Epi Casino questions

[honyock]

The stock pickups in my 2016 Casino sounded horrific. A cover swap would not have helped them. They were way overwound with 43 gauge wire. Only a re-wind could have fixed them. But the pickups in my Korean Casino sounded almost as good as the Gibson pickups in my Elitist.

Did the plastic covers work out ok? Are they curved on the bottom? Did you have to use a shim for the neck pickup? I've had a set of Gibson P90s for a while now, waiting for some project to put them in, and the other day I thought about putting them in the Casino, but I'll probably never find nickel covers for a Casino with USA screw spacing. So I'll have to use plastic covers, but the height of the neck pickup covers on the Casino are different than standard dog-ear P90 covers.

I don't think I had to do anything special, they just worked if memory serves

If we still had access to the time of AGF, I'm sure I had a thread about it. Can't remember anymore.

When I had Tim rewind the stock pickups, I had considered switching to black plastic covers, just because I liked the way they looked on a sunburst Casino, but I wasn't having any luck finding a set that had a slanted cover for the neck pickup, or were the correct height, or had a curved bottom, so I stayed with the chrome ones.

I don't know if that was supposed to be an Amazon link in your post (apparently you can't post Amazon links on this forum either??), but I did a quick search on there, and found a set that look like they'll work on the Casino, and also have USA pole spacing. They don't look like they're curved on the bottom, but I don't think that will matter too much.

I think they were not curved, but they worked perfectly fine.

[RiverDog]

Well I got hold of my Sweetwater sales droid and he said they're expecting some of the worn Casinos at the end of March so I took the plunge on a pre-order. Unfortunately I couldn't get an olive one, as that seems to be the most popular color, so I went for ebony. I'll be sure and post a NGD thread when it arrives. Pumped!

[Mossman]

Well I got hold of my Sweetwater sales droid...

Damn, that actually made me laugh out loud!

But you got the wrong color... You should have gotten the "denim blue" one.

[RiverDog]

Well I got hold of my Sweetwater sales droid...

Damn, that actually made me laugh out loud!

But you got the wrong color... You should have gotten the "denim blue" one.

I absolutely love that shade of blue but for some reason it doesn't look right to me on that guitar. At least in the pics. Knowing me, I'll see one in person eventually and kick myself in the pants for not choosing it. I think denim is the second most popular color, with a longer wait time (at least at SW, if I'm not mistaken) so if I wanted the guitar before deep into summer I had to settle for ebony.

[OMB]

The standard MIC Casino pups are way too hot for me. The neck pup has always been a problem when it comes to swapping out. But the light weight and 335 style body is oh so comfortable.

[Mossman]

Well I got hold of my Sweetwater sales droid...

Damn, that actually made me laugh out loud!

But you got the wrong color... You should have gotten the "denim blue" one.

I absolutely love that shade of blue but for some reason it doesn't look right to me on that guitar. At least in the pics. Knowing me, I'll see one in person eventually and kick myself in the pants for not choosing it. I think denim is the second most popular color, with a longer wait time (at least at SW, if I'm not mistaken) so if I wanted the guitar before deep into summer I had to settle for ebony.

That long, huh? Is that what the Sweetwater droid said? Yikes! I thought it would be more like a month or so. Epiphone must be further behind than I thought.

[Mossman]

The standard MIC Casino pups are way too hot for me. The neck pup has always been a problem when it comes to swapping out. But the light weight and 335 style body is oh so comfortable.

The current Casino pickups are way too hot. Mostly, I hear reports of 11k, but mine were 13k! And they used thinner wire to jam as many winds in there as they could.

On the up-side, it seems that it's easier these days to find a set of pickup covers that will work on the Casino that have a slanted cover for the neck pickup. I bought a set with USA pole spacing to use with the Gibson P90s I have. I used to own an Elitist Casino which had Gibson pickups, and it sounded fantastic. I'm hoping this will sound pretty much the same.

[RiverDog]

Damn, that actually made me laugh out loud!

But you got the wrong color... You should have gotten the "denim blue" one.

I absolutely love that shade of blue but for some reason it doesn't look right to me on that guitar. At least in the pics. Knowing me, I'll see one in person eventually and kick myself in the pants for not choosing it. I think denim is the second most popular color, with a longer wait time (at least at SW, if I'm not mistaken) so if I wanted the guitar before deep into summer I had to settle for ebony.

That long, huh? Is that what the Sweetwater droid said? Yikes! I thought it would be more like a month or so. Epiphone must be further behind than I thought.

Not necessarily. He said they were expecting some this past Wednesday (although he assumed that delivery would be pushed back a bit) but they were all spoken for. I was referring to the timeframe until I could make one mine. They seem to be very popular!

Sorry if I confused things.

[Mossman]

Not necessarily. He said they were expecting some this past Wednesday (although he assumed that delivery would be pushed back a bit) but they were all spoken for. I was referring to the timeframe until I could make one mine. They seem to be very popular!

Sorry if I confused things.

Yep-yep... That makes sense. When I got on the list at Sweetwater to be notified about the Epi 335 back in November, my SW droid said they should be in stock by the end of December, and recommended I place my order in advance so I wouldn't miss out. I dismissed that advice, thinking he was just being salesy. It seemed unlikely to me that their entire shipment would get sold out before it even arrived, but when December came and went, and I got no notification, I think that's exactly what happened.

[OMB]

Just me (based on my frugal and suspicious nature) but if an item is that hot I stay away until it cools way down. Money is hard to part with!

[nomadh]

The standard MIC Casino pups are way too hot for me. The neck pup has always been a problem when it comes to swapping out. But the light weight and 335 style body is oh so comfortable.

The current Casino pickups are way too hot. Mostly, I hear reports of 11k, but mine were 13k! And they used thinner wire to jam as many winds in there as they could.

On the up-side, it seems that it's easier these days to find a set of pickup covers that will work on the Casino that have a slanted cover for the neck pickup. I bought a set with USA pole spacing to use with the Gibson P90s I have. I used to own an Elitist Casino which had Gibson pickups, and it sounded fantastic. I'm hoping this will sound pretty much the same.

That sure seems a lot of design similarities to the current gibson firebird pickups. Not vintage at all, thin wire , hi ohm, way too hot. Just the p90 version

[RiverDog]

The new worn series Casinos come with Epiphone PRO P-90s so I'm hoping they won't be as hot as previous MIC Epiphone P90 guitars. We shall see.

[nomadh]

Appreciate the thoughts my dude. Seems like the worn series are out of stock at most retailers right now but I keep looking. GC says they'll be shipping in July (!). I haven't asked any of the other guys for dates yet.

I don't blame you. The Worn Casino and Riviera were apparently way way pre-announced. Maybe the China connection is falling apart. Ibby makes theirs in Indonesia.

Everything is out of stock right now. I've done quite a lot of perusing on the major guitar retail sites since the 335 deal turned out to be a bust, and just about everything I check out says: "More coming soon!". All manufacturers are way behind due to Covid, and all retailers shelves are empty due to the great guitar buy-up (also due to Covid). The Ibanez that I was waiting on was supposed to be in stock today, but they pushed that date back twice. First to the 8th, and now it says they won't be in until April 1st.

Tons of glarry available. And glarrys are light so that's really like a double shit ton.

[Mossman]

That sure seems a lot of design similarities to the current gibson firebird pickups. Not vintage at all, thin wire , hi ohm, way too hot. Just the p90 version

I'm not at all familiar with Firebird pickups, so I couldn't say... Until about 2 or 3 years ago, I thought those were mini-humbuckers.

The new worn series Casinos come with Epiphone PRO P-90s so I'm hoping they won't be as hot as previous MIC Epiphone P90 guitars. We shall see.

Those pickups sound awesome! I have a set in my P90 Furrian. I later acquired a set of Gibson P90s, and considered replacing the Pros with those, but the Epi pickups sound so good I decided to keep them in there and put the Gibsons in something else. I have no idea why they don't put the Pros in the standard Casino. They sound miles better than the hot garbage they've been using.

[RiverDog]

Those pickups sound awesome! I have a set in my P90 Furrian. I later acquired a set of Gibson P90s, and considered replacing the Pros with those, but the Epi pickups sound so good I decided to keep them in there and put the Gibsons in something else. I have no idea why they don't put the Pros in the standard Casino. They sound miles better than the hot garbage they've been using.

Sweet!

[OMB]

I really disliked the P90's in my old Korean Casino and yes way way to hot for my taste.

[RiverDog]

Sooo, update time. I've really been considering whether I should settle for the ebony when it's the olive drab I'm lusting over. After watching another YT video and seeing how killer the olive drab looks, I did some checking and CME is expecting some in this month. I hit the pre-order button and cancelled my order with SW. The only thing that sucks is CME charges sales tax, where SW does not. I chatted with CME and they say it's because they sell on Amazon so they're legally required to. Whatever. An extra $29 and change to get the color I want before July. Now to wait...

[Mossman]

I really disliked the P90's in my old Korean Casino and yes way way to hot for my taste.

Really? The pickups in my Korean Casino sounded great, and were wound to around 7k. When A/B'd against my Elitist (with Gibson P90s) they sounded almost as good. That one was made in '04 or '05, I think. I didn't play a lot of other Casinos until after they moved their manufacturing to China, though, so they might have changed before the move.

Sooo, update time. I've really been considering whether I should settle for the ebony when it's the olive drab I'm lusting over. After watching another YT video and seeing how killer the olive drab looks, I did some checking and CME is expecting some in this month. I hit the pre-order button and cancelled my order with SW. The only thing that sucks is CME charges sales tax, where SW does not. I chatted with CME and they say it's because they sell on Amazon so they're legally required to. Whatever. An extra $29 and change to get the color I want before July. Now to wait...

Sweetwater had to start charging sales tax some time ago, so you would have had to pay that anyway.

[RiverDog]

Sweetwater had to start charging sales tax some time ago, so you would have had to pay that anyway.

Not according to the email receipt.

[Mossman]

Sweetwater had to start charging sales tax some time ago, so you would have had to pay that anyway.

Not according to the email receipt.


Screenshot_20210307-153807_Gmail.jpg

I assumed that Sweetwater had been charging sales tax for all states (that have sales tax) since some time in 2018, but I checked their website, and Florida is one of the few states that are not on that list. They're collecting sales tax for 43 states (plus the District of Columbia). Some states (like New Hampshire) don't have sales tax, but that's not the case for Florida. I wonder why Florida is exempt for Sweetwater but not CME?

[nomadh]

I do love that naked unfilled grain look on those. Sure you don't want the denim one?

[RiverDog]

I do love that naked unfilled grain look on those. Sure you don't want the denim one?

I "want" the denim one but I don't want to risk being disappointed with it. I've read negative comments from some who've received or tried one with regard to the color. A gloss finish in that color would be a no-brainer for me, though.

[Mossman]

Hey, all this talk about Casinos made me realize that I haven't played mine in a while, and it gave me the gumption to change the strings. I've been putting it off, because restringing a guitar with a floating tailpiece is generally a pain in the butt (and man was it dirty! I knew I would have to give it a thorough cleaning too!). The strings weren't completely dead, but they had lost their chime, and who wants to play a Casino that isn't chimey??

I decided to try 11s for the first time, and man, what a difference that made! I had always heard that the Casino sounds better with 11s, but I always thought it sounded pretty good with 10s (my preferred gauge for everything), and I couldn't imagine going one gauge up would make that much of a difference, but it really made the guitar come alive! I know part of it has to do with the fact that they're fresh strings, but I can feel so much more vibration throughout the whole guitar, and it just blooms with harmonic overtones. I know that sounds like marketing hyperbole, but it's true. It's got a bigger voice now... which is most evident when played unplugged.

I didn't think I'd like playing strings heavier than 10s on an electric, but it hasn't made one bit of difference to me in feel or playability. It plays just as well as it ever did... I didn't have to adjust a thing. I wish I had done this a long time ago.

So to all Casino owners and possible Casino owners; I highly recommend trying 11s (if you haven't already). I think you'll like it.

[ID10t]

Hey, all this talk about Casinos made me realize that I haven't played mine in a while, and it gave me the gumption to change the strings. I've been putting it off, because restringing a guitar with a floating tailpiece is generally a pain in the butt (and man was it dirty! I knew I would have to give it a thorough cleaning too!). The strings weren't completely dead, but they had lost their chime, and who wants to play a Casino that isn't chimey??

I decided to try 11s for the first time, and man, what a difference that made! I had always heard that the Casino sounds better with 11s, but I always thought it sounded pretty good with 10s (my preferred gauge for everything), and I couldn't imagine going one gauge up would make that much of a difference, but it really made the guitar come alive! I know part of it has to do with the fact that they're fresh strings, but I can feel so much more vibration throughout the whole guitar, and it just blooms with harmonic overtones. I know that sounds like marketing hyperbole, but it's true. It's got a bigger voice now... which is most evident when played unplugged.

I didn't think I'd like playing strings heavier than 10s on an electric, but it hasn't made one bit of difference to me in feel or playability. It plays just as well as it ever did... I didn't have to adjust a thing. I wish I had done this a long time ago.

So to all Casino owners and possible Casino owners; I highly recommend trying 11s (if you haven't already). I think you'll like it.

I keep a few sets of 11's handy. I know it's not a Casino but I think I'll put 11's on my AS73 next time. I find that I really like the way the guitar feels, not in my hands but against me. That is why I'm sure that I need a full hollow body. Ibanez has an AMH90 coming, sometime. Maybe a set of Phat Cats for it, or maybe the AS73.

[Mossman]

I keep a few sets of 11's handy. I know it's not a Casino but I think I'll put 11's on my AS73 next time. I find that I really like the way the guitar feels, not in my hands but against me. That is why I'm sure that I need a full hollow body. Ibanez has an AMH90 coming, sometime. Maybe a set of Phat Cats for it, or maybe the AS73.

Yeah, I'm already thinking about putting 11s on the AS93, and I haven't even played it yet.

You know, they have the AMH90 in stock at AMS: https://www.americanmusical.com/ibanez- ... AMH90-LIST

Not that I'm trying to be an enabler, or anything.