Epiphone Elitist 1965 Casino  

P-90's - Which are the ideal pick-ups for todays modern, modeling amps.  It can play very clean or very dirty and everything in between.

There are NO flaws on this guitar.  Made in the Terrada factory in Japan. It is as well made as anything that comes out of an American facility.   Really, it is a beautifully crafted guitar.

The Best Guitar Value Anywhere.  You can pay much more but will not get a better guitar. 

This guitar is so very, very good.  The tone, the playability, the craftsmanship... This is the finest hollow body guitar value. Period. 

7 I will give it a 7 for the block inlays, and other fiddly ornamentaion, but it is a 100%  passive normal 2 pick up 2 volume 2 tone controls and a 3 way switch Gibson. It has no fancy Neal Moser stuff that would give it a rating of 10 as far as smoothing coils, split colils, coil taps, preamps, varitone, etc.

Flipping incredible fit and finish. Yeah yeah it is not nitro cellulose on some Elite/Elitist Epiphones, but the affect of that on tone is so tiny compared to how much better a poly finish holds up it is insane to dock points. Anything that fits a 1960s Casino or ES330 will fit on this. The FujiGen factory's guitars are more consistent that Gibson has been over the past 15 years, and again from about 1975-82, These things are gorgeous. My mom has one of the finest playing guitars ever made in a 1960 ES330 dot neck, and a custom order 1960- H Bird long scale slim neck. I think the Japanese neck is a smidge fatter, and more like some later 60s slim profile necks I have to compare to. The fit and finish of binding and everything is really nice, and near perfect.

OK, Fantastic I reserve for deep discounts and used super deals, but for a nice slimline full hollow body these are awesome guitars. If not for The John Lennon, McCartney, Harrison thing I think these would be some rarely reissued Gibson Custom shop item released every 10 years or on custom order only basis. It was not a super ground breaking great guitar. I believe it was to replace the ES 125, and 295 or something. Gibson did sell a lot of ES330s (know as the poor man's dot guitar) and now that poor man's guitar is $3500+ used, and Casinos are more. It is worth buying and they seem to hold value for resale better than a lot of guitars.

If you want an ES330 Casino, Guild slimjin, or are looking at an Artcore consider this guitar. If you play Beatle songs consider it. If you want a guitar you can hear without an amp, a guitar that will hold more of it's dollar value, etc, get it. The P-90 pick up has a neat fuzzy warm sound that is like an old friend to me. I have my mom's 1960 ES 330, and have compared these side by side. Hers has a thinner neck, sounds a bit more open yet mellow, but it is 50 years older too! The poly finish used on some Elitist guitars I think is great. These may have nitro. Some did. My 335 has poly and if it had lacquer it would be ruined by an airport mishap. I am not super crazy about the model, but I have one (ES 330) that is an heirloom, and plays so good I over play it after playing most guitars. I LOVE the Elitist line, and jus got a 61 SG Elite too. I cannot see using a 1960 ES 330 Live when I can use this one instead. Why risk a vintage guitar? For the money these rock. Some feedback control is needed live. A volume pedal, feedback supressor, DSP, or whatever. In the studio these are awesome.

I have a 2001 1965 Elitist Casino, And I have to say it is the best quality built guitar ever!

This is the best built guitar I've ever owned and over the years i have owned over 30 different gibson and fender guitars.

The guitar is worth at least 2,500.00

My 11 yr old guitar still looks brand new....not a scratch on it anywhere!  The material is super, the craftmanship is top notch ....had to send back many gibsons guitars because of shabby workmanship.  The sounds out of this guitar is superb!  If you can afford this guitar and are looking for a hollow body model, than you need to buy it!  It a funny thing but every night before I go to bed I have to go look at the guitar like to say goodnight.......this guitar does something to you.....I feel a connection with this guitar........no i'm not batty.......wait till you purchase one..you will be feeling just like me!   You will know why the beatles fell in love with their casino's.

Keep in mind I'm a novice player...rarely can I play an entire song perfectly so my familiarity with features is limited although I LOVE the sound that comes out of this thing.  Everything on it is solid and, by no stretch of the imagination, is anything "cheap".  I love being able to play this thing unplugged, too, as there's enough volume to certainly practice.

Have had it about a week and this thing looks and feels like real class.  It is so nice and easy to play and, so far, zero problems.  I played a lot of different guitars while looking for my first electric purchase and this thing is as solid as solid can be. 

Looking at alot of other electrics out there, the overall feel and looks of the thing just, in my mind, can't be beat.  Keep in mind this is the '65 Elitist version of the Casino so it is more expensive but, still, I think it's a good bang for your buck.

The action on the thing is perfect for me, out of the box.  Again, I'm a novice player so I could be missing something obvious but the feel and ease of sliding the ol' fingers up and down the thing just seems so easy.   The sound is rich and full and playing around with the pickups to modify the sound has been easy.  Of course, I'd be fibbing if I didn't mention the fact a certain band using these guitars regularly weighed fairly heavily into my decision to purchase this version.  However, this Japanese built Elitist is a beautiful guitar and fun to play.  If you are considering this as a possible guitar, I would absolutely encourage you to play it for a bit before purchasing something else.

I only write reviews when something stands out and I want to let people know that.When you pick up this guitar, you know it is special. The workmanship (made in a dedicated facility in Japan) is top notch, as are other Japan-made instruments I own. It has a great sound acoustically, which is always a good indicator in an electric guitar. It stands up to the unavoidable comparison between it and the Gibson ES 330 (I have a 1963 330). This is a fine guitar and worth the extra money.

Careful build with quality materials and hardware is evident in appearance, feel, and sound. Five-ply maple body has really nice tone and resonance.Grover tuning keys are smooth and stable. Neck and binding are as good as many Gibsons, not to mention the Gibson pickups and electronics.