Epiphone Casino China Review
For a while Epiphones were made side by side with Gibsons in Kalamazoo but these days they are made in China and are incredibly cheap compared with their US-produced Gibson equivalents. In this review we're checking out the Casino semi-automatic electric. FEATURES The Epiphone Casino Coupe is essentially a Casino with the smaller body proportions of the ES-339 model. It retains the same fully hollowbody design as the original Casino and provides a full-size mahogany neck with a 24 3/4–inch scale, 22 medium jumbo frets, a rosewood fingerboard with a 12-inch radius, parallelogram inlays and a. The correct case is the Epiphone Hardshell Case for ES-339 ($148.00 MSRP, $89.00 'street') an example of which Epiphone shipped to me to check out along with the Casino Coupe. It's a solid plush-lined case that fits the Casino Coupe perfectly; I'd definitely recommend purchasing it with the guitar as a set.
Over the past year, Gibson has been teasing big updates to the Epiphone line, leading many fans to dream up their own personal wishlists for the famed brand.
So when Epiphone announced the 'Inspired By Gibson' series, some commenters were overjoyed to see that Kalamazoo-era headstocks would now be standard on all such models, softening the sharp-edged silhouette of Epiphone's recent output that many thought looked cheap. And still others were happy to see the Made-In-USA Texan acoustic. But some were left wondering, why just 'Inspired By Gibson' models? Why just the Texan? Why not bring back the Coronet, the Wilshire, or other vintage designs from the pre-Gibson era of the brand?
Well, one thing everyone can get behind is a high-quality, US-made Epiphone Casino—which Gibson has quietly unveiled at its booth at the NAMM 2020 show.
Two Made-In-USA Casinos are on display right next to the Texans, one sporting a classy Vintage Burst finish and the other in a Royal Tan. But that's all the available info right now. From what it sounds like from Gibson booth workers, these are brand-new models that almost didn't make it to NAMM on time, so more details such as pricing and availability very much remain to be seen.
Epiphone's biggest fans may yet have unrequited desires for the future of the brand, but this step will certainly be met with a smile—assuming, perhaps, that the Made-In-USA price-point hews closer to the median Epiphone price as opposed to the median Gibson.
Epiphone Casino China Reviews
For all the latest gear news and new product announcements from NAMM 2020, check our ongoing coverage here.