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
Thanks so much for spending time on clean tones. I know you did it because of the Beatles but some of us are interested in this guitar for the same reason the Beatles loved Casinos--players like T-Bone Walker, Howlin' Wolf, Hubert Sumlin, etc. Not to mention, hillbilly-boogie, early rockabilly, Western swing, which this guitar is amazing for, if you hate Bigsbys and don't want to go Gretsch. Grant Green on the ES-330. OTOH I guess we should be grateful for the Beatles' monster popularity, which is the reason this very-nice-indeed true hollow with P90s is in currency and reasonably priced.
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!!!!!
The Korean Peerless factory are the ones to find and get- for one, the neck connects to the body at the 19th fret-like a ES335- unlike all the other Casinos which attach at the 16th fret. I got mine on Craigslist for $200 a few years back, put Kent Armstrong P90's in at, and it is GREAT! The neck is out of this world.
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.
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
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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
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
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!
@@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.
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.
He used it until it was unplayable, which is hilarious because it didn't occur to him he could get it set up and refretted. Basically he would drive a guitar into the ground and get a different one. Gave them away like candy too.
@@jsullivan2112 It's so funny how people think that guitar maintenance is some new thing that we just discovered on youtube. The notion that the band that played more gigs than any of us ever will BEFORE becoming famous and creating the blueprint for the modern touring band didn't require that their instruments played their best and saw to it that they did is absolutely ridiculous.
@@deanallen927 John's been quoted as saying it didn't matter, they're just tools, and his assistants and various friends who tried playing them have said his guitars were in such bad shape they were unplayable. Why do you think he got the Jr? He didn't care until a few years before he died when he wanted his first Rickenbacker restored because he got sentimental. John played the shit out of his first Rick during Hamburg and the Cavern. Then he just got a new one (the Ed Sullivan guitar). You can search photos of the old one and how beat to shit it was. Then he got a Casino and they stopped touring shortly after, so it's not hard to believe that it died a slow death. He also kept cranking the action on it when it just needed fretwork. This is all documented. They didn't have techs on the road, they had Mal. That's it. George cared (no surprise there), and John didn't. As for people only thinking maintenance existed since RUclips, which people are that?
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.
Just picked up a Lefty Blonde from GC for $599 on their Labor Day Sale. Wow, I like it a lot. Great thin neck, lightweight, craftsmanship is excellent. Even came with a very decent gig bag.
Hey can i ask you with your lefty does it have right handed pots in it and do you have an issue with the tone control not working properly, i just bought a lefty casino and although it's great to play it has a few issues . cheers
@@Scraggs8403 The pots are wired for correct (counterclockwise) Lefty rotation, but they are not reverse audio taper pots. Thua, the tone controls have minimal span as usual. However, they did put correct Lefty rotation knobs which almost no one does. A very pleasant surprise. I have no issues with the guitar. You can pay 3 to 4 times as much for a guitar that's not properly done for lefties, namely Gibsons.
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
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!
@@jsullivan2112 The store refunded my money and sent it back to Epiphone. Apparently there were more issues than a setup could fix. Must have been a lemon or didn’t do well in transit.
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 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.
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 😁
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.
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.
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.
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!
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..
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.
I love humbuckers and single coils alike, they all have their place, but I'm absolutely convince that P90s are the best pickups out there. They do everything, and I mean everything equally well. Country chicken picking, blues, jazz, jangle pop, they even do metal
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.
The fingerboard on the "new" Chinese Casino is NOT Indian Laurel - it's Pau Ferro - aslso known as Bolivian Rosewood. You also "forgot" to mention that the neck are Honduran Mahogany (Swetenia Macrofylla) - exactly the same as used on the American made Gibson guitars...
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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!
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.
As many of you have pointed out, yes this guitar goes for $699, not $799. Our mistake!
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!
Does $699.00 include a hard shell case?
A few years ago before Bidenomics it was $599.
@@rayg3583true, maybe depending on where the pendulum swings hopefully the guitar market here can star going back
Man, Cooper's got the skills to pay the bills.
I absolutely love my Casino. I’ve changed nothing on it and will likely never. It’s perfect for me and what I need. Great review.
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!
I purchased the casino in January this year, and since then been in love with it.
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
A great “couch guitar.”
Super playing as always Cooper! Nice sounding guitar!
Which song is this? Or just an improvisation?
Thanks so much for spending time on clean tones. I know you did it because of the Beatles but some of us are interested in this guitar for the same reason the Beatles loved Casinos--players like T-Bone Walker, Howlin' Wolf, Hubert Sumlin, etc. Not to mention, hillbilly-boogie, early rockabilly, Western swing, which this guitar is amazing for, if you hate Bigsbys and don't want to go Gretsch. Grant Green on the ES-330. OTOH I guess we should be grateful for the Beatles' monster popularity, which is the reason this very-nice-indeed true hollow with P90s is in currency and reasonably priced.
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!!!!!
The Korean Peerless factory are the ones to find and get- for one, the neck connects to the body at the 19th fret-like a ES335- unlike all the other Casinos which attach at the 16th fret. I got mine on Craigslist for $200 a few years back, put Kent Armstrong P90's in at, and it is GREAT! The neck is out of this world.
I really wanted them to contrast the previous Casino model with the new Casino model. If they did, it got lost in the review.
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
@@jameswood3977 The new one has P90 PRO pickups which are a huge upgrade on the previous model.
@@kingstumbleDidn’t the old one have P90 Pro pickups too?
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.
Yes the previous iteration (the Epiphone Casino Worn released in 2020) already had the Pro P90s
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.
I own a Casino Coupe (the smaller 339ish body variant) and it's awesome. Definitely built better and sounding better than my vintage Gibsons.
Great playing and sounds, beautiful guitar that is a legend. Funny thing, all Epiphones and Gibsons are import guitars in Australia 😉
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
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 p90s on the old ones were not great. They almost always needed to be replaced.
After 2020 they improved the casino a lot. Even the pickups sound better.
Relic wax is a complete waste of time.
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.
I have a Japanese Elitist model, and the fit and finish and playability was amazing right out of the box.
I would hope so for the price tag.
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.
Nice video! Great guitar! and can't wait seeing the new sheraton!
Tone was superb...what amp/pedal combination were you using?
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!
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.
Great review guys, as always. Cooper, your playing inspired me to buy one ASAP !! Wonderful P90 pickups.
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!
Bought a 2021 mod and sent it right back. Sounded good, but needed far too much work to be comfortably playable
The only part they got wrong is that Gibson has some equally garbage QC. In fact China's is currently better as of 2024 if you can believe it.
Nice, but I miss a comparison to earlier versions of the Casino. Don’t know if this is better or the same as what was offered 2 years ago.
IMHO the only model years to avoid are 2014 and 2015
@@johnnydee5658 Was that when the first went to China?
Watched alamo video few months ago and inspired me to buy a e-hummingbird. It was set-up very nice also. They really do well maybe with the setups.
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
8:30-ish was some great riffin'...enjoyed the video, thanks y'all
We've had Epi's (still have some).............AWEsome guitars !
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!
Is the neck rounder than the previous version? The previous ones necks were real flat on the back
My 2021 model isn’t flat, definitely a nice slim (for me) C shape
@@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.
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.
He used it until it was unplayable, which is hilarious because it didn't occur to him he could get it set up and refretted. Basically he would drive a guitar into the ground and get a different one. Gave them away like candy too.
@@jsullivan2112 It's so funny how people think that guitar maintenance is some new thing that we just discovered on youtube. The notion that the band that played more gigs than any of us ever will BEFORE becoming famous and creating the blueprint for the modern touring band didn't require that their instruments played their best and saw to it that they did is absolutely ridiculous.
@@deanallen927 John's been quoted as saying it didn't matter, they're just tools, and his assistants and various friends who tried playing them have said his guitars were in such bad shape they were unplayable. Why do you think he got the Jr? He didn't care until a few years before he died when he wanted his first Rickenbacker restored because he got sentimental.
John played the shit out of his first Rick during Hamburg and the Cavern. Then he just got a new one (the Ed Sullivan guitar). You can search photos of the old one and how beat to shit it was. Then he got a Casino and they stopped touring shortly after, so it's not hard to believe that it died a slow death. He also kept cranking the action on it when it just needed fretwork. This is all documented. They didn't have techs on the road, they had Mal. That's it.
George cared (no surprise there), and John didn't. As for people only thinking maintenance existed since RUclips, which people are that?
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.
Great playing Cooper and oh yeah nice guitar.
Nice video! Nice playing, Cooper! I would have liked to hear it with some gain. But that's me.
Just picked up a Lefty Blonde from GC for $599 on their Labor Day Sale. Wow, I like it a lot. Great thin neck, lightweight, craftsmanship is excellent. Even came with a very decent gig bag.
Hey can i ask you with your lefty does it have right handed pots in it and do you have an issue with the tone control not working properly, i just bought a lefty casino and although it's great to play it has a few issues . cheers
@@Scraggs8403 The pots are wired for correct (counterclockwise) Lefty rotation, but they are not reverse audio taper pots. Thua, the tone controls have minimal span as usual. However, they did put correct Lefty rotation knobs which almost no one does. A very pleasant surprise. I have no issues with the guitar. You can pay 3 to 4 times as much for a guitar that's not properly done for lefties, namely Gibsons.
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.
Great review and playing!!
I have a CME Sunrise Orange Casino. It’s fabulous.
😊😊😊😊😊I ordered one it arrived today same guitar only left handed wow it is awsum
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
I love mine. Very good build quality.
great video, as a rhythm guitarist what would be the best gauge strings for the casino Someone mentioned 10-48 what do you think.
I have an older version in seafoam green, of all things. I bought it for the pick-ups. And for a pawn shop find, I paid too much..
Epiphone in China is doing great job on their guitars with really good quality, nowadays
Agreed
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!
"I'm having tuning issues with the G string." Welcome to the wonderful world of guitar!
@@jsullivan2112 The store refunded my money and sent it back to Epiphone. Apparently there were more issues than a setup could fix. Must have been a lemon or didn’t do well in transit.
@@mjkelly7502 Or G strings are hard to intonate on Gibson scale guitars. 🤷🏻♂️ There's a reason why wound Gs exist.
How do you know you're buying one of these new ones? Anything to discern them from pre 2023 models?
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
@@jameswood3977 cheers mate!
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?
Personally I prefer the contrast of my 2021 natural
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.
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 have a USA casino I ordered in January and got a few weeks ago why don’t u have one to review?
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.
I had one of the earlier models. Great guitars. Had to decide btw keeping it and my Epi 335 and chose the 335 but it was a tough decision.
Has the size of the neck changed at all?
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'.
@@fritsvanzanten3573 Hey thanks!
@@fritsvanzanten3573 I've had a couple of Artcores, and that was my experience too. Great bones, but the pickups had to go...
What’s the price difference between the Artcore and Casino?
@@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.
I like the sunburst better (visually)
No CTS pots?
Look forward to seeing a Sheraton ii (pro). Great demo on the Casino.
What exactly did they update/refresh on the import model? Pickups, hardware? Finish looks more or less the same to me.
And to me too
Do these have a centre block?
No
Does the worn version have the same shape and size neck as the standard?
.WOOOOOOW.
(I got a Sheraton Pro that makes me very happy, this one I'd like to add ;0) Great playin' !!
All of the yadda yadda yadda on the features is great, but it's Coopers' stellar demo that sells it. Wondering if you've figured that out yet...
holy shit that demo is fantastic.
Did I understand this correctly, the pickups are not the standard stock pickups?
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.
I have an old one and really want to demo a new model to hear the difference if any
This guy always goes crazy on the guitar reviews. My god I never see that playing
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!
@@cliftoncaskey5696 The US made one is going to sell like hot cakes, I expect. Especially in the wake of the "Get Back" movie about the Beatles.
@@cliftoncaskey5696 Do you play high gain live? If so, how do you keep it from feeding back like crazy?
Don’t point your amp towards the guitar body. Point it away from the body
Wish they had kept the rosewood fb. They seem to be going in and out of Indian laurel , pao ferro and rosewood on MIC models.
Wow he plays really well. I enjoyed it!
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..
Great guitar but uhm... what's new/different about this 2023 version? Just seems like a regular casino lol
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.
I bought one of the light blue ones last year. It's a lovely thing.
Didn't come with a gig bag though. Should it have done??
New feature for 2023...
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.
Have a friend who owns a Peerless, apart from its rosewood board not a lot of difference tbh
I love humbuckers and single coils alike, they all have their place, but I'm absolutely convince that P90s are the best pickups out there. They do everything, and I mean everything equally well. Country chicken picking, blues, jazz, jangle pop, they even do metal
Does this model sound any different than the worn finish models that cost $200 less?
The Epiphone Casino is a Gibson ES-330. It's the same guitar, with only minor cosmetic differences.
Can you guys do a D'Addario XS and Elixir string comparison on the same Taylor guitar, something mid-level like a 414 so we can hear any differences?
Chris already did that, not too long ago. The XS sounded better than the Elixers on the same 814ce he used for both strings.
I actually found the Vid Chris did back in June of 21 comparing the two strings.... Apparently Taylor saw the video and liked Chris's review, lol
Im sorry, but what's new exactly?
Love my Orange Casino.
Just to clarify … is it a full hollow body ?
Yes
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 😉
Much better pickups.
@@powbobs Are you sure? The previous model Casinos (2021-2022) had 'pro P90' in the specs...just like this 2023 model.
@@jacquesguitars
That’s what the Alamo review said.
@@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.
The fingerboard on the "new" Chinese Casino is NOT Indian Laurel - it's Pau Ferro - aslso known as Bolivian Rosewood. You also "forgot" to mention that the neck are Honduran Mahogany (Swetenia Macrofylla) - exactly the same as used on the American made Gibson guitars...
The electric harnes are CTS-pots and Switchcraft toggle switch... btw.
One question that didn’t get answered: do these guitars come with good quality pots?
I checked the spec sheet. They come with CTS pots.
The pots are solid quality.
What’s the neck like? Thickness-wise
Why is the CME exclusive Orange Sunrise $499?
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.
Riviera is vastly underrated. Think Robben Ford for top players.
are the pickups p90 pros ?
I was gonna get one of the Epiphone Korina Flying V guitars... But now I'm leaning this way..... Hmmmm.
So this Casino has a little better QC? did I miss something?
Any reason why this is more expensive than the older version?
Upgraded pickups, different fret board material and a gig bag
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 was appalled at the lack of care to the frets. Needed a full dress. Epiphone joe pass, import 09 I believe. Once that was done, it was sweet!
Do you have the Casino Coupe???
Why is this guy playing absolutely sick
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.
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.
Not found that at all on my 2021 model, each to there own I guess
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
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.
It sounds nice
Actually, your website says $699!
I just got it for $699.99.
Got mine with a hard shell case included $699.00.
That explanation of the Casino being an Epiphone standard versus a cheaper Gibson model nailed the headstock issue, done deal.
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!
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.
The pickups are different too I think
A friend owns a Korean, apart from rosewood board zero difference, same as this new model here demo apart from a little cosmetics
I paid $635.00 total ' new out the door ' included hardshell case.