Gibson did the deal in 1957 to get at Epiphone’s successful upright bass business, with the guitar lines an afterthought that happened to come along with the brand name. READ MORE: An oral history of the Fender Stratocaster
The brand’s original Casino was launched in 1961 as one of the models Gibson introduced following its acquisition of Epiphone, a company based for many years in New York City. With the recent launch of a made-in-USA Casino, Epiphone chose to mark an important 60th birthday in some style.
