Get Back to Playing an Epiphone Casino
🎸 The Guitar That Got Landon Back to Playing More
After watching Peter Jackson's "Get Back" documentary and seeing John Lennon play his original Epiphone Casino throughout, Landon did what thousands of guitarists did — he went out and bought one before they sold out. The result is one of the most personal reviews on the channel and one of the most thorough Epiphone Casino deep-dives on YouTube.
The Epiphone Casino is unlike almost any other electric guitar. It's a fully hollow archtop loaded with P-90 pickups — no centre block, no semi-hollow cavities, just pure air. That gives it a resonance, warmth, and acoustic character that no solid or semi-hollow guitar can replicate. It also means it has opinions about feedback at high gain, which Landon addresses honestly.
This 20-minute review covers uncasing, specs, weight, detailed close-ups, clean and dirty tone samples, full pros and cons, and the signature ASMR pickguard peel at the end.
🔬 Full Specifications
| Body Shape | Archtop, Fully Hollow |
| Body Material | 5-ply Layered Maple with Basswood bracing |
| Neck | Mahogany, SlimTaper D-profile |
| Fingerboard | Pau Ferro (also listed as Rosewood on some models), Parallelogram inlays |
| Fingerboard Radius | 12" |
| Frets | 22 Medium Jumbo |
| Scale Length | 24.75" (628.65mm) |
| Nut Width | 1.68" (42.67mm) |
| Neck Joint | 16th fret |
| Neck Pickup | Dogear P-90T Classic |
| Bridge Pickup | Dogear P-90R Classic |
| Controls | 2x Volume, 2x Tone |
| Switching | 3-way Epiphone toggle |
| Bridge | LockTone Tune-O-Matic |
| Tailpiece | Traditional Trapeze |
| Tuners | Vintage-style Epiphone |
| Hardware Finish | Nickel |
| Strings | D'Addario 10-46 |
| Made In | China |
🎧 How It Sounds
✨ Clean Tones (8:45)
This is where the Casino truly shines. The P-90 pickups through a clean amp produce a warm, woody, mid-forward tone that no humbucker or single-coil can quite replicate. The fully hollow body adds bloom and resonance that makes every note feel alive. Classic Beatles rhythm tones, jazz chords, and fingerpicked melodies all feel completely natural here.
🔥 Dirty Tones (10:50)
P-90s through light to medium gain sound fantastic — raw, crunchy, and characterful. The Casino starts to push back with higher gain settings due to the fully hollow body feeding back. This is not a high-gain guitar. Blues, classic rock, and vintage crunch are firmly in its wheelhouse. Keep the gain in check and it rewards you handsomely.
⏱️ Video Chapters
⚡ Pros & Cons
✅ What Works
- P-90 tone is warm, raw, and completely unique
- Fully hollow body gives genuine acoustic resonance
- Lighter than expected for a hollow archtop
- SlimTaper neck is comfortable and fast
- Plays acoustic without an amp — great for songwriting
- Genuinely versatile across clean styles — jazz, blues, classic rock, country
- Iconic look with serious historical credibility
⚠️ Things to Know
- Feedback at higher gain — this is a clean/low-gain guitar
- Neck joins at 16th fret — upper fret access is limited
- Not an ES-335 — no centre block, very different character
- Pau Ferro vs Rosewood fingerboard inconsistency across batches
- Can sell out fast — availability varies by region
The Epiphone Casino isn't for everyone — if you play high-gain music or need upper fret access, look elsewhere. But for players who live in the clean-to-crunch range, it's a genuinely special instrument. The fully hollow body and P-90s produce a tone that nothing else in this price range can replicate.
It's also one of the best singer/songwriter guitars available — playable acoustically, beautiful clean through an amp, and iconic in appearance. If the "Get Back" documentary made you want one, that instinct is well-founded.
🛒 Where to Get the Epiphone Casino
Epiphone Casino (Made in China)
Epiphone Casino Made in USA (Gibson)
📖 More From Landon
#landonbaileyyt · epiphone casino · p90 pickups · hollow body · beatles · guitar review
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