Why I don't own a Casino

[BatUtilityBelt]

I was bored and checking ebay when I came across this listing.

This tells me EXACTLY why I don't own a Casino. First, of course, being lefty, there are not a lot of them flying around to catch. Second, I tend to like getting a great condition used guitar to avoid that new price hit. But a few models, like this one, don't let you enjoy that used discount. Look at this listing.

Even before the auction ends, it is at $620 + $80 shipping = $700. That's a dollar over MAP on a returnable brand new warrantied guitar of the exact same model. No case to up the value. No upgraded electronics. Just priced over new. Insane.

[honyock]

Too bad you missed out when Musicians Friend was selling them at ~$400 SHIPPED Black Friday 2015.

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[Mossman]

I haven't bothered with auction listings on ebay for over a decade. In my experience, it's not the best way to get a good deal. People get "auction fever" and the objective switches from trying to get a good price, to trying to beat the other guy. When I used to bother to follow auctions, the bidding would almost always shoot up higher than I was willing to spend... Either that, or the reserve was too high/unrealistic. And these days, it's not uncommon for people to try to get as much, or more than new value for a guitar, regardless of orientation. But if I come across any lefty Casinos for a decent price, I'll let you know.

[BatUtilityBelt]

I haven't bothered with auction listings on ebay for over a decade. In my experience, it's not the best way to get a good deal. People get "auction fever" and the objective switches from trying to get a good price, to trying to beat the other guy. When I used to bother to follow auctions, the bidding would almost always shoot up higher than I was willing to spend... Either that, or the reserve was too high/unrealistic. And these days, it's not uncommon for people to try to get as much, or more than new value for a guitar, regardless of orientation. But if I come across any lefty Casinos for a decent price, I'll let you know.

I appreciate that. My ideal would be an older lefty in natural, but lefties can't be choosy...

I don't buy much on ebay anymore, but very occasionally do well there. My last ebay guitar was free because the seller was dishonest and uncooperative and ebay eventually loses patience with those people. I would have preferred the listing was honest and I got what I was thought I was paying for, but free is a really good deal.

[Mossman]

I appreciate that. My ideal would be an older lefty in natural, but lefties can't be choosy...

That might not be a problem. I don't know for sure, but I think Epiphone makes a lot more natural Casinos than sunburst ones. On the used market, the ratio seems to be about 4 to 1. But I would recommend seeking out a Casino made in 2015 or later. The 2016 Casino that I have puts the old Korean ones to shame. But beware of Casinos made in China between 2010 and 2015. A lot of the Casinos I saw in stores during that time period were pretty bad, to the point where I figured if I ever wanted to get a Casino again, I'd have to buy a used Korean one. Then one day, right before the holidays in 2015, I walked into the nearby Sam Ash and they had a brand new Chinese Casino hanging on the wall right next to a used Korean one, and the difference was palpable. The Korean one felt like a toy by comparison (and it was made in the Peerless factory!). That made me change my mind, and I stopped looking for a used Casino and bought a new one from Sweetwater the following Spring. Haven't regretted it one bit... It reminds me more of the Elitist I used to own than the Korean one (I'm not saying it's as good as an Elitist, but it's closer to that level of quality). The pickups are over-wound trash, and will need to be replaced or rewound (I had Buddha Tim rewind mine), but the construction, and everything else is solid. I haven't changed anything else on that guitar besides the pickups.

I don't buy much on ebay anymore, but very occasionally do well there. My last ebay guitar was free because the seller was dishonest and uncooperative and ebay eventually loses patience with those people. I would have preferred the listing was honest and I got what I was thought I was paying for, but free is a really good deal.

I don't know why some sellers think they can circumvent ebay rules (and rulings) simply by being obstinant. I had a seller who played himself in a similar fashion. I bought a vintage computer (C64) that had a bad logic array chip. He seemed pretty cool, and was fine with me returning it, but when I arranged the return through ebay (instead of just sending it back to him, and trusting that he'd give me my money back), he did a Jekyll and Hyde on me, sending me a frickin' barrage of nasty-grams and ad hominem attacks (like 3 or 4 times a day!). Every time a delivery was attempted, he refused to answer the door to sign for it, probably thinking that if he didn't accept the computer, then he could claim that I never sent it to him... I guess he forgot that tracking exists. I contacted ebay to call shenanigans, and once they checked the tracking and saw what kind of game he was trying to run, they gave me my money back. Then about a month later, I got the computer back with "Return to Sender - Undeliverable Address" stamped on the package. So now he's out his money, and his machine (which he could have turned around and sold to another mark), and I have an extra donor machine that I can scavenge for chips and parts.

I love it when dishonest sellers shoot themselves in the foot while trying to scam you.

[BatUtilityBelt]

Great info, thanks!

I love it when dishonest sellers shoot themselves in the foot while trying to scam you.

Me too, just not the aggravation during the processes.

[Mossman]

Great info, thanks!

My pleasure. There's a lot of people who believe the Korean Epiphones are better by default, and they're partially right... When Epiphone started producing at their Chinese factory full-time, it took them a while to get their act together (at least when it comes to Casinos, anyway. I wasn't looking at any other models at that time). But right around the time they introduced the Pro-Buckers and Pro P90s , they also stepped up their game in terms of build quality. For example: the Korean Casinos were 3-ply construction, while the ones they're making now are 5-ply, like an Elitist. I think the finishes are better too. I never wanted a VSB Casino when they were made in Korea, because I thought the burst looked naff, but now it looks just like the burst they did back in the '60s.

Me too, just not the aggravation during the processes.

Yeah, but I had a pretty good laugh when that computer came back to me. I don't let these clowns get under my skin. When they start dicking me around, I just ignore them and deal directly with ebay. They always side with the buyer, so I never worry. Of course, if it were a matter of several hundred dollars, and I needed to get that money back to get on with my life, that would be a little different.

[Stig]

I have one. Can't remember the year, but it's Chinese. I never fully bonded with it. Also, the pots seem to have frozen up while it's been living in a case. I've NEVER seen that happen and not sure what to do about it short of trying to actually remove and clean (or replace) them.
I kind of just want to trade it in and be done with it, even though I'll lose a fortune. It was a limited edition with a Bigsby, and I got a case too. Whole thing ran me about $800 back when I got it.
Oh well...

[BatUtilityBelt]

I have one. Can't remember the year, but it's Chinese. I never fully bonded with it. Also, the pots seem to have frozen up while it's been living in a case. I've NEVER seen that happen and not sure what to do about it short of trying to actually remove and clean (or replace) them.
I kind of just want to trade it in and be done with it, even though I'll lose a fortune. It was a limited edition with a Bigsby, and I got a case too. Whole thing ran me about $800 back when I got it.
Oh well...

Well that stinks. When you say "frozen up", do you mean they are scratchy sounding or that they actually don't move anymore? If scratchy, I would just hit them with some Deoxit (straight into the shaft gaps and work them until the scratchiness disappears). But if they don't move, I've never seen that before, and it sounds like those pots need to be replaced. I hear it is a real pain to replace pots on a Casino, but with patience is doable. Better pots would probably mean it never happens again.

[andrewsrea]

I own a 2011 Chinese Epi Casino 'Bigsby' model. It was a wreck that I traded for $150 of work and paid to have it shipped to me. It has been restored and is a little different from stock (has my AMI Revolution (bridge) and Wes (neck) model P-90's

I got hooked on Casinos in 2004 when I was travelling in the CONUS a lot and would pop into GCs to play guitar. They are responsive, play and sound great. I am particularly fond of the way my Casino sounds and have used it on a few recordings.

[Perfect Stranger]

I kinda like mine... although I like the way my 339's play and sound, and they aren't quite as much of an arm full.

[tobijohn]

Too bad you missed out when Musicians Friend was selling them at ~$400 SHIPPED Black Friday 2015.

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I think a few of us were in on that deal. I've still got mine although it hasn't been played in quite a while. I'll most likely send the pickups off to @Buddha Pickups for a rewind as @Mossman did. The reason for that and not just an outright replacement is that the neck pickup has a weird pole spacing unlike anything else out there. I have no idea why that is as it really makes no sense from a manufacturing POV...

[honyock]

Too bad you missed out when Musicians Friend was selling them at ~$400 SHIPPED Black Friday 2015.

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

I think a few of us were in on that deal. I've still got mine although it hasn't been played in quite a while. I'll most likely send the pickups off to @Buddha Pickups for a rewind as @Mossman did. The reason for that and not just an outright replacement is that the neck pickup has a weird pole spacing unlike anything else out there. I have no idea why that is as it really makes no sense from a manufacturing POV...

I replaced my covers and it did make a small positive improvement IIRC (plus it looked better to my eye).

[nomadh]

Mine is a casino coupe in natural. I really liked it and was my main guitar for 2+ years. Still like it alot but I'm back to changing it up. If I get back to playing that is. I got mine used on gc online. It was a great deal (under 300 iirc) but it was modded. He replaced the p90s with decent a5 buckers. A hb is so hard to work on and I heard some of the p90s were soooo horrible I was happy to get it.

[OMB]

What is weird is the newer Worn version has more vintage (lower output) accurate pickups, improved electronics and a nubone nut. Oh and $200 less.

[Lacking Talent]

Why I don't own a Casino:

[mickey]

Why I don't own a Casino:

Looks like a cousin of my beloved 5622T.