Casino4Life Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 All you Casino owners out there, I have been trying to decide if I should upgrade the wiring,pots and pick ups in my Casino and wanted to know if anyone else has done that and what yoru experiences have been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingarmadillo Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 The pickups are fine, the pots are okay. The best bang for your money is to upgrade the switch and the jack first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueman335 Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 I upgraded the PU's on my Casino. Unless the pots and toggle are shorting out and giving you problems, there's no need to replace them, won't do anything for the tone. The biggest thing you can do to improve the tone on an import guitar is to upgrade the PU's. Does more than everything else put together. You'll need a pair of dog ear P-90's, and most come with plastic covers. To retain the noise-reducing benefits of metal covers if the old covers don't fit the new PU's, you can either put aluminum foil inside the plastic covers (punching out holes for the pole peices) or buy new aftermarket covers. There's a lot of P-90's made these days, they're growing in popularity. I get most of my PU's used on eBay and save some money. To keep the vintage tones of a hollowbody and to keep the feedback to a minimum, your best bet is a vintage, lower-output wind with alnico magnets (not ceramic). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casino4Life Posted May 23, 2012 Author Share Posted May 23, 2012 I have toyed with the PUP change, possibly to Lollar P-90s and want to keep the stock covers, definitely looking for a tone change it at times sounds very "tinny" and weak, possible heavier strongs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
todddr Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 I have toyed with the PUP change, possibly to Lollar P-90s and want to keep the stock covers, definitely looking for a tone change it at times sounds very "tinny" and weak, possible heavier strongs My Casino has Lollar P90's with plastic covers. These are the 50's wind dog ears with weaker output. Wonderful tone...and I kinda like the black plastic cover look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casino4Life Posted May 25, 2012 Author Share Posted May 25, 2012 Yea I'm just trying to concvince my self to pony up the money for Lollars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNick Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 Casino4life, I noticed the guy in your avatar did not think it needed anything other than a finish change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Versatile Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 For those who love Casinos....speaking as an ex Peerless Songbird player IMO the nicest thing being made today is the ES 330... V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueman335 Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 Yea I'm just trying to concvince my self to pony up the money for Lollars Excellent choice. Look for a used set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casino4Life Posted May 26, 2012 Author Share Posted May 26, 2012 What about the wiring harness itself? Anybody done that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonzoboy Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 I have 2 Casinos-a Chinese made natural finish and a John Lennon 1965 model.If I were going to change anything on the MIC Casino it would be the pickups and then only the Gibson made P-90 would do as the Gibson made ones in my 1965 John Lennon are just sublime and really give the guitar a dead-on Lennon tone.When played though an AC-15 or AC-30.. or a Fender Twin the resulting sound is so much like the sound of John's that it's uncanny.The MIC one is also a superb guitar but doesn't have the detailed flawless fit and finish that the 1965 J.L. has,it sounds great and no doubt has the P-90 sparkle in the sound but it doesn't ring out like the Gibson P-90s in the J.L.The electronics and controls in my MIC Casino all work quite well and as it is now I wouldn't change anything with them for fear of upsetting the tone somehow.As I said earlier the only change that I'd consider at this time would be to install Gibson P-90s as they sound so fabulous on the J.L. model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweed2 Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 I went through all of the same gyrations when I got my MIK Casino. I had just sold a Gibson Melody Maker, with a Lollar P90 and tried another Casino with a Lollar bridge P90 and Virtual Vintage neck P90. Before I made my decision to swap out the fatory PUs, I spent a little time adjusting the height on them and got some really good Beatles tones out of them. Frankly, I would have been happy leaving it that way, changing the jsck and switch out to Switchcraft and saving the money. But absolutely nothing I own for guitars or amps is "stock", so I ordered the Lollar/VV combo. I love the tones I can get, which lean more towards the modern P90 type, but I feel that for me, the stock ones would have been fine. Based on that, I'd say that it's going to depend on what tone you're looking for. Also, if you like the look of chrome covers, but you want new boutique PUs, prepare to pony up some doh. It costs more to "rebuild" your stock pickups to retain the chrome, than it does to build whole new ones with black or cream covers, something I've never understood. Personally, I like the look of black covers on a Casino. Oh ya, I recently rebuilt an Epi Junior and installed a Heywood P90 on it. They are definitely something to consider. The 16+ rated Jabanero makes one hell of a bridge PU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinchStrife Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 I have the natural finish Casino with the white pickguard and chrome hardware. At this point everything is stock and I don't plan on changing anything out. I may sand down the black paint around the edge of the f-holes and refinish so it is all natural finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueman335 Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 What about the wiring harness itself? Anybody done that? Won't change your tone, I only do it if something's shorting out. If a wiring harness will last years, why be in a hurry to replace it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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