26 posts
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Post by randrolling on Nov 29, 2023 7:40:43 GMT
Hi there fellow HB players.
I have a HB acoustic and am now looking for asemi-hollow electric. I intially thought of the HB-35 but have since started considering "more refined" options.
Anybody has any experiences with the above?
I'm aware the Casino is a full hollowbody. What I like about it is the possibility of using it unplugged when I want to just practice without waking up the neighbors. I know a 335 style still sounds louder than a solid body unplugged. But I somehow also like the sound of the hollow bodies but not really the size and bulk of a jazz box. So the Casino being a ES-330, which has the same shape and size of an ES-335 is a nice compromise. A bit of best from both worlds.
So any HB players out there have any experience with any of them or similar, apart from the HB-35? Thanks in advance for your input.
The Sire H7V has fanatstic reviews and the finish and fret work is really nice. With Epiphones it seems to be more inconsistent. They seem to have had so many runs. So many versions, specially of the 339. I will be buying used by the way.
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26 posts
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Post by randrolling on Nov 29, 2023 19:09:34 GMT
My experience was with an Epiphone Dot with a wonderful cherry colour, initially I liked it a lot, but as time went by I found its tone too closed for my tastes (stratocaster addict) so I changed the p94 pickups to neck and humbucker exposed at the bridge so it has come back to life at least for my tastes. I later sold it but only for space reasons. The only other hollow body experience I had was with the hb cst24hb that I still have, small and light, but perhaps too lively, maybe one day I'll change the pickups, but aesthetically it's very nice Thanks. The DOT is a semi-hollow, right? More like a ES-335. The Epiphone line up is pretty confusing to me, although not as much a Ibanez. The cst24hb is chambered as far as I know? So basically not that different from a solid body for sound? More like a Telecaster thinline than an ES-335 then?
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26 posts
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Post by randrolling on Nov 29, 2023 19:15:30 GMT
I love playing a Casino Coupe that a friend of mine has. I always opt for it. It's a cut down Casino (hence 'Coupe') so essentially an ES339 size with P90s. Sounds great and open plugged in and unplugged and much more comfy than a 335 size. Very nice axe. But is the Casino Coupe still fully hollow like the standard Casino? Or does it have a center block like an ES-339? Thing about the ES-339 and the smaller size is that it starts sounding not that different from a solid body. The larger ES-335 body really helps it sound different. I got to listen to both side by side. But if the Coupe is still fully hollow, maybe because of that it's not as solid sounding as the ES-339. As is, I'm really gravitating towards a full Casino. Since there is no affordable version of the ES-330 and the full Casino is basically an ES-330 with a different name. It is pretty unique because it's fully hollow, but is not a jazz box. It's exactly the same size as an ES-335, but hollow.
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26 posts
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Post by randrolling on Nov 29, 2023 21:22:29 GMT
Yes randrolling . Literally a cut down Casino with slightly better high gain feedback rejection (but not much!) due to the smaller size. Alright. So still fully hollow. This is interesting. Have you compared it to the semi-hollow HB35? I'm also now starting to look into the hollow body Gretschs. Wondering if they are more Casino or more jazz box.
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26 posts
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Post by randrolling on Nov 29, 2023 22:04:45 GMT
Ok. I really like how loud the Casino is unplugged. But I wonder how the Coupe is.
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26 posts
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Post by randrolling on Nov 29, 2023 22:45:08 GMT
Oh, and how would you say the fit and finish is on the Coupe? Is it one of the nwer models? Stays in tune fine?
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26 posts
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Post by randrolling on Nov 30, 2023 6:14:58 GMT
I also dislike the E logo. Kind of looks like the Euro currency symbol, which makes it look like a price tag, which makes it look, I don't know, cheap? I know the logo is older than the Euro but.. If I get one I'm thinking about painting the one on the scratch plate white and putting a sticker over the one on the stock, leaving only the Epiphone name. I heard some reviews and comments saying they don't stay in tune. But maybe it's just snobbery because the new ones are made in China. One thing I like about the Sire H7V is the finish and materials seems to be excellent. Gretsch seems to be also a bit higher.
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26 posts
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Post by randrolling on Nov 30, 2023 11:32:24 GMT
I see. So maybe the E on the scratch plate can be just removed?
By the way, I was just offered one of the made in Japan Epiphones for basically a hair above the price as a new standard Chinese made Casino. Very tempted! What do you think? Made in the 70s. Materials seem to beat the contemporary standard Epiphones, as it has rosewood fingerboard, maple neck, maple body. I know the rosewood is very desirable. But I wonder if the manufacturing and finish was better than today? I hear yes, Vintage Japan was better than current China. But just the fact it's vintage and "played" in sounds very appealing. What do you think?
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