Just In: Epiphone Elitist 1965 Casino

Pretty much as close as you’ll get to the Beatles-style Casino, without having to remortgage your house for an original. The Epiphone Elitist 1965 Casino is exactly what it says; a real classy, top end Epiphone guitar. Everything on the instrument is of amazing quality and great care has gone into the production of it. Also as the name suggests, it is based on the Casino that made such an impact in the mid 60s, with the likes of The Kinks, The Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones and a certain scouse 4-piece all using them at one point. John, George and Paul all got a Casino at a similar time and they can all be heard on various Beatles records. You know a guitar is good when even the bass player has to get one!

Is the Elitist Casino worth the extra money over a regular Casino?

Now we know that at first glance, the Elitist Casino seems to have a pretty hefty pricetag for an Epiphone. However, it is worth noting that this model is made in the Epiphone factory in Japan and the craftsmanship is fantastic. As soon as you pick it up, you can feel the difference in quality straight away; not to take anything away from the regular Casino but the Elitist feels a lot more balanced and put simply, you want to play it more.
Everything on the Elitist Casino, even the electronics are designed to match up to the spec of the original Casinos, when they were made in Kalamazoo, Michigan. This includes the pickups which are US-made Gibson P-90s, as opposed to Epiphone designed P-90s on the regular Casino. What you get with the Elitist Casino is a wide range of tones, from a clean, chimey sound all the way to an aggressive growl with plenty of mids and high-mids to cut through. Furthermore, the body of the Elitist is braced with spruce wood, as opposed to basswood on the regular Casino thus offering more tonal complexities and sounds better when played acoustically. You’re also paying for better quality hardware; Grover tuners will help hold your tuning, as well as providing great longevity, much like the Switchcraft pickup toggle switch. As you might expect with a guitar at this price point, the Elitist Casino does come with a high quality hard case.

Conclusion

This is an amazing guitar so don’t be put off by the fact that it says Epiphone instead of Gibson on the headstock. The Japanese build gives the guitar a fantastic feel and the Gibson pickups sound great for a wide range of music. The guitar is ideal for jazz, blues, pop, rock amongst much more and really is a must have for any fan of the whole 60s British invasion. The 1965 Elitist Casino is a great replication of a guitar that made such a huge impact on guitar music at that time, so get one and make your own impact!