The retro, jangly power-pop (Teenage Fanclub anyone?) sounds are great but I like the idea of also being able to get a Grant Green vibe (I know he played an ES330 but they must sound very close?).Īnyway sorry for such a long post so early on. I suppose I've always wanted a Casino because they seem to do so much, so well. It's fantastically finished, very light and sounds great - I'm ashamed to say that I currently prefer it to my 1980s Strat plus. I also had my eyes opened about how good the Chinese production is becoming when I picked up a Squier Classic Vibe 50s Strat last year. I'm lucky enough to have some US-made instruments (Gibson, Fender, PRS) but I'm also a big fan of Japanese guitars (my '335' is a Tokai ES120 and I have a Fender era Gretsch Jet Firebird and 80s Tokai Tele). Obviously this would involve me paying for the pickups and a tech to do the swap for me so it's not my first choice. I know that there are some specification differences (gloss finish, pickguard etc.) but I think the pickups and electronics are similar, if not identical.ĭo the more experienced Casino fans consider the considerable extra cost to be worth it?Ĭan anyone tell me if the neck profile is similar on the Elitist?Īnother option might be to really push out the boat and save up extra for an ES-330 - the long neck is not really essential to me though and it would cost something like 70% more than the Elitist.įinally I have read that a Peerless era Casino (or current Peerless Songbird) with a pickup swap might get me closer to the Elitist for less cash. In the UK, the Elitist costs 43% more than the 'Inspired By'. I could just afford an Elitist BUT I'd have to buy sight unseen as I've found none locally. The tuning was unstable - though I suspect this was down to the newness of the guitar, the strings and possibly a less than optimum cut nut rather than any more serious problems (the tuners seemed to work well and felt great).

It was sloppily applied too, with some small stains getting onto the top. I hated the thick black paint inside the F-holes - almost seemed to be trying to hide the laminations (are they trying to hide something?). However this one felt nice to me with more of a medium profile. As I prefer a chunkier neck, I was worried having read about skinny Casino necks.

I could imagine it feeling better still as starts to wear and smooth up a bit. It looked great(ish) and the matt finish felt very warm and tactile. It sounded great and the pots worked well - you could roll back the volumes without losing too much treble. I've no real experience of them but today I got to play a natural finish 'Inspired by John Lennon' Casino and I was pretty impressed. I'm seriously considering buying myself a Casino.

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