Watch It First
The Epiphone Casino has one of the most recognisable stories in guitar history. John Lennon played one. Keith Richards played one. George Harrison played one. And the reason they all gravitated toward it is still relevant today – its a fully hollow body guitar with a unique character that you genuinely cannot replicate with anything else.
The Vintage Sunburst finish on this version is gorgeous. Deep, warm, classic looking. And the 2023 refresh brought some meaningful upgrades to an already solid guitar. If you’ve been curious about hollowbody vs semi-hollow guitars, the Casino is a great place to start that conversation.
What Makes the Casino Different
The Casino is a true hollowbody – no center block, no trestle bracing. Just a resonant maple body that vibrates fully when you play it. That’s what gives it that airy, acoustic quality that bleeds into the electric tone. Its distinctly different from a semi-hollow like an ES-335 or even an Ibanez Artcore.
The other defining feature is the P-90 pickups. The Epiphone Pro P90s on this model have a bright, cutting, slightly aggressive character that’s somewhere between single coils and humbuckers. They bite a little. They growl a little. In a good way. For indie rock, blues, and classic rock they are just superb.
Specs
- Type: True hollowbody electric
- Body and top: Maple laminated
- Neck: Mahogany
- Fretboard: Indian Laurel, 22 frets
- Scale: 628mm
- Nut width: 43mm, GraphTech NuBone
- Pickups: 2x Epiphone Pro P-90
- Bridge: LockTone Tune-O-Matic
- Headstock: Classic sloped dove wing
- Binding: Cream
- Inlays: Mini trapezoid
- Color: Vintage Sunburst
- Includes: Gig bag
- Price: £519
Neck and Playability
The Mahogany neck feels great. Comfortable without being too chunky, the 628mm scale is standard and the 43mm nut gives you enough room for both chord work and single note lines. The Indian Laurel fretboard is smooth and the fret work on the 2023 Casinos is noticeably better than older production runs IMO.
The GraphTech NuBone nut is a solid upgrade over cheaper synthetic nuts. It contributes to better tuning stability and slightly better tone transfer. Small detail, makes a real difference in practice.
Sound – Bright, Airy, Totally Unique
Plug this in clean and you get that classic P90 bite with a hollowbody openness underneath it. Bright, clear, with a natural resonance that gives chords a kind of shimmer. Its the sound that made records in the 1960s and its still one of the most exciting clean tones you can get from a production guitar today.
The thing about P90s is they respond incredibly well to your playing dynamics. Light touch and they sing beautifully. Dig in and they bark. That expressiveness is part of what makes this guitar so fun to play.
For indie rock pedal setups, light overdrive is absolutely the sweet spot. The Casino handles crunch beautifully. Heavy gain will bring feedback issues as with any hollowbody, but for blues through classic rock it is genuinely brilliant. Pair it with some of the best jazz guitar pedals and this thing absolutely sings on clean tones.
Any Downsides
Feedback at high volumes with heavy gain. This is a hollowbody fact of life, not a Casino-specific flaw. Keep a noise gate handy if you run high gain.
The gig bag included is functional but not amazing. Worth budgeting for a better case if you’re gigging regularly.
Final Verdict
The Epiphone Casino Vintage Sunburst is one of the most musically exciting guitars you can buy at this price. The P90 hollowbody combination is genuinely magical for the right genres, and the 2023 refresh means build quality is better than its ever been. If you’ve ever wondered why the Beatles were so obsessed with this guitar, playing one answers that question pretty fast.
Compared to other hollowbodies like the Ibanez AS73, the Casino goes further into pure hollowbody territory. Different sound, different vibe. Worth every penny.
