Dillion DL800GT Pro Series

This is a "one of a kind prototype" of Dillion's brand-new Model DL800GT, a Korean-made Les Paul Goldtop copy. It came with a certificate signed by John Dillion saying this guitar is "Number 1 of 1", and was made in March 2005. This is an upgraded version of Dillion's DL600GT which has received consistent rave reviews on Harmony Central. This guitar has a solid arch top and bound mahogany body with bound set neck, rosewood fingerboard, bone nut, hand polished jumbo frets with large MOP inlays, "professional" chrome hardware, and two P-90 soapbar-style pickups. It also has a new feature called the Dillion rear pocket, which permits easier access to the upper fret register. The neck is medium-size...not the baseball-bat size neck common to many Pauls. I have medium hands, and this neck suits me. This guitar weighs about a pound less than the Gibson Les Paul's I've played.

Came with a locking plush-lned hard-shell case, strap, truss rod wrench, and polishing cloth.

This guitar has great singing sustain and harmonic overtones. It is extremely responsive to pick attack. You can coax smooth mellow jazz tones out of this guitar, or make it scream, bark, and moan. Best tone of any Les Paul or clone I've played. Perfect for my blues-style of play.

I play through either a vintage Fender Deluxe Reverb or Gibson GA-5 Goldtone, with no effects. This guitar sounds fabulous through both.

I'm not ususally picky about fit and finish of a guitar, unless it affects sound and/or playablilty. But, for the purpose of this review, I examined this guitar very closely. While I suspect there may be at least one flaw on this guitar somewhere...I couldn't find it. Action was set perfect for me...low, but still high enough for easy string-bending. Frets were level and nicely polished, with no sharp edges. P-90 pickups were adjusted high and close to the strings, maximizing output Intonation was right on.

This is a solidly-built guitar with quality components. The strap buttons are larger in diameter and fit closer to the body than most I've seen...more secure if you're not inclined to install strap locks.

I haven't needed any customer support.

I've been playing blues and R&B over 40 years. I also play a stock Yamaha AEX502 and a Fender Strat with Van Zandt pickups. I've always loved the Gibson Les Paul sound, but could never get used to their heavy weight, and their either baseball bat size, or skinny 60's necks.

I bought this guitar off ebay based on the rave reviews for the Dillion DL600GT on Harmony Central. I'd looked for a DL600GT for several months when this newer and upgraded model became available. I was really hoping to find a guitar with the same great sustain, bite, and harmonic overtones of a vintage P-90's equipped Les Paul, but with the comfort of lighter weight and the easier playability of a medium-size neck...at a price that wouldn't put me on the street. I found all that and more with this guitar. I love it!