I come from a long line of guitar players and they are all amazed at the quality of the Korean made Casino. I love this guitar and so does anyone whose played it. I'm sure to incite a riot here with the tone wood efficionados here but that's my opinion. and if you plug into an amp and play, it's even less. 'm sure that tone wood makes a difference. The Kent Armstrong Pickups are magic and a huge upgrade from the stock ones. Adding premium electronics, pickups, nut/bridge and the bigsby make all the difference. I have a '67 335 and while structurally these guitars differ (with the center block in the 335) they are very comparable in playability and quality. That being said, I would put this guitar up against any Elitist. Could I get $850 for this guitar? Probably not.
I figure I have about $350 into this guitar which brings me up to $850 with the bigsby. I'm talking pots, nut, bridge, switch, jacks, pups, machines and everything that's not glued down. You can take a MIK and upgrade everything.
