Epiphone E230T V Casino, Royal Tan (1963)

1963 Epiphone E230T V Casino just into the shop on trade!

Early Gibson-made Epiphones are among some of our very favorite electrics of all time. Just ask self-proclaimed Epiphone nerd and Vintage Electric staffer Dan - every bit as good as an old Gibson with aesthetics that give them their own vibe. Case in point with this '63 - early style headstock, a beautifully aged Royal Tan finish, small parallelogram inlays... should we go on?!

The single-pickup Casinos (and ES-330T models) feature sort of this Goldilocks of pickup positions - not quite the neck position, not quite the bridge position, but juuust right in the middle. The result is almost exactly what you'd think it would be; there's more chime and brilliance, especially in the trebles, than what you'd get in the neck position, and there's more warmth and fullness on the wound strings, which would make any bridge pickup jealous. Combine that kind of response with a fully hollow thinline, and you can only imagine the possibilities this Casino is capable of. These guitars have a lyrical sensibility about them and how they deliver tonally - maybe it's the acoustic energy at play here (which is quite lively), but they always seem to pull that kind of playing style out. They're incredibly dynamic, allowing the player to control fundamental tone without even touching the volume or tone controls. Resonant bloom into a clean amp is so satisfying, and when you feed it some gain/drive, the controlled feedback element is just addicting. The versatility sneaks up on you, really.

This is a truly wonderful looking, sounding, and playing example with all of the aforementioned period features like nickel-plated hardware, an original ABR-1 bridge with nylon saddles, factory original Epiphone trem-o-tone vibrato tailpiece, and original plastics like the E-foil pickguard, reflector knobs, and transitional arrow truss rod cover with 'E' logo. The tuners are vintage style replacements and the wiring harness has modern pots while keeping the pickup original.

The neck profile is a slim/medium C with a chunky taper that plays really fast and clean all over the neck. The guitar was previously refretted with medium-jumbo wire. The guitar certainly shows its age with light to moderate finish wear throughout, but there are no major battle scars and it's free from breaks.

With the two pickup version of the same year fetching around double the price, this 1963 Epiphone Casino is a relative bargain.

Price includes the original gray Epiphone hardshell case and original hangtag with serial number printed on it.