Though frequently mistaken by casual observers for the more famous Gibson ES-335, Epiphone Casinos might be the most commonly heard thinlines. It’s also an exceptional guitar that feels more expensive than it is-even though, by import standards, it’s not exactly inexpensive itself.

Like those famous hollowbodies, the Beijing-built Eastman T64/v is sparkling, exciting, mellow, smooth, jangly, or rowdy depending on your mood, musical mode, and the gear you put at the other end of your cable. But when it comes to thinlines that feel truly alive in hand, few can match the hollowbody Epiphone Casino, its cousin the Gibson ES-330, and, by extension, the very Casino/330-inspired Eastman T64/v reviewed here. And there’s a resonance that can veer from beautifully, tonefully flowering to teetering at the edge of feedback. The larger physical dimensions lend the feel of an old-world instrument. Whether it’s an old Vox, a Rickenbacker, Gretsch, or Gibson, thinlines sound and feel different. If you’ve never had the pleasure of a session with a thinline electric, you’re missing a world of sounds and overtones that are hard to come by elsewhere.

Gibson es 330 vs epiphone casino