Epiphone is a company with a rich history in the music business, especially in the realm of guitar manufacturing. Before being bought out by Gibson in the late 1950s, Epiphone was Gibson’s main rival in the archtop guitar market. Their professional archtop guitars, including the Emperor, Deluxe, Broadway and Triumph, rivaled those of Gibson. However, the company’s weakness in the aftermath of World War II allowed Gibson to buy it.
Now Epiphone is seen as Gibson’s cheaper brand by most buyers as a way to get a Gibson style Les Paul or Flying V without paying the outlandish Gibson price premium. However, Epiphone’s strength isn’t just in making Gibson style guitars, no the real beauty in the Epiphone line are in the classic semi-hollow body guitars such as the Sheraton or the Casino.
Epiphone Casino
The Epiphone Casino is one of those special guitars that has a character and a tone that you just can’t get from most guitars. It is a semi-hollow body guitar, which means it’s halfway between an acoustic and an electric guitar. It isn’t a full hollow cavity acoustic, but it’s hollow enough to add depth and resonance to the sound.
The Casino really put Epiphone on the map. It was used first by Paul McCartney and then John Lennon and George Harrison back in 1964. Needless to say the Beatles using this guitar made it legendary and for good reason. It just has an incredible tone and playability that is hard to match from a $3,000 guitar, much less a $700 one.
This guitar can play pretty much any style. It works well for blues, jazz, and rock ‘n roll. However, it is versatile enough to be used in other settings such as church worship music or even more of a heavy metal/hard rock setting. No matter where you use this guitar, it will sound incredible and at $700, you really can’t beat it. It’s about as good as it gets when it comes to an electric guitar.
Current Prices:
$699.00 at Musician’s Friend
$699.00 at Zzounds