Beautiful 1964 Epiphone Casino anyone?

This is a stunner, there is no doubt. Classic 60s Epiphone burst that seems to scream summertime, setting it apart from its ES-330 stablemates. There is no real signs of any damage anywhere, the odd minor knock but nothing noticeable. The colour has faded a little but again this is not too extensive. 

Interestingly the guitar came to us via a customer who had inherited the guitar from a relative who’s mother had been given the guitar in lieu of a debt (you still with us?). She’d been a singer in the 60s and 70’s and the guitar must have been a working instrument  as when it arrived with us, the body had been filled with foam and newspaper to kill feedback. The newspaper used was the Daily Express from Wednesday, February 27th, 1974. We’ve managed to rescue some of the pages used. 

The front pickup has been out, then back in again and for some unfathomable reason, 6 extra holes have been drilled in the base plate and the mountings have been slightly enlarged at both sides. This is all invisible when the pickup is installed (see pics).

The neck is in superb condition with almost no wear, the original frets have plenty of life left in them. The headstock is in good shape with a few minor chips and best part of all, this is a highly desired 43mm nut width Casino. One tuner has been replaced with a later repro type.

The hardware shows some discoloration and some very slight pitting. 

Electrically there have been some corrections. When we received the guitar it turned out that the guitar had been wired for stereo operation as per an ES-345. This has now been corrected and thankfully didn’t require too much rewiring. As such the pots and capacitors are correct.  We suspect the Bigsby is a later addition.

The guitar comes with what looks like a Selmer hardshell case but maybe from a later era.

Acoustically this guitar has a pleasantly warm tone that certainly tips the hat to Gibson’s archtop heritage. Plugged in the guitar runs the gamut from warm neck pickup to a more honky, biting bridge pickup tone.

These Casinos have a worthy place in the electric guitar cannon and this fine example would make a fanatic addition to any collection.