Epiphone Casino Refin (is happening!)

[rbrcbr]

Thanks man! Yeah I forged ahead but it's probably going to be a little while before I hit it again now, have so many jobs piled up! It's definitely happening though.

The neck will need a bit of grain filler - and the body and sides just need sanding a little. Then some sealer, no grain fill needed for maple. Maybe three wet coats of sealer flatted back before the Pelham blue and then clear and tint coats. Lots of pesky binding to mask and scrape which is another reason these jobs get kind of pricey.

The original pickups aren't going anywhere near it when reassembled, they are really muddy. They read at about 12k each which explains why the sound so... meh.

The USA Riviera is a hard one for me to call. When I bought it I knew the body had been relacquered and assumed that meant with nitro but it definitely wasn't. The neck is super aged and worn with checking all over it and the body looked pristine and that 2k lacquer was never going to age or yellow.

Original plan was to give it a refin in its original blonde natural as these were the rarest colour in the 1993 epiphone Nashville collection from what I've read. I'd age the body to match the neck. This was my plan when I thought I'd have to sell it, but finances are much improved lately and I'm thinking of perhaps giving it a really nice burst - like this one...

I hear ya, that sounds like a lot of work. Can't wait to see the end result though. The korean Casino my friend/old bandmate always played sounded pretty good, but my experience with p90s is limited enough so I can imagine the pickups needing replacing. Seems the Gibson USA p90s are solid usually, and I hear a lot of good reviews about the Lollar P90s too.

Regarding the Riviera - if it was one of those rare blonde finishes to begin with, that's not a bad place to start for the sake of originality and considering how hard it is to find one of these (no less to find one in the UK). I am a sucker for those bursts though, and prefer something like that to the type of burst they were doing on those USA models at the time. Personally, if you were planning on keeping it, I'd go with the burst. It'll also visibly age a lot nicer than a blonde finish.

[Larry Mal]

How's that 330L compare to a standard one, Larry? I've always thought it looked a bit off to me, but I can see why the long neck appeals to people. I don't usually play that high and just like the look and more compact form factor of the normal 330.

You know, I was at war with myself when I got it because I was considering the VOS model, but that one was sold as having a very thick 50's neck. But even at the time I was concerned about the long neck leading to a sound not really like a 330 would be.

But then I read somewhere that this is how ES-335s are made with the 19th fret join, and they hardly sound bad, so I went for it.

While I would still love a 16th fret join ES-330, I have to say that I don't think I could have done any better with this guitar. Like I say, I have a lot of great guitars, but whenever I pick this one up I'm just like, shit, yeah. That just works. It plays wonderfully, it's the kind of guitar where I'm like, I wonder if I can play those hard chord changes I usually don't try and it just happens.

I would likely feel that way about the 16th fret ES-330 as well, though, and I am long past my fear of the thick neck. I might get another 16th fret ES-330 if I'm ever rich enough. I agree they do tend to nail the look a little better. And it would certainly be a different sound and experience. To be honest, though, if I can swing it once I finish up my graduate degree I might treat myself to an ES-175, and that'll probably amuse me for a little while.

I'm kind of grumpy, though, because I ordered the new pickups a month ago for my ES-330 and haven't gotten them or even gotten a response to my inquiry about when I might expect them. I don't really tolerate that very much, and I might be cancelling this order if something doesn't happen soon. You gotta answer your email from customers in 2020 if nothing else.

[sookwinder]

what? A casino isn't an offset ? I'll have to get rid of this then! My 1965 Casino.
(Lots of love here for Gibson and Epiphone thinline (and not so thinline) guitars.

Dear lord Sookwinder, what a collection. That Casino has a varitone - what's the deal with that? I'm drooling over here at all that Royal Tan goodness.

Yeah … this is a rare bird in deed. The Casino has factory fitted stereo Varitone. Each of the PUPs have their own capacitor thingy and choke and the guitar came with a 1960s Gibson stereo splitter cable (as provided with ES345 and ES 355s) that will direct each PUP signal to its own amp. (While I have not thrown out this splitter cable, I cannot find it in the house!)

When I got the Casino I replace the stereo output jack with a mono jack. There was no issue with phasing between PUPs like there could be with HBs when people try to converts stereo ES345s to mono as the P90s are single coil. The various sounds are quite varied, as one would expect.

[rbrcbr]

How's that 330L compare to a standard one, Larry? I've always thought it looked a bit off to me, but I can see why the long neck appeals to people. I don't usually play that high and just like the look and more compact form factor of the normal 330.

You know, I was at war with myself when I got it because I was considering the VOS model, but that one was sold as having a very thick 50's neck. But even at the time I was concerned about the long neck leading to a sound not really like a 330 would be.

But then I read somewhere that this is how ES-335s are made with the 19th fret join, and they hardly sound bad, so I went for it.

While I would still love a 16th fret join ES-330, I have to say that I don't think I could have done any better with this guitar. Like I say, I have a lot of great guitars, but whenever I pick this one up I'm just like, shit, yeah. That just works. It plays wonderfully, it's the kind of guitar where I'm like, I wonder if I can play those hard chord changes I usually don't try and it just happens.

I would likely feel that way about the 16th fret ES-330 as well, though, and I am long past my fear of the thick neck. I might get another 16th fret ES-330 if I'm ever rich enough. I agree they do tend to nail the look a little better. And it would certainly be a different sound and experience. To be honest, though, if I can swing it once I finish up my graduate degree I might treat myself to an ES-175, and that'll probably amuse me for a little while.

I'm kind of grumpy, though, because I ordered the new pickups a month ago for my ES-330 and haven't gotten them or even gotten a response to my inquiry about when I might expect them. I don't really tolerate that very much, and I might be cancelling this order if something doesn't happen soon. You gotta answer your email from customers in 2020 if nothing else.

Glad to hear that es330 is working out for ya, awesome to hear. I hope the pickups came through!

what? A casino isn't an offset ? I'll have to get rid of this then! My 1965 Casino.
(Lots of love here for Gibson and Epiphone thinline (and not so thinline) guitars.

Dear lord Sookwinder, what a collection. That Casino has a varitone - what's the deal with that? I'm drooling over here at all that Royal Tan goodness.

Yeah … this is a rare bird in deed. The Casino has factory fitted stereo Varitone. Each of the PUPs have their own capacitor thingy and choke and the guitar came with a 1960s Gibson stereo splitter cable (as provided with ES345 and ES 355s) that will direct each PUP signal to its own amp. (While I have not thrown out this splitter cable, I cannot find it in the house!)

When I got the Casino I replace the stereo output jack with a mono jack. There was no issue with phasing between PUPs like there could be with HBs when people try to converts stereo ES345s to mono as the P90s are single coil. The various sounds are quite varied, as one would expect.

Jeez, majorly jealous. I don't think I've ever seen another like that.

[rbrcbr]

Well, meant to update this post last month but never got to it.

Fralin P90 pickups, thin single coat of nitro sealer with a real nice patina to it, an extra set of chrome covers and gold knobs, gold Grovers - feels like I got a pretty good deal for what it is. Body came from the Epiphone factory, guess it was an extra 1 of 2 leftover Revolution Casino bodies that were lying around, this one purchased by an employee and built out. I know it's legit because it's got the fret binding nibs, Lennon serial number on the back, and the proper truss rod access routing that allows for a two hole truss rod cover. No unique serial number/internal labels which is a bit of a bummer, but considering my plans for it, proof of it being a Lennon Casino doesn't matter all that much. Stoked to say the least. It plays and sounds great, is nice and light, and the case is perfect. Just needed some fresh strings and some minor tweaks and she's golden. The guitar was noisy as hell at my new apartment here in Brooklyn, but sounds killer. Gotta sort out what to do about that P90 noise. Perfect platform for a refin though.






Played it for a couple weeks and dropped it off locally with Josh (Protocaster) for a yellowed Pelham blue refin.

Just got an update today on the finish and it's looking goooooooood




Still some work to be done of course, but I am so dang excited. Can't wait to share the results with you guys! It's all coming together!

[HNB]

Lovely!

[pacemaker]

Oh God... that's going to be incredible. Josh does great work, and that color is going to be just magnificent. Excited to see this coming along!

[Ursa Minor]

Yes! Cannot wait to see the results. That photo of the OG Pelham Casino is pure class.

[rhythmjones]

Wow, that looks amazing. That is a deep pelham. Hawt.

[rbrcbr]

Yes! Cannot wait to see the results. That photo of the OG Pelham Casino is pure class.

That thing...it's been a while since I obsessed over something like that. Absurdly cool, and so unique. It was impossible to find a Casino in pelham blue, which sent me down this path. Here's hoping this project turns out well and is even 10% as cool. Looking promising so far! Fingers crossed it'll be in my hands in a couple weeks!

[øøøøøøø]

Josh Grove is a good painter

[rbrcbr]

Big update coming soon I’m so stoked.

[pacemaker]

I'm excited to hear this! I may have been checking this thread obsessively for an update...

[rbrcbr]

I'm excited to hear this! I may have been checking this thread obsessively for an update...

You're in for a treat, soon enough. Happy to hear someone else is as excited about this as I am!

This is not what I was going to post, but figured for the sake of archiving this, here are a couple of photos he sent my way earlier this week.

I guess the final clear coat went on, finish looks pretty much done at this point.





Stay tuned! Will update over the next couple of days

[rbrcbr]

Josh Grove is a good painter

I believe that now more than ever