Dillion DR1500QT

Updated Review (Titus Pullo)

* See Sound *

The bloom came off this rose fairly quickly after some A/B comparisons with other guitars with Humbucking pickups. As I said, I'm a single coil fan (TONE TONE TONE), and I did think the pickups in the 1500 sounded good, and they do, but they are SO one dimensional it's not amusing for $900 list guitar.

These pickups have two settings: Bright and brighter. Rolling off the tone is the usual humbucker mud. Seymour 59's, Pearly Gates and even 12 year old Godin Tetrads blow these things away.

I have since installed Tonerider Rebel P90s in the guitar, and after some pot work (500k did not wed so well with the single coils) was done by using the stock 500k volume and replacing the 500k tone with a 250k (CTS) and .22 cap, the guitar sounds SO much better and finally has some variety and pick responsiveness other than pinched harmonics.

Looking at the stock pots and switch, if this is the upgraded stuff over the 500 PRS copy, then heaven help the folks that bought that stuff. Whew. Why skip two decent pots on a guitar in this price range? MIM Fenders have far better pots and cost nearly two bills less.

Still plays well, though one of the tuners is blown out after only half a dozen string changes, and the switch is getting noisy. Set necks can be fussy (I have an HH showmaster), and I notice they "settle in" after a few years. Let's hope this one does the same.

Covered in first review

Covered in first review

I wish I were able to open up the control cover and look at the electronics in this guitar before raving about it in my first review. The pickup thing was my zeal with the guitar. These are attractive guitars that feel good and play well. The problem is, IMO, the corners cut on things like electronics. Could this guitar have come with better pickups? I think so for the price.

One gripe. I'm soooo sick of seeing every Dillion on Ebay or online advertised as "Rare" or "Not many made" or something implying that this is a one of a kind guitar. I guess those few that are made in Dillion's American shop (does it actually exist?) fit that bill; but most of this "rare" stuff is hogwash. It may be rare because there simply weren't many made on purpose because they're rebranded Korean guitars, or Dillion purposely makes small runs to keep total crap from underneath his name.

Prices on these are heading towards their MSRP, and that's going to kill this buzz unless attention to things like pots and switches are addressed.

Mahogany body with burl laminated top; the guitar has a PRS style body. Two Humbuckers w/a 3-way switch; tremolo with a twist: you can string through the body or through the back and set the bridge flat with spring tension, effectively defeating the tremolo (my choice).

24 3/4 inch scale length with 24 hand 2.7mm jumbo polished frets with a 12 inch neck radius and 1.7 inch nut width. I'd call the neck generic medium in shape. Non-locking tuners that, once tightened, aren't too bad at holding tune, but I'm seriously considering locking tuners as this guitar doesn't hold tune as well as some.

I'm a strat blues guy, and I own a showmaster HH and a Godin LG (96 model), so I have an idea what humbucking equipped guitars should sound like. This guitar fills a void in my collection, but if it were based on sound alone I'd probably sell the guitar; my Godin and Showmaster sound as good (or better) and are more versatile due to coil tapping and a mid-cut pull pot on the Godin. This guitar, however, IS gorgeous. The workmanship is top notch on mine with the exception of one bleed spot where the binding ends at the PRS cut-away area, and a few divots in the bridge finish. Body is flawless, as is the neck and head. I play through a Blues Jr. with an Epiphone Galaxie for backup, and use a little Marshall SS amp for practice. Pedals include a Route 66 and a digi-verb, and the crybaby, of course.

This guitar is very quiet and the sound is 8 on a 10 scale. Will go from crunch to twang. I'm used to more tonal variety, so that's why I don't give it a 10. If all I played were humbuckers without tapping I'd probably rate it higher. What do I Iike? Pinched harmonics make me wince to the point of tears (the way I like it). Also, the pots are VERY responsive. Don't like?

Well, this isn't Mr Dillion's fault. The ebay auction house (a pawn shop - "monster" something) shipped the guitar with the strings at full tension during a heat wave. Not smart. The guitar also had 9s on it, and it's spec'd for 10s. I thought for sure the nut was bad after sighting the neck a dozen times (looked straight to me) and putting up with first fret buzz no matter what I did. Turns out the neck needed relief and 10s raised the low E enough to setup and intonate the guitar to near perfect action - a smidgen over 1/16th at the 17th fret on the low E. It will buzz when picked hard, but I play with a lighter touch.

This guitar will stay home unless I install locking tuners and decide to risk marring the finish. This particular DR1500 came with turquoise finish, one that Mr Dillion doesn't recall making. It has no serial number, date or indication of any kind in any form anywhere on or in the body. This one could bring some money in the future. The color is a a dark/med turquoise blue to black fade, and I've never seen anything quite like it. That's why I bought it. The pawn shop told Mr Dillion the guitar was a trade in.

Oversized strap buttons. As I said, I doubt I'll gig with it: A stay at home keeper.

John Dillion must be swamped with email, because he replied to all three of mine. No warranty -- I bought it used and I'm sure it's over a year old.

I've been playing long enough to know how much I'll never learn! I currently own a Fender FMT strat w/Texas specials; two Fender Showmasters (one HH and one SSS); a 1995 Godin LG, and a Godin Acoustic (and a no-name ratty classical that looks like hell but plays great).

If this were lost or stolen I'm not sure it could be duplicated due to the color, but I'd certainly not hesitate to shop with Dillion again.

I love the look, plain and simple; the excellent sound is gravy.

I wanted a PRS style guitar but was not going to pay PRS prices. I googled till I dropped, and the Dillion was my choice. I don't think I went wrong.

If this guitar was coil tapped it would be heaven for me, but that's not what it is. It's a PRS on a budget (many say no, but come on, this is PRS right down to the knobs).

Look for one on ebay from a seller with good feedback, hope to god they know how to ship and then sit back and enjoy!

2005 Korean-made PRS copy with tremelo. It has 24 frets and a quilted maple top. It's configuration is a single tone, single volume, and 3-way toggle switch. Pickups are chrome-covered passive humbuckers.

The body is mahogany (well done) with a quilt maple top. Although the website states that the neck is also mahogany, I actually think it is maple judging by the weight of it, as well as the woodgrain that shows through the transparent finish. Not a big deal as the guitar is nicely done overall.

This is a sweet sounding guitar, although some might find the humbuckers a bit too bright for their tastes. It suits me fine however, and I see no reason for an immediate pickup change. I play primarily rock and blues, but this guitar would also do well with jazz and other genres of music. I run this guitar through either a Roland BC-60 310, or a Crate VRX212 and also use this with my Fender Princeton Chorus 2 x 10. With all three amps, this guitar sounds great. My effects are a BOSS ME-50 and through all the distortion settings, this guitar sounds very good. The tone control is very responsive and you can alter the sound of this guitar with just a slight turn. I would describe the sound of this guitar as in-between a strat and a les paul. On all three pickup settings, this guitar shines and I really can't say it has a bad tone.

This guitar is flawless. The set-up from the dealer was perfect set at 2/32" above the 17th fret, so you can get some nice low action on this guitar. The finish and the wood are nicely done, and I can't find one visible flaw on this guitar other than a hairline crack where the neck meets the body. You have to look for it to find it.

The frets and the neck binding are beautifully done. In terms of quality, this guitar is up there with my two American Strats. The tone and volume pots are upgraded from the DR500T so I don't think I will have any problems with this guitar.

Overall, a great guitar, especially considering its price.

This is a quality guitar and some might be a little skeptical about buying it given it's low price and the fact that it's made in Korea.
When I got this guitar, I was highly impressed. I also own a Dillion DR500T which I would describe as "average", but the upgrades on the DR1500T exceeded my expectations. This guitar is solid and well-built. Don't let the price tag or the fact that it's made in Korea scare you away.

Dillion guitars are great in terms of support. I had emailed Dillion about some problems that I had with my DR500T and John Dillion himself answered my emails. Problems were resolved. This is a great company to deal with who puts out a quality product.

I've been playing guitar for 36 years and have owned numerous guitars, including strats, teles, and les pauls. I'm really stuck on Fenders so to try this guitar out really was a diversion for me. I'm not at all disappointed by this guitar and it surpasses anything built by Epiphone, and is MUCH better than any PRS SE model out there.
The variety of sounds, coupled with the "feel" of this guitar, makes it an overall value. I would highly recommend this guitar to anyone looking for a PRS but can't afford one.

I was also looking at Tokais, Raven Wests, and Cort guitars (mid-priced axes) and settled on getting another Dillion. A good decision on my part.

This is a 2005 Dillion 1500QT made in Korea. Just to recap the features, this guitar is a "PRS Copy" with 24 frets, 24.75" scale, mahogany body, and what appears to be a maple neck. Even though the guitar is advertised as having a mahogany neck, the woodgrain appears to be maple. This is not an issue, nor does it affect the quality, but some may prefer the mahogany neck over maple. Two chrome-covered humbuckers, one volume, one tone, and a 3 way toggle switch are the other features. I got the tremelo model, which is interesting...I noticed this by accident while changing the strings. The guitar can be strung through the body cavity like a strat, but at the bottom of the bridge are six holes also, for those who prefer maybe to string the guitar through the bridge. Frets are medium jumbo and the color of the guitar is amber. Both the body and neck are bound which really makes this one sharp guitar.

One feature that I really like about this guitar is that it has nice access to the upper frets, with a small neck heel, unlike the "heel from hell" on a PRS guitar. Well done!

This guitar is sweet and smooth. This is an upgraded version of the DR500T which I also own, so I can make a comparison between the two.
The sound of this guitar is fabulous. On a clean channel with the neck pickup, the sound is nice and fat, but not overly dark like some humbuckers. The pickups are brighter than some humbuckers, but are very well suited for this guitar. When the neck pickup is distorted, there is a very smooth, midrange which makes this guitar really sing. The bridge pickup on both the clean and dirty channels has a nice warmth to it, but again, not overly dark or muddy like some humbuckers. This guitar beats my DR500 hands down. On my DR500 I changed the pickups because the stock pickups were a bit too bright and microphonic. With this guitar, I'm not having this problem. The sound of this guitar is definitely up there with most higher priced guitars that are made in America. This guitar beats an Epiphone hands down.

This is what really impresses me about this guitar. It is equally as good as my American Strats in terms of build. The quilt top with the amber finish looks absolutely gorgeous, and the binding is flawless. This guitar was playable out of the box and may be the best set up guitar I've played straight from the store. The only adjustment needed was a slight tightening of the truss rod, and raising the bridge saddle on the G string slightly. The action was set to 2/32" above the 17th fret (again the G was a little lower) which is right where I set my action. No fret buzz at all. The rosewood fretboard is well done, and a nice quality. Frets are well polished, with no burs or roughness.

Dillion did a great job on the bridge saddles too with a new design than the DR500T. The screws are offset on the saddles like an American strat, and they are heavier and of better quality than the DR500T. This guitar is flawless.

This guitar is sturdy as an American Strat (which costs $400 more) and sturdier than the DR500T. The guitar has some weight to it, but is not as heavy as a Les Paul. The finish is perfect with no nicks or flaws, and has a very nice gloss to it. The neck is not "sticky" like some necks and has a very nice smoothness and sturdiness to it.
The strap buttons are large and will hold a strap no problem. I don't think I would have to worry about dropping this baby.

John Dillion is the man! I had emailed him about the problems I had with my DR500T and he answered my emails personally. He knows customer service, and really is invested in giving his customers what they want in a guitar.

I've been playing guitar for 36 years now, and own a Dillion DR500T, Two American Series Strats, and an SX Les Paul copy. My amp is a Roland BC-60 310 and I also have a 120 watt newer Crate amp. This guitar has everything I would want...it's built solid, has a great sound, and an awesome price!! If this guitar were stolen, I would definitely replace it. This guitar looks much more expensive than it is.

Before even thinking of buying an Epiphone, or even a Gibson, I would give this guitar a good look. If you want a darker sound, you can replace the pickups and still pay less than you would for a Gibson or PRS. In fact, with what you save on this guitar over a PRS, you can buy a backup and a decent amp too.

2005 Made in Korea model PRS-like (I hate to use that terminology for this guitar-explanation later). Quilted maple arch top on mahogany body. Fully bonded (cream on body and white on neck & headstock. 24 frets with no inlays with the exception of their Isis inlay on 12th. Double pivot tremolo system, dual hums, volume, tone & three-way switch. Gorgeous translucent tortoise shell ( almost like a deep tobacco burst) finish. An incredible amount of features for what is essentially an "off-brand" guitar.

I play mostly heavier rock and the pickups sound great in that sense. They compliment the mahogany well and sing through my Vox Valvetronix. My sole complaint would be that I wish they were a little crisper in the clean setting. When playing on the "Modern Brit Stack" setting, though, it packs a hell of a punch. Pinched harmonics squeal as they should which is surprizing for "classic PAF" like pups. Apart from my issue with the clean setting, these are great stock pickups.

As I purchased this guitar used on Ebay, I can't comment on the factory set-up. What I can say is that this is by far the fastest action I've ever encountered on a guitar of it's kind. I have been through several Jacksons and Ibanezes and this guitar ranks right up there. This neck is considerably thicker than those brands, obviously, but playability is not compromised in the least.
I mentioned earlier that I hate calling this a PRS-like guitar, this is why. It's definitely alot "dressier" than any PRS models I've seen (save for the dragon inlaid models). To imply that this guitar is merely a "knock-off" model is an insult to it's quality and obvious attention to detail that it shows in every curve and every note it plays. It is definitely an instrument that stands out. From my research, these guitars are built in smaller quantities to keep the focus on quality. Dillion seems to be ( in my opinion) the modern version of what Hoshino/Ibanez once was in the 70s. Korean guitar manufacturers are stepping up their game. This is probably why so many "name brands" are mass producing garbage out of China and Indonesia.

While I'm not actively gigging, I can see this being a great main stage axe. It's well crafted and solid as a rock. For the price of one PRS Custom 24, you could own three of these and still have enough for a great club-sized amp. As it is heavy, I'd recommend strap locks for you gigging musicians. Again, to be fair, it is much heavier than what I'm used to but I also think that adds to it's sonic qualities.

N/A

I am a gear-hound and have run through lots of different models from Ibanez, ESP, and Jackson. It's not my typical choice of guitar. Having said that, it IS a keeper because it has alot going for it that those other brands lack, TONE and STYLE. Let's face it, I'm not much of a "pointy guitar" guy anymore and my tastes have passed from the shredding mayhem of the Euro-Metal movement to the intricacies and subtle brilliance of Rush and Marillion. This is perfect for me. Dillion guitars live up to every bit of hype I've heard AND read. Believe me, I have been all over the net to get as much info on these as possible. If you value tone over brand names and artist endorsements, check out Dillion. I'd like the DR450 semi-hollow next!!! BOTTOM LINE: THIS IS NOT A KNOCK_OFF and to call it so would be as ignorant as calling any "strat shaped or V shaped" guitar a knock-off of Fender and Gibson.

Bought 2005, paid about $800- which I believe was good value. 24 fret model- rosewood fretboard. Maple Quilt top, dual Humbuckers- basically a PRS replica. Good tuners (unnamed though) really nice lines to the guitar and nicely finished. Tremolo fitted (which needed a couple more springs to really tighten it up and to hold tune better.)
One Vol and one tone pot, and a 3 way switch which feels pretty cheap- it wiggles around already and the guitar is only a few months old. I can live with this as the guitar is very good all round and when it needs replacing it is a cheap fix.

Have picked up the guitar over past few years after 30+ years as a drummer. I play blues/rock and the DR1500QT is well set up for this. I have 3 other guitars including a strat and an Ibanez AS83 Artcore (a 335 replica which absolutely rocks in every sense).

The p-ups sound pretty good when pushed. Rich full sound in general, with the bridge p-up balanced between real pump and a bit of edgy twang. Neck p-up is a bit non descript- basically OK but maybe a tad too mellow. I am playing through a Behringer modelling amp and have played a variety of cabinet and effects combinations with it- and overall it performs very well. I like it.

Excellent set up direct from an ebay musical instrument provider. As said the p-ups were well adjusted but I have gone to lighter guage strings already. Action did not need adjusting. The quilt top is really beautiful and I have had many people comment on it. No flaws to speak of with the minor (and I mean minor) exception being a wiggly 3 way switch.

This will stand up to live performance- no question. It holds tune even despite a lot of string bending and tremolo work. The finish is tough and can withstand most mild bangs without marking- which cannot be said for the Ibanez (but then again it is a distinctly different guitar.) I have kids who play and I don't have any doubts about them using it. It feels really solid but of course I would always replace the standard strap buttons, just in case. To gig with this on its own wouldn't be a problem- but that would be like drumming with only one set of sticks- it can be done but you wouldn't risk it anyway.

Never dealt with Dillion, only the supplier and he was really very helpful (probably because he wanted a sale as you would expect). Standard warranty applies. I have heard that Dillion support their products very well, from other people in the industry and on this site as well. I am not in any way connected to them- just a customer.

Been playing for a few years and I have collected a lot of gear and guitars in that time- this guitar is really nice in the collection.
If it were lost or stolen I would probably consider buying another. Generally I love how well finished it is and how solid it feels- oh yeah the sound is great for rock and blues. The tremolo is a real bonus for this style of guitar and I am glad I chose this model. I know that $800 aussie dollars sounds a lot for a replica, but I would rather this than the many really cheapo copies out there. I have had a few really experienced guitarists play the DR1500QT and they drool over it- which surprised me at first- but now I am converted.

I could just bullsh!% about this guitar and give it 10's all round, but I am quite happy to give it high 8's based on my experience with other instruments. I will be definately buying a Dillion LP gold top replica next because I like the product and have always wanted a goldie. I can assure you these are not just cheapo reproductions, they are better than that.