Epiphone Casino
Epiphone Casino
Sunday, October 5, 2014
When I was in my teens and twenties, the guitar I wanted most -- an Epiphone Casino like John Lennon’s -- was priced far out of my reach. Even as an adult, although I technically *could* spend over $1000 on a guitar, simple economics would dictate that I don’t.
And up to now, that’s been fine. I’ve owned a couple hollowbody electrics over the years that approximated the Casino, and they’ve served me well. One of my first guitars, an unidentified Japanese hollowbody, probably a Norma or a Kay, still hangs on my wall almost 30 years later. And my Epiphone Dot, although not identical to the Casino, has a look, feel and sound close enough to do the job.
Within the last couple of years, though, Epiphone has dropped the price on their base model Casino to just $1165 MSRP, and it’s pretty easy to find one for well under a grand. When I found one at Professional Music Center for just $595, I had some serious decisions to make.
Epiphone was founded in 1873 in what was then the Ottoman Empire, and moved to Long Island in 1903. Known in the 40s and 50s for their large hallowbody “jazz box” style guitars, Epiphones seemed outdated and stodgy by the late 50s. As sales began to decline, the company was purchased in 1957 by Chicago Musical Instrument Company, the parent company of Gibson guitars, Kimball pianos and Hammond organs. Most of the distinct Epiphone models were retired, and the lineup soon mirrored Gibson’s, but at a lower price point.
The introduction of the Epiphone Casino in 1961 was a bit of a coup for the brand at the time. The Casino’s thinline body, just 1.75 inches along the edge, was much thinner than the “jazz box” guitars of decades before (usually 3 or 4 inches, sometimes thicker). This gave it a more modern look, and made it much more comfortable to play. Although based on the body style of Gibson’s semi-hollowbody ES-335, the Casino was a true hollowbody guitar: much lighter, and with a tone somewhere nearer to an acoustic than the 335’s. Gibson responded by offering their own version of the Casino, the ES-330.
The biggest boost to the Casino’s popularity came when it was adopted as the guitar of choice by not just one, but *three* of the Beatles. Paul McCartney was the first: looking for a guitar that would feed back when he wanted it to, he chose a 1963 model during the band’s 1965 US tour. It’s one of the guitars you hear in the opening to “I Feel Fine.” (Paul plucks an A note on his Höfner bass, which transfers in sympathetic resonance to his Casino, plugged in across the room.)
John Lennon and George Harrison followed suit, and bought matching 1965 Casinos when the band returned to the States in 1966. Lennon quickly made the Casino his primary guitar, using it on singles and videos like “Paperback Writer,” and throughout the recording of LPs like Revolver, Sgt. Pepper and the White Album. In 1968, John and George each had the sunburst finish stripped from their Casinos. You can see John using his in its “natural” state in the video for “Revolution” and during the rooftop sequence in the film “Let It Be.” He continued to use the instrument this way throughout the 1970s. It was this guitar that had such a profound influence on me: I’ve wanted a natural Casino like John’s since I was 16 years old.
So when I decided to buy an Epiphone Casino from Professional Music, I knew I’d need to do some horse trading to make it happen. I took stock of the guitars in my collection and concluded that I could sell the Epiphone Dot for part of the purchase. Another chunk could come from selling my Agile AL-2500 12-string, which was a fantastic but underutilized guitar on my wall. Once I’d finalized those sales, I was able to come up with the final portion by saving a bit back each week for a couple of months.
And in my opinion, it was all worth it. The Casino is about 2 pounds lighter than the Dot, and the response and tone of the full hollowbody are exactly what I was looking for. Before I sent the Dot away, I was able to compare the two guitars side-by-side, and as you can see in this photo, there are some subtle differences in the two models. The most noticeable is the longer scale of the Dot (left), similar to that of a Telecaster at 25.5”, while the scale of the Casino (right) is pretty much the standard “Gibson scale” at about 24.75”. The headstock on the Dot is longer, and the Casino’s trim package is more elaborate.
After waiting nearly 30 years, I finally have one of the guitars I’ve wanted all my life. And it was absolutely worth the wait.
Photo by Kathy Thomas
Sunday, October 7, 2018