Epiphone "ES 230 TD" Casino (More photo's - more details)

Being the model John Lennon used to play and later on Noel

Gallagher this particular model remains popular among collectors.

It should be all original. This one came to me in a bad condition.

There were deep carvings in the neck and back. At that time it
seems to be cool behaviour to treat your guitar this way and
having placed DiMarzio's on it! On this guitar they did some 
work on the cavity for the bridge pick up but it is not visible
at the outside at this moment

Though not original I refinished both neck and back.

This instrument now has the old ease of playing again.

Due to the scratches and carvings the neck didn't

had a nice feeling anymore and I figured it

had to be playable in the first place! The back of
the body has been provided with some layers of
clear lacquer so no staining process.

As this guitar has been put up for sale I will describe it as 

securely as possible. The back of the head with its' original

tuners. As for the screws: I don't know....

As I stated earlier the neck has been refinished and also the

stain had to be removed so this spot might be interesting to

potential buyers. For collectors it all comes about originality.

And another shot of this neck / body construction. Be aware!

This is the original neck and NOT a replacement. The number

on the back of the head is a match with the sticker inside.

This is a real player and if someone is planning to make 

it "road worn" - It looks a bit like a pity to me!

The back really wasn't that bad and then 

the original staining process still is there.

Another possible issue could be the neck / body angle

which can result in a too low bridge placement. To my

opinion in fact too high in order to have the magnetic

poles right under the strings so I placed a plastic ring

underneath the metal caps of the pick ups in order to

get a stronger signal.

The angle is a good one as this picture proves.

And here the neck pick up and the distance to the strings.

I haven't played this guitar that much though I know

that about the lowest 5 to 7 frets have been replaced.

The neck bindings however are intact! Width of the

nut: 41 mm what in fact makes it too narrow for 

me as a mainly classical guitar player. Never any 

damage there as a repaired neck is not uncommon.

The front of the head that has been refinished 

as well. Original truss rod cover and topnut.

It might be another issue: I'm not sure wether if all 

knobs are out of 1967. The switch is from 1967 as are 

the capacitors and pots. A lot of these guitars lost their

scratchplate and the prefix on it: "E". It is all still

there on this example.

This guitar came with a frequensator tailpiece in fact not 

uncommon on these type of guitars. In order to have less

tension in the higher strings once tuned, a player could

change the two parts. Original bridge and pick-up  caps.

This old lady aged gracefully so some traces in 

the lacquer are inevitable. It "crazed" a bit.

  

Therefore another spot that shows this effect.

The original blue label and the number of this guitar.

At that time the Kalamazoo workforce was responsible

for these guitars. Original model nr. E230TD. This

number corresponds with that printed on the back

of the head.