Gary Clark Jr. is one of the most exciting performers of our generation with a totally original style that fuses rock, pop, acoustic and electric blues styles, and rhythm & blues into a sound all his own that has made him a living legend to both music fans and musicians.
Gary Clark Jr. is everywhere — on tour with the Rolling Stones and on stage with Eric Clapton or at the White House. But no matter where he’s playing, he’s never seen without his favorite guitar, an Epiphone Casino.
Gary Clark Jr. has joined with Epiphone to commemorate his debut major label album, Blak & Blu, with a classic Casino design featuring Gibson USA P-90 pickups in a one of a kind Blak & Blu Burst color finish.
“I pretty much knew from day one that I needed a few things for my arsenal and the Epiphone Casino is the one guitar that always stood out,” said Clark. “Getting my first Casino changed my life. And my new Epiphone “Blak & Blue” Casinos are amazing guitars. They’re a dream. I love ‘em!”
CLASSIC CASINO STYLE
The Casino has changed little since its initial debut in 1961 and for his premier signature guitar, Clark chose to keep the same classic Casino body shape and style that nearly all Casinos have shared since the early 60s.
“I like the way Epiphone Casinos play right off the shelf,” said Clark. “To be honest, the original prototype of the new “Blak & Blue” was perfect as-is.” Clark’s new Signature “Blak & Blu” Casino is a Laminated Maple, 5-ply (Maple/Birch) hollowbody, the source of the Casino’s legendary chimey tones and easily controllable gritty feedback.
The body is finished in Clark’s custom new “Blak & Blu” Burst color finish with single-ply white binding around the top and back.
The Mahogany neck has 22 medium jumbo frets and a 1960’s SlimTaper™ D Profile that’s inspired by the best vintage Casino’s in Epiphone’s collection. Like vintage models, the neck joint is glued to the body at the 16th fret.
The scale length is a standard 24.75” with a Rosewood fingerboard with pearloid “Parallelogram” inlays. The smooth fingerboard has single-ply white binding and a 14” radius. The sloped dovetail headstock, seen on virtually all Epiphone archtops since the early 60s, has a 2-ply (White/Black) “Bell” shaped truss rod cover with a vintage “E” in white and 1.68” nut.
Though the Casino is a hollow body, it’s perfectly balanced in size and sound. It’s easy to summon your own brand of dynamics on any size stage and at any volume.
GIBSON U.S.A. P-90s
The P-90 single coil pickup first appeared in the late 40s in archtops made at the now- legendary Gibson & Epiphone factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan where the Casino was first designed in the early 60s. P-90s were originally intended as a powerful yet sensitive jazz guitar pickup. But they truly found their voice in the Epiphone Casino starting in 1961.
The thinline style body of the Casino, combined with the P-90’s mighty Alnico magnets, have perhaps powered more GRAMMYs and more groundbreaking recordings than any other pickup—from The Beatles and Rolling Stones to Oasis and Radiohead.
Gary Clark Jr.Clark’s new Epiphone “Blak & Blue” Casino features the same legendary Gibson P-90 pickups, wound with the same attention to detail as the handmade originals with a P-90R in the rhythm position and a P-90T in the lead. Both “Blak & Blue” P-90s pickups are powered by standard Casino controls for volume and tone with a high quality Switchcraft™ 3-way toggle with a white cap and black washer.
SERIOUS EPIPHONE HARDWARE
Epiphone leads the industry in making sure all of its instruments feature the highest quality hardware.
The “Blak & Blue” nickel bridge is an ABR™ Tune-o-matic and Grover® Rotomatics™ 18:1 ratio machine heads make for easy and precise intonation and a Bigsby tailpiece.
o Neck Material: Mahogany
o Neck Shape: 1960’s SlimTaper™; D Profile
o Neck Joint: Glued-In, 16th fret
o Truss Rod: Adjustable
o Truss Rod Cover: 2-ply (White/Black); “Bell” shape with vintage “E” in white
o Scale Length: 24.75″
o Fingerboard Material: Rosewood with pearloid “Parallelogram” inlays
o Fingerboard Radius: 14″
o Frets: 22, medium-jumbo
o Bridge Pickup: Gibson U.S.A P-90T
o Neck Pickup: Gibson U.S.A. P-90R
o Controls
– Bridge Volume
– Neck Volume
– Bridge Tone
– Neck Tone
o Pickup Selector: Swithcraft™ 3-way toggle with white cap and black washer
o Output Jack: Swithcraft™ 6.3mm (1/4″) Output Jack
o Knobs: Black “Top Hats” with metal inserts (Volume/Tone) and metal pointers
o Bridge: ABR™ Tune-o-matic
o Tailpiece: Bigsby Tremelo
o Nut Width: 1.68″
o Hardware finish: Nickel Plated
o Body Top Binding: Single Ply (Pure White)
o Body Back Binding: Single Ply (Pure White)
o Fingerboard Binding: Single Ply (Pure White)
o Machine Heads: Grover® Rotomatics™ 18:1 ratio
o Includes Hand Signed Certificate of Authenticity
o Presentation Binder with Photograph
o User’s Manual
o Truss Rod Wrench
o Epiphone Poster
o Epiphone Bumper Sticker
