Thursday 13 October 2011

Epiphone Casino Review - Vintage Class

If you need a particular, versatile instrument for blues, rock, or jazz, the Epiphone Casino is a sure thing.

It's effortless to think that guitar makers like Fender and Gibson have always been the top-selling musical instruments they are now, but that's in reality not the case. Believe it or not, for many years Epiphone really dominated the electric guitar universe, thanks mainly to a group of young musicians from Liverpool (the Beatles, in case you don't know your music history really well).

George and John were not the only guitarists who could be seen playing Epiphone Casinos. The Casino's fresh, dynamic tones could be found in tons of concerts and recordings. Though it's improbable you'll be able to pick up a real 1960's Casino, you can grab a current reissue model that is worth a look. Here are just a few of the details of the current model.

Features

Regarding its construction, the top, sides, and back are all made of a laminated maple. The neck is mahogany and the fingerboard is rosewood and has 22 frets on a 24 3/4" scale. The nut is a comfortable 1.68." The Casino boasts 2 Alnico V P-90 vintage-style pickups with a trademark tune-o-matic bridge and trapeze tailpiece. Parallelogram inlays and body-neck binding with chrome hardware complete the cosmetic adornments.

Performance

As you test a new Epiphone Casino, you'll in all probability observe at least a couple of things. First things first. The Casino is very lightweight, owing to its semi-hollow design. If you're used to playing a Les Paul, the Casino feels like a feather by comparison.

The second thing you'll likely notice is the sound itself. "Crisp" is probably the best adjective I can use to describe it. It doesn't have the usual Gibson or Fender tone, but that's not a bad thing. It's unique, its own animal.

We were really satisfied with the tones we got from the Epiphone Casino. It can get some outstanding clean or classic rock tones, but don't anticipate any "Iron Maiden" licks to sound authentic. The P90 pickups have some great tones, even if they're not hum-cancelling (but they're not really noisy anyway).

When we first played the Casino, we discovered it needed a fast setup. After we adjusted the bridge and neck, the Casino played very well. The neck especially is really comfortable.

If you're blessed enough to buy a new Epiphone Casino, don't be astounded if you start rattling off some of your favored Beatles' tunes. We played our Epiphone through a new Vox AC-15 and were very encouraged with the warm, rich sounds we got.

The Bottom Line

Since the street cost is only around $599 (much less if you can find it used), it's difficult to find grounds not to pick up an Epiphone Casino today. If you need a particular, versatile instrument for blues, rock, or jazz, the Epiphone Casino is a sure thing.

Name of Gear: Epiphone Casino
List Price: $1,042.00
Manufacturer Info: The Epiphone Company; epiphone.com
Pros: Classic blues and rock sound; visually appealing; light; good bargain
Cons: Weak factory setup


1 comment:

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