Epiphone Casino Upgrades
I found a pretty decent deal on a 2013 Epiphone Casino locally through Craigslist. Listed at $450 including the case, but I got it for $400. It's a decent player; I think the neck is just a little thick for my liking (my other guitar is a CIJ Jazzmaster), and a little fret buzz. Epiphone Casino upgrade Just because a guitar is cheap, doesn’t always necessarily mean it’s no good! Often times at the bare bones of a cheap guitar will be a really nice instrument, simply let down by poor quality components and hardware. This is exactly the case for these lovely Epiphone Casino Coupe’s.
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Epiphone Electrics; Epiphone Casino Upgrades? Sign in to follow this. Epiphone Casino Upgrades? By zerobox94, June 18, 2010 in Epiphone Electrics. So this past summer i picked up a 1994 Epi Dot at the Great American Guitar Show as it passed through Philly. I finished my desired upgrades and have to say this guitar is now my number 1. Upgrades include: bone nut, Seth Lover PAFs, 50s style wiring harness with Bourns pots and orange drops, and as of today a Faber tonelock bridge and tail piece. These standard model WD® Custom Pickguards for the Epiphone® Casino® can be modified for any pickup or control configuration. If you do not see your specific model of Epiphone® Casino® listed here, or would like additional modifications not available online, speak with one of our master craftsman directly via email at custompickguards@wdmusic.com, or via phone at 800.449.9348 ext#112.
The two most iconic electric guitars are the Fender Stratocaster and the Gibson Les Paul. As I type this, the entry level price for an American-made Strat or Les Paul is about $1,000. Fortunately, both companies have lower priced versions. The Fender Standard Strat is made in Mexico and you can pick up a used MIM Strat for about $300 to $400. And Gibson owns Epiphone and license them to make Les Pauls, so a used Epiphone Les Paul can be purchased in the $250 to $350 range. So for those of us on a BUDGET, these are good platforms to look into.
I believe that the best way to go if you want a Gibson Les Paul is to find a used Gibson Les Paul Tribute or Studio. If you work at it, you can probably find one in the $500 to $650 range. But if that’s too much money, then a used Epiphone is the way to go.
When buying a used electric guitar, make sure the neck is straight. Look for cracks anywhere on the neck. Check the electronics (play the thing) if possible. And if you’re really nerdy, bring a small screwdriver and collection of hex wrenches and make sure the truss rod moves. All of the used Epiphone Les Pauls I’ve seen were fine, because they’re fairly well-made guitars, but be cautious. A warped neck makes the guitar useless in this price range.
Once you have your new Epi Les Paul, here’s a list of upgrades to consider. I have also included links to purchase these items via an Amazon affiliated link. If you purchase anything from one of these links, Amazon will send me a small amount of cash and it helps keep this site up and running.
- Bridge pickup swap. I like Seymour Duncan pickups. They’re not cheap, but they’re fairly inexpensive compared to actual Gibson pickups. My favorite humbucker is the Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates. They sell for around $129, and if you put one of them in your Epiphone Les Paul you’ll transform it. Especially if you want to be able to achieve all of those classic Les Paul tones of the classic rock era. It can also give you more modern tones. This is the most important mod. Epiphone pickups have improved, but they still strike me as being a bit muddy and lacking in detail. For a classic rock crunch, I recommend the Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates. For something with more power, I like the DiMarzio Super Distortion or the Gibson Dirty Fingers pickups
- Nut. Be careful with this one. I like to say that changing the nut improves six notes on your guitar and does not impact any of the other notes. I have replaced the nut, an it was a little tricky. Removing the old nut ended up removing a little wood with it, and that made life challenging. If you’re not experienced working on guitars or doing woodworking, I’d leave the original nut. But YMMV. I recommend a nice Graph Tech nut.
- Frets. I’ve replaced the frets on both of my Epi Les Pauls. The good news is that it’s easy – Epiphone does not glue its frets. You can pop them out fairly easily. Then it gets interesting. I’ve put in medium and jumbo frets, and honestly medium frets work better. Obviously a refret isn’t a novice mod, but it’s good to know how easy the frets come out.
- Bridge/Tailpiece. The two piece bridge/tailpiece assembly that comes with the Epi LP is decent quality. Replacing them with higher quality parts isn’t a bad idea, but don’t expect a major difference in sound. You can buy the same bridge that comes on a Gibson Les Paul if you want to get something that is very high quality.
- Pots. If your Epi comes with tiny pots, it is possible that replacing them may brighten your guitar a little bit. It’ll definitely make it more reliable.
- Caps. This is a good one – replace the caps with Orange Drop caps. They really make a big difference if you want to turn down the tone control and get a nice “cocked wah” type of sound.
- Output Jack. If you replace the output jack plate with a nice metal plate, you’ll be happier in the long run. The plastic output jack plate will eventually break on you. This will not impact the sound, but might save a gig. You can get the same plate found on a Gibson Les Paul for under ten bucks.
- Tuners. The Grover tuners that come with most Epi LP’s are just fine. I don’t see the point in upgrading them. Grover locking tuners are around $80, but they’ll last practically forever.
- Remove finish from back of guitar neck. This is a mod I’ve tried, and it worked out great. If you don’t like the thick gloss finish on the back of the neck, sand it all off. Caution – use some form of sander. If you don’t, your arm might fall off. Once you’re down to the bare wood, seal it with something. I chose Tung Oil. Worked great. Some people thing this wrecks the look of the guitar. I guess it kind of does, but it does make the neck easier to play. You can get Tung Oil on Amazon for around $20.
- Round the neck binding edges. You can do this with some fine sandpaper. If the neck edges are too sharp, getting rid of the sharp edge will give the guitar a more “played” comfortable feeling. In many cases you won’t need to do this, but you can.
If you can’t do some of the mods yourself, you can either learn how or find someone else to do them for you. Mostly you can throw out the entire list except for number 1. Replacing the bridge pickup is going to change the sound of the guitar the most. Individual pickup preferences are very personal, but I can strongly recommend the Pearly Gates. If you want a more aggressive tone, I like the Dimarzio Super Distortion. But there are a billion pickups out there, and you might have to purchase a few before settling on your own fave pickup.
| Epiphone Casino | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Epiphone |
| Period | 1961–present |
| Construction | |
| Body type | hollow |
| Neck joint | Set |
| Scale | 24.75' with 14' fretboard radius |
| Woods | |
| Body | maple (laminated) |
| Neck | mahogany on most models in most periods; sometimes maple |
| Fretboard | rosewood on most models, ebony on some |
| Hardware | |
| Bridge | adjustable Tune-o-Matic style |
| Pickup(s) | 2 P-90s |
| Colors available | |
| Vintage Sunburst, Turquoise, Natural[1] | |
The Epiphone Casino is a thinline hollow body electric guitar manufactured by Epiphone, a branch of Gibson. The guitar debuted in 1961 and has been associated with such guitarists as Howlin' Wolf, George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Keith Richards, Dave Davies, Paul Weller, The Edge, Josh Homme, Daniel Kessler, Noel Gallagher, Brendon Urie, Gary Clark, Jr., Glenn Frey, John Illsley, Peter Green and Dave Grohl.[1][2]
Casinos have been manufactured in the United States, Japan, Korea and China.
Construction[edit]
The Casino, also designed by Epiphone as model E230TD, is a thinline hollow-bodied guitar with two Gibson P-90 pick-ups. Although generally fitted with a trapeze-type tailpiece, often a Bigsby vibrato tailpiece is used in its place (either as a factory direct feature or as an aftermarket upgrade). Unlike semi-hollow body guitars such as the Gibson ES-335, which have a center block to promote sustain and reduce feedback, the Casino and its cousin, the Gibson ES-330 are true hollow-bodied guitars. This makes it lighter, and louder when played without an amplifier, but much more prone to feedback than semi-hollow or solid-body electrics.
Early versions of the Casino had a spruce top. Through 1970, the Casino headstock was set at a 17-degree angle and the top was made of five laminated layers of maple, birch, maple, birch, and maple.[1][3] With the exception of the John Lennon models, subsequent Casinos have been made with 14-degree headstock angle with five layer all maple laminated tops. Current versions have a laminated maple top, sides, and back, and a mahogany neck.[1]
Factory string gauge guide for Casino[edit]
Epiphone Casino Upgrades Website
Per the Epiphone String Gauge Guide, the Casino comes with string gauges (from high to low): 0.010' 0.013' 0.017' 0.026' 0.036' 0.046'.[4]
Use by the Beatles[edit]
In 1964, Paul McCartney, The Beatles' bass player, was the first Beatle to acquire a Casino[5] (a 1962 model), using it for his studio forays into guitar work, including his guitar solos on 'Ticket to Ride' (1965), 'Drive My Car' (1965) and 'Taxman' (1966). In 1965 John Lennon and George Harrison bought 1965 Casinos,[5] which are clearly seen in photos of Japan concerts (last World Tour, 1966).
John Lennon used the Epiphone Casino as his main instrument during the remainder of his time with the Beatles.[5] In 1968 when the Beatles were making the White Album, Lennon had the pick guard removed from his Casino and professionally sanded to bare wood and lightly lacquered with two thin coats of nitro-cellulose.[citation needed] In the early seventies, the original tuners were replaced with a set of gold Grover tuners or machine heads. His stripped guitar (still with the original nickel tuners) is first seen in the 'Revolution' promo film. The guitar was used at The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus in December 1968, the Apple rooftop concert on January 30, 1969, and the concert of Live Peace in Toronto 1969 with the Plastic Ono Band on September 13, 1969. It can also be seen in the Let It Be film, including the rooftop concert, and most other pictures of Lennon playing guitar after that time.
Harrison had his fitted with a Bigsby trem, removed the pickguard (it can be seen in this state in the 'Hello Goodbye' and 'Penny Lane' videos, and in pictures of the final Beatles show in San Francisco, 1966). He also had it sanded down in 1968.
Current Casinos[edit]
Epiphone currently builds several versions of the Casino. These include:
- Regular 'Archtop-Series' Casino made in China and uses non-American made parts (Korea until 2007)[1]
- Elitist Casino. Made in Japan and set-up in America, and contains American made parts such as the pickups. Body is 5-ply maple, Gibson P-90 pickups, and nickel hardware.[6]
- Casino Coupé. A smaller version. The body is the same size as a Gibson ES-339.[7]
- Inspired by John Lennon were made in China with American-made 'Tribute' P-90 pickups and a five-ply maple body and are less expensive versions of the now defunct United States Collection John Lennon 1965 / Revolution Casino bodies were built in Japan and assembled in America. The 1965 version has a sunburst finish, white pick guard and small button Grover tuners. The Revolution version was based on the modifications Lennon made to his 1965 Casino during the recording of the White Album, which include a 'stripped' (natural) satin finish, gold Grover tuners, no pickguard, a deeper set-in neck, and Lennon's serial number on the back of the headstock.[1]
- Limited Edition 1961 Casino. This limited version is offered in Royal Tan and Vintage Sunburst, with either a trapeze tailpiece or a tremotone tremolo. It sports a 5-layer maple-birch body, Gibson P-90 pickups, 'short' headstock, bullet trussrod cover, tortoiseshell pickguard, and pre-Gibson era Epiphone badge.[8]
Epiphone Casino Upgrades Reviews
References[edit]
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to Epiphone Casino. |
Epiphone Casino Upgrades Guide
- ^ abcdef'Epiphone Casino'. Epiphone.com.
- ^'Gary Clark Jr'. GaryClarkJr.com. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
- ^'Antique Vintage Guitars collector info - collecting old VINTAGE GUITARS'. provide.net. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
- ^'Epiphone String Gauges'(PDF). Web.archive.org. Archived from the original(PDF) on September 23, 2010. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ^ abc'Epiphone: A History'. Epiphone.com.
- ^'Epiphone Elitist Casino'. Epiphone.com. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
- ^'Expert Review: Epiphone Casino Coupe - Harmony Central'. harmonycentral.com. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
- ^'Epiphone 1961 50th Anniversary Casino'. Epiphone.com.