Product: Dillion DSG61
Price Paid: N/A
Submitted
10/25/2000
at
01:59pm
by
Doug Trueblood
Email: dougtblood<at>aol dot com
Features
:
10
This is Dillion's take on the Les Paul SG model of 1961. It's a
recent product of Korea, I bought it in August 2000. It's made of
Nato ( some sort of mahogany type wood) and unlike the Epiphone
G400, this has got a solid body rather than a laminate. Which means
the body shape is a bit better since they don't have to worry about
the edges of the laminate peaking through the bevels on the edges.
Typical SG stuff, 22 frets, two humbucker w/ a pair of volume and
tone controls, tunematic bridge and stopbar tailpiece. Very nice
cherry see thru finish and the trapaziod inlays are very nicely done,
if they're not real pearl, they're the best imitations I've ever
seen. The tuners are probably Gotoh, anyway they are the proper
Kluson style tulip jobs. The frets are nice and large, probably
not the size that a 60's Gibson would have had ( at least not what
I remember from the 1969 SG that I owned all those years ago). The
neck shape is pure Les Paul, it's wide and a pleasant handful.
All in all a very nice job.
Sound
:
8
I'm a 60's/70's kinda guy. I quit playing in the disco era and
started again three years ago. Learned to play listening to Clapton
( Bluesbreakers, cream etc) and it still shows. I was really kinda
surprised that all the claptonisms came right back to me :^). My
amps are a Fender Pro Jr, a Crate VC2112 ( both tube) and my latest
toy, a Tech21 Trademark 10. Both the Pro Jr and the Tech21 run thru
Celestion 10" speakers in Marshal Microstack cabs. Pedals, you name
it and I've probably got one floating around here, all normal stuff,
no boutique stuff.
The DSG61 puts out the sound it's meant to, with the Tech21 in it's
marshall setting it's just the cat's nuts. The pickups are very nice
paf clones and sound just great. I might be tempted to pop a SD JB in
the bridge position but only if I found one with a cover. But I'm
not actively looking to make that change, but it is my favorite
bridge humbucker.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
9
The factory setup was spot on, I did raise the action a bit because
that's the way I like it. These is one very small flaw in the finish
on the lower cutaway that took me a month or so to notice. One of those "if the light is just right and you squint you can see it"
deals.
Reliability/Durability
:
10
I wouldn't see any problems with this guitar as far as longevity or
durability goes. It feels very solid and in my memory compares very
well to my old Gibson SG. It has very large strap buttons and they
hold well. Like all SG's this is neck heavy and you HAVE to use a
leather or cotton strap; one of today's nylon jobs will have you
grabbing the guitar all night long. Once you get the right strap it's
no problem, but do spend some time trying out straps.... My favorite
is the Fender "Vintage Tweed" strap....
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
No reason to yet, but from talking to a couple of Dillion dealers
I don't think it will be any problems.
Overall Rating
:
10
Been playing off and on since 1965, stopped giging in the late 70's,
fiddled around til the mid 80's; started seriously playing ( and buying) guitars in 1997.
Earlier this year I started looking for an SG. I looked at new Epi's
and Gibson's, old Gibson's and just didn't find anything that made
me yank out my wallet. I almost bit on a couple of mid 70's SG STd's,
but they either were just a bit too beat for the price and/or were
that ugly brown/mahogany finish that looks like baby poop when aged:^). The Epi G400's just didn't feel right and I crossed them
off too. As soon as I picked up the Dillion DSG61,my wallet came
out. These are very nicely made guitars, I've played a couple of the
Les Paul copies and the Tele ThinLine and they're all winners and
the prices can't be beat. I was at a guitar show the other day and
almost bought a Dillion LP, not that I need another guitar but it
soooo nice :^).
