to get "Your" tone?

 

Not trying to be "difficult" here...at all...but, without knowing, in your mind, what you consider "good/great"

tone, it's really hard to suggest things, beyond what's already been said...for you to do/try. Can you give

us some more input, examples, of what you're after, tone wise?

 

Cheers,

CB[/quote']

 

Well, I'm definately not going for a shredding machine. Thats far from the tone I like, I used to play a Fender Strat which I thought was too bright so thought I would go for a Casino as I love the sound from the Beatles period of using it, especially the sounds on Revolver, Sgt. Pepper but also the sounds on Abbey Road such as The End and what I consider great tone Lennons Casino sounds on I Want You (She's So Heavy) - if I could get that tone (both the lead bridge pickup sound and the neck sound which plays the same notes as the vocals) I would be ecstatic. I love it. Saying that I'd like to have the ability to vary it up rather than having a one trick pony. Maybe im asking too much from what I already have?

 

I have tried different strings, currently on a fresh set of 0.11 flatwounds for a test but no joy really.

 

The cheap sound I think of is kind of mid rangey, kind of almost a muddy cardboardy type sound (if that makes sense) yet with highs that are a little over powering on the B and e strings.

 

Changing the tone down to 7 like bynapkinart seems to have helped a little but I'm still struggling to get a sound I like, I wish I knew more on what to change/mess with but Im no expert on amp/guitars/eqs to be able to just dial it in and all my experimenting seems to be going nowhere.

 

Can anybody recommend some amp and pedal eq settings?

I'm hoping not to have to change and mod the guitar but I maybe taking ryan7olson7's recommendation is the only way?

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Goldie

Goldie

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Can anybody recommend some amp and pedal eq settings?

 

I suggest you start with all your tone knobs at 0. Then, with guitar in hand and plugged in with amp warmed up, start dialing in the treble, mid, and bass until you like it.

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mbrooks0711

mbrooks0711

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I suggest you start with all your tone knobs at 0. Then' date=' with guitar in hand and plugged in with amp warmed up, start dialing in the treble, mid, and bass until you like it.[/quote']

+1

This is what I do to dial in a tone I like on almost any guitar, any amp, or any effects pedal that I'm not used to. I would definitely open the guitar up to 10 on all your volumes and tones and go from there.

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antwhi2001

antwhi2001

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Posted

Dumb statement Epilady. By 1965 they could have had any guitars they wanted, no limits. They did actually own a range of Fenders and Gibsons. John and Paul stuck with Casinos by choice, Paul still uses his today for some stuff. There's nothing cheap or inferior about the design at all, although the full-hollow doesn't suit modern high volume/high gain settings.

 

Got me pretty defensive there, considering I've never owned one! I did once have a Korean Sorrento though, which was just the single cutaway equivalent...and very nice too.

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charlie brown

charlie brown

Posted
Posted

OK...let me ask you this? Did you try out, any or many other Casino's? USA Lennon, Elitist (Japan),

even several other Korean made versions? The "Dead" tone, MAY be the guitar itself, acoustically!

Every guitar, no matter the model, and even in the same model, varies in tone...just like some "Feel"

better, tactilely...some will sound better, tonally, too. So, if you've tried everything else, from amp settings,

to different amps, and/or pedals, and still aren't where you want to be...you may have to take your guitar

with you, and compare it, to others. Just be sure to compare them equally, on the same amp, settings and

pedals, etc. Semi's and full hollowbody guitars, are much like acoustic...they sound better plugged in, when

they sound great, unplugged! Anyway...just some other ideas.

 

CB

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Roswell

Roswell

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Get a different guitar' date=' the beetles played them because they were the cheapest american guitars they could find, not cause they sounded good. A casino that sounds cheep is like totally normal isn't it? That is what they are supposed to sound like.[/quote']

I'd call the guitar duet on And Your Bird Can Sing a lot of things, but "cheap" isn't one of them. Some pretty good tone from Mr. Lennon on I Want You (She's So Heavy), too.

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duane v

duane v

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Posted
Of course' date=' we know it isn't "Rock & Roll," right?! LOL! (Just kidding)...sorry, I'm feeling feisty, tonight. ;>)

 

CB[/quote']

 

you've been hangin out on the Gibby Forums again haven't ya......[biggrin]

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