The tuner change could be done with an aftermarket bushing as I noted above, but it's highly doubtful that a decal logo would have been applied over the finish by Terada.Īnything is possible, but the origins of this guitar are suspect & worth investigating carefully before purchase. Therefore, we're back to: Is this an Elitist from 2011? Again, going with probabilities, I would think not. All Terada-Elite/Elitist hollowbodies from 2009 and earlier (except the Broadway) used a different font, characterized by a short-center-lined 'E'. In 2010, Epiphone began standardizing their headstock logo font to the one shown on this guitar. But even if that were the case, the labels on this guitar would be incorrect because they read Elitist rather than Elite.Īnother factor which assures that the OP's pictured guitar is not from 2001, is the fact that the headstock logo font pictured was not used on Elitist Casinos until approx 2010. It's possible that some Elite Casinos were manufactured towards the end of 2001, prior to their release in 2002 - personally, I've never seen one, but it's certainly within the realm of possibility. By the 2004 model year, the name had formally been changed to Elitist, due to a copyright issue with Gretsch if I recall correctly. But the serial number doesn't look right to me, and the Elitist Water Decal looks strange as well.ĭuane, the Elite Casino was released in 2002. I had a 2001 1965 Elitist Casino for a short while, so they do exist. Seems they changed the TRCs between models and years. On the other hand my other Elite Epiphones have Gibson style 2-screw TRCs that are engraved GIBSON (not Elite or Elitist). The 3-screw trussrod cover however would be correct, see above. As an Elitist Casino 1965 VS it should have Grover tuners:.The Elitist label is indeed a print and not a sticker:.as well, and that is a 2011 model made at Terada plant Japan). The serial number would point to 2011 rather than 2001 on an Elitist model (my Casino Elitist serial starts with T1.

The Elite series started in 2002, and was later relabeled to Elitist (in 2004 I guess) - so it is unlikely that this is a guitar from 2001 if it is a genuine Elitist model.

However here are some things to consider: I'm not able to decide if that guitar is a fake or not.

I searched the code to find that the guitar was made in 2001, but other Casinos I've found made around that time have the Grover tuners, while from pictures, this clearly does not.Īlso, the sticker of the 'Epiphone Elitist', isn't it supposed to be a direct print rather than a sticker? But the back of the headstock raises an eyebrow. Looking at purchasing an Elitist Casino that I've found online.Įverything generally seems ok.

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