Looks good, but looks more like an ES330 now. I think I prefer an Epiphone Casino to look like an Epiphone Casino. And regarding the sound... both the original and the upgraded Casino sound great. But the original pickups sound more vintage to me than the Lollars. And I really do like that vintage sound. Thanks for the vid.
If I was going to change these pickups, I'd swap to the Gibson USA P90 Dogear pickups. The new three thousand dollar USA Casino's come with those pickups.
I disagree… the stock sounds like crap compared to the lollars. Epiphone always put crappy Chinese ceramic pickups in their guitars, but once you upgrade them they sound much closer to Gibson… The casinos a great looking guitar but the black pickguard and pickups make it look miles better..
The Pro P90 pickups on the Worn Casinos and the 2023 MIC models are surprisingly an improvement over the crappy stuff from previous years. I’ve upgraded to 50s wiring with nicer components and it went a long way to open up the stock pickups. Way more range and depth than the stock electronics allowed. I still plan to try out some Fralin P90s - I would do the Gibson USA P90s, but you can’t get the right cover size for the neck. It’s only comes with the big cover for the bridge pickup, so that would have to be an additional after-market swap.
I have a chines casino coupe with the original p90T epiphone pick ups: they are crap. Those p90 lack mid and high, and... They are way too hot. They push my tube amp to break up way earlier then my gibson les paul. I changed the bridge, tail piece next is the pick ups and wiring and the cheap plastic nut. The guitar it self is amazingly well built, but all the hardware and electronic, are lower then low quality.
Just got a casino and I'm thinking the same thing. Bone nut, CTS pots, orange drop capacitors, switch, and some upgraded p-90s. Think it is definitely an improvement. More clarity, definition, and presence. Bone nut alone was a vast improvement. I might even consider ivory grover tuners and tune o matic bridge. Great job 👍
I've been thinking of upgrading my Casino Coupe for a while now but both this and Rhett's upgrade vids have me thinking I'll take it slow and focus on the cheaper components before considering pricy pickups. The law of diminishing returns feels particularly applicable to this fine instrument.
Nice job! I’ve never seen using the tubes for reassembling the tone/volume pots before. I think it looks way better with the black components and it sounds better too.
Enjoyed the video. Have had similar thoughts regarding the casino. I read some other comments and far as I’m concerned it’s your ax and if you like it that’s all that matters. Me, I love the fresh lollars and I think it looks and sounds fantastic. Keep on rocking.
I"m a Casino player and I have to say I like the original pickups....I do have a bone nut and CTS pots on mine and have it intonated.....I don't think you need to mod a stock Casino in my view but hey....have fun...the Lolars sound more compressed to me and the chrome originals seem to be more open sounding...I have no doubt the Lolar pickups have less feedback issues though....I like the black pickguard....instead of modding mine I'll keep it as is now and maybe get a Riviera with mini humbuckers for a backup
Absolutely agree, there is no "need" to mode a Casino. But at a minimum installing a bone nut, maybe change the pots and bridge will significantly make this a better guitar while leaving the original pickups in there.
I replaced the pickups in my Peerless Casino, but swapped them back as I preferred the originals. I replaced the bridge with a post locking type and 52mm EtoE to open the strings a bit, also bone nut with wider EtoE spacing.
Sweet mods! I also did the Bridge and nut, plus swapped out the Tuners. I really did think about a full electrics rebuild, but never felt the need, as it works for me.
Thanks for the video of your experience. If I ever get a (lefty) Casino I am considering these upgrades. I saw Mick's video also. I think in both of them the original sounds fine, but the clarity after the upgrades is really more important.
Nice work, great vid. I replaced the pickups in my Peerless Casino, but swapped them back as I preferred the originals. I replaced the bridge with a post locking type and 52mm EtoE to open the strings a bit, also bone nut with wider EtoE spacing.
I did pretty much the same mod to my Cherry Red Coupe. I did buy a frequensator tailpiece and shortened the legs to scale it the guitar. I did use underwound P-90 pickups from Lollar. It’s a fine guitar now.
Wow great demo, yeah to my surprise i prefer it stock, theses things are subjective of coarse but it had a lovely fat warm tone stock, prehaps the epiphone pickups are just very underrated. This demo is certainly make me rethink upgrading my matte black casino. Cheers.
I guess it is a personal thing ( each to their own and all that ) but I can't believe anyone would prefer the stock pickups to the Lollar's. There is so much more clarity, to my ears. ( the stock pick ups don't sound warm, to me, they sound muddy ) In the context of a mix, with other instruments, the upgrades will put the guitar in a much higher, professional, league and the Casino will cut through so much better. Aesthetically, I love the black pickup covers but I would leave the pick guard off. All in all, a fantastic job, well done 🙏
The nut I think made a big difference in tuning stability. I replaced plastic nuts with bone on all my guitars and all of them benefited regarding tuning stability.
Sorry if I missed it - but what scratchplate have you put on it? I HATE the default (I keep clipping it with the plectrum), but I like the look of a scratchplate - although it drives me crazy clipping it all the time.
Do not own a Casino. BUT, subscribed 1:19 in. Great production and interesting. Appreciate the attention to detail and the slow panning on close ups...not nausea inducing :). Best Regards and Best Wishes!
The new upgrade makes the guitar so much better. The new pickups would help it sit so much better in a mix. The guitar sounds more alive and less muffled with the new pickups.
Looks sweet! Definitely brighter and more chimey with Lollars. If you want the tone of the Epi-pickups just roll back the tone knobs. I think you would have had a bigger difference if you had gone for the the lower output Lollar 50's wind P90 - I find those beautifully open and rich in harmonics.
Thanks! So for jazzy stuff Lollars for sure. They provide more articulate notes and dynamics. For blues I could go with either - but also depends, if you’re more a lead player probably also Lollars. The original pickups certainly have a unique sound. I just don’t find them very versatile.
Soundwise I like the stock guitar; optical the converted version. I did the same process with some of my Epis and to change all the stuff definitely change the sound . But often the tone became too bright and thin. I have a new Epiphone Riviera Royal Tan, the best imported Epi I played and did the whole thing, but rebuild it, because the original Pickups and wiring had more character. To change bridge and nut is always a good idea by an Epi, the Guitar reacts tonal in a better way.
I like it both optically - might need to get another one maybe 😂 One thing that was annoying with the stock pickups was that some pickup pole screws touched and kept vibrating against the metal covers. That was driving me nuts….
Thanks for the video!! Do you remember if the pickguard was the “1961-1970” or “2011-2012” model? I ask that because everywhere there are theses two options and I don’t know which one fits correct
I ordered two, black and a cream to try out. Both said for 64 Casino. The white guard is now back on my Casino. Somehow the all black looked a bit too boring ;-)
The stock pickups were way to warm on the low end so it's now much more balanced. I say this cause i have the same guitar (in olive color). Gonna make the same changes i think. My only question is what were the soecs on the original pots? Thanks for the video
Enjoyed your video / very well done . Owned a few Casino inc Elitist / 1965 Korean . I have a 61 Re Issue 50th Aniv and a 1985 JHS Matsumoku right now. Hand on heart the 85 MiJ is the best craftsmanship I seen . On par with the Gretsch Falcon’s I’ve owned. Mahogany neck ho snd maxon pickups I believe . Not quite as detailed as the US p90’s but nice - only thing ruins the guitar is the matchstick neck The 40mm nut is not even an issue but no meat on the neck could mean it had to go. Love to try a vintage one day.
I put bone nuts on all my guitars recently. Wow, just opens up the sound; even more clarity. I should be getting my epiphone 335 tomorrow. Though I may mod some stuff, I think I'll keep the stock pups.
The new pickups made the sound brighter with no effects. On distortion, although the sounds were similar, the original pickups smushed the sound together to make it a Tiny bit better. I’m thinking the original p/u’s would be a good back up sound for smooth jazz and blues rhythm playing, while the new p/u’s would provide an excellent and ringing sound for jazz, rock, and c&w leads. Nice work!
The new ones sound good but i prefer the stock pickups ,sound nicer, warmer great for melodies, but everyone's tastes are different, thank you for posting.
Hello, thanks for sharing the upgrade. Did you install a specific model of the Tonepros bridge, in terms of thickness of the poles in the casino, if so which diameter fits well without changing the holes in the casino? Many thanks, Bart
I bought the “TonePros TPFA-N Metric Aluminum Tuneomatic with Brass Saddles Nickel” model. I did not replace the poles, as I figured those are fine. So basically just removed the old bridge and popped the new one on.
Hello, many thanks for replying! So, the 2 holes on the Tonepros TPFA-N-metric (!) alu bridge will fit snug 100% on the original poles of my (korean-made) Casino, right? If that's the case I'll get me one. Best wishes for 2023!@@eisreal6645
Nice job , sounds great ! I have seen that mick taylor from the pedal show and rhett shull did the same pick up upgrade with there casino's . A few years ago i bought an Eastman t64/v wich had SD antiquity P 90's in it , they sounded great too , but i was looking for an ES 330 / casino type of guitar with a full lenght neck that joins the body at the 18/19 th fret instead off the 14/15 th fret so i sold the Eastman ( wich i did come to regret later offcourse 🤣) . Luckaly last year i found an 2e hand Stanford thinline 30 wich has become my main guitar now , i put an bigsby on it and i am just over the moon with this guitar , the stock pick ups sound great , so that saves me a lot off money not having to upgrade them and for the rest this is an top notch guitar ( wich is only fair because it is more expensive then the in china made epi casino ) . The Stanford guitars are also made in china and are at the same level as the Eastman guitars , but then a lot cheaper , so i would consider them a nice middle option between the epi casino and the eastman t64 . Have fun with the casino , for me these type of guitars are the best guitars ever made , they can do it all , acoustic and electric .
Thanks! The only thing really that the Casino is challenging, is if you need any frets above 15/17th......hard to reach. But if you don't need to get that high up, yup, this is a fantastic guitar.
Thanks! Yea unfortunately they are not cheap. At the time I thought it’s overkill, but I used the files multiple times since - so it was a good investment!
I have a casino which I bought new in 2009,although I like the feeling of it , I always thought it lacked a little something,a few years back I had a chat about it with a friend & he said have you thought of upgrading it?,so after a large amount of research, I settled on the es335 wiring,upgraded pots, & Lindy frailin p90’s,the difference is absolutely astounding, my friend who did the upgrade didn’t want to give it back, that’s how great it is, your new pick ups are a lot cleaner than the stock pick ups
Thanks for watching! I considered the the Lindy Frailins as well, but settled on the Lollars. Totally agree with the new tone, after playing it for a few weeks now I would not go back. The stock pickups had something to them, but were not very versatile.
@@jimihendrix4376 I bought my casino in 2009, for £450,it cost me £275 for all the modifications, today you can buy a new casino for the same money without the modifications
I played with both pickups in my band. The new pickups cut better through the mix. The original pickups sound great on their own - but in the bandmix they were boomy and clashed with the bass frequencies in my opinion.
Tone wise, I'm really OK with stock. Sure, it's a smidge better, but only that -- a smidge. Heck, probably some other people might say they prefer stock, and I'm fine with that. But the looks of the black pickups and pick guard, now that's really nice. really f-ing nice.
I kinda prefer the casino pickups... they deffinanly sound more dirty, kinda has that late 60s sound. While the upgrades sound more clean like a gibson es330
Totally agree. It's really the band mix that makes the difference. The original Casinos are too muddy for playing with the band (at least for me). Ideally, I had two Casinos or a method to easily swap pickups :-)
That would be interesting. I read that the metal covers contribute the that Casino tone. Ideally you'd get the Casino tone with the Lollars + metal cover, but maintain some clarity 🙂
the Epi Casino P-90's are just slightly different than standard. Jason Lollar will wind his pick-up onto your Epi pick-up to keep the chrome covers. I think that Tyson Tone Labs also does that. Now you just need a Bigsby B3 vibrato well worth doing that as an added bonus. Love my Casino after I modded the heck out of it, stock it was just a feedback machine..
I have a '62 330. My friend just bought a new Casino. We compared them and the pick ups in the new guitar sounded dull compared to the vintage ones. I think your upgrade in sound is good, sounds more sparkly, more lively, more like my '62 compared to the new guitar. Aesthetically I like the Casino as it is. Like someone else said, you just made it look like a 330, and the Casino already looks great.
That’s interesting- never saw a comparison like you did. Glad to hear the tone was clearer on the old one, makes me wonder what they do different on the new ones.
The new guitar sounded dull prolly because everything is wax potted nowadays. I really dout your 330 was wax potted. No wax potting, hand scatter wound is the secret sauce for great vintage tone.
Nice! Do you notice a difference between the stock bridge and your upgraded one? I'd definitely upgrade to CTS pots, a bone nut and I'd likely upgrade the tuning keys. Personally, I'd leave the rest of the electronics and stock pickups alone, but I am curious about that bridge.
Yes, for sure. The original bridge is flimsy and noisy (rattles) due to the retaining wire they use. The TonePros bridge is quiet. If you like the original pickups I think replacing to CTS pots makes still sense, they roll off better. if you replace the pots, I would just replace the whole wiring harness. Bone nut is a cheap and effective upgrade, it made a noticeable difference. Tuning keys I looked into - but if you want to keep those button metal tuners I didn't find any better options out there. My Casino as it is now stays wonderfully in tune, I decided not to replace the tuning keys, as don't see an actual added value there. Let me know what you decided to do and how it played out!
@@eisreal6645 What benefit is there to changing the whole wiring harness? Does it improve the tone, or did yours have cheap wiring? Makes sense about the tuners. I haven't gotten a Casino yet. It's the next guitar on my list, but might not be for a minute. I just finished upgrading a Gretsch Electromatic Jet to get as close as I could to George Harrison's Duo Jet.
@@weightlessfilms5651 I found the wiring was cheap cables etc. I don’t think there is tonal benefit in replacing those. But if you put nice CTS pots in there then I would also just for good measure replace the wires with kind of vintage style cloth covered wiring. You have to unsolder everything anyway, and the wire is cheap. But again, don’t think you have to! Good luck!
the problem with this current ran of casinos is that they are 95% on the mark out of the box, my friend pimped his like yours , I didn't go all the way- just the nut , roller bridge, lightly leveled the frets, crowned and polished them . ( my frets were a bit gritty and I hate that ) the electronics are original, my biased opinion says my casino sounds more like a casino my friend's has lost its warmth, anyway he has since put back the original pickups , he got the warmth back and can crank it a bit more than mine before feedback becomes a problem... when i can be bothered I might upgrade the electronics...
Yea, you’re right- they are really good out of the box. This was really just a fun project for me to do. From a playability and tone perspective you don’t really have to change anything. If I would only change one thing, it would be the nut (the one originally is a crappy plastic nut)
Nice job. I like it. A little surprised ya didn't change the tuners, lol. J/s Anyway, doesn't look like that job can be without a nut/bridge file. So, I guess I'm out. It sounds great, again well done, Sir
Thanks! I was thinking about changing the tuners and looked up alternatives. But honestly I couldn’t find anything that would improve tone very much. The tuning stability is surprisingly good, so I just left the originals on. Still happy with them today!
Those stock pickups sounds nice, warm and sweet. If you play at low volume. In your living room. Alone. Those new pickups will carry you loud, live and in a band mix. Good work.
I have the same model as you. Mine is unchanged. But seeing your video (and Mick’s) there’s no comparison in terms of clarity. But there is a quality that the stock pickups have as you kind of point out in your video description. I’ve got plenty of ‘crisp’ guitars including those with p90s. There’s a tonal quality that comes from the stock pickups. Let’s face it: we’re often dialing in overdrive to get that vibe so in my view the stock pickups have a bit of that already. That said the Lollards pickups do sound good so, like you I’m kind of torn. I wonder if you feel the Casino lost and inherent quality with more clarity? Just another guitar perhaps whereas the stock pickups do give it a true air of something different. I really like it. I have an Epiphone es335 as well but I can’t connect with it. I much prefer the Casino.
I am still torn. I did like the Casino-Mojo of the original pickups. But I also want to use the Casino to play with my band and gig. The Lollars provide more versatility the originals couldn't. Plus, there is more control over feedback with the Lollars. You still can dial in that wonderful feedback, but the originals were some what uncontrollable, especially in a band environment. So.....who knows, maybe one day I put the originals back in. But it was definitely worth installing the bone nut, bridge and pots!
amazing sound in both cases although different, before the mods, there is a warmer sound and after the mods a more articulate sound. And I think it's all mainly because of the pickups since I saw the same mod on another channel (just the lollars pickups instead of the Chinese ones) and the results were the same.
That’s easy. Firebird pickups have the same footprint. I would get a set, alnico 2 or 4, and only use 1 instead of the 2 bar magnets for each pickup, so it’s not too bright.
I'm sure the minimal difference in tone could also have been achieved by slightly adjusting your amp or pedals. That being said, as a Casino owner myself, I cannot wait to replace that rattling bridge.
Ok, update: the new bridge also started to rattle. After trying to get to the bottom of it, now think it’s the the string heads/buttons inside the tailpiece. Will try to add some felt and see if it goes away.
I have the Ashthrope c85 acoustic electric thin line guitar on the way and I'm going to try to make a poor man's guitar into a hollwbody because I have 3 or 4 soudhole pickups in the neck position by shutting off the electronics and on. I successfully made shorter fretboard lengths by using my capo.
I prefer the stock pickups they sound and look like a casino should be. Lollars sound too bright....sound loses all that warmth that makes this guitar so legendary. And those plastic covers...is not a casino it's a ES330!
If you thought the tech was trying to put you off to make more jobs for the boys.. he failed here.. Don’t use that hammer on the nut… Unless you want to damage the back heal of the nut slot.. protect against heat.. use a hair dryer and with grips use an UPWARDS motion.. Every single thing else is this video will make more of a meal of it… Learn elsewhere or leave it to the pros.. Heavy music and flash video can only distract From first principles.. What!! The ploy surfaces CAN scratch… Too many don’ts.
