Hey, I Thought A Casino Was A True Hollow Body!

[bynapkinart]

My Elitist doesn't have the block. Not to sound like one, but the only versions of the Casino that even made a pretense towards authenticity were the $2,500 JL models and the Elite/Elitists. The Standards/IBJL are more "in the style of a Casino with what we can get away with". If you play them side by side with an Elitist they feel quite different as well.

 

I dunno, have you played a vintage Casino? I've played two...one was a junker, a very beat up 68 Casino on its last legs, didn't play nice at all. It had nice pickups though! The other was a 65 in great condition, and sounded just about the same volumewise...again, nice pickups. Also, one of my closest friends has a 1966 ES 330 which sounds and plays great, virtually identical to the Casino. Interesting note: every single one of these guitars had a soundpost in it. The crap Casino had a post made out of a wooden dowel, and the other Casino and 330 both had a small block of wood under the bridge.

 

Do some research on soundposts...they are used in nearly all hollow string instruments to improve balance and resonance. Violins from the 1600s were made with them.

 

I agree with you that they feel very different and are not entirely vintage spec. I wouldn't say they're not authentic...hell, you could say any Fender or Gibson made today is not authentic because the companies aren't owned by the same people they used to be in the 60s. Personally, when I was shopping for my Casino, I tried out the Elitist and A/B'd it with a couple of standards and an IBJL. I found the Elitist excessively muddy and I had trouble with how narrow the neck was at the nut. The standard just felt better, played better, and most importantly sounded better. Plus, it came in cherry red

 

After much modding and fine tuning, it is very much my dream guitar:

 

 

And now for the artsy, faux vintage pic:

 

[fenrisulfr]

I dunno, have you played a vintage Casino?

Yes, a different guitar altogether from the Elitist and the Standard.

 

Do some research on soundposts...they are used in nearly all hollow string instruments to improve balance and resonance. Violins from the 1600s were made with them.

I never said there was anything "wrong" with a soundpost, or anything really about them at all, just that my Elitist doesn't have one (now I'm beginning to second guess myself...). And I was trying to imply that you *definitely* should not expect any authenticity from a Standard, and that the Elitists/JL's *try* to be close, but don't make any claims that they are *exact* vintage spec. I guess really I shouldn't be using the term "authenticity" as it's loaded, "vintage spec" or "original spec" is what I mean. In any case, I don't see how a soundpost makes it any less of a "true hollow body".

 

I agree with you that they feel very different and are not entirely vintage spec. I wouldn't say they're not authentic...hell, you could say any Fender or Gibson made today is not authentic because the companies aren't owned by the same people they used to be in the 60s. Personally, when I was shopping for my Casino, I tried out the Elitist and A/B'd it with a couple of standards and an IBJL. I found the Elitist excessively muddy and I had trouble with how narrow the neck was at the nut. The standard just felt better, played better, and most importantly sounded better. Plus, it came in cherry red

Well I can't argue opinion or preference. I'll just say my experience was the opposite with my Elitist vs Standard. I didn't think there would be enough difference between the two to justify the extra $$ for the Elitist. But I was able to play them side by side and to me the differences started to become clear literally the second I picked up the Standard after the Elitist. The electronics and appointments can always be changed, but I thought the look and feel of the two were quite different. That red one sure is nice... maybe I'll change my mind ;)