Epiphone Casino

Construction

Casinos have been manufactured in the United States, Japan, Korea and China. The Casino, also designated by Epiphone as model E230TD, is a thinline hollow-bodied guitar with either one or 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. The Casino neck joins the body at the 16th fret instead of the 19th like on the Gibson ES models.

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. 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.

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".

Use by the Beatles

In 1964, Paul McCartney, The Beatles' bass player, was the first Beatle to acquire a Casino (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); he also played it on “Helter Skelter” (1968).

In 1965 John Lennon and George Harrison bought 1965 Casinos. Harrison's came from the factory fitted with a Bigsby vibrato.

Lennon used the Epiphone Casino as his main electric instrument during the remainder of his time with the Beatles, replacing the Rickenbacker 325. In 1967 Lennon and Harrison had the pickguard removed during the making of Magical Mystery Tour album. In 1968 when the band were traveling in India, Donovan told Lennon and Harrison that sanding the finish off their Casinos would improve the tone. They did so before making the double album The Beatles. In the early seventies, Lennon replaced the original nickel Kluson tuners on his Casino with a set of gold Grover machine heads.

McCartney's 1962 Casino, kept in the original sunburst finish, is still owned by him and occasionally used live. Like Harrison's Casino, McCartney's came with a factory-installed Bigsby vibrato.

Current Casinos

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)
• In 2021, a Gibson USA made Epiphone Casino became available.
• In 2023, Epiphone released a new Chinese-made Casino as part of the Original Collection.

Notable users

Main article: List of Epiphone players

• Gary Clark, Jr. [[File:Paul Weller at the No Cactus Festival in Belgium.jpg|thumb| [[Paul Weller]] with an Epiphone Casino]][[File:Paul McCartney & Bono Live8.jpg|thumb|Paul McCartney with an Epiphone Casino at [[Live 8]]]]
• Dave Davies
• Luther Dickinson
• Pete Doherty
• Noel Gallagher
• The Edge
• Les Fradkin (Beatlemania)
• Glenn Frey
• Peter Green
• Alex Greenwald (Phantom Planet, JJAMZ / Phases)
• Dave Grohl
• Henry Gross
• Les Fradkin
• Neil Halstead
• George Harrison
• Joshua Homme
• John Illsley
• Brian Jones
• Daniel Kessler
• Ezra Koenig (Vampire Weekend)
• Lesław (Komety)
• John Lennon
• Mark Linkous
• Johnny Marr
• Paul McCartney
• Ed O'Brien
• Serge Pizzorno (Kasabian)
• Imre Poniklo
• Keith Richards
• Boz Scaggs
• Skyler Skjelset (Fleet Foxes)
• Paul Weller
• Carl Wilson
• Dwight Yoakam
• Thom Yorke --

References

References

1. "Epiphone Casino".
2. "Photos".
3. "Vintage Epiphone Guitars Model Information and Specs: Casino electric archtop (thinline)".
4. "Epiphone String Gauges".
5. "Epiphone: 140 Years".
6. (November 3, 2021). "The Casino: Epiphone's Iconic Beatles Guitar".
7. (November 21, 2022). "Sanding an Epiphone Casino".
8. (December 6, 2021). "John Lennon & the Epiphone Casino – the History Behind the Legendary Hollowbody".
9. (January 17, 2018). "The Beatles' Casinos | Vintage Guitar® magazine".
10. (January 17, 2018). "The Beatles' Casinos".
11. Astley-Brown, Michael. (30 March 2021). "Epiphone unveils made-in-USA Casino".
12. Owen, Matt. (24 May 2023). "Epiphone reboots its Broadway, Sheraton and Casino collections with some of its most luxurious finishes yet".