Beside the Rickenbacker 325, the Epiphone Casino is for everyone John Lennon’s Guitar par excellence. From 1968 to his early soloist years it was almost his one and only instrument: it’s the guitar which makes the main sound on the “White Album”, the one played during the rooftoop concert in the “Let it Be” movie, not to forget the sessions for the album “Imagine”.

Lennon actually owned the Casino back in the 1966 and used it widely in those years. Not everyone notices it due to the fact that this instrument at that time had still its original paint: when all of it was pulled off, the myth of Lennon’s “white guitar” was born.

Casino was Epiphone version of Gibson E-330, a semy-hollow which couldn’t reach the same success as its more famous sister E-335. The main difference between the two was that E-330/Casino had a full-hollow body, cause of whom was very easy for the guitar to produce feedbacks. That was the reason why E-335 was built with a central woodblock. But the hollow body - as P-90 pickups and other technical details - gave the Casino a particular sound: gingly, aggressive, even jazzy if wanted, but always strong. If you consider, too, that Beatles were all but scared of feedbacks, you can understand why they liked such instrument.

As matter of fact, Harrison, McCartney and Lennon owned one each, ‘thought the latter was the one of them to use it most. Lennon played the Casino - in its original sunburst finish - during the Revolver sessions and the tour of the same year: you can see this guitar during the last Beatles concert ever, in San Francisco in 1966.

In 1968 Lennon decided to pull all paint off and give the guitar back to its natural wooden colour: so to improve the sound (Harrison too did it with his one). With such new design the guitar was played during the White Album sessions, imprinting its particular sound to the record (ex. the opening riff of “Everybody’s got something to hide except for me and my monkey”). It was then - as said - used during the Get Back Sessions and so along until Lennon’s early soloist years.

The Casino is still produced today in some different models, obviously including a natural finish one. You can buy one for a cheap price of 400/600 euros, but remember it’s made in Korea and not all agree about its quality. For who’s willing to spend more, you can look at some limited editions, such the one from the “Elitlist” or a commemorative model called “John Lennon Revolution”, both of bigger quality and price (about 1000/1500 euros the first, more than 2000 the latter). An original model from the 60s, instead, could cost even 6000 euros or more.

I think I’m gonna buy it someday. I’d really like to play this guitar. But, considering what’s in my wallet, I’ll probably look for the korean one…