NGD: Tone versus Logic / Brains

[Filippo]

A few months ago, I had to sell my prized 1954 les paul conversion. I loved that guitar. It was the best les paul I've ever heard and owned as far as I'm concerned. And yet despite that, I sold the guitar... for two reasons:

1. I personally felt that there was too much money tied up in that one guitar
2. The quality of the instruments being built today are very good … enough for me to say it will get me close enough to the tone and playability I loved so much on the '54.

The moment the guitar sold, the quest for an appropriate replacement guitar immediately began. I had a lot of options to go through, but I eventually ended up going for a replica les paul that's highly regarded both here and abroad.

Long and short of it is, I eventually resold that guitar. It was a good guitar. The cleans and edge of break up tone were amazing and the guitar felt great. But, there was something about it in the overdriven department that was just missing to my ears, and kept me wanting.

Loosely put, despite the instrument's pedigree, I personally felt the guitar's tone over-compressed past 8 on the volume knobs and it didn't seem to have the muscle / plough I was looking for. It sounded exactly as others had described these guitars to be… but it wasn't for me.

Personally, I think tweaking the guitar to suit my tastes would have been doable (PAFs; vintage harness etc) and would have PROBABLY solved the concerns I had with the instrument. But after being spoiled by the '54 and knowing how long it took me to actually find the tone I was looking for, I wasn't in the mood to do so.

Not long after I ended up with this:





It's a JG Dot.master.

Here are the specs

Weight: 6.72lbs
Body: Korina..semi solid construction with solid centre piece
Neck: mahogany…1959 LP long tenon
Top: 1 pc western maple
Fretboard: Premium Brazilian rosewood
Pickups: Throbak SLE MVX LTD  A4 mags Johan winds
Royalite binding
Neck shape.. round 59’
Radius: 12"
Nut  width: 1.685”
Finish: Aged natural high gloss nitro …no plasticizers

I couldn't be happier. I've had a few JG's before so I am fairly familiar with the way Johan's instruments in general play and feel and sound, but wow I've forgotten how good these instruments really are. This particular instrument is just so easy to play … so balanced… and so tonefully rich in harmonic complexity. (Of all the guitars I've owned, Johan consistently seems to make the easiest guitars to play…. this one sings all the way up the neck too.)

Sharing with you guys some of my thoughts from this whole experience:

1. Specs are specs and brands are brands, but only I can tell if I was able to achieve the tone in my head which I was trying to replicate … and the same probably applies to you. So trust your gut. If you can't bond with an instrument, sell it and move on (regardless of its price and specs) and find one that you can bond with.
2. Guitars are just like people. I don't think there will ever be one exactly like another…. and I don't think any will ever be perfect. So it's best for me to know, what it is really I prioritize and classify as a must versus as a preference (parang selection process lang sa girlfriend lol).

Is this JG perfect? No… I wish the volume pot tapered better… I wish it had 4 knobs instead of 2… I wish the in-between position (which I love so much on a LP) sounded just like an LP's middle position.

I still miss my 54 LP. But this will do … for now 

[Filippo]

Here are some build pics

here's the top:


and the back:


and the heel:


Unlike the BM, the DM doesn't have the contour near the bass of the heel for easier upper fret access.

and a JG orgy… it's definitely in good company lol (notice that it's the only dot.master there?):

[curiousdcat]

Congratulations bro! Another beauty. No need for "how does it sound question" since based on your guitar acquisition/ownership experiences (plural hehe), your points are well taken, believable, undoubtedly accurately described and highly agreeable. 

[Filippo]

I actually made a really poor video of the guitar just for trips for a friend and haven't taken the video down yet so I might as well share it here while it's up for now Here it is:

list=UUDfDbWULEZhxIvggNVJr4pw

Pagpasensyahan niyo na yung supot kong playing mga brad.

Of all the guitars I've owned, this one has proven to be the hardest to record. Di kinaya ng onboard microphone sa camera ko .. sumasabog yung tunog... pero puwede na rin yung recording I guess, kaysa wala. You can more or less get a rough idea of what it sounds like.

In a nutshell, the guitar has very rich harmonic complexity. And the Korina on its body I think gives it a very vocal quality and nice top end that can really help it cut through the mix.

It doesn't sound like a les paul but it's not a total deviation from that tonal palette and it has qualities that remind me of what I liked in my '54. 

It's also a very versatile guitar … from different eras of Clapton, to different eras of Slash and classic vintage LP tones, parang kaya naman.

So all in all, it's a very fun guitar to play. It helps too that it is very light and the playability is just a pure joy to play.

[r_chino18]

Congrats Es! At may bagong Greco ka din pala! 

At 6.72 lbs, that Dot.master has got to be a real joy to play when standing! That's really light. 

[Filippo]

Chin, I took the Greco in a trade … I needed to have a les paul in the house, kahit pang eye candy lang haha

It's light , but I actually thought it would feel lighter!

[bryanarzaga]

so is the logic part about just picking out what works for you?

grats on the JG,

[Filippo]

Tnx Bry!

The 'logic' part was with the replica. On paper (and on reputation), every little detail spec wise on the replica was exactly as it should have been. And yet it didn't do it for me. So I flipped it.

Reminds me of the time I had a Tom Murphy les paul and even if it was more expensive and a 'Tom Murphy' les paul, it was eaten for breakfast by my old r7 (that's now with Nickson).

I guess my point is, sometimes, some guitars that look great on a spec sheet may or may not translate to what you expect it to sound like.

[cacophony]

I'm having a similar question in mind.. whether should I get a partscaster or the real thing. If it was the latter, I'm pretty sure I'd swap parts to it that will suit me best... and end up building a partscaster. But then again, at the end of the day, tone and playability are the things that matter the most. No matter what the price of the instrument is, as long as you're happy with it and you think it will last with you in the long run, I'm pretty sure it is a definite keeper. Congrats on that beautiful guitar!

[Filippo]

Caco, I personally try to get a guitar that already sounds good in stock form bec I don't have the patience to mix and swap parts... the permutations drive me nuts! ang mahal pa gawin!! But usually the guitars that require little tweaking in stock form tend to be quite expensive off the bat!

The thing with guitars IME is you really don't know what the guitar you're putting together will sound like until you do finally put it together.

Thanks for the appreciation man.

[Filippo]

I also feel like a big contributing factor to playability is solid construction from the very start

[cacophony]

The thing with guitars IME is you really don't know what the guitar you're putting together will sound like until you do finally put it together.

This! A matter of trial and error until you achieve the tone your looking for.

[gainsucker]

 

[Filippo]

More info on the DM here:

http://www.jgguitars.com/bluesmaster-semi

This guitar was originally owned by Matte Henderson. He has offered me quite a few interesting / prototype pieces over the years and has had a very solid relationship with Johan. I asked him why the DM was a limited design and he says it's because good sounding korina is quite difficult to find. He also shared with me that as far as he's concerned, this is the first DM to be made because the whole idea of the DM was an inspiration he came up with.

I wonder if he helped design the other later models too! I would love to own a fullerblaster some day.

[musicjunkie]

Congrats! That guitar screams! I like the way it feedbacks too.

[Filippo]

Tnx Bro!

Come over and try it out!

[musicjunkie]

Tnx Bro!

Come over and try it out!

Yeah, that would be awesome. Can bring the old tele too for fun.

[Saturn/Return]

Congrats! That guitar screams! I like the way it feedbacks too.

+1

Beautiful guitar! Congrats on it Esse!

[Bart]

Dang, dude! Ikaw na talaga, Bro Esse.

[Filippo]

Thanks brothers!

Bart, a long way from our Bacchus Universe days huh lol