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the epiphone casino


garagerocknroll

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A Tele is somewhat easier to play than a Casino plus I believe youll get much more out of it in both durability and tonal range. Ive got both an older Casino and an off the wall custom Tele.

 

The Casino is what it is, a P90 hollow body thats great for noise but again, a little bit of a learning curve to it. Listen to anything from the Jesus and Mary Chain after 1988 and youll hear what can be done thinking out of the box with a P90 hollow body (William uses an old Gibby 330).

The JAMC tune "Sugar Ray" is a great example. I believe William Reid is the absolute best 330 player alive. The guy {censored}s gold with that guitar.

[YOUTUBE]Ppj5dbteaAo[/YOUTUBE]

 

and stripped down bluesy through a JCM800

[YOUTUBE]1CX3RIB1wh4[/YOUTUBE]

 

With a Tele, you can customize it now and later. It can be dropped, abused, banged on.... and keep trucking. I bang on the Casino to get some noise out of it but not as I would a solid body. Its relatively cheap for a good stock player leaving that much more for a decent amp. For garage band style and sound, you just may be after the wrong guitar with the Casino and probly even anything P90 pick up based.

 

 

On a side note,

wished I had that cash when I was your age to invest in a guitar. I had played friends gear off an on for years till affording an old Epi EA250 hollowbody. It also turned out to be one of the better sounding guitars ive ever played. In other words, the cost of a guitar doesnt mean its always going to play or sound nice. If your dead set on a Casino style, go for the Rondo or GFS version if you cant get a good quality used Casino locally off Craigslist.

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acually a main reason ive been dead set on getting a casino is because i absolutly love jesus and mary chain and have seen pictures of william reid with a hollowbody. ive also seen king kahn with some hollowbodys, hence the " garage" tone im looking for.

 

but ill still look around anyways.

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That is an oxymoron.


I tried one. Horrible. Stick with the Casino.

 

Oh man, you made me cry with that rebuke. :cry:

 

Actually, the P-93 is a pretty cool guitar.

 

It has a few drawbacks, like it doesn't do N +M or B + M as well as one might hope (sounds a little muddy in those modes), and it is generally a little phat sounding,

 

But on the upside it's phat sounding!! Think of it as 3 different pickup options plus neck and bridge and then it doesn't disappoint. Casino's are definitely a nice guitar, but you'll need to stick a sock in it.

 

I own an Elitist Casino, the P-93, ES339, ES335, Yamaha SA503 TVL, Wildkat, Gretsch 6120, 5128T, Fender Thinlines ('69 & '72), TC-90, ESP Xtone PCV-1 & 2 Semi-hollow Rickenbackers.

 

That's just my reference for recommending the P-93.

 

But if you have a particularly phat amp, it's not the best choice. But for like a Marshall amp or a Blues Junior, it does some goodness.

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It sounds like you really want the Casino. You should be able to get a used one for around $450. I had one for years and it was great for garage rock (pretty much what my band at the time played). It's a surprisingly versatile guitar. Dave Davies and Keith Richards both played them--garage rock wouldn't exist without either of those guys.

 

This thread is fairly timely, as my old band recently got back together and I'm now in the market for another Casino. :thu:

 

Good luck with your search.

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I picked up my black (Peerless) Casino for $300 off Craigslist so the deals are out there. Youll just have the hunt to find one thats a great player. No matter what the guitar costs, if it doesnt feel right in your hands, its not the right guitar, period.

 

William didnt always play that 330 Gibby on the JAMC albums. He had some Gretsch's as well did Ben who even played a Corvette and Jim played a Gretsch Pro Jet from time to time. Williams 330 has a very distinct sound to it though and he plays the same guitar to this day. Its shocking the guitar has survived its travels, beatings and abuse over the years.

It was just before the "Automatic" album (87 or so) when he picked it up and here is how it looks today:

8whcap.jpg

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I own a casino and it's a great guitar. Don't get me wrong I really love that thing. But if it was going to be my only guitar I would get a tele (actually a Reverend Jetstream or Flatroc but good luck finding one of those used)... if I was a strat guy it would be a strat. It's just it's not very forgiving guitar and does feedback easily at high volume. And the neck width at the nut is kinda tight for my liking. Open chord riffs seem a liitle cramped. On the other hand it's well suited to lead playing. If you have your heart set on it then go for it. It's a great guitar. Definitely try before you buy.

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{censored},

forgot to mention this.

 

Since your a JAMC fan, you may not have heard of "Freeheat". Towards the end of the Mary Chain, Jim and Ben had been recording their own music as William was already set to leave after the Munki tour which he left during.

Long story short, listen to "Baby G2" and "Dead End Kids"

http://www.myspace.com/freeheat

 

Freeheat was JAMC with Romi and Nick from the Gun Club on bass and drums. Nick was already playing for JAMC for the Munki tour and later formed "Earl Brutus". All in all, Freeheat was garage rock. They toured bare bones with rented gear minus guitars, pedals and Jim's old Fender J bass. For the most part, Ben played a Gretsch Corvette and Jim a Gretsch Pro Jet. I forget if Bens other Gretsch was a Tennessean or not. Jim also has an off the wall 335 guitar he's had for years and a Gibby (I believe) 135 which he has had since back in the Sidewalking days.

 

What im getting at is dont judge the guitar you want based on what youve seen. Go by what youve heard but make sure the sound your hearing is the guitar your imagining.

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Get the
XV-910 from GFS
, it shouldn't have feedback issues as it's a semi and it's about half the price of a Casino. Plus, it has better upper fret access:idea:


yhst-50206111187217_2084_12822863

 

 

Actually, yes, this, totally frickin' this. Maybe not one with a flame top, to keep with the more punkish idea, but I'd definitely try for this.

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i would really NOT recommend the Xaviere guitars to a 16 year old who is looking to spend some hard earned cash on them...

 

They can be hit or miss... great guitars but all three that I own currently have needed significant work done to them to get them to be great... out of the box they really need alot of setup and fine-tuning...

 

if you can do that yourself go for it... but if you have to pay someone to do it.. your money is better spent elsewhere...

 

(they do kickass though)

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i hope so... but you never know.

 

 

malcolm-young-1980.jpg

White Falcon into 70's non-mater volume Marshalls . . . NO PROBLEM !

 

 

 

portland-roof.jpg

Gretsch into hi-gain VHT . . . NO PROBLEM !

 

 

 

ted-nugent-nc.jpg

Byrdland into a wall of 5150's . . . NO PROBLEM !

 

 

 

And lets not for the about the brilliant Jesus and Mary Chain who use a Casio with massive fuzz, on stage, at concert volumes :evil:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/feiticeira_org/854330533/sizes/o/ - w Casino

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pj_in_oz/2373586102/sizes/l/ - w Gretsch

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are there distractingly annoying feedback issues? whats the quality? Or should i just save a couple hundred bucks and get a mim tele. thanks.

 

I can not think of a better guitar for the sound you are going for !

 

BUT, you need the fuzz in my sig (see link) to complete your tone :D

 

What amp are you gonna use ?

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08122007090.jpg

 

This is mine.

 

Deep body full hollow, with TV Jones TV-HT's (their single coil model), into my 'el-cheapo "secret weapon" garage fuzz (Double Muff), into a Blues Jr (now a Bassman - sold the BJr), and i am very happy with the tone, and the feedback is minimal, and what feedback i do get, adds to the durty-gr tty-sleazy garage vibe !

 

A Big Muff works just as good (i like the sustain knob @ 8 'o clock)

The MXR Classic Fuzz, aslo, perfect !

It just depends what kind of fuzz tone you are after.

 

But seeing that i am a big Jack White fan, the Big Muff is a great option !

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I've had both a Casino and a Wildkat. They both have problems with pickup squeal feedback because they have un-potted pickups. Un-potted, the pickups are "microphonic" Meaning they are exactly that - they are little microphones that feed-back like vocal mic - only worse! You can't use any gain and get anywhere near an amp unless you pot the pickups. If you don't know what "potting" is, try Wikapedia, or I'm sure you can find something about it here on this site. Basically, it means the pickups are soaked in molten wax.

Now, after you've potted the pickups, you can get the good kind of feedback (body vibration) and the guitar are great!

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I've had both a Casino and a Wildkat. They both have problems with pickup squeal feedback because they have un-potted pickups. Un-potted, the pickups are "microphonic" Meaning they are exactly that - they are little microphones that feed-back like vocal mic - only worse! You can't use any gain and get anywhere near an amp unless you pot the pickups. If you don't know what "potting" is, try Wikapedia, or I'm sure you can find something about it here on this site. Basically, it means the pickups are soaked in molten wax.

Now, after you've potted the pickups, you can get the good kind of feedback (body vibration) and the guitar are great!

 

 

Must be something with the Epi pickups. I have an Alleykat that I put a Pure 90 in place of the Epi HB at the bridge. The only feedback I get is the good kind and its very controllable. Its pretty cool, I can just lay a hand over the f hole and work it. Love it.

 

EG

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Seeing that some people are talking about looking into solid body guitars, let me give my 2cents too :

 

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Squier-Jagmaster-Electric-Guitar?sku=519635 - $280.00 brand new.

 

* Alder Body

* 24" scale - YES !!!

* Rosewood board

* Medium Jumbo frets

 

THIS would make a great 2nd guitar [humbuckers] - after you got your Casino [P90's] (...and a valve amp) !

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