Epiphone refreshes its Broadway, Casino and Sheraton arch-top electrics in classic, purist-friendly finishes

Epiphone Broadway 2023 – now available in Wine Red and Vintage Sunburst
(Image credit: Epiphone)

Epiphone has just unveiled a refresh of its arch-tops and no one is going to need the fainting couch at the colour schemes the Gibson-owned brand has gone for, finishing its classic Casino, Broadway and Sheraton electric guitars in Vintage Sunburst, Wine Red, and what the heck, Natural.

The design principle here is sound; you don’t mess with the classics. The Coca-Cola company learned that to its cost. Epiphone is giving us what we want, and for those with regular budget, this offers a taste of vintage guitar design at a fraction of the price.

There are six models in total, two finish options each, with right and left-handed models available, and all ship in a premium gig-bag and retail for a grand or less. 

The Broadway is the big-boxed option, the single-cut hollowbody with gold hardware and a stateliness of design and tone that’s beginning to be put to work on some Joe Pass-style comping. 

It is a serious yet affordable jazz guitar, with a rich voice courtesy of its Alnico Classic Pro Humbuckers, a bound resonant spruce top and laminated maple back and sides. It has a classy Frequensator Split Trapeze tailpiece, a multi-ply tortoiseshell ‘guard with Foil “E” Epiphone branding. It is equipped with a set of quality Wilkinson tuners and a Graph Tech nut.

The maple neck is a SlimTaper ‘60s C profile, topped with an Indian laurel fingerboard, 20 frets, and MOP/abalone inlays so you can be sure it looks good with your tux and polished Oxfords. It is a handsome guitar, available in Wine Red or Vintage Sunburst, and priced £/$999.

The Sheraton is a slimmer bodied semi-hollow, available in Natural or Vintage Sunburst. Its body is laminated maple, with 7-ply binding on the top, 3-ply on the back. The neck is mahogany, shaped into a SlimTaper ‘60s C profile and glued to the body. The 12” radius Indian laurel fingerboard seats 22 frets and the same MOP/Abalone inlays as the Broadway.

This, however, should sound quite different, and has has a pair of Epiphone ProBucker Mini-Humbuckers that offer a similar output to the full-sized humbucker but with a bit more presence and clarity in the upper registers – just the thing for a little sparkle and chime, particularly if you have a Vox AC30 to hand.

Like the Broadway, this has a LockTone bridge and the Frequensator tailpiece. The scale length is 24.75”. It is priced £779 / $899. 

Finally, and to the best-seller, the one that was made famous by Keith Richards, John Lennon and George Harrison, the Casino. This comes in Natural or Vintage Sunburst, has a pair of dog-ear P-90s, a Diamond-style trapeze tailpiece, and has a hollow body of layered maple.

Single-ply binding makes this look a little more stripped down. But it’s a Casino. The mojo speaks for itself. It has vintage deluxe tuners, a LockTone bridge, gold hat controls with silver inserts, and out of them all is the most affordable at £719 / $699. It looks the business, and proves that oftentimes the best new guitars are the ones that look and sound like old ones. 

For more details, head over to Epiphone.

Jonathan Horsley

Jonathan Horsley has been writing about guitars and guitar culture since 2005, playing them since 1990, and regularly contributes to MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitar World. He uses Jazz III nylon picks, 10s during the week, 9s at the weekend, and shamefully still struggles with rhythm figure one of Van Halen’s Panama.