They’re going to call it the Alamo Discount, quote em above MSRP when they walk into the shop, then knock it down to full retail, instant savings!! 😂😂 Love you guys, always enjoy your content! ❤
Hey Cooper, great review and magnificent playing! I'm curious, did you ever check out the other guitars in that batch? Was the finish/setup consistently good? I have to buy online and don't wanna have any major issues. Thanks!
Just purchased one of these a few moths ago and love it. Such great tones and very comfortable to play. And it was one of the few models available to a lefty like myself!
Thanks for this. I think the Casino remains under appreciated, even with the Beatles and other associations. A couple of things you forgot to mention- 1) It’s light! very comfortable to play sitting or standing 2) it’s a great songwriting tool because it sounds so good unplugged. You can just grab it off the stand and work out that idea that just popped into your head.
That what i always have enjoyed about my casinos. It's like having an acoustic guitar with the electric guitar feel, so easy to write with it, especially if you lean to writing for electric guitar
I have a Korean model, Casino. They were later manufactured in China. This is a great sounding guitar. I can't express how extremely easily this guitar is to play. What a great neck!!! The value of having an electric guitar, that you can pick up and play acoustically and actually hear each note clearly, is beyond my capability of describing. A great practice tool. It's just a great guitar to have plugged in or just siting on the couch playing it acoustically. Yes, they can feed back, if pushed too hard in a loud venue, but that can be dealt with. Epiphone got this right from the beginning!!!!!
From what I can tell (comparing it to my 2021 natural costing 499) there’s no difference apart from the premium gig bag (that nobody shows so far) i purchased an Epiphone hard case for about a oner so 599 in total….U.K. prices for this are 759
the new one has the thick stud, non-abr bridge that all the other Epiphone guitars have instead of the thin post, true abr bridge that only the Casino sported.
Great to see this, just got an email from Epiphone yesterday announcing the 3 re-issues. Not clear if there are any significant differences / improvements on the version that's been available for the last few years? I bought a sunburst 2 years ago and switched to Lollar P90s + 50's Loom + Bone Nut and it's beautiful (that said it was already fine - just thought I'd pull out the stops and see if I could get closer to the US model the Fabs had in the 60s). I just play acoustic at home lot of the time - the neck is the best for me of all my guitars. The Casino really is a classic - every home should have one! 😀
I purchased the natural around the same time as you (I’m actually a bass player) on the back of a guitarist friend’s sunburst model (hence why I went natural) must admit I can’t tell any difference between these and our models apart from them being supplied with a premium gig bag (that isn’t shown) although i purchased the Epiphone hard case to go with mine
@@jameswood3977 As far as I know differences are: - Indian Laurel instead of Pau Ferro fingerboard - Epiphone PRO P90s instead of older Epi "Alnico" P90s - More authentic looking finish for the sunburst model - also no more sunburst sides and back (though poly still) - C shaped neck - instead of D shaped neck - comes now with a gig bag And from all I can tell the newer ones sound noticeably brighter (and better IMHO), which is most probably due to different pickups.
McCartney bought one first and used it on albums, then George and John had to have one, recorded and toured with them. Lennon used his well into his solo career.
So glad to hear someone admitting how shaky Epiphone QC was on some models in recent years. My Casino Coupe was a 2021 model, and needed 3 tuners and the bridge replaced right out of the box, because those parts were so badly manufactured. Lovely instruments, but you had to watch out for duds. Glad to hear that 2023 looks like being a better year!
You mention Beatles John & George having a pair of Casinos. You know, they bought theirs after Paul bought his, which he still plays! Love Casinos; I have the USA Collection one, but have never heard a bad thing about the imports either!
Correct me if I am wrong but the only difference to the previous Chinese model (I own a 2019) is an upgrade to Epiphone Pro pick ups and a switch from Pau ferro to Indian Laurel on the board. In the UK, these 2023s are retailing for over £700. Better off buying one of the older versions, switching out the pick ups if desired and putting some relic wax on the Pau board. I think, overall, Epiphone has upped its game but some of these new releases are asking more price wise of the Epiphone fan base than is justified.
The new ones sound pretty different - and I would say way better - due to the new pickups. And swapping pickups on a f-hole guitar is not funny. I`d rather get one with decent ones already installed. Also the neck shape is different and the sunburst finish looks more authentic (better IMHO), plus you get a nice gig bag. I already have a "Inspired by John Lennon" Casino but am still interested to try these newer ones. The pickups sound really good on all the demos.
Beware of Epiphone QC. I just bought a new Casino in a natural finish (purchased locally, sorry). Looks great. I had the guitar less than 12 hours when the nut on the input jack came loose and the jack fell into the guitar. I couldn't fish it out, so back to the store for repair. Epiphone states the Casino has a "LockTone™ Tune-O-Matic" bridge. It looks like the ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic, which is notorious for the saddle screw retainer wire causing rattle. The G string saddle screw on my Casino is out of alignment and the retainer wire is loose. I'm having tuning issues with the G string. Back for more repairs. I've spent more time trying to get this guitar playable than playing it. I should just replace the bridge and change out the tuners while I'm at it. This new Casino is far from great. I'll get the issues worked out and eventually it will sound great, but why should I have to do all this work to get a good guitar? Come on, Epiphone!
Why refreshed? It seems all the same Epiphone Casino except from Indian Laurel fretboard, may be the pick ups though it is not mentiones that they are different than previous iterations.
They’ve been Indian Laurel for a good few years now and as for the pups who knows exactly although I suspect not …..but you do get a premium gig bag (although mine is in a nice fitted hard case, much safer that way) ….yet another marketing ploy from Gibson/Epiphone….just like Fender/Squier
Great video& cool playing, thank you guys ! *sorry for my English. I have my humble hollowbody, a 2013 chinese made 'Inspired by John Lennon' Epiphone Casino vintage sunburst model; but I have to change/an upgrade a bit immediately : I put a .015uf capacitor only just for the neck PU and change the wiring too ('50s wiring) for the neck & bridge PU. I had to buy some good potentiometers too (CTS, 500k). It have genuine Gibson P-90 PUs from the factory. Love my guitar because it have kinda elegant/cool jazzy vibe with warm and a bit 'rock & roll bitey raw' sounds too
I bought the Casino when the lockdown happened and fell in love with it. I put a bone nut on mine and had it setup but it's truly a singer songwriter's guitar. It's sort of like a thinline acoustic electric but the pickups go from clean at 7 to edge of breakup at 10....wonderful guitars. I bought the Inspired by Gibson ES 335 58 reissue with the wider nut and between those two guitars I feel I can cover a lot of sonic territory.
I currently have three Epiphones, one is a Casino Coupe. It’s a marvelous guitar. I also have a Coronet and a 66 Howard Roberts. All are great. The Casino has been modified and is now my best playing guitar. The Coronet has issues, like it was built on a Friday just at quitting time. Fixable. The HR is a Kalamazoo jazz guitar. Need I say more.
There's only one problem with the Casino. Once you own one, every other guitar will disappoint you. Trust me. I owned an IBJL Casino (got it outfitted with a Bigsby) and was GASsing for an ES175 and wound up buying a second IBJL casino (put D'addadio Chromes on it) . Great guitars!
I just bought the Olive drab version.... on the whole it sounds amazing! it has useable feedback too :D Quality is lottery.. but that's the same for USA made guitars in my experience.
I have a 5 or 6 year old Casino Coupe. I like it but there are issues. Body flex hurts tuning stability and the neck is beefy, D shape. I'd prefer a slimmer neck. Other than that it sounds great at cleans and breakup. The pickup are very compresses at higher gain and it squeals, but I expected the feed back. I will shave the neck down a bit in the future.
I have an Epiphone 339-ultra. Just love it. And I have a Gibson Les Paul deluxe, a Rick 360-12 and whatever. 15 in total. I’m a fan of Epiphone in spite of the others
@@jameswood3977 glad you’re enjoying your Casino. I’ve been tempted to get a olive drab worn one a couple times. I guess I was just wondering in comparison to the USA made ones that felt a little fuller in the hand.
If they follow the original patent drafts with rigor and decent wood quality, they should really sound pretty close to the Beatles.. As you say those seem too affordable to ignore. However given the current geo-political situation, they might eventually be inclined to seek out new factories if it gets worse.. Totally agree with you, anyone who's done carpentry knows scarf joints are as solid as it gets..
I really like Epi's attempt to better blend the neck with the blonde body. "Go ahead, Epi - make 'em match. FINALLY." But tell us about the peg-holes for the pot-knobs - are those the typical import smaller diameters that would require drilling out IF replacement pots were installed?
They're vintage-size Kluson press-in bushings, if that's what you mean. If you want a sealed tuner like a Grover or Gotoh, then yes, you'll have to get the reamer out, like you would with any vintage to modern conversion.
That is what I originally thought. But only after seeing the new 2023 sunburst casino, I saw major differences in the finish. The natural casino looks the same because……it’s natural. I don’t know why they decided to review that one, since it does not showcase “all” of the changes made to the guitar.
Not a huge fan of the newer casinos. I'm fortunate enough to have a peerless factory Korean model from the early 2000s and it rocks... No compromise on Indian laurel either. Great guitars if you can find one.
Great review 👍 These new ones will have a hard job catching up with the Inspired By John Lennon Ltd models from some years ago. Wouldn’t part with mine that’s for sure 😁
I'm a big fan of modern Epi's, but I just can't get behind their choice of using Indian laurel for the fretboard. Anyone I've tried out and including the ones I own, the boards are very porous and scratchy.
For comparison, I'd love to see you two review the Ibanez Artcore hollow bodied guitars. I have an acoustic from their Art line and love it. Right now I'm looking between the Casino and the Artcores, and having a difficult time of it.
I did compare them in many videos. I found the difference in sound systematic and substantial. Rather a matter of taste, of course. To me the Ibanez sounds more 'nasally'.
@@edmondlau511 For the budget models, the Artcores are between $350 and $550 depending upon specific model, and the Casinos are between $500 and $700. For their top models with the body style in question, Artcores are around $2,500 and the Casinos around $3,500.
Epiphone was NEVER purchased by purchased by Gibson. It was bought by CMI (Chicago Musical Instruments), which ALSO owned Gibson, Supro, Harmony, and many other brands CMI moved production to the Gibson Kalamazoo. Also, McCartney owned a Casino first and George and John bought theirs as a result. Paul's had a righthand Bigsby tailpiece. Still does.
From what I can tell (compared to my 2021 natural) the new ones come with a premium gig bag priced at 759 in U.K. I paid 499 in 2021 plus a oner for the Epiphone hard case, they state Pro P90’s on the 2023, my 2021 states Alnico classic magnets, double waxed enamel wire P90’s so your guess is as good as mine
I love the Epiphone Casino, almost pulled the trigger on one down here in SE Asia, but the one thing that stopped me was that as a fully hollow-body electric it starts squealing and lot and creating a lot of feedback if you turn the volume and gain up. If you're in a dicey situation, like playing next to a popcorn machine or something, it's gonna be too noisy. I think the Casino is far better as a studio guitar (where you can control the environment) than a live, gigging guitar.
One of my favorite guitars to play live. I haven’t had the problem you describe-in fact there are times when I’m trying to get it to feed back, and it’s very easy to control. Great guitar!
The smaller, ES-339 sized Coupe has a fatter, C-shape neck and better upper-fret access. Sounds great plugged in, but doesn't have quite as much acoustic presence.
Two months ago I considered buying one, so I paid some attention to the Casino. So now there suddenly there's a new one, I see sometimes called 'Original'. Reviews mention there is hardly any change with the previous version. This edition however is 12-25% higher priced, entering another price tier. 'Inspired by Gibson' I'd say 😉
@@jacquesguitars The sunburst and natural models did not have PRO pickups, the ones with the "worn" finish maybe Also now they have different fingerboard material, neck shape etc.
Sounded good, but if I was going to buy something along these lines, I'd go for a Riviera. I'd rather have the centre block and the mini HBs are going to be less noisy than P90s (also prefer the Sheraton). And I'm even more likely to spring for something more expensive and get a Guild Starfire V or a second-hand Gibson 335 studio.
Does the Sheraton II have a deeper Neck Profile and weigh more? I have a 2010 or 11 Lefty I bought new and the Neck is really thick and it weighs a TON. Thanks guys. Please keep up the Good Work and Cheers from Salem, Ohio.
Paul actually was the first one to have one and turned John and George onto them. They all had sunburst models and then John & George had theirs sanded down to natural wood. George had a Bigsby bridge installed on his.
Well look at this...More About the Epiphone Company This Gibson-owned factory was, when it first opened, led by Gibson luthier Mike Voltz, overseeing the production of Epiphone’s core line of guitars.
No, no it didn't, Epiphone has so many nice headstocks in their history including the one on inspired by models, why do they choose to slag on with this ugly, poorly proportioned swizzle stick of a headstock? In my opinion, this ugly thing is being carried over because it's proven to drive players to skip the basic model and upgrade to the made in USA Epiphones to avoid this thang.
Each to their own. This headstock matches more closely the headstock on the famous one played by John Lennon than the current Epiphone USA version and I imagine that is a compelling reason for them to stick with it.
@@rexrathtar3893 I guess so, but both headstocks are valid for an Epiphone, it's not like one is a vintage Epiphone headstock shape and the other is not. This is one of those occasions where the artist connection must be strong to prefer this over the other. What really irks me about this headstock is that the potential to get straighter string pull through the nut was possible for this headstock but Gibson, back in the day, didn't take advantage of it. Instead, they spaced these tuners to where the D and G strings are further away from a straight pull than all of the other strings. This fact alone makes this headstock shape questionable. But, to each, their own.
Yeah, changes that give greater tuning stability are preferable in my book, but I doubt Gibson will ever be guided by that principal. As far as artist connection, it is a strong incidence because Lennon is the main reason the Casino is celebrated/remembered these days. Personally, I dislike the neck meeting the body at such a low fret compared to the 335, but they'll never change that either.
@@rexrathtar3893 I actually like where the neck meets the body for this guitar. Without a center block, this guitar wouldn't have enough body weight to balance with a high neck/body joint. I also learned on a classical and I'm used to reaching over the guitar top to access the highest frets, even the worst high fret access on any electric guitar is super easy compared to a non-cutaway classical! 😂 .... I , unlike many, am not attracted to the Casino because of the Lennon connection, i own and play an ES 125 non-cutaway and I see the Casino as being the closest cousin to my axe of choice! If I would have had more money when I bought my ES 125 I probably would have bought the ES 330, the Gibson equivalent to the Casino. I, therefore, don't have a strong affiliation to the Lennon/Casino connection, but I understand those who do. I guess I would be the oddball who likes the Casino only for it's light weight, great sound, good balance, and it's relative ergonomics compared to other fully hollow bodied guitars!
I've seen broken headstocks with scarf joints too. As long as the headstock angle is greater than the thickness of the body it's going to be a problem. I've even seen 70's Les Pauls with the big honking volute break. Bottom line, be careful, don't lean your guitar against your amp, etc... Personally I don't mind a scarf joint, but we know typical Gibson customers, the ones who buy them not the people on the internet who complain about them, wouldn't stand for it. And even all the people who dog Gibson, especially for QC, would pig pile on them cheapening their guitars if they did. They complain that they don't use formaldehydes in their nitrocellulose lacquer anymore. It's poison and it's illegal, but somehow they did it to ruin their guitar tone. Even though the same people claim that the finish doesn't effect the tone. Round and round we go.🙄 Bottom line, it is what it is and it's not going to change. Complaining is just whining at this point. Get over it or don't, but move on because it's annoying. It's like complaining because Les Pauls are heavy. Buy a wider strap or don't buy a Les Paul, but complaining is a waste of air that we could be simply breathing instead.
I just hope they reduced the bass on the new Pro pickups. The neck pickup on the previous 2021 Casino was horribly bass-heavy to my ears. I want to love these Casinos, but I haven’t been able to get behind their sound, despite loving them on paper and on recordings. I went with the Riviera (trad, not P93) and it just did way better at balancing pickup tone/clarity with that deeper woodiness from the semi-hollow body.
Love Epiphone, never played a Chinese made one I liked... Ever. Grab a Korean one if you can. To re release the same guitar with a diff inlay and gig bag is just a price increase. The gig bag doesnt cost 200 bucks.
Marketing ploy, I can’t tell any difference between these and my 2021 model apart from cosmetics and a gig bag, i purchased an Epiphone hard case with mine, much safer
I bought the equivalent Casino from Epiphone about 5 years ago. Maybe I was unlucky and just didn’t get very good one but despite looking great, I was disappointed by the guitar. Despite my best efforts (I’m not a professional) at getting it to intonate properly I couldn’t and hence it just always sounded out of tune and I got rid of it.
Yeah, me too. I ended up selling it. It wasn`t a good guitar and the pickups sucked. They were dull and muffled. These new one sound and look way better IMHO
The guitar looks aesthetically the same as the previous version. Epiphone website being so ambiguos as always, is difficult to say what are the changes besides including a gig bag. From what I can see, the profile on the neck is different, the nut is a little bit wider, I don't know if there is a difference between the pickups Epiphone PRO P-90 (new one) and Dogear P-90 Classic (old one), but the body, looks like is the same. Still the guitar sounds and looks cool and as always, great performance from Cooper.
Yeah, they look quite similar on first glance, but at least on the sunburst model you see the difference on the back and sides. Differences in general are: - Indian Laurel instead of Pau Ferro fingerboard - Epiphone PRO P90s instead of older Epi "Alnico" P90s - More authentic looking finish on front - also no more sunburst sides and back (though poly still) - C shaped neck - instead of D shaped neck - comes now with a gig bag
