Epiphone Casino Artists
The Epiphone Casino is an absolutely iconic model, perhaps the best-known Epiphone model ever shipped. It was first produced in 1961, at the Gibson Kalamazoo plant; it was based on the Gibson ES-330TD, which was also built there. The vast majority were dual-pickup instruments, however some early examples were fitted with just one P90 pickup. It's legendary status was cemented in the mid-1960s by the patronage of members of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Kinks and many more. John Lennon, in particular was often pictured with his Casino, most notably in his Apple rooftop performance of 1969.
The ex-Oasis chief is a long-term Epiphone fan and had a serious Epi addiction in the band's early days. Clark is a Casino man through and through, generally. Epiphone Casino Worn Ebony; e-guitar, semi-hollow; body and top layered maple; binding cream; neck mahogany; classical sloped dove wing headstock shape; fretboard ondian laurel, nut width 43mm (1,693'); scale 628mm (24,724'); 22 frets; nut graphtech.
Original Kalamazoo-built Casinos are highly collectable, and much-loved as professional-grade instruments. Beyond 1969, Casino manufacture was moved to Japan, and later Korea and China. These guitars, although still adequate instruments, are not to the same standard as the real Casinos produced in the 1960s. The current Casinos are good entry-level and intermediate instruments and are still one of Epiphones best-selling guitar models.
Over the past year, Gibson has been teasing big updates to the Epiphone line, leading many fans to dream up their own personal wishlists for the famed brand.
John Lennon – Epiphone Casino 1969. The final ever public performance from The Beatles occurred on the rooftops of Apple Corps in London 30 Jan, 1969. The show was filmed and included in a documentary released in 1970 titled Let It Be. The Modfather himself, like others, has used a number of different guitars but often finds himself looking to an Epiphone Casino for his signature sound. Weller helped pen some timeless classics with The Jam, saw great success with The Style Council and had a number of big albums with his own solo career. From Keith Richards to John Lennon, the Epiphone Casino has been used on really famous records by some of the world’s most noteworthy musicians. Since its introduction in 1961, Epiphone Casino has been the brand’s crown jewel and has continued to feature as one of the best selling archtop electric guitars on the market.
So when Epiphone announced the 'Inspired By Gibson' series, some commenters were overjoyed to see that Kalamazoo-era headstocks would now be standard on all such models, softening the sharp-edged silhouette of Epiphone's recent output that many thought looked cheap. And still others were happy to see the Made-In-USA Texan acoustic. But some were left wondering, why just 'Inspired By Gibson' models? Why just the Texan? Why not bring back the Coronet, the Wilshire, or other vintage designs from the pre-Gibson era of the brand?
Well, one thing everyone can get behind is a high-quality, US-made Epiphone Casino—which Gibson has quietly unveiled at its booth at the NAMM 2020 show.
Two Made-In-USA Casinos are on display right next to the Texans, one sporting a classy Vintage Burst finish and the other in a Royal Tan. But that's all the available info right now. From what it sounds like from Gibson booth workers, these are brand-new models that almost didn't make it to NAMM on time, so more details such as pricing and availability very much remain to be seen.
Epiphone's biggest fans may yet have unrequited desires for the future of the brand, but this step will certainly be met with a smile—assuming, perhaps, that the Made-In-USA price-point hews closer to the median Epiphone price as opposed to the median Gibson.
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For all the latest gear news and new product announcements from NAMM 2020, check our ongoing coverage here.