With a street price of only $599, there's not much to not love about the Epiphone Casino. If you're looking for a versatile guitar for classic rock, jazz, blues, or just an excuse to whip out some Beatles licks, the Casino is a guitar you can bet on.
It's hard to believe that there once was a time when the Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul were not the iconic rock and roll guitars that we now know them as. In the 1960's, the guitar of choice for many young rock and rollers (and jazz players) was often an Epiphone, including a pretty popular band known as the Beatles. Both John and George could be seen sporting Epiphones, including the popular Casino model. The sparkling, crisp sound of the Epiphone Casino was on plenty of vinyl once upon a time, and the current reissue is true to the spirit of that much-beloved classic guitar. Let's take a look.
Features
The Epiphone Casino is a semi-hollow body guitar noted for its lightness. The back, sides, and top are all made of laminated maple with a mahogany neck and rosewood fingerboard. The 22-fret guitar sports a 24 3/4" scale with a 1.68" nut width. The Casino features 2 Alnico V P-90 vintage-style pickups with a trademark tune-o-matic bridge and trapeze tailpiece. Parallelogram inlays and body-neck binding with chrome hardware complete the aesthetic adornments.
Performance
When you pickup an Epiphone Casino, you'll likely notice two things, as we did. First, this guitar is extremely light, especially compared to a Les Paul or ES-335. This is a guitar that we could easily play all night. Secondly, the sound is crisp, clear, and bright. We're so used to comparing sounds to Fender single coils or Gibson humbuckers that it's refreshing to play an instrument that has a distinctive sound that's not really either. The P90's are not hum-cancelling, but we didn't find the noise to be excessive, and it offered a balance between clear, clean tones and a defined 'bite" when we pushed the guitar.
Regarding the playability, the guitar wasn't set up terribly well when we received it, but a quick setup in adjusting the action and neck definitely made a big difference. While not a "shredder" guitar by any means, the Epiphone Casino is certainly very playable and the neck felt really comfortable in our hands. We couldn't help ripping into some "Day Tripper" or "Back in the U.S.S.R" licks, and of course we tried the guitar through a (reissue) Vox AC-15. The sound was large and clear.
Aesthetically, the Epiphone Casino exudes vintage class and style. It’s a simple look, but attractive.
The Bottom Line
With a street price of only $599, there's not much to not love about the Epiphone Casino. If you're looking for a versatile guitar for classic rock, jazz, blues, or just an excuse to whip out some Beatles licks, the Casino is a guitar you can bet on.
Name of Gear: Epiphone Casino
List Price: $1,042.00
Manufacturer Info: The Epiphone Company; epiphone.com
Pros: Classic rock tones; attractive; light; excellent bargain
Cons: Factory setup not very good
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