Casinos have been manufactured in the United States, Japan, Korea and China.[citation needed] The Casino, also designated by Epiphone as model E230TD, is a thinline hollow-bodied guitar with two Gibson P-90 pick-ups.[citation needed] 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).[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] The Casino neck joins the body at the 16th fret instead of the 19th like on the Gibson ES models.[citation needed]
Early versions of the Casino had a spruce top. 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.[1][3] 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.[1]
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".[4]
John Lennon used the Epiphone Casino as his main electric instrument during the remainder of his time with the Beatles, replacing the Rickenbacker 325.[5] 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 advised Lennon and Harrison from his Casino and professionally sanded to bare wood and lightly lacquered with two thin coats of nitro-cellulose, after using both during making the double album The Beatles.[6][7][8][9]. In the early seventies, the original tuners were replaced with a set of gold Grover tuners or machine heads.
Harrison had his fitted with a Bigsby trem and removed the pickguard. He also had it sanded down in 1968.
McCartney's 1962 Casino, kept in the original sunburst finish, is still owned by him and occasionally used live. Like Harrison's Casino, McCartney removed the pickguard and added a Bigbsy trem to it.[10]
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)[1]
Elitist Casino. Made in Japan and set-up in America, and contains American made parts such as the pickups. Body is 5-ply maple, Gibson P-90 pickups, and nickel hardware.[11]
Casino Coupé. A smaller version. The body is the same size as a Gibson ES-339.[12]
Inspired by John Lennon were made in China with American-made "Tribute" P-90 pickups and a five-ply maple body and are less expensive versions of the now defunct United States Collection John Lennon 1965 / Revolution Casino bodies were built in Japan and assembled in America. The 1965 version has a sunburst finish, white pick guard and small button Grover tuners. The Revolution version was based on the modifications Lennon made to his 1965 Casino during the recording of the Beatles double album, which include a "stripped" (natural) satin finish, gold Grover tuners, no pickguard, a deeper set-in neck, and Lennon's serial number on the back of the headstock.[1]
Limited Edition 1961 Casino. This limited version is offered in Royal Tan and Vintage Sunburst, with either a trapeze tailpiece or a tremotone tremolo. It sports a 5-layer maple-birch body, Gibson P-90 pickups, "short" headstock, bullet trussrod cover, tortoiseshell pickguard, and pre-Gibson era Epiphone badge.[13]
In 2021, a Gibson USA made Epiphone Casino became available.[14]
In 2023, Epiphone released a new Chinese-made Casino as part of the Original Collection.[15]
