I guess we have to ask ourselves, are any of the high end guitars worth what the manufacturers are asking? I’ve seen some pretty good stuff out of Korea and Indonesia, not so much out of China, so what’s the response supposed to be?īy and large the more expensive guitars are worth the money in my opinion. Now to the question of value for the dollar. If there is a significant fit and finish or tone difference, I will report, but I do not expect either one. When it arrives, I will do a side by side with the Elitist.

I paid less than the street price so it’s the cost for a lesson in patience I suppose. I pre-ordered the USA Casino back on February 8th and it still hasn’t shipped.

I bought mine for less, but not by much and if you asked me, was it worth it? I would absolutely say, yes. At the time it was offered, the Japanese Elitist was going for around $2,000+. I own one of those and I can tell you the fit and finish alone speaks for itself as a superior instrument. Secondly, and this is somewhat germane, the Casino Elitist was made in Japan using all the same parts the American made Casino will be using with perhaps the exception of the woods (there may be some differences, but not any better or worse one way or the other), but I’m not sure about that. You’re essentially buying a Gibson 330 so you have to look at the purchase through that prism. I’m not sure about your assessment Stephen. Epiphone has now published detailed specifications on the official product page.ĭoes the feature set correspond to the pricing on this model? Will this model be a success for Gibson/Epiphone? Let us know what you think in the comments below. But I’m sure a lot of players will do a double take when they see the price tag. Let’s be clear: this looks like a great guitar. Hardware consists of a Thinline Trapeze tailpiece, an ABR-1 bridge and set of Vintage Deluxe tuners.

This guitar has a solid mahogany neck with a rounded C profile and a 12”-radius Indian rosewood fingerboard housing 22 medium jumbo frets and a Graph Tech nut. You can opt for one of two finishes, either Vintage Sunburst with black P-90s or a Royal Tan with nickel covered P-90s. Epiphone made-in-USA Casino in Vintage SunburstĪ lot of that extra money will probably go on the three-ply maple and poplar body with quarter-sawn spruce bracing and cream binding, finished in nitrocellulose lacquer.

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