Why did the Beatles play Epiphone guitars?

Question:The Beatles were the most successful band in the world...they could have afforded any guitars. But they often chose to play Epiphones....Epiphones are considered affordable....they are not as expensive as Gibsons for example...I wonder why they chose that?
John Lennon played an Epiphone Casino, which he sanded the paint off of....Paul McCartney's acoustic was an Epiphone Texan, etc.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: The Beatles were the most successful band in the world...they could have afforded any guitars. But they often chose to play Epiphones....Epiphones are considered affordable....they are not as expensive as Gibsons for example...I wonder why they chose that?
John Lennon played an Epiphone Casino, which he sanded the paint off of....Paul McCartney's acoustic was an Epiphone Texan, etc.

Back then, Epiphones were not owned by Gibson. They were an independant company that made good guitars and imported a lot to England and Europe. Fenders and Gibsons were very, very expensive in England and Europe at the time. When the Beatles started out they couldn't afford them. The Casino is a hollow body so you can play it without an amp for practice & songwriting, etc. They also liked the single-coil sound of the pick-ups - they give the early Beatle recordings that metalic chimey sound. Later, Gibson bought the company and turned it into a Japanese factory for making Gibson copies. The Casino and Sheraton were still made because they had a good reputation by then.

they got free from Epiphone...

The Beatles did use other guitars, but apparently felt more comfortable with the Epiphone.
http://www.ezinearticles.com/?The-Beatle...