Epiphone Casino

Last updated

Epiphone Casino
John Lennon's guitar, Imagine room replica of the Beatles Story museum.jpg
Manufacturer Epiphone
Period1961–present
Construction
Body typehollow
Neck jointSet
Scale 24.75" with 12" fretboard radius
Woods
Bodymaple (laminated)
Neckmahogany on most models in most periods; sometimes maple
Fretboardrosewood on most models, ebony on some
Hardware
Bridgeadjustable Tune-o-Matic style
Pickup(s) 2 P-90s
Colors available
Natural, Vintage Sunburst, Turquoise [1]

The Epiphone Casino is a thinline hollow body electric guitar manufactured by Epiphone, a branch of Gibson. The guitar debuted in 1961 and has been associated with such guitarists as Howlin' Wolf, George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Noel Gallagher, Keith Richards, Dave Davies, Brad Whitford, Shirley Manson, Paul Weller, The Edge, Josh Homme, Daniel Kessler, Brendon Urie, Gary Clark, Jr., Glenn Frey, John Illsley, and Peter Green. [1] [2]

Contents

Construction

Casinos have been manufactured in the United States, Japan, Korea and China.[ citation needed ] The Casino, also designated by Epiphone as model E230TD, is a thinline hollow-bodied guitar with two Gibson P-90 pick-ups.[ citation needed ] Although generally fitted with a trapeze-type tailpiece, often a Bigsby vibrato tailpiece is used in its place (either as a factory direct feature or as an aftermarket upgrade).[ citation needed ] Unlike semi-hollow body guitars such as the Gibson ES-335, which have a center block to promote sustain and reduce feedback, the Casino and its cousin, the Gibson ES-330 are true hollow-bodied guitars. This makes it lighter, and louder when played without an amplifier, but much more prone to feedback than semi-hollow or solid-body electrics.[ citation needed ] The Casino neck joins the body at the 16th fret instead of the 19th like on the Gibson ES models.[ citation needed ]

Early versions of the Casino had a spruce top. Through 1970, the Casino headstock was set at a 17-degree angle and the top was made of five laminated layers of maple, birch, maple, birch, and maple. [1] [3] With the exception of the John Lennon models, subsequent Casinos have been made with 14-degree headstock angle with five layer all maple laminated tops. Current versions have a laminated maple top, sides, and back, and a mahogany neck. [1]

Per the Epiphone String Gauge Guide, the Casino comes with string gauges (from high to low): 0.010" 0.013" 0.017" 0.026" 0.036" 0.046". [4]

Use by the Beatles

Paul McCartney playing a Casino at Live 8 in 2005. Paul McCartney & Bono Live8.jpg
Paul McCartney playing a Casino at Live 8 in 2005.

In 1964, Paul McCartney, The Beatles' bass player, was the first Beatle to acquire a Casino [5] (a 1962 model), using it for his studio forays into guitar work, including his guitar solos on "Ticket to Ride" (1965), "Drive My Car" (1965) and "Taxman" (1966); he also played it on “Helter Skelter” (1968). In 1965 John Lennon and George Harrison bought 1965 Casinos. [5]

John Lennon used the Epiphone Casino as his main electric instrument during the remainder of his time with the Beatles, replacing the Rickenbacker 325. [5] In 1967 Lennon and Harrison had the pickguard removed during the making of Magical Mystery Tour album. In 1968 when the band were traveling in India, Donovan advised Lennon and Harrison to sand the finish off of their Casinos before making the double album The Beatles . [6] [7] [8] [9] In the early seventies, Lennon replaced the original nickel Kluson tuners on his Casino with a set of gold Grover machine heads.

Harrison's Casino, which came from the factory fitted with a Bigsby vibrato. Like Lennon, he also had his Casino sanded down in 1968 and removed the pickguard.

McCartney's 1962 Casino, kept in the original sunburst finish, is still owned by him and occasionally used live. Like Harrison's Casino, McCartney's came with a factory-installed Bigsby vibrato. [10]

Current Casinos

Epiphone currently builds several versions of the Casino. These include:



Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson Les Paul</span> Solid body electric guitar

The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typical design features a solid mahogany body with a carved maple top and a single cutaway, a mahogany set-in neck with a rosewood fretboard, two pickups with independent volume and tone controls, and a stoptail bridge, although variants exist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson ES-335</span> Semi-hollow electric guitar

The Gibson ES-335 is a semi-hollow body semi-acoustic guitar introduced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation as part of its ES series in 1958. It has a solid maple wood block running through the center of its body with hollow upper bouts and two violin-style f-holes cut into the top over the hollow chambers. Gibson has released numerous variations and models based on the ES-335.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archtop guitar</span> Type of steel-stringed acoustic or semi-acoustic guitar

An archtop guitar is a hollow acoustic or semi-acoustic guitar with a full body and a distinctive arched top, whose sound is particularly popular with jazz, blues, and rockabilly players.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson Firebird</span> Solid body electric guitar

The Gibson Firebird is a solid-body electric guitar manufactured by Gibson beginning in 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson Explorer</span> Electric guitar model by Gibson Brands, Inc

The Gibson Explorer is a type of electric guitar model by Gibson guitars, released in 1958. The Explorer offered a radical, "futuristic" body design, much like its siblings: the Flying V, which was released the same year, and the Moderne, which was designed in 1957 but not released until 1982. The Explorer was the final development of a prototype design that, years later, Gibson marketed under the name Futura.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epiphone G-400</span>

The G-400 is an Epiphone solid body electric guitar model produced as a more modestly priced version of the famous Gibson SG. Currently, Epiphone is a subsidiary of Gibson and manufactures the G-400 and other budget models at a lower cost in Asia. Visually and ergonomically, it is almost identical to a 1962 SG.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson Hummingbird</span> Steel-string acoustic guitar

The Gibson Hummingbird is an acoustic guitar model/series produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson ES-355</span> Guitar produced by Gibson, 1958 to 1982

The Gibson ES-355 is the top of the line semi-hollow body thinline guitar from the Gibson Guitar Company. The guitar was a stereo guitar with a varitone circuit and it was manufactured from 1958 to 1982. In 2018 Gibson began producing a version of the 355 again.

The Gibson Melody Maker is an electric guitar made by Gibson Guitar Corporation. It has had many body shape variations since its conception in 1959.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Univox Hi-Flier</span>

The Univox Hi-Flier is an electric guitar marketed and sold by Univox from roughly 1967 to 1980. With its reversed offset body, the Hi-Flier has an intentional resemblance to the Mosrite Ventures model. A bass version of the Hi-Flier was also available.

The Gibson ES series of semi-acoustic guitars are manufactured by the Gibson Guitar Corporation.

The Epiphone Sheraton is a thinline semi-hollow body electric guitar. Though the Sheraton and all its variations were introduced under the ownership of the Gibson Guitar Corporation, Epiphone is the exclusive manufacturer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II</span>

The Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II is an electric guitar model produced by Epiphone in Korea as Joe Pass's signature model. First released in 1994, just prior to Joe Pass's death, and was produced until 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duesenberg Guitars</span> German electric string instrument manufacturer

Duesenberg is a brand for electric string instruments founded in 1986 and located in Hannover, Germany. The headquarter is in Hannover, Germany, they are known for using a Plek machine for the levelling of frets and setup. Duesenberg has uploaded a factory production video of how their guitars are made, revealing that most of the production of the guitars is done in Croatia, while the final setup and assembly is done in Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson ES-333</span>

The Gibson ES-333 is a semi hollow body electric guitar made by Gibson Guitar Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson Spirit</span> Guitar model (produced 1982-86)

The Gibson Spirit was a guitar model sold under Gibson and Epiphone USA nameplates in the 1980s. This article does not refer to the made-in-China Spirit guitar sold under the Gibson Baldwin Music Education nameplate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epiphone 5102T / EA-250</span>

An archtop electric guitar manufactured by Matsumoku and sold 1970 to 1974 or '75 in the United States under the Epiphone brand. Matsumoku also manufactured the nearly identical Univox Coily guitar and several related guitars sold under the Univox brand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson ES-345</span> Guitar produced by Gibson, 1959 to 1981

The Gibson ES-345 is a guitar manufactured by the Gibson Guitar Company. The guitar was produced from 1959 to 1981. It was designed as a jazz guitar and an upscale version of the ES-335.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson ES-165</span>

The Gibson ES-165 Herb Ellis is an Archtop guitar manufactured by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in Nashville Tennessee. By March 2013, it was no longer in production.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Epiphone Casino". Epiphone.com. Archived from the original on June 28, 2019.
  2. "Photos". GaryClarkJr.com. Archived from the original on February 21, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  3. "Vintage Epiphone Guitars Model Information and Specs: Casino electric archtop (thinline)". Vintage Guitars Info. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  4. "Epiphone String Gauges" (PDF). Epiphone.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 23, 2010. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 "Epiphone: 140 Years". Epiphone.com. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017.
  6. "The Casino: Epiphone's Iconic Beatles Guitar". November 3, 2021.
  7. "Sanding an Epiphone Casino". November 21, 2022.
  8. "John Lennon & the Epiphone Casino – the History Behind the Legendary Hollowbody". December 6, 2021.
  9. "The Beatles' Casinos | Vintage Guitar® magazine". January 17, 2018.
  10. "The Beatles' Casinos". vintageguitars.com. January 17, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  11. "Epiphone Elitist Casino". Epiphone.com. Archived from the original on July 21, 2013. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  12. O'Keefe, Phil (December 4, 2014). "Expert Review: Epiphone Casino Coupe". Harmony Central. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  13. "Epiphone 1961 50th Anniversary Casino". Epiphone.com. Archived from the original on July 23, 2013.
  14. Astley-Brown, Michael (March 30, 2021). "Epiphone unveils made-in-USA Casino". Guitar World.
  15. Owen, Matt (May 24, 2023). "Epiphone reboots its Broadway, Sheraton and Casino collections with some of its most luxurious finishes yet". Guitar World.