epiphone casino elitist vs gibson es 330

They are head and shoulders above Chinese and Korean made regular Epiphones, with thier 'Gibson designed' but not manufactured pick ups. Elitists are made with great attention to detail and top quality material (including US made Gibson pickups). The Elitist compares very favorably to the Gibson. I have both an Elitist 335 and a Gibson 335. They have US pick ups but what are they? Do they compare to 57 HBs or Bursts? Any comments will help. Are the epi elites any good compared to a 335 or 336. Have an old 1967 Guild Starfire from my gigging days in the 60s. The 330 is now worth up to $5,000 on the collector's market, while I got the Epi for $425.Īt those prices, I'd rather have 10 Epiphone guitars than one Gibson - but if I were insanely wealthy, I'd probably go for the Gibsons. Since I double on sax, flute, wind synth, guitar, vocals and percussion controller, switching instruments is a sure way to get dings on an instrument. I play the Gibson at home and the Epiphone on the gig. That was before Hendrix used feedback as a positive effect.

I heard a rumor that the Gibson underwound the pups on the 330s of the era because they were afraid of feedback. The Epi actually sounds a little louder and brighter, but then the Gibson is almost 40 years old.

Perhaps the older wood, different finish, different bridge location and/or nylon saddles can be the reason. Unplugged (they are acoustic guitars with no block of wood down the middle like a 335) the Gibson sounds fuller and mellower. The Gibson has a nitro finish while the Epi is poly The Gibson appears to have a 3 ply top, the Epi is supposed to be 5 ply, but since the F holes are painted, I can't verify that. The Gibson has higher fret access, so the bridge is located higher on the body of the guitar. The Gibson has nylon (or plastic?) saddles on the bridge while the Epi saddles appear to be nickel. The Gibson has real MOP inlays in the fretboard, while the Epi has some kind of plastic Faux/MOP The necks are almost identical (the epi is a little wider, perhaps the difference between US and metric measurements). They are both well made guitars in fit and finish.

I don't know if he changed the pups or not. He also changed the tuners to Grovers (although I've never had a problem with Klusons). The previous owner of the Epi changed the pup switch (a supposed weak link in the Epis) and the pots to US parts. Note: the Casino is the regular model, NOT the Elitist.Īs you can see, they are essentially the same guitar. I have a 1970 Gibson ES-330 (Kalamazoo) and a 2001 Epiphone Casino (Peerless/Korea). I'm afraid I can't answer your questions directly, but I do have some information that I hope you will find helpful.

Epiphone casino elitist vs gibson es 330