Members Mark7 Posted May 18, 2021 Members Share Posted May 18, 2021 I think most of you will know the guitar I mean, without me having to say its name. I'm also curious as to why Epiphone (or their parent company) enforces its patent so stringently in Europe but lets GFS/Xaviere get away with marketing a blatant clone in the US. Given the litigious nature of Americans and the relatively easy going nature of European laws when it comes to patents I would have thought the situation would be reversed. The only other possibility is that it's more expensive to make a HB with P90s and that's why companies like Thomann, with their Harley Benton brand, prefer to equip their semi and full hollow body guitars with Humbuckers only. It's either one of the above or the Casino is just a terrible guitar that no one in their right mind would want to clone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mark7 Posted May 18, 2021 Author Members Share Posted May 18, 2021 Full disclosure. I'd really like a P90 equipped semi but even the Epis are out of my price range. I suppose I could settle for a thinline T style guitar with P90s. But is it the same thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted May 18, 2021 Moderators Share Posted May 18, 2021 I do not believe there is a 'patent', per se. There are few of copies of the Casino [Epiphone's take on the Gibson ES-330], mainly due to the inherent limitations that a thin hollowbody with single coil pick-ups engenders, which is feedback. The Casino requires a specific controlled level of volume...which dampens many players' enthusiasm. The basic Casino is not that expensive in the US [~650 USD], and, IIRC, they are being made in China, so I can't tell you why they are over-priced in Europe/UK. What is your price range? You might find that an Epi Wild Kat will get you very close to the Casino tone. They run ~500 USD. FWIW, I have a Fender Tele Thinline w/P-90s, and no, it is not the same thing as a full hollow, or even a semi hollow with P-90s, but it does have it's own sound. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gardo Posted May 18, 2021 Members Share Posted May 18, 2021 1 hour ago, daddymack said: You might find that an Epi Wild Kat will get you very close to the Casino tone. They run ~500 USD. Even less if you know how to shop used. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mark7 Posted May 18, 2021 Author Members Share Posted May 18, 2021 Since it wouldn't be my main guitar I wouldn't want to spend more than £300 on one, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted May 19, 2021 Moderators Share Posted May 19, 2021 7 hours ago, gardo said: Even less if you know how to shop used. well, now new is out of the question.... 6 hours ago, Mark7 said: Since it wouldn't be my main guitar I wouldn't want to spend more than £300 on one, so about $400 [USD]/350€... plus VAT, then? Yeah, in that range you are going to either end up with a no-name, or well-used.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gardo Posted May 19, 2021 Members Share Posted May 19, 2021 I have a few mediocre guitars, while they are okay guitars in the long run it’s better to save your money and get what you really want. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Verne Andru Posted June 15, 2021 Members Share Posted June 15, 2021 The current rounds of litigation are not about patents - which relate to a new invention - but trademarks, which relate to the look and source of the goods. The first trademark law (ever) was the US Lanham Act, which is celebrating it's 75th anniversary on Thursday. If you do the math you'll note that the parent company has been doing business since 1894, which pre-dates trademark law; these issues were previously covered under copyright. All jurisdictions have their own trademark laws that only relate to their nation-state jurisdictions so [technically] a US trademark only works in the US. Trademark laws have been changing, with the biggest wave of changes coming on the tail of the global adoption of the internet, with companies often finding themselves caught in the cross-fire as what worked yesterday suddenly changes tomorrow. That said, Gibson has a ton of registered trademarks in the US and abroad and while they are often vilified for enforcing their IP rights, there is a bunch of litigation going on behind the scenes with people like Collings trying to get those registrations cancelled. There's much more going on here than meets the eye. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Glenn F Posted June 21, 2021 Members Share Posted June 21, 2021 Doubtful. This is a Stanford Thinline 30. I bought the 35AV, which had humbuckers instead. Great guitar. I have an Inspired By John Lennon Casino, and have been curious as to how the Thinline 30 would compare. https://www.session.de/produkt/stanford-cr-thinline-30-vintage-blonde/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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