1961 Epiphone Casino Vintage Electric Guitar, Sunburst, First Year w/ Trem-o-Tone, Case

Up for sale, a 1961 Epiphone Casino E-230TD in collector-grade condition and in perfect working order. An incredibly early Casino from the first year of production with the model's introductory features, this is easily one of the very first examples of this model with a four-digit serial number, "bikini" metal headstock badge, unique original Cremona Brown Sunburst finish, and CentraLab pots that date back to 1960.An extremely soulful and lively instrument, a single strum yields a broad, relaxed natural acoustic tone that retains the articulation of maple as a tonewood. The original black bobbin P-90 pickup pair delivers glassy sparkle and dynamic, percussive cut in every pickup position with a rich, textured midrange character and plenty of bark and muscle when you dig in. And while the bridge pickup has more chewy growl and treble-centric presence, the neck pickup is bold and thick, retaining the articulation necessary for complex chording. The guitar is featherweight at 6lbs 12oz, professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar with fresh 11-49 strings, low action, and accurate intonation.The one-piece Honduran mahogany neck has a slender, effortless C-shaped profile carve with just enough roundness in the shoulders, measuring .820" deep at the 1st fret and .900" at the 12th. On the dark Brazilian rosewood fretboard, the guitar has been freshly refretted with vintage-spec medium jumbo fretwire, showing no wear and playing easily up the straight neck with a responsive, optimally adjusted truss rod. In the past, the fretboard had been fitted with block position markers on the first octave, and these inlays were extremely cleanly removed, fitted with closely matching Brazilian rosewood and proper dot inlay. The original nylon nut measures a full 1 11/16" in width. On the headstock, the guitar features a genuine vintage "bikini" metal headstock badge secured with original pins, and the four-digit serial embossed on the headstock matches the rectangular blue Epiphone label visible through the F hole. As Epiphone's (and Gibson's) serialization for 1961 started at 0100 and extended to the 42,000 range, this model's serial puts production firmly in the first quarter of '61. The tuners are an aged set of reissue Kluson Deluxe single line gears with white buttons.The electronics are completely stock, with untouched solder joints and original pots and Sprague Black Beauty tone caps visible through the F hole. The original CentraLab pots date to the 43rd week of 1960. Hardware includes an original Gibson no-wire ABR-1 bridge with foundry stamp on the bottom and the correct curved baseplate used for models fitted with vibrato units. The original nickel-plated Trem-o-Tone tailpiece retains its original arm and Brazilian rosewood insert with a new "E" epsilon foil sticker, and this unit has a smooth response for subtle shimmies and bends. Plastics comprise the original quartet of black reflector cap knobs, original black plastic dogear pickup cover pair, and a modern vintage-spec single-ply tortoise pickguard. The pickguard bracket mounting hole has also been filled and slightly repositioned.The gloss nitro lacquer Sunburst finish is stunning in its presentation, and this rich shade of Gibson's Cremona Brown is a true rarity on a Casino by virtue of the early nature of this example. There is tight lacquer checking on top and broader checking on the back, with some scattered marks consistent with light use on the body as a whole and largely relegated to the back, along with some light requisite buckle rash central to the lower bout. The back of the headstock has a couple repaired splits along the seams of the “wings” of the headstock as they connect to the core, with natural palm wear through the gloss along much of the profile.A modern Gibson-branded black tolex hardshell case is included.