Dillion DL653

This guitar is made in Korea. I got it during the winter of 2003, and it is very solid. I got the trans-black flame maple top finish, and it does have a real solid mahogany body. Dillion actually does construct their instruments with quality materials (wood) and it shows in this guitar. Finish holds up like any other guitar. The better you treat it, the better the finish will last. It?s definitely not a Gibson; however, it is a damn good Gibson copy. It really does have all the top features you would in want in a great guitar, but without a 2,000 dollar price tag. If you are actually thinking about getting an Epiphone LP guitar, please don?t. Although Epiphones LP?s sometimes have a nice appearance, they always end up falling short of the real thing. With Epiphones you really don?t know what type of material (wood) your guitar is going to be made with. I feel the craftsmanship of some of the Epiphone LP guitars are bellow average. The material that your guitar is made out of is crucial for sound quality, and Dillion (or least the guitar I got) does not cut corners in this department.

It comes with 3 humbucker pickups, and for stock pickups they actually sounded pretty decent. I was really surprised about the sound the stock pickups could generated, but like most foreign made guitars you know that down the road you are going to have to replace the pickups. It?s sort of like buying a house that comes with furniture. You don?t buy the house for the furniture; you buy the house due to the way the house (structure) is constructed. The pickups that replaced my old stock ones are as follows: Rhythm with a Gibson 57 Classic, Middle with a Gibson 57 Classic, and Treble with a Gibson 57 Classic Plus.

Quick note?.because this is a foreign made guitar with foreign made pickups there might have to be some routing in the pickup cavities of the guitar to properly install American pickups. Also the pots in the guitar might have to be changed to 500k pots so that they can actually handle pushing the correct/true humbucking sound. While your at it (if you know how to), make sure all your wiring is correctly soldered. In any case or event, talk to you local guitar shop guy if you decide you want to modify your guitar. I had to have some routing done, but fortunately I didn?t have to change the pots until later on down the road.

What you see is what you get. A good picture of this guitar is at:
http://www.dillionguitars.com/guitar/electric/DL/DL653/index.html
My guitar came with 2 tone, 2 volume, and one 3 way selector switched that all worked properly. The stock strings sucked, but all stock strings suck. For being bought over the internet the action was not that bad, but like most guitars it is always a good idea to have them set up professionally by someone. The stock tuners kick ass. They have never failed me in a live show.

ROCK SOLID. This guitar is extremely reliable. I frequently use it for live events; mostly playing in bars covering classic rock n roll. I have never had a problem with this instrument. I?m not going to lie. I originally bought this guitar so that I could whore it out for a while until I had the money to purchase a real Standard Gibson Les Paul. Odd thing is (believe it or not) that I have had the money to get a real Gibson Les Paul, but have decided to keep this thing instead. This instrument simply gets the job done and has never failed me.

I have never had the opportunity to deal with customer support, so I really couldn?t tell you how Dillion operates towards its customers. From what others have said, it sounds like Dillion is a good business to deal with on a one-on-one basis.

This is an excellent little guitar that Dillion has made available to the guitar community. The overall features of this guitar and the way it is so solidly constructed from the ground up make it a standout in any crowd. I would highly recommend going out and replacing your pickups with a style that is your taste of music, get your guitar professionally set up correctly, and invest in a good set of guitar strap-looks.

2004 - Koren made, solid
Mine is a Quilted Top in Maple finish. Very nice !!! Finish looks like it will hold up well over the years. Gibson should take note of that! Over-all quality is not as Pro as say a Gibson.

3 humbucker pickups (read below), rosewod fretboard, Les Paul Style body
Mine came with free Korg guitar tuner (not needed), strap (yuk), polishing cloth (crap), and very nice locking hardshell case,... black with black lining. LP shaped.
No name brand tuners, but work better than I thought. Wont replace them anytime soon.

Sounds very nice! Close to an LP, but doesnt get there sound wise. Easy to play. With the three pickups and toggle switch you can definately get some vartety in sound!! Sounds great coming through my Oahu tube amp. With my solid state, its ok at best. It doesnt appear to like my marshall shredmaster distortion pedal...bummer.
Seems to play Jazz, blues, and rock perfectly. Metal....i honestly dont think so. But someone on this site would disagree (see below)
NOT too heavy at all.
Stays in tune very well for casual playing for hours. At a heavy gig...i dont know yet.
No need to change the pickups! Thats a BONUS! Though I am using it for home practice, band practice, etc. Not my Live-main axe. If I wanted it to be, I would definately change the P?u's but that would be like 300 dollars. For more on the pickups, read below.

First off let me start out by saying that many of the guitars pictured on the dillion web site are sometimes different looking than when you see them being sold by a dealer (basically in person) Some of the finishes seem different, knobs, etc. I have seen 4 other comments on H central about differences in their guitars. Just so you know!

With my guitar, it has chrome tuners. The website says vintage green plastic. Im not complaining at all. Im just noting the differences. Also, the quilted and unquilted finishes seem very different from the web site. Especially the Amber finish!

Another difference with my guitar is the knobs are orange!!! Its the only one I saw that is like this. Sort of a turn off. I would prefer (and will buy) gold knobs. Mine were made to replicate vintage knobs I am guessing.

Last, the control knobs are "whacky" (what my tech says after I had him take a look at it). The website says 2 tone, 2 volume. Other sites say 1 tone, 3 volume. From what me and my tech can come up with the neck has 1 tone and 1 volume, same with the bridge, but the middle pickup acts only like a fader! no volume increase at all...slight tonal increase/decrease. Almost like a dead humbucker cause it is seriously useless. wasnt thrilled about all that.

Anyways, Dependable guitar.
Guitar was set up ok. Horrible strings, changed them. Tweaked the action.

The finish is very nice. Impressive is the word im thinking.
YES, there are a few minor blemishes in the finish and in the wood, but its on close inspection only. Not as nice as Gibson/Fenders, but better definately than any Epiphone.

Seems reliable! Would definately gig with it after some changes/mods. Not without a backup. But thats standard rule for any guitar.
Finish seems like it will last. Straplocks might need to be replaced if playing live, though.
Only dislike is a "made in korea" sticker on the rear of the headstock. Its small but the guitar is so nice that when your eye catches the sticker you cant help but get nauseas. Sticker was removed within seconds!
Also, there is no serial number! It could be on the neck inside, or somewhere inside, but im going to take a wild guess and say there isnt any. I wish they had a serial number where the sticker was. Oh well. From shopping around for this Dillion and some others i seriously think that these are made in small runs, which is why I wouldnt mind a serial number, you know.
If the guitar or customer support get to be a problem any time in the future, I WILL come back and post a follow-up.

Ive emailed J. Dillion many times. Its never taken him more than a day to respond back. He seems very nice and helpful.
He always refers me to Tony at musiciansmate and says "tell him I sent you, youll get a great deal".......who never gives me a great deal. Infact I emailed 7 Dillion dealers regarding price and availability, etc. many times and he was always by far the most expensive. His response was, "They (dealers) are not supposed to be selling the guitars that low, its wrong, dont buy from them."
I just rolled my eyes after reading that email.

If i ever needed maintenance on it, I think Dillion would be helpful to my needs. If not, I live no more than 15 minutes away from his NC office, and I have no problem with going to jail.

I bought mine from Bill Roche (Dillion dealer) based out in Arizona.
Very nice guy.
2 year warranty! Very good. Better than Fenders bullshit liftetime limited.

Excellent guitar! Good price. I Was looking to buy a Gibson LP, way too damn pricey. Epiphones, please....I chose this guitar based on availability along with the fact that I found it in amber finish and with a quilted top.
this guitar suits me perfectly for what I play and where I am going to use it. I would recommend this guitar to anyone!

As of now, I dont really need another guitar, BUT I am acually searching for a guitar, and guess what, its actually a DILLION! Yep, the Dillion DL Extreme Blues in violin or blueburst finish. They are no longer made (by like almost 2 years), but dealers still have the picture of the extreme blues up for sale on their sites. The Dillion site still has them pictures without the words discontinued after it. Guess this is because they are still making the Extreme and not the extreme BLUEs.
John Dillion told me they stopped making them because the P90s werent a big seller. ......................... Then change the fucking pickups!!!! Why discontinue youre best looking guitar over something like that?!
Web site isnt the best. Needs to be updated.
So, the only way I'll get my hands on one is probably Ebay, and in used condition.

But, rest assured. Dillion seems to be a an excellent bargain. Only reason to go broke for a Gibson/Fender would be if you wanted to be serious and buy a top of the line guitar. Dont let the "Dillion" headstock and the price fool you. Youre getting MORE than what you are paying for. Epiphone is selling a close guitar like this in black finish only for like 650 new. I doubt you get nothing more than a soft gig bag with it.
Been playing long enough to know its good for the price. If you are looking for the Holy Grail of guitars, KEEP LOOKING.

Already mentioned above!!
3 pickups on a Les paul is awesome!

Smooth Jazz...to AC/DC....to death metal.
I figured I'd have to change the pickups, but much to my suprise, I think this guitar sounds better then my 1987 Gibson Les Paul Satndard.

Absolutely perfect out of the box!!
Even in tune!
I can't find one flaw

Actually heavier than my Gibson, seems solid as a rock!

They deserve a 19 in this catagory.
John himself called me to see how I was liking the guitar.
See if anyone at Gibson or Fender give a rats ass if you buy their guitar.

I would buy this guitar again in a heartbeat!
Mine is Cherry Sunburst, and I am wanting a BLACK one so bad I can taste it!! I paid $600.00 for this with a gig bag, and it was worth every cent.

See the DL653 at http://www.dillionguitars.com/guitar/electric/DL/DL653/index.html
This is a three passive humbucker model. Four knobs. Web site says two volume + two tone -> not true on my guitar. It has three volumes (one per pickup) + one tone (that acts on all pickups). A nine in this category, not because it has every bell and whistle (no tremolo bar, for example), but because every feature it does attempt it gets abso-f***in-lutely right. Make in Korea, by a luthier that knows what the hell he's doing. Go Korea! Keep this up, we're all in trouble! Incredible quality.h

It's a Les Paul style guitar. Hate to call it a copy. It's one rockin' piece of gear. I bought it thinking I'd have to change the pickups, but to my surprise, they are as good as a set of original Gibson '57 bumhuckers! The finish stole my heart, the sound stole my soul. Clean bell sounds. Tons of sound variations by combining the three position switch and the three pickup volumes. Just about any Les Paul sound you've ever heard. Plus some you haven't. Seriously, no reason to drop $2k on a Gibson.

Again, superlative finish quality. Not one finish flaw. Bridge, neck, action, just about perfect from the factory. Sure, I might mess around a bit with the truss rod, maybe give the frets a minor dressing (the frets are not as low as a Custom Les Paul, but, with a bit of courage, they might come close!). Really, for this price, the quality is surprising. The only reason to spend more on a Gibson is ... bragging rights ... that you own a Gibson. Think first, play both, and decide for yourself. I swear I don't work for the company, by the way. I'm just so f&*!ing thrilled at not having to spend $2000!!!!!
To be fair, one minor flaw I found is one of the volume knobs: it's pressed too hard on the potentiometer, and it rubs the surface a little. Easily fixed, just pried it slightly up with a screwdriver rested on a thin piece of wood (to save the finish). There! Perfect now.

Uh, ... have only had it one day, so stay tuned. You WILL hear from me if I sour on it. For now, it seems on par with the best, so I don't see why it wouldn't last. Again, I'll let you know.

Sucky web site. But it seems it's a small company, just starting out, so let's give them a break. Haven't had the opportunity to react with them, though, so I don't know how responsive they are.

Been playing ~20 years. Also have a Mexican Strat (upgraded to Noiseless single coils), and a Steinberger Spirit (the one I put the vintage '57s on). Ampeg JetII tube combo to futz around with, and a large JBL PA for gigs (+POD XT). I did a lot of reasearch before I bought it. Had a real hard-on for Les Pauls, and wasn't about to settle for Epiphone. Go figure! This thing won me over. It's beatiful, sounds great, plays like a dream, what the hell more can I ask for?