Epiphone Casino vs Epiphone 339 vs Epiphone DOT vs Sire H7V?

[DefJef]

My only experience has been with the Coupe. Couldn't say about a 70s Japanese Casino. I have a cheap Suzuki Japanese Hummingbird which I love and a 70s Japanese Aria Les Paul which I hate!

[randrolling]

By the way, if anybody has some tips for inspecting a vintage guitar, I would appreciate it. I might be looking at the vintage Epiphone tomorrow. I heard I should check for things like too high action etc as necks tend to suffer the most with age?

[DefJef]

Definitely sight down the neck to see if you can spot neck TWIST or odd waves in it. The frets should look parallel. You'll expect to see what looks a bit like a hump from about the 14th fret onwards towards the body as that section of the neck does not flex in the same way as the rest of the neck does whenever the truss rod has been turned in the past to create whatever relief the owner has wanted. But you shouldn't see any similar bumps between there and the nut, just a nice gentle dip or total flatness. Definitely NOT a backbow rising up!

And whilst you're at THAT you might as well check that the outer strings are parallel with the neck edges and not gradually heading off to one side so that they slip off any frets when playing.

Check fret wear too. There'll be SOME but assess whether there's plenty of life in them and that there are no areas that cause string buzzing due to wear or a low or high fret somewhere.

Then there's crackly electric knobs and whether you fancy the headache of diving inside a hollow body to get at them for repairs and cleans.

[randrolling]

Thanks. Condition is said to be "new-like" so let's see. How unparalleled the strings have to be from the neck edges for it to be a problem?

[advb]

Do you know the degree of fret wear? There is a difference between 'played in' and 'worn out'! After 50 year, the frets might be getting low and a re-fret would add significantly to the price!

One difference between guitars from the 1970's and now is the advent of CNC technology, which is used by most factories. That tends to eliminate the worst variations/inaccuracies in the manufacturing process, although there always remains room for human error. My only Epiphone is an SG from 2010's and the fit and finish are both good.

Epiphone have generally retained a good reputation so I wouldn't expect an new Casino to be much different to a 70's MIJ model. Except a new one may depreciate more in value.

EDIT: Posted before seeing DefJef 's very useful reply!  Must learn to type faster or rather to look at page 2 before replying to a post on page 1.......

[randrolling]

Well, thanks just the same.

I read the 70s Epiphones had very low frets from new, so...

In terms of the newer chinese made Casinos, are there year ranges that are considered better? I don't mean for Elitists, John Lennon, USA or any special editions. I mean just the normal ones, like sun burst etc. Is a 2010 for example more preferable than a new one? Is Epiphone's quality known to have dropped since? I heard the Korean made are more expensive than the Chinese ones. But what about 2010 chinese vs new? Or a just sun burst vs one of the so called worn colours? Same guitar just different colour?

Thanks!

[randrolling]

Ok, it seems Epiphone re-released the Casino Vintage Sunburst and Natural in 2023. And I heard they are upgraded somehow compared to the prior editions?

I know the worn colours have what they call P90 Pro for example, while the Coupe has P90. But the worn colour models are newer than the Vintage Sunburst and Natural. So maybe the 2023 rerelease of the Vintage Sunburst and Natural was t bring them up to date with the newer worn colours? Or did the Vintage Sunburst and Natural always had the P90 Pro? I just heard hints that the 2023 models might be upgraded but didn't find much concrete info.

[randrolling]

For what is worth, indeed. The newer guitars have the better picks, controls etc. Plus the 60's neck size.

[Nadir]

I live in an apartment and I am not sure that a semi-acoustic would not annoy neighbors.

[randrolling]

So in the end I went for a Casino. And also ended up buying a Les Paul. Very happy with both.