First of all, the ES 335 is a semi-hollow electric guitar. Although it might look familiar to the more famous Gibson ES-335 model, it is quite substantially different. The Epiphone Casino can produce a wide variety of sounds. It wasn’t until the 70s (more than ten years after Gibson had bought the company) that Gibson moved the production of Epiphone guitars from the United States to Japan, officially “condemning” the company to be regarded as a “cheaper Gibson alternative”.

So, the Epiphone guitars made during the early 60s were excellent instruments, and that’s why the Beatles gravitated towards the Casino. Think about the already mentioned Casino, the Riviera, and many more. They wouldn’t be entirely wrong in saying this, but did you know that in 1957 Gibson purchased Epiphone because it was one of its biggest rivals?īack in the 30s, 40s, and early 50s, both companies were making archtop guitars for Jazz players of that era, and that’s why Gibson decided to buy Epiphone, basically to acquire control over their production.ĭuring the late 50s and early 60s, Gibson produced different guitar models under the Epiphone name that are now considered classics. If you asked most guitar players what they think of Epiphone as a brand, they would probably say it is based on imitating Gibson guitars.

Still, there was a moment when Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and John Lennon were all playing Epiphone Casinos as their main guitar, which happened when they already were the biggest band in the world. You probably already know this if you consider yourself a hardcore Beatles fan.

Since he bought it in 1966, the Epiphone Casino became, without a doubt, an essential part of Lennon’s signature sound during the second half of the fabulous four’s career, and the singer-songwriter legend kept this guitar as his main instrument until the end of his life.Īs proof, nowadays, you can buy two different versions of the Casino, both based on Lennon’s original guitar: the Epiphone John Lennon Revolution Casino in a natural finish and the Epiphone Casino Inspired by John Lennon in vintage sunburst. That’s the same instrument that Lennon played during The Beatles’ last iconic live public performance: the rooftop concert held on the top of their Apple Corps office building in London in 1969. So, if you watched the “Get Back” documentary released on streaming services in late 2021, you probably noticed that John Lennon was playing pretty much only one guitar throughout the entire duration of the series.

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