G&L Doheny

Discussion of newer designs, copies and reissue offset-waist instruments.
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Re: G&L Doheny

Post by Maggieo » Wed Sep 20, 2017 7:54 am

Mechanical Birds wrote:The lack of binding with those block inlays is making me want to catch myself on fire
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Re: G&L Doheny

Post by garyfanclub » Wed Sep 20, 2017 7:05 pm

Given the string-through bridge, it probably sounds like a Strat?

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Re: G&L Doheny

Post by thenewromance » Thu Sep 21, 2017 2:13 am

garyfanclub wrote:Given the string-through bridge, it probably sounds like a Strat?
Judging from the video, the vibrato is much like a Strat, but the guitar doesn't sound like one.

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Re: G&L Doheny

Post by pj » Fri Sep 22, 2017 2:57 am

http://glguitars.com/instruments/USA/gu" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... /index.asp

Looks interesting. I loved the big MFD's on ASAT Special.

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Re: G&L Doheny

Post by gnoleb » Sat Sep 23, 2017 2:38 pm

As a player who appreciates JMs from the non-surf, more aggressive side of music, this really doesn't do anything for me, either. Those pickups are still not going to be in Lollar P-90 range (which is where I start), a strat-style trem means I have to deal with floating to get the vibrato I want (and I hate floating). And the price! Same as an AVRI, right?

I guess the 9.5 radius is good (not unique) and I like the blocks option (but no binding?) but this doesn't do anything for me. And I really don't like the pickup selector switch there. Don't like it on the new prof series, either. Or a les paul. I guess I play like a maniac, but that is in my "aggressive strum" hand radius.

So if you surf/vintage guys aren't thrilled...who is this guitar intended for? Especially at that price point?

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Re: G&L Doheny

Post by JagInTheBag » Sat Sep 23, 2017 8:49 pm

gnoleb wrote:As a player who appreciates JMs from the non-surf, more aggressive side of music, this really doesn't do anything for me, either. Those pickups are still not going to be in Lollar P-90 range (which is where I start), a strat-style trem means I have to deal with floating to get the vibrato I want (and I hate floating). And the price! Same as an AVRI, right?

I guess the 9.5 radius is good (not unique) and I like the blocks option (but no binding?) but this doesn't do anything for me. And I really don't like the pickup selector switch there. Don't like it on the new prof series, either. Or a les paul. I guess I play like a maniac, but that is in my "aggressive strum" hand radius.

So if you surf/vintage guys aren't thrilled...who is this guitar intended for? Especially at that price point?
Frankly, Leo MFD's have a ton more clarity and can cut through a mix WAY better than any P-90 I've heard. They also take pedal boards really well without the "tone suck" that many experience with Alnico V pickups. Because of their design, MFD's can be both lower impedance and "hotter" at the same time. The Lollar P90 8.2K, the G&L Alnico P-90 is 8.9K, the MFD matched the same position is rated at 4.7K and it is considered "hi-fi" by most. Pick up a Big MFD ASAT or SC-2 and you'll know what I mean.

DFV- Dual Fulcrum Vibrato, floating yes. Stable as hell yes! I can cover "Man or Astro Man" or Jeff Beck and stay in tune. You don't need an arcade-style fx switches, just hammer fist that DFV! Jake Cinninger seems to do okay with his, and it stays in tune. I would not call it "strat style", I'd call it post-strat style.

The fretboard radius can be ordered in 7.5, 9.5, or 12" without additional cost. Blocks or Dots are no cost options. A neck binding is an upgrade option. That said, bindings are plastic- IMHO they compromise edge roll, comfort, and overall playability compared to the wood being all the way to the edge.

Different strokes for folks I guess, but the Doheny sure as hell covers a lot more ground than surfy-shoegaze. The G&L guys have bred all of the shortcomings of the earlier designs, using Leo's own engineering developments. The PTB- is the thing at George and Leo arrived at after experimenting with various rollers, switches, and circuits. It is elegant, global volume, global treble bleed, global bass contour and the MFDs that take those shapes better than anything else. This is the first time that the PTB has been coupled with S-S MFD configuration. The Super Wide JM Bobbin is freakin' awesome to boot.

As for the switch- I agree, I'll swap mine out for a 3-way slider. No unintended pickup selections that way.

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Re: G&L Doheny

Post by gnoleb » Sat Sep 23, 2017 9:42 pm

JagInTheBag wrote: Frankly, Leo MFD's have a ton more clarity and can cut through a mix WAY better than any P-90 I've heard. They also take pedal boards really well without the "tone suck" that many experience with Alnico V pickups. Because of their design, MFD's can be both lower impedance and "hotter" at the same time. The Lollar P90 8.2K, the G&L Alnico P-90 is 8.9K, the MFD matched the same position is rated at 4.7K and it is considered "hi-fi" by most. Pick up a Big MFD ASAT or SC-2 and you'll know what I mean.
Frankly, I disagree. :) I've owned a G&L ASAT in the past and I wasn't impressed by the character or feel of the pickups. They don't have the growl/snarl of a Lollar P-90, and I didn't hear anything in the video a page or two back that would change my mind about that.

To each their own, but I don't see this lighting a fire. Especially at that price point.

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Re: G&L Doheny

Post by Johnny Alien » Sun Sep 24, 2017 4:15 am

Interesting. I think the Lollar P-90's are actually the least snarly of all of the P-90's I have played. I always found them rather sterile to be honest. I would take a good old standard Gibson P-90 over them any day of the week BUT there are a ton of players that love Lollars so I can't say people don't love that tone. What JagInTheBag just said is exactly why I am falling in love with the MFD Jumbo singles. In order to get that output from a P-90 you have to overwind it and the problem with overwinding a P-90 is that it gets muddy and I love clarity when dealing with the gain and effects I use. I find that the single can get really chimey as well....like a good JM pickup. It's not a JM tone and it's not a P-90 tone but it dances around all of them and does what it does well. I would imagine that the standard Jumbo Single could have been a good fit for a JM guitar so I think it will be interesting to see what these pickups can do. I really can't do a JM body without the standard offset trem. I just think it looks weird.

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Re: G&L Doheny

Post by Johnny Alien » Sun Sep 24, 2017 4:17 am

gnoleb wrote:To each their own, but I don't see this lighting a fire. Especially at that price point.
I might be missing something but these look to be starting at the $1400-1500 range. And I bet it's easy to get discounts from dealers. That's exactly the same as the entry level USA Fender Jazzmaster and like $1000 less than the Vintage Reissue series.

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Re: G&L Doheny

Post by Larsongs » Sun Sep 24, 2017 7:23 am

Johnny Alien wrote:
gnoleb wrote:To each their own, but I don't see this lighting a fire. Especially at that price point.
I might be missing something but these look to be starting at the $1400-1500 range. And I bet it's easy to get discounts from dealers. That's exactly the same as the entry level USA Fender Jazzmaster and like $1000 less than the Vintage Reissue series.
And, about the same price as an xlnt Pre-owned AV65. Or if you recall the recent blow out prices on new AV65's.

These may be great Guitars but I'm glad I got an AV65.

That said, there may be some other G&L's i might be interested in..

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Re: G&L Doheny

Post by Johnny Alien » Sun Sep 24, 2017 7:44 am

Larsongs wrote:And, about the same price as an xlnt Pre-owned AV65. Or if you recall the recent blow out prices on new AV65's.

These may be great Guitars but I'm glad I got an AV65.

That said, there may be some other G&L's i might be interested in..
Sure but if you want to compare used prices then used to new isn't a fair comparison. If typical G&L used prices apply you should be able to find these used for like $800 or so.

I don't have any interest in these either though.

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Re: G&L Doheny

Post by Larsongs » Sun Sep 24, 2017 8:06 am

Johnny Alien wrote:
Larsongs wrote:And, about the same price as an xlnt Pre-owned AV65. Or if you recall the recent blow out prices on new AV65's.

These may be great Guitars but I'm glad I got an AV65.

That said, there may be some other G&L's i might be interested in..
Sure but if you want to compare used prices then used to new isn't a fair comparison. If typical G&L used prices apply you should be able to find these used for like $800 or so.

I don't have any interest in these either though.
I'm sure you're right. It will be a while though.

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Re: G&L Doheny

Post by gnoleb » Sun Sep 24, 2017 11:32 am

Johnny Alien wrote:Interesting. I think the Lollar P-90's are actually the least snarly of all of the P-90's I have played.
Well I wasn't saying it has the most snarl. I was saying that is where I start. I compliment a Lollar P-90 in the neck with a Curtis Novak JM-180 system in the bridge. The G&L ASAT with MFDs I used to own didn't have anywhere near the balls/snarl of this setup. I actually thought "hi-fi" was perhaps a good way to characterize them, in that they might be more accurately picking up the sound of the strings...but at the expense of character (and tone). That video a few pages back pretty much matched my expectations. At least to me, and again--to each their own.

As far as the price, I see two on Reverb and they're both $1700. If you want something vintage-focused, this doesn't seem to be cutting it (from other's opinions) and its priced like an AVRI, so easy choice. If you want something modern (like me), it ain't cutting it, either (in my opinion) and loses too much of the vibe with the strat trem. So who exactly is it for? If you want something non-traditional with a different vibe, there are a good number of choices. You could get a PRS Vela, which is also handmade in the US by expert craftsmen, and it starts at like $1100.

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Re: G&L Doheny

Post by Johnny Alien » Sun Sep 24, 2017 11:47 am

I see 12 on Reverb and two of them are $1450. $1700 is at the high end. Of the 12 only two are listed at that price. I am not sure what the higher prices is about. Where are there vintage series Fender Jazzmasters for $1700?

It's hard for me to make a comment on the ASAT Specials. My SC-2 has the same pickups but they are a bit hotter. I would say they are hifi but not sterile which is how I feel about those Lollars. I wouldn't even put those in any scale of snarl even at the bottom. But there are lots of people that dig that modern/sterile P-90 thing. I never liked it.

Do people that want modern Jazzmasters want the trem and bridge? They seem to be avoided like the plague by people that want modern options. They are "problematic" I guess. Stop tail bridges are a common modern Jazzmaster change. I am thinking of guitars like the Fender Special, Fano, Suhr, etc. The first thing that guitar makers when to get rid of in a modern Jazzmaster is that trem. It sounds like you like a tradtional JM but with non-traditional pickups.

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Re: G&L Doheny

Post by gnoleb » Sun Sep 24, 2017 1:01 pm

Johnny Alien wrote:I see 12 on Reverb and two of them are $1450. $1700 is at the high end. Of the 12 only two are listed at that price. I am not sure what the higher prices is about. Where are there vintage series Fender Jazzmasters for $1700?
Fair enough about the price. I didn't realize AVRIs crept up that high. They were like $1750 (or so it seemed) last time I was looking into one, but maybe that was the old thin skin runs (they had modern necks) and maybe those were cheaper. There are like 4 AVRI's on reverb with mastery upgrades for ~ $1600...I dunno who is buying new at $2350, heh.
Johnny Alien wrote: Do people that want modern Jazzmasters want the trem and bridge? They seem to be avoided like the plague by people that want modern options.
When you start going to something like that Suhr, I don't even consider that a JM anymore. That's an HH Strat with an offset body.

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