Acoustically, there’s a pleasing balance and longer sustain than some examples of its type, and when amplified this translates into the kind of addictive white-knuckle ride that Casino and ES-330 devotees live for. The fingerboard binding is slightly thicker than we’d like and the ‘board edges would be more welcoming if they were rolled but we soon forget all about that as the Casino’s rounded C neck profile is just about perfect. Then again, if you ask Casino players such as Gary Clark Jr, Barrie Cadogan or Teenage Fanclub’s Raymond McGinley, they’ll probably tell you that struggling to tame a hollowbody on the edge of feedback is all part of the fun, likewise battling with the Casino’s 16th fret neck join. This makes hollowbody guitars more viable today than they have been at almost any time since the Epiphone Casino first rolled out of Kalamazoo in 1961.

These days, of course, stage volumes in most live venues are more conservative than ever before and, for a new breed of guitarists, the lion’s share of public performances take place via social media.

READ MORE: The history of the Epiphone Casino.

That said, like many feedback-prone hollowbody designs and its close cousin the Gibson ES-330, the Casino’s popularity waned considerably in the 1970s and 80s when hair was long and stacks were loud and high. Made with a select maple body and top with f-holes, trapeze tailpiece, mahogany neck (24-3/4' scale), neck and body binding, two volume and two tone controls, and parallelogram inlays.With all three guitar-playing Beatles using Casinos at the band’s dazzling creative peak, the model’s hall-of-fame status has long been assured. Equipped with two vintage P-90 single-coil pickups, the Casino still delivers those Beatlesque tones at a price every player can afford.

Ever since The Beatles purchased three Casinos back in 1964, this hollow Epi model has taken on a life of its own.

The Epiphone Casino Electric Guitar is the guitar that put Epiphone on the map.

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