Upgrading Epiphone casino

wayneirie

What pickups, would you go for ? Is the wiring loom worth the investment. The Jack socket needs repair, And although I quite the darker hotter pickups for a lot of stuff. I feel like it would be a lot more versatile with some nicer P90's. I'll probably go mojo but what else is good? Whats the difference between Alnico 3 and 5 is there an advantage of one over the other? More highs or mids or something? I mostly play soul/Funk, Black keys type stuff, garage rock type stuff. 

stickyfiddle

I did this a few years back, with great success. 

I did the loom as well, not least because you have to take it out to do it properly, so it's nice to have peace of mind and know its done right. While I was in there I also added a phase reverse on one pickup to give a honky middle position when I wanted it. 

I went for re-winds by The Creamery and they were great. Go for an overwound bridge pickup; I didn't and needed a pickup riser thingy which was annoying. 

As for A3 vs A5, I can't remember what was in my Casino, but I do know that I love the A3 57 Classics in my SG. Really nice trebly sounding things - "the opposite of woolly"

Alegree

stickyfiddle said:

I did this a few years back, with great success. 

I did the loom as well, not least because you have to take it out to do it properly, so it's nice to have peace of mind and know its done right. While I was in there I also added a phase reverse on one pickup to give a honky middle position when I wanted it. 

I went for re-winds by The Creamery and they were great. Go for an overwound bridge pickup; I didn't and needed a pickup riser thingy which was annoying. 

As for A3 vs A5, I can't remember what was in my Casino, but I do know that I love the A3 57 Classics in my SG. Really nice trebly sounding things - "the opposite of woolly"

rewinds is the key here. Casino pickups are oddly shaped which makes finding pickup that fit the guitar very difficult.

camf

@RiftAmps is the man to ask. He did a great job on upgrading his and tried various pickup options.

RiftAmps

The stock Casino pickups have a really shallow bobbin compared to a proper P90, so no amount of rewinding/magnet swopping will get them to sound anything like they should. They're the unpolishable turds of the guitar world.

The best option is to get both an A5 set and wiring loom from @Mojopickups and install the whole lot in one go. Job done.

camf

LOL

Alegree

That's not true at all. There's plenty of space to get a P90 wind on there, as I demonstrated on Bridgehouse's.

Bridgehouse

Alegree said:

That's not true at all. There's plenty of space to get a P90 wind on there, as I demonstrated on Bridgehouse's.

Very true. My casino rewinds that @Alegree did sound very P90ish - very close in fact to the P90s on the elitist casino.

RiftAmps

Bridgehouse said:

Alegree said:

That's not true at all. There's plenty of space to get a P90 wind on there, as I demonstrated on Bridgehouse's.

Very true. My casino rewinds that @Alegree did sound very P90ish - very close in fact to the P90s on the elitist casino.

Well that’s not exactly a high bar to reach, is it?

The modern-day Gibson P90 is a terrible specimen when compared to an original 60’s, I frequently question why people don’t swop them out immediately. They’re just terrible. The pickup equivalent of the Celestion 70/80

To the OP - I really don’t recommend getting the pickups rewound, you’ll only end up being disappointed.

GoldenEraGuitars

Oh... I have a modern p90 in my SC Junior. So, its cack then?

Bridgehouse

RiftAmps said:

Bridgehouse said:

Alegree said:

That's not true at all. There's plenty of space to get a P90 wind on there, as I demonstrated on Bridgehouse's.

Very true. My casino rewinds that @Alegree did sound very P90ish - very close in fact to the P90s on the elitist casino.

Well that’s not exactly a high bar to reach, is it?

The modern-day Gibson P90 is a terrible specimen when compared to an original 60’s, I frequently question why people don’t swop them out immediately. They’re just terrible. The pickup equivalent of the Celestion 70/80

To the OP - I really don’t recommend getting the pickups rewound, you’ll only end up being disappointed.

I'm clearly not qualified to comment. 

Winny_Pooh

I have a Creamery A2 dog ear humbucker. One of the best pickups I've ever owned and better IMO than a p90 for a casino/330

wayneirie

Mojo do a set specifically for the casino/330. So I think I’ll grab those. And a harness. I’ve been playing  it a lot recently despite the jack socket being broken I’ve had it a few years. So I’ll get it set up and change the pickups. Rather then buy a new guitar.

There are some things I like about the stock p90’s but playing a friends vintage 330 made me wonder why mine didn’t anything sound like that at all!! Hopefully with a setup and new pickups. I can get closer to that sound!

impmann

RiftAmps said:

Bridgehouse said:

Alegree said:

That's not true at all. There's plenty of space to get a P90 wind on there, as I demonstrated on Bridgehouse's.

Very true. My casino rewinds that @Alegree did sound very P90ish - very close in fact to the P90s on the elitist casino.

Well that’s not exactly a high bar to reach, is it?

The modern-day Gibson P90 is a terrible specimen when compared to an original 60’s, I frequently question why people don’t swop them out immediately. They’re just terrible. The pickup equivalent of the Celestion 70/80

To the OP - I really don’t recommend getting the pickups rewound, you’ll only end up being disappointed.

Actually... thats just an opinion dressed up as a 'fact'. In my experience, the modern Gibson P90 is probably the best pickup Gibson USA make, and unless you want the softer attack of an A2/A3 magnet its really a case of diminishing returns.

FWIW, I've experimented with all manner of P90s over time and the pickups in my Les Paul are still a benchmark - its a flipping great sounding guitar. Terrible pickups? BOLLOCKS I say. :-)

For balance - I have one of Marc's P90s in my lap steel and its very nice.


To the OP - have a look on eBay, as there are a pair of Mojo 330/Casino pickups on there. :-)

rze99

I had Greg at GuitarAid London put in Gibbo P90s with treble bleed. Really happy with the results as I can now get that Beatles jangle out of them. 

Creed_Clicks

No point starting a new thread on this. Finally snagged a cherry Epiphone Casino. I've been on the look out for one for a while, and cosmetically, I am already thinking of some tweaks.
I might ditch the white pickguard altogether (or maybe get a black one) and wouldn't mind black pickup covers.
Is it still the case that it's a pain in the backside getting replacement pickups or pickup covers for the Epi Casino? ( Someone recommended Mojo)

Funkfingers

Creed_Clicks said:

black pickup covers.

For reasons that I am not qualified to explain, black plastic “dogear” covers would be preferable over the chrome plated metal ones.  

Creed_Clicks

Funkfingers said:

Creed_Clicks said:

black pickup covers.

For reasons that I am not qualified to explain, black plastic “dogear” covers would be preferable over the chrome plated metal ones.  

Yup, black ones would look cool I think. I'd imagine these are standard?

Are there any covers or pickups that will slot right in, or do they all need work in order to fit the Epi Casinos?

Update: Had a good blast off the guitar last night, and it holds tune well. Not so sure what I'd change. The pickguard does rattle a small bit, so I might get rid.
Maybe a proper nut might help, but I'll truck on with it...