A Fine Early Dot-Neck Casino

This superb featherweight guitar weighs just 5.10 lbs. and, with a nice, fat nut width of 1 11/16 inches and a standard Gibson scale length of 24 3/4 inches, the guitar almost plays itself. Single-bound laminated maple body, one-piece mahogany neck with a medium to thin profile, and bound rosewood fretboard with 22 medium jumbo frets and inlaid pearl dot position markers. Short headstock with inlaid pearl "Epiphone" script logo. Three-layer (black/white/black) plastic truss-rod cover. Serial number ("23637") impressed into the back of the headstock. Rectangular blue label inside the bass f-hole with "E-230T" and "Casino" typed and the serial number ("23637") stamped in black. Individual single-line Kluson Deluxe tuners with white plastic oval buttons. One very hot P-90 pickup with an output of 7.82k. Three-layer (white/black/white) plastic pickguard with mounted silver and black Epiphone stylized "E" logo. Two controls (one volume, one tone) on lower treble bout. Black plastic bell-shaped knobs with metal tops. ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic non-retainer bridge with metal saddles and trapeze tailpiece with horizontal ridges on cross-bar. This guitar is in exceptionally fine (9.00) condition. There is some finish checking and a couple of tiny surface marks, but the lovely Royal Tan finish is totally unfaded. Housed in the original black hardshell case with orange plush lining (8.25). This is the earliest Casino, and only the second dot-neck Casino, that we have offered for sale.

Introduced in 1961, this was Epiphone's $230.00 version of the highly popular Gibson ES-330. John Lennon played Epiphone Casinos, rather than the Gibson equivalent. The Casino E230-T single pickup had a fairly short production run and was discontinued in 1965.

"The Casino, introduced in 1961, is the equivalent of the Gibson ES-330 -- a fully hollow thinbody guitar with one or two P-90 pickups. The dot inlay gave way to parallelograms by 1963. The Epiphone vibrato, featuring a string-anchor bar of varying diameter to compensate for different string gauges, was never used on a Gibson-brand model" (George Gruhn and Walter Carter, Electric Guitars and Basses: A Photographic History, p. 220).

"Popularity of the [Epiphone] thinlines increased in the 1960s when first Paul McCartney acquired a Casino for Beatle studio work, followed by John Lennon and George Harrison who each used new Casinos on-stage in the final fab-four concerts of 1966. The group's new Epis were also all over the band's latest Revolver LP, and the Beatle connection has ensured that the Epiphone thinlines in general and the Casino model in particular enjoy a continuing popularity among pop groups who find themselves keen on reactivating a Merseyside-style mix" (Tony Bacon, Electric Guitars: The Illustrated Encyclopedia, p. 55).