Epiphone USA Collection E230TD Casino: The web says MusicRadar verdict: A classic hollowbody electric that helped make the 60s swing remains every bit as relevant and thrilling today, with a range of superb blues, jazz and rock ’n’ roll tones, and a great neck. Naturally, not everyone who picks up a Casino can be as cool as 1960s Keith Richards but it’ll definitely make you cooler for sure. It’s a beautiful instrument, easy on the ear and eye alike. When used for rock ’n’ roll, the threat of feedback squeal gives it a little sense of danger, but if avoided, its bright, aerated tones are impossible not to like. There’s something alive and a little volatile about a fully hollow electric. At the neck pickup, it makes an impeccable platform for jazz comping and articulating note-busy phrases.

There are so many sweet spots with the Casino voice. The positioning of the three-way toggle switch might take a bit of adjustment if you are more accustomed to finding it mounted on the guitar’s shoulder, but the flip side of that equation is that it’s easily accessible for adjusting mid-song. That bridge pickup still has plenty of sting in it, trebly heat that thickens up nicely when you roll back the tone control. The P-90s have a little devilment in them, even if they might be set a little far from the strings for some players liking, especially if some spiky grit is required, but that is an easy fix with a shim. While it makes its name with the burgeoning rock ’n’ roll scene, the Stones and the Beatles and all those cats, the Casino makes an exceptional blues or jazz guitar.

If you are on a budget, this classy semi-hollow from Guild is hard to beat, and a great option for blues, jazz or rock 'n' roll. With its pioneering centre block design, the ES-335 is even more versatile and remains one of the guitar world's must-try electrics.

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