Epiphone Elitist 1965 Casino Review – An Archtop Legend, Reborn

Body And Neck:
Hardware:
Sound:
Value:

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If you’ve read our chart on the best expensive electric guitars, chances are you weren’t expecting to see an Epiphone make the higher-end of the list! But when you realize the beauty, performance and tone of the Epiphone Elitist 1965 Casino, you understand that there was no way we could leave this popular archtop off! Famously used by The Beatles, among many others, we feel it’s a guitar that deserves some more time in the spotlight. Let’s take a closer look to see if it justifies such a hefty price.

Body & Neck

With the Elitist 1965 Casino, Epiphone certainly flex their high-end muscles, showing that they can still make a must-have premium guitar in addition to all the affordable models they produce. This reissue features the same timeless style of the original Casino – it looks just like the one held by the likes of Lennon and McCartney! It sports the soft double-cutaway archtop body made from three-ply laminated maple on the top, back and sides, all with spruce bracing and a delightfully retro Vintage Sunburst paintjob, finished with a nitrocellulose lacquer.

Just like the original Casinos from the 1960s, the Elitist features a 24.75” scale length mahogany neck glued-in at the 16th fret, with a sixties SlimTaper D profile. This is capped with a rosewood fretboard and 22 medium jumbo frets. Decoration on the Elitist 1965 Casino is kept simple but elegant, with pearloid parallelogram fretboard inlays and f-holes in the body. Crafted in the Elitist factory in Japan, Epiphone’s craftsmanship on this one is flawless. Even though it’s not made stateside, it’s pretty much an American instrument, with American electronics and hardware, and plenty of hands-on luthier attention. Rest assured you’re getting more than a simple factory-made Epiphone here.

Hardware

When it comes to electronics, Epiphone borrow from their bigger brother with two sensational Gibson passive humbuckers – a Gibson USA P-90R at the bridge position, with a USA P-90T at the neck. Controls are kept nice and simple, but solid and responsive. There’s an individual volume and individual tone control for both pickups – with vintage-style gold metal pointer inserts – along with a Switchcraft three-way toggle switch to choose between them.

The rest of the hardware seeps quality and Epiphone stick with trusted brand names. For example, you’ll find an awesome set of Gotoh Deluxe machine heads with a precision 14:1 gear ratio and attractive nickel buttons. There’s also a Delrin nut and saddle for good tonal consistency while the tune-o-matic bridge keeps tuning very stable, offering enhanced sustain. Don’t forget the hardshell case, which is a vital inclusion to protect this baby!

Sound

As we expected, the tone of this beautiful guitar is flawless. The Elitist construction combined with the American-made Gibson pickups and components all combine for a legendary tone that is saturated with vintage character. It’s a hugely versatile guitar that naturally lends itself well to blues, jazz and country, but equally to classic rock and beyond. It’s warm, articulate and has great power with bags of sustain.

Conclusion

Epiphone had to do more to impress us in this premium market and the Elitist 1965 Casino did the trick. While the design and history of this guitar may draw you to it, it’s the playability and depth of tone that will keep you playing for years to come. Although it’s a very expensive guitar, providing you can find it for under $2,500, you’ll be getting a good deal.

Check out the video below for some sound samples:

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