1. Epiphone Casino Korea Vs China
2. Epiphone Casino Made In China Review
3. Epiphone Casino China Or Korea
4. Epiphone Casino China
5. Epiphone Casino China Vs Korea

Well, one thing everyone can get behind is a high-quality, US-made Epiphone Casino—which Gibson has quietly unveiled at its booth at the NAMM 2020 show. Two Made-In-USA Casinos are on display right next to the Texans, one sporting a classy Vintage Burst finish and the other in a Royal Tan.

1. I've been after a casino for a while but the Korean models are commanding more than they would have originally cost new a couple of years ago.
2. Epiphone currently builds several versions of the Casino. These include: Regular 'Archtop-Series' Casino made in China and uses non-American made parts (Korea until 2007) Elitist Casino. Made in Japan and set-up in America, and contains American made parts such as the pickups. Body is 5-ply maple, Gibson P-90 pickups, and nickel hardware.
3. So I am thinking of buying an Epiphone Hollowbody, the Sheraton for instance, but now I dont know what I should do: buy a brand new china-made Sheraton 2, or I also have the occasion of buying 1988 Sheraton or a 2001 Korea-made Sheraton.

Epiphone has been making musical instruments since 1873 and guitars since 1928. All of the guitar players in The Beatles were satisfied Epiphone owners, and Paul played one on the solo for Taxman. Owned by the Gibson Guitar Corporation for more than fifty years now, Epiphone guitars have been made in Qingdao since 2002. Following are excerpts from an interview with Qingdao plant manager Scott Lewis and Gibson Qingdao general manager Lloyd Williams from the Epiphone official website. Learn more about the Epiphone guitar experience on the very popular user forums on the Gibson website.

Check out a photo series on the Qingdao Epiphone factory here.

On the differences between making guitars in the US and China:

Lloyd: I would have to say that in many respects the American and Asian facilities are much more alike than not. Making a quality guitar is the same no matter where you do it. In your garage or on the factory floor, you have to use quality materials, skilled craftsmanship and attention to detail. Though there are differences in some of the production processes between the USA and Asian factory, to be successful the end results must be the same, a quality built guitar that musicians want to play.

On the team in Qingdao and their work:

Scott: Currently we employ approximately 550 employees with 450 of those doing direct labor. As a team we have made some great strides that I am very proud of. Several bench marks have been reached including recently reaching our highest production month ever, an internal reduction of departmental reject’s and repairs to less than 5%, a reduction in backorders from over a year to one month and growing our production capabilities to include high end solid top acoustics and other key models such as the Casino, Les Paul Custom Signature models and others.

On making Epiphone guitars in Qingdao:

Lloyd: We are Epiphone employees, we are an Epiphone factory so therefore we take ownership of our guitars in a way that no OEM produced brand can do. We have access to proprietary manufacturing techniques from Gibson and we can be innovators in the development of new models and features which is not always in the interest of our OEM competition.

Epiphone Casino Korea Vs China

On music and guitars in China:

Lloyd: Absolutely, Rock n Roll appeals to people from many cultures and the Chinese are no different. They have embraced it with both hands and feet! China is changing at an unbelievable pace and I believe Rock n Roll is its soundtrack.

Relevant Links:
Epiphone Official Website
Epiphone Guitars Are Made By Gibson

Photo Credit @ Shane Makinen

Since 1961, the legendary Casino has been Epiphone’s best-selling archtop and a rock ‘n’ roll standard. First introduced in 1961, the Casino was just one of several new thinline archtops designed and produced at the company’s adopted new factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan that it shared with one-time competitor and new partner, Gibson. The Casino was first adopted by Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones who used a Casino to record the demo for “Satisfaction” at Chess Records in Chicago. Howlin' Wolf took a Casino on his first tour of the UK, appearing on Thank Your Lucky Stars. Shortly afterwards, John Lennon and George Harrison bought Casinos for the Beatles 1966 world tour. Featuring Dogear P-90T Classic™ pickups and a 5-ply Maple body with Basswood top bracing. Available in Natural, Vintage Sunburst, and new Turquoise color finishes.

{{guitar.Model}} Videos

{{activeVideo.Name}}

P-90 Single Coil Pickup

Legendary Tone

First introduced in the early 1950s, Gibson's legendary P90 single coil pickup produced a raw powerful tone that helped define the blues and rock and roll in their formative years. Today, the P90's traditional combination of high output and brilliant tone is still considered a favorite among many top musicians. Known by such familiar nicknames as the 'Soapbar' and the 'Cobalt,' the P90 still cuts through any type of music, all while displaying amazing tonal sensitivity for everything from blues and rock to mellow jazz riffs. It's perfect as a vintage replacement, and features vintage, braided two-conductor wiring. It's also fully wax potted to eliminate any chance of unwanted microphonic feedback.

Body

Neck

Hardware

Epiphone Casino Made In China Review

Electronics

Epiphone Casino China Or Korea

Epiphone Casino China

Miscellaneous

Epiphone Casino China Vs Korea

In order to continually improve the design, quality and performance of our products and instruments and to make use of the best materials at all times, Epiphone reserves the right to change specifications without notice.