The nickel ABR-1 bridge has the correct 'Made in Japan' text on the underside, and the orange oval label visible through the F hole has the correct five-digit serial for Terada factory production (6 for the year, 5 for the Casino model, and three digits for the production number). The electronics are all untouched, with original nickel pickup covers on the P-90s. It’s nice and light at 2.8kg with a very comfortable fast neck on the slightly thinner side.
The modern Chinese guitars can't touch them. The build quality is exceptional and to us, the Terada models feel like no other casinos. Japanese Epiphone Casinos are consistently superb in our opinion, we have never had one we didn't love. These are the guitars that precede the modern Elitist line. It’s one of the essential rock & roll hollowbodies. Built in Japan at the Terada factory this is the guitar made famous by The Beatles, especially loved by John Lennon, even into his solo career. This scarce model also includes fret-end binding specification which we don’t often see on the Japanese Casinos. You are looking at an all-original Japanese Terada-built Epiphone Casino in very rare Ebony finish from 1996.
