Epiphone Casino Revolution

Posted By admin On 13/04/22

This Epiphone Casino is a historical collection model inspired by John Lennon's 1965 Casino electric guitar he used on most Beatles recording sessions until 'The White Album' and Let It Be sessions. The story of the Epiphone Casino goes back to 1961, when the company was still going through a lot of changes after merging with Gibson.

Figure 1 – The John Lennon 1965 Casino

In the 1960s Epiphone Casinos were ‘in’. And John Lennon wasn’t the only Beatles to own one. In fact Paul McCartney and George Harrison both had Casinos, as did Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. But it was Lennon who became most associated with the instrument, most famously playing it on the infamous rooftop appearance of 1969.

The Epiphone John Lennon Casino

Fast forward to November 1997, and a team from Epiphone visit “The Dakota” in New York to examine John’s Casino. They took measurements of the neck and body, studied the components and photographed everything, in order to create a guitar as close to Lennons original as was possible to acheive.

As a result and in cooperation with Yoko Ono, Epiphone proudly introduced the Limited Edition John Lennon “Revolution” and “1965” Casinos.

The “John Lennon 1965 Casino” is a reproduction of the guitar as John originally purchased it with the sunburst finish and stock hardware.

Epiphone Casino Revolution Guitar

The “John Lennon Revolution Casino” is a reproduction of the “stripped” guitar featuring one coat of nitro-cellulose lacquer, gold Grover tuners and no pickguard.


Casino

Epiphone is, of course, owned by Gibson, and in the sixties guitars by both brands were very similar, and were made side by side in the factory at Kalamazoo, Michigan. Read more about the 1960s Epiphone Casino. Gibson had strict product licensing arrangment that limited the number of dealers stocking Gibsons, and the Epiphone brand was a way to increase sales without breaking these deals.

These Lennon reissues are incredible guitars; manufactured to the standards of the 1960s originals. Just 1,965 instruments have been made, each numbered. A portion of the proceeds from each sale was donated to “The BMI Foundation, Inc. for John Lennon Scholarship fund” which supports music education

Epiphone Casino ‘John Lennon’ Revolution and 1965 specifications

Original body shape and materials- Mid 60s Kalamazoo Specifications

  • Nitro Cellulose lacquer finish
  • One-piece Mahogany neck
  • Rosewood fingerboard with pearloid, parallelogram fret markers, binding over fret-ends
  • Neck joint at 16th fret
  • 24.750″ scale
  • Mother-of-pearl headstock logo – 17 degree pitch
  • “Gibson USA- factory” electronics and hardware
  • Nickel plated, Alnico-V p-90s with original pole spacing
  • Switchcraft, 3-way toggle with old style black washer
  • Nickel ABR bridge with nylon saddles
  • Vintage style case with shroud

Figure 2 – The Beatles perform on the roof of the Apple building, Jan 1969. Note John’s Epiphone Casino is now stripped down to a natural wood finish

Epiphone Casino Revolution Limited Edition

Similar guitars

Epiphone Casino Revolution Review

The Casino was very similar to the Gibson ES-330TD. Today Epiphone produce some very nice Casinos, some cheap, and some quite expensive – but all terrific instruments. If you want to play a semi-acoustic guitar, you should certainly try one out!


Revolution

Product Description

1965 Epiphone John Lennon “Revolution” Casino

Epiphone Casino Revolution

In 1999, Epiphone released a very limited offering of the John Lennon “Revolution” Casino electric guitar. This guitar, based on John Lennon’s original Casino guitar, have been locked in a vault since 1999. The model soon became one of the top-selling Epiphone models of all time due to their direct tie-in with Lennon and highly collectible nature as well as their unique sound and performance.

The Epiphone Casino stands out as one of the most significant electric guitars used by John Lennon and the Beatles. The Casino can be heard on many of the most memorable Beatle recordings. By the mid-point of Lennon’s career as a Beatle, when guitar manufacturers of the day would have done anything to get their instruments into his hands, Lennon often chose the Epiphone Casino over all other guitars for recordings, live performances, television appearances and films. This preference for the Casino carried on into his years as a solo artist as well. In the vintage guitar collecting community, an original Epiphone Casino such as the one Lennon used, is considered a prized find. As a result, the Epiphone Casino remains one of the most sought after electric guitars that Epiphone has ever produced.

Paul McCartney was actually the first Beatle to acquire an Epiphone Casino. He purchased one, together with an Epiphone Texan in December 1964. This was Lennon’s first brush with the Epiphone guitar. Soon after, on February 15, 1965 at EMI Abbey Road Studio Two London, McCartney used the Epiphone Casino, now strung left-handed, to play the memorable lead on the Beatles classic “Ticket to Ride”.

By the end of 1965, during the Beatles recording sessions for the “Rubber Soul” album, John Lennon and George Harrison both started to explore the sounds of various new electric guitars. It was in the spring of 1966 during the recording sessions for “Revolver” that both John Lennon and George Harrison acquired a pair of sunburst Casinos.

Epiphone Casino John Lennon Revolution

The John Lennon “1965” Casino is a faithful reproduction of John’s beloved Vintage Sunburst Casino as he purchased it in 1966. In 1968, Lennon decided to “strip” the finish off his Casino. The John Lennon “Revolution” Casino is a faithful reproduction of his Casino with a “stripped” natural finish as it was then and as it remains today. Nowhere else in the world can a collector or musician acquire a pure Epiphone Lennon Casino “Revolution” as we have here.