Daion Savage

I can honestly say that I have an unique Savage, cause my guitar was made in the early 80's and I'm the first owner of it. And I bought it from store last winter (2006). It had been hanging there more than twenty years (!). ( I think the rare looks, relatively high price and unknown brand scared the buyers). But since I saw it, I had to get immediately.

Finish; nothing really to complain about. Nice & clean. Body style is of course unique, whether you like it or not - I happen to like. Bridge is tele-like string thru body which looks good and works fine. Daion logo and brass gives it little more edge ;)

Tuners are also quite good, they have Daions own logo but I think they have been manufactured by some quality maker of late 70's. Maybe Gotoh? Overall, they do the job properly.

Neck is ok and it will get better as years go by. As I said in the beginning, the guitar hasn't been played before I bought it, so the frets are still sharp.

Pickups are powerful and I really like the possibility choose either single or humbucker. Pickups are japanese made (as the whole guitar) and have no caps.

Came with original green hard case. Luckily, because of the rare shape.

Sound is simply good. You can get the LP or the Strat out of this. Bright sound is wonderful and since my guitar is new, there is no hiss or other disturbances. And I haven't even got the best out of it.

I use my Savage with Fender Princeton Chorus and with Trace Elliott Twin Tramp amps. Mostly that's enough, sometimes I wake up the neighbours with Big Muff.

Everything was set ok, but because I'm left handed (and the guitar is right) I had to reverse the neck tail. It took few hours to set it good and it still isn't as good it used to be, but its getting there.

No flaws.

I haven't played live with this, because I mainly play bass. But I definitely would. It's seems reliable as hell, nothing like the new cheap shit. Strap buttons were little weak, but I replaced them with Marvin strap locks.

Daion company went down in the mid 80's, so nothing more about this.

I've played guitar and bass over ten years. I have (and have had) many guitars and basses like Fender Jazz Bass, Ibanez Musician (??78), Epi SG, Tokai Strat, Squier, Morris etc, cheap stuff. Daion is one of the best and I probably won't ever sell it. Love to have Power Mark XX though ;)

Made in the late 70's -early 80's in Japan.
22 frets.
Solid Body probably ash.
2 Vol. 2 Tone Potentiometers; 1 Pickup selection 3way switch; 1 2way phase switch.
2 Humbucker pickups no caps.
The pickups have the output of a dimarzio but I expect they are probably their own construction - very similar to Ibanez from that period.
Passive Electronic.
Neck appears maple with rosewood fretboard.
I have 2 of these; one is High Gloss Black and the other is White Cream, both have a plastic pickguard with the look of brushed chrome with a bit of bronzy patina.
The form of this guitar is what I really am crazy about - it's kinda exagerated stratty with a inverted curved end that makes it look like somebody took a bite out of it's bottom bout. I often think it looks very rickenbackerish because it's long offset cutaway horns. and it has a wider bout than a strat - giving it more of a les paul weight.
and sometimes I think it's like a PRS - what more could you want from one electric guitar!?!
The bridge is a lovely fixed massive solid brass string thru body setup with individual string guides also made of brass (does need to be polished now and then).
The 3+3 tuners are of a schaller variety with the daion tuning fork logo affixed to the back of each - may or may not have been made by daion. At any rate they look very rich and workas you would expect a better schaller to.
The neck is very PRS-ish.
One of mine came with a form fitted case - which would probably be very difficult to find for my other cause the form is so unusual..

Sounds great; I'm sorry, although I sold instruments for a living for many years I have a difficult time describing sound. All I can say about this guitar is that it is extremely flexible. I have honestly owned hundreds of guitars and have never seen a more flexible guitar in terms of output in a passive electronic.

My 2 guitars were probably at least 15 years old when I got them so I cant comment on factory delivery, but based on their condition I have this to say:
Action is completely adjustable; Truss rod at head; 4 bolt neck plate; individually adjustable bridge pieces.
The 2 humbuckers are fully adjustable as on a les paul, in addition each of the pole peices of each coil (12 poles) are adjustable for height (proximity to string) with an allen wrench.
Extremely well crafted, the only flaw I find with the construction is that they put a stupid logo sticker on the fretboard of the last fret that looks kinda cheapo - one could remove it easliy enough (one of mine no longer has it) but because the guitar is more than 20 years old and in excellent condition I'm leaving it on there so it is original - but it looks crappy.

Definately a Gig Axxe - I wish I had an electric gig to play it at!
The hardware has the durability of anything I have ever seen on an electric guitar.
The finish is also on a par with the best nnames in the business.
Extremely dependable despite their age, I would probably take both of mine to a gig just to show off the 2 colors!

N.A. - Daion, apparently associated with Terada guitars; hand crafted in Japan is rumoured to have gone bankrupt in 1982. At any rate, they have not been active for a number of years and I only have mine for a few years now.

I've been playing for about 35 years and I'm still a fairly mediocre player probably because I spent too much time spreading my attentions among other instruments..
If it were lost or stolen I'd first have a good cry and then continue searching for others ( I want as many daions as I can find - I am obsessed..) Overall I have to say I choose Daion because they are extremely well built and quite unique in their design incorporating classic features in a well balanced lutherial concoction! I would suggest you get you hands on one except for the fact that I want them all so I'll have to close by saying: STAY AWAY, THESE GUITARS SUCK, DON'T EVER BUY ONE - just send me an e-mail to tell me where I can get it!