Product: Dillion DJ60E
Price Paid: GBP 250
Submitted
07/12/2007
at
05:39am
by
J T Raja
Features
:
No Opinion
This is a Korean built copy of the early 60s Gibson J160E which owes much of its fame and popularity to the purchase in 1962 and extensive use of a matching pair by George Harrison and John Lennon. The body resembles the 'round-shouldered' antique sunburst Gibson J45 but the guitar has a bound fretboard with trapezoid inlays, a discreet single coil pickup at the end of the fretboard above the soundhole, single volume and tone controls and a jack socket on the lower edge.
Sound
:
10
The guitar has a great, bright acoustic tone and is light and comfortable to hold. The pickup gives a pleasant warm middle-heavy sound which, when cranked up with treble boost gives itself away as the almost piano like sound you hear on 'I Feel Fine'. For the true anorak, it was Lennon's J160E leaning on his amplifier which produced the feedback sound which appears at the beginning of the track.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
8
Apart from tuning the guitar arrived ready to play and well set up. Only two small criticisms. The cut edge of the scratchplate was not well sanded down and therefore a bit sharp. Secondly the control knobs were rather tacky looking shiny gold metal with plastic 'pearl' centres. They were screw-on types using a small allen key. When I removed them the pot shafts underneath were the standard 'splined' type so I was able to replace them with gold plastic 'skirt' type volume and tone knobs which look suitably authentic.
Reliability/Durability
:
10
Stays in tune, feels great and the build quality is fantastic. Having paid over ??2000 for a Gibson a couple of years ago and found the plating on the hardware bubbling off after two years, this Dillion is an absolute bargain.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Overall Rating
:
10
I've been playing for over 30 years, I would replace this guitar like for like if lost or stolen. I love its looks, style, balance and weight. Put on a black polo neck, sling this round your neck and you'll never look or feel cooler.
Product: Dillion DJ60E
Price Paid: US $341.00 w/money order
Submitted
12/30/2004
at
11:44am
by
Dave
Features
:
8
I purchased this guitar New through Detour Music Supply, and received a good deal.
It was a nice surprise to see a solid top guitar (spruce) with these features at such a low price. Mahogany sides and back, binding, and a single coil neck pickup.
Sound
:
7
I was amazed at how full and warm this guitar sounded acoustically.
With the .12 Pyramid flats added, it really had that "sound" nailed when plugged in. The pickup is a tad weak, but so is the one on the Gibson I've played. Volume and tone controls do what they're suppose to do, and help shape the sound a bit.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
8
The guitar's finish is VERY nice...a spot on cherry/sunburst stain, and rosewood fingerboard.
The guitar came with a cheap set of strings, which I immediately changed to .12 Pyramid flats. As expected, a slight adjustment of the truss rod was needed,and easy to do since a tool was included.
The action was pretty good to begin with, and I changed the plastic saddle to a ceramic one. The knobs were the top hat kind, but gold topped with pearloid. These were changed to correct Gibson type knobs; again, my choice.
I've seen the Epiphone models of this type, and they don't come close...
Reliability/Durability
:
8
Even though the instrument is outfitted with some lower-end plastic parts (strap button, nut, saddle), it seems very sturdy and stage ready.
The tuning pegs, while plastic, are the Kluson style and hold firm when it comes to tuning.
You may want to change some of these parts, but it's no big deal since it's minor and you're already saving a load of cash!
Customer Support
:
10
Any correspondance I had with Dillion was answered quickly by John Dillion himself. He is very personable and cares about the instruments he makes. Rich at Detour Music Supply was very helpful too, and gave me a nice guarantee. While it's too early to tell about instrument durability, I'm confident I could get plenty of answers and support from the company.
Overall Rating
:
10
Since I portray John Lennon in a Beatles tribute band, it was important that the guitar have that look AND sound. In both cases the instrument really is a dead-ringer for it's Gibson counterpart. You can't help but stare at it and shake your head....
I own and play two Rickenbacker 325's, and it kind of went against my grain to not have the actual Gibson version. Financial status dictated otherwise, and as far as I'm concerned this IS the real thing.
As anal as I am and for what I do, I will probably spray the headstock black and place a Gibson logo on it.(apologies John..) The oval orange Dillion label inside will remain, and I will not hesitate to tell from whence it came!
