it has recently come to my attention...

Re: it has recently come to my attention...

Casinos are ace - but the current chinese built ones are a totally different bag of fish from the old ones. Of course they are heaps cheaper - and i have nothing against made in CHina workmanship -its just that they do not have the acoustic qualities of an older casino -maybe its too much glue in the ply or something. NO matter where or how you pick them, you cant get a "kerrang" sound out of them - and that sound is one of the coolest things about old gibson/epi hollow thinlines. So the modern ones are really not very inspiring to play - totally lacking in harmonic presence.
So yeah - old gibson 330 and epi casinos are full hollow thinlines with p90s and they are both wonderful sounding axes with character, bite growl and hipness in spades. BUt - they are not cheap!
Semi hollows like 335s or Sheratons are another thing altogether. Much more well mannered when playing louder or overdriven but the centre block means that although they have the same profile, they are a different class of guitar altogether - they dont stand to comparison.
However, the 330/casino will squeal like a pig if you use an amp with a fair amount of bottom and/or volume.
See if you can find an old es125td (thinline double pickup). They are stil reaonably priced, and have that great sound. You may even find a regular t that has had a second pickup added - ruining its vintage collectability, but making it easier to afford! 330s/casinos are really similar - just a different shape - same thickness and woods. Of course you have to deal with the feedback, but a 125 is guaranteed to increase in value. (However you will never want to sell it!)
Or.... gibson es137 are easy to find, and dont cost as much as a vintage 330 or any type of 335. They are just lovely. They only have a small under bridge block rather than a full block like a 335. They resonate wonderfully and have a great sound that is somewhere between a 330 and a 335. Less feedback than a 330 and more acoustic/hollow response than a 335. Very nice. Of course, you can tailor your pickup selection to taste because they fit a standard humbucker, so you could use phat cats or 59s or whatever. They are another axe that dont cost the earth, and that you will keep you smiling forever.
 
Re: it has recently come to my attention...

GIBSON-ES137-FULL.jpg

ES125T_1964_1.jpg


like these? the 125 caught my attention because it really resembles an acoustic.
 
Re: it has recently come to my attention...

The 125 is the basis of a lot of gibson axes. The body shape and laminated top was used to create the 175 - they just added a cutaway and some stuff like sexy inlays. Later on, they replaced the p90 with the new humbuckers.
The 330 actually has more in common with a 125t than a 335.
The 125 is from the old school of electric guitars in that it is really an amplified acoustic - but the cheap to produce and cheap to mould laminated tops had some advantages over really nice carved solid tops. Chiefly was the laminates resistance to feedback -the lack of a coustic response made it easier to manage amplified. A classic axe. Simple and effective. The laminated top was used on 175s, 335s, 330s casinos, rivieras, l48s etc...
THe 125t is a thinline. A little less bass than the regular 125t, but more comfortable to play standing up - and a little less prone again to feedback.
A 125 TDC therefore is a thinline, double pickup with a cutaway. The gibson 330 is almost identical except for its silhouette. The 330 was really just a more modern looking 125 following the success of the 335. Gibson could also use the same stencils and tooling for the tops and sides as the 335 so there was a double benefit in doing this.
So Gibson bought Epiphone cheaply after Epaminondas Stathopoulo died and started making epiphones at Kalamazoo. Discontinuing the wonderful pre Gibson epis, they set about creating a new brand that allowed Gibson to extend market share by having these guitars in more shops without reducing the cachet of the Gibson brand. 60s Casinos and 330s are almost identical. The fact the beatles and the rolling stones used epiphones rather than gibsons is testament to their quality.
Still - the 335 concept is a good one using the solid maple centre block, but for something a bit different, and for something that really rings out acoustically, a 125T or a 330 or a casino is a whole load of fun. Sure they have some feedback issues compared to a Les Paul or a strat, but their worth both live and in the recording studio has been proven beyond doubt. You just have to play them a little differently, think a little differently and enjoy the difference!
just as a post script....
Many of the old epiphone employees were not very excited about leaving New York to work in Kalamazoo, so they formed a guild.....
Guild guitars were born....there a some fantastic older guilds around for a fraction of the price of gibsons or epiphones. Amazing build quality. Great pickups from dearmond and later guild made. Some very nice woods. Plenty of mojo. Check out some slim jims or maybe a starfire II...
 
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Re: it has recently come to my attention...

es150-walnut-1970_m.jpg


i love this finish, i also wonder what all the knobs do. gibson es 150

ps: that body looks kinda deep right?
 
Re: it has recently come to my attention...

Finish is called Walnut. Volume and tone per HB plus master volume (I think) on lower horn. 4" hollow body, no centre block. Small parallelogram fingerboard inlays. It can only have come from the Norlin era.

Stuff that. Get a PRS Hollowbody.
 
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Re: it has recently come to my attention...

astrozombie said:
es150-walnut-1970_m.jpg


i love this finish, i also wonder what all the knobs do. gibson es 150

ps: that body looks kinda deep right?
Click to expand...

I have this guitar with a switch on the lower horn where the knob is but the label inside reads ES-355.
 
Re: it has recently come to my attention...

I have major GAS for ES guitar recently. It comes and goes, and usually I have love hate relationship with them. Bargains and opportunities aside, if I'll ever invest in a humbucker equipped guitar it would be an ES-335.
 
Re: it has recently come to my attention...

As a big fan of mid-priced 335's, my recommendations are the Epi Sheraton, Dot Deluxe (flame top), & Riviera P93 (triple P-90's!). Hamer Echotones are also nice, especially the Korean models.

I also have a Casino, but as has been mentioned, they feedback easily at stage volumes (especially with gain), but if you stand to the side of the amp, and when you're not playing, either turn down the volume or cover the strings with your hands. I see blues players with full hollowbodies, so it can be done. There's a couple interesting Jay Tursers too, a 335 with P-90's, and a full hollow, full depth (3 1/2") 335 with a trapeze tailpiece.

Get an import, upgrade the PU's, and you have a nice-sounding guitar for a minimum of cash.
 
Re: it has recently come to my attention...

astrozombie said:
EX0933.jpg


this one caught my eye immediately!!
Click to expand...

I would swap my 335 for that anyday!
http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/ES/Gibson-Custom/ES-335-Dot-Figured-Gloss.aspx

The original es150 is the "Charlie Christian" guitar. The first sucessful production model electric. Solid top, but otherwise almost the same as a 125.

A 355 is just an upmarket 335.
That one in the photo does not look like a 355 to me, but i will of course defer to blueman as he owns one. It looks like a full hollow like a later (60s) model 150 or 170.
 
Re: it has recently come to my attention...

blueman335 said:
As a big fan of mid-priced 335's, my recommendations are the Epi Sheraton, Dot Deluxe (flame top), & Riviera P93 (triple P-90's!). Hamer Echotones are also nice, especially the Korean models.

I also have a Casino, but as has been mentioned, they feedback easily at stage volumes (especially with gain), but if you stand to the side of the amp, and when you're not playing, either turn down the volume or cover the strings with your hands. I see blues players with full hollowbodies, so it can be done. There's a couple interesting Jay Tursers too, a 335 with P-90's, and a full hollow, full depth (3 1/2") 335 with a trapeze tailpiece.

Get an import, upgrade the PU's, and you have a nice-sounding guitar for a minimum of cash.
Click to expand...
YES!!!!
Epiphone_SheratonEbny_m.jpg


iffy...
guitar-pics-001.jpg


heck yes!!

DSC_0277.jpg


I read some reviews that this ^^^is bad though, something about the bridge pickup resting on a spacer, the action can be adjusted lower than a certain height and the finish around the f holes is sloppy. i dont know if its true though.

hamer+echotone.jpg


nice, but this has a maple neck. deal breaker...

r0HD.jpg


this is a jay turser, if i could check one out in person, i would!

now, you own a casino, can the p 90s do overdrive? I don't want mind blowing metallica distortion, I want overdrive sounds like AC/DC, the clash

and sounds like this.



at about 2 minutes when the guitar gets dirty.
 
Re: it has recently come to my attention...

my friend's got an epiphone cheapo hollow body (I'm pretty sure it was a dot) which sounded like total crap. He talked about replacing the pickups with '57 classics, and I was a bit skeptical. I mean, why spend that much on a piece of junk? Well he did it, and lo and behold it sounds freaking awesome! Like a full blown Gibson! I mean obviously a custom shop $10,000 gibby or vintage ES-335 will sound better, but it still blew away almost everything in the price range!

tl;dr: 57 classics kick ass and if you don't like your epiphone's sound you should get them.
 
Re: it has recently come to my attention...

That cool looking red one with the 3 p90s.....Yamaha (yes yamaha!) are making a 3p90 semi hollow right now. http://www.yamahamusic.com.au/products/musicalinstruments/guitars/electric/hollow/sa.asp
Only a couple of hundred more than a current casino, and a really nice sounding and playing pro level axe.....


p.s. every Jay Turser i have played has been a nasty, soulless, unmusical piece of junk. They do look good from a couple of feet away tho.
 
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Re: it has recently come to my attention...

Nope have not tried the riviera.
Heres what i have learned about epis and a few other newer cheaper (well cheaper than gibsons or gretsches) hollow/semi hollow axes:
These are a few i have tried/owned/played/gigged/recorded:
Epi Joe Pass. both the older Korean (good) and new chinese (pretty good). Both have lame pickups but are good gig workhorses with new pups.
Casino: both a 1966 (amazing) and a new chinese (totally uninspiring -pickups would be a waste of money)
Epi Zephyr blues- similar to the pass except p90s (which benefit from an upgrade)
Epi zephyr regent- well they look good...okay, but not inspiring acoustically.
Godin kingpin: very lively acoustically. Good pickup. Responsive and present. Not a lot of sustain tho: tonally more like a flattop than a jazzy archtop.
Yamaha AEX1500: lovely acoustic sound. Nice pickup/preamp blend thing. definitely pro gear.
Epi Willdkat: pretty darn nice - but better pickups would help. kind of a cross between a pygmy gretsch, a gibson 137 and a casino. Lots of fun.
Epi Sheraton - only the newer ones - great axe for the money. Same goes for the Lucille.
Epi dot 335 - heavy, unbalanced and need new pickups, but okay after a set up.
The yamaha 3p90 thing - very, very nice. Great response and resonance. The pick of the bunch - by a mile.
 
Re: it has recently come to my attention...

Elfunkenstein said:
my friend's got an epiphone cheapo hollow body (I'm pretty sure it was a dot) which sounded like total crap. He talked about replacing the pickups with '57 classics, and I was a bit skeptical. I mean, why spend that much on a piece of junk? Well he did it, and lo and behold it sounds freaking awesome! Like a full blown Gibson! I mean obviously a custom shop $10,000 gibby or vintage ES-335 will sound better, but it still blew away almost everything in the price range!

tl;dr: 57 classics kick ass and if you don't like your epiphone's sound you should get them.
Click to expand...

I will testify to an epiphone's ability to kick ass with quality pickups. I keep hearing good things about the 57 classics, I must try em :)

gibson175 said:
Nope have not tried the riviera.
Heres what i have learned about epis and a few other newer cheaper (well cheaper than gibsons or gretsches) hollow/semi hollow axes:
These are a few i have tried/owned/played/gigged/recorded:
Epi Joe Pass. both the older Korean (good) and new chinese (pretty good). Both have lame pickups but are good gig workhorses with new pups.
Casino: both a 1966 (amazing) and a new chinese (totally uninspiring -pickups would be a waste of money)
Epi Zephyr blues- similar to the pass except p90s (which benefit from an upgrade)
Epi zephyr regent- well they look good...okay, but not inspiring acoustically.
Godin kingpin: very lively acoustically. Good pickup. Responsive and present. Not a lot of sustain tho: tonally more like a flattop than a jazzy archtop.
Yamaha AEX1500: lovely acoustic sound. Nice pickup/preamp blend thing. definitely pro gear.
Epi Willdkat: pretty darn nice - but better pickups would help. kind of a cross between a pygmy gretsch, a gibson 137 and a casino. Lots of fun.
Epi Sheraton - only the newer ones - great axe for the money. Same goes for the Lucille.
Epi dot 335 - heavy, unbalanced and need new pickups, but okay after a set up.
The yamaha 3p90 thing - very, very nice. Great response and resonance. The pick of the bunch - by a mile.
Click to expand...

I'd like a sheraton but I hear they've been discontinued?
 
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