NGD - G&L Tribute Doheny

Discussion of newer designs, copies and reissue offset-waist instruments.
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guitarsammy
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NGD - G&L Tribute Doheny

Post by guitarsammy » Tue Nov 13, 2018 4:13 am

    Just got this. It's great.
    • Feels a nice weight for a JM (8.5 lb), but YMMV of course. I like a nice 7lb Tele, but when it comes to JMs and Jags to me when they're much below 8lb, they feel weird with their big bodies, hardware, etc.
    • It's quite resonant unplugged. A nice, deep sound. I don't care too much about this, though. It's an electric guitar after all.
    • The trem setup was woeful out of the box but now I've set it up myself it works really well and returns to tune much better than other trem guitars I've had (including JMs and Jags).
    • Not sure what size the frets are, but they're reasonably fat and feel much easier to play to me than vintage-size. 9.5 radius is nice, too.
    • Fretboard is nice and dark. It does have a few tooling marks here and there, like a lot of 'cheaper' guitars seem to have (it wasn't that cheap though at £519!).
    • The pickups sound really nice with a huge range of tones (including very jangly, which is what I like). Lots of grit available if you crank the volume knob. The passive bass and treble controls are much better than any system you'd find on a Fender guitar.
    • Neck isn't especially fat or especially slim. A medium profile I'd guess, with only a very subtle taper. Feels good to me.
    • I couldn't find many photos of this LPB finish on the net, so wasn't sure how it looks in the flesh. It looks beautiful. Probably lighter than a Fender LPB, but darker than IBM - somewhere in between the two. The photo below hopefully gives you an idea.
    • Plastics are stark white, but this actually seems to work pretty well with the finish.
    • Have bumped it a few times but no dings so far, so the basswood body perhaps isn't as soft as I feared.
    • I thought the lack of the big JM/Jag trem would look weird (because of all the space between the G&L trem and the bottom of the body) but, actually, I don't think it does at all.
    Image
    Last edited by guitarsammy on Tue Nov 13, 2018 7:39 am, edited 2 times in total.

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    Danley
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    Re: NGD - G&L Tribute Doheny

    Post by Danley » Tue Nov 13, 2018 4:52 am

    Awesome- love that neck.
    King Buzzo: I love when people come up to me and say “Your guitar sound was better on Stoner Witch, when you used a Les Paul. “...I used a Fender Mustang reissue on that, dumbass!

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    Re: NGD - G&L Tribute Doheny

    Post by amv » Tue Nov 13, 2018 8:35 am

    The guitar looks great, but you should really consider doing G&H's catalog photography from now on.

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    Re: NGD - G&L Tribute Doheny

    Post by guitarsammy » Tue Nov 13, 2018 9:51 am

    Ha! If they send some guitars to me here in the UK, I’ll take them to some scenic places and take some photos of ‘em. As long as I get to keep the guitars afterwards ;)

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    Re: NGD - G&L Tribute Doheny

    Post by Danley » Tue Nov 13, 2018 10:00 am

    The DFV really is a marvel- the thirty year old model on my SC3 stays in tune more reliably than any trem I own (Jaguar is close second.)

    My dad bought a Tribute ASAT from an online retailer, and received it totally without a setup- no intonation, sky-high action, loose truss etc. Not a bother for me or anyone who takes the time to set up their own guitar, but a bother for my then-seventy year old Dad to deal with, he wondered why it never played in tune till I touched it.
    King Buzzo: I love when people come up to me and say “Your guitar sound was better on Stoner Witch, when you used a Les Paul. “...I used a Fender Mustang reissue on that, dumbass!

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    Re: NGD - G&L Tribute Doheny

    Post by guitarsammy » Thu Nov 15, 2018 12:15 pm

    Yeah, it’s a great trem. I really like G&L guitars now. Great hardware, and some interesting designs. I am even a big fan of their headstocks.

    Never quite sure why so many guitars (from all manufacturers) don’t come with even a basic setup though. It’s fine if you know how to do it yourself, or can pay someone to do it for you I suppose.

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    Re: NGD - G&L Tribute Doheny

    Post by Nevets » Thu Nov 15, 2018 6:18 pm

    Beautiful guitar. Love that colour!

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    Re: NGD - G&L Tribute Doheny

    Post by guitarsammy » Fri Nov 23, 2018 9:06 am

    Thanks! Yes, it's a great colour for sure, especially with the really dark fretboard.

    It really is a very nice guitar. Very pleased with it.

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    Re: NGD - G&L Tribute Doheny

    Post by leokula » Fri Nov 23, 2018 12:05 pm

    Holy moses, that's amazing! Congrats, man!
    Jaguar > Jazzmaster :)

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    Re: NGD - G&L Tribute Doheny

    Post by sirspens » Fri Nov 23, 2018 4:48 pm

    The Lake Placid Blue looks so great on this guitar.

    Good score.

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    Re: NGD - G&L Tribute Doheny

    Post by Fiddy » Fri Nov 23, 2018 7:41 pm

    I can not dislike this guitar. 8)

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    Re: NGD - G&L Tribute Doheny

    Post by Beyer160 » Sat Nov 24, 2018 6:37 am

    I just got my Doheny Tribute, it's amazing. Plays beautifully, sounds wonderful (much "fuller" than my Jazzmasters with PV65s with knobs at 10), looks incredible. Then I tried the vibrato bar. When I tightened the set screw down I had two choices- lock it firmly into one position, or rotate it and get a rough scraping feel of metal on metal. The Achilles heel of the DFV is the little nylon bushing that sits in the set screw hole- if it falls out, you're SOL. I bought mine used, and the bushing was MIA. $10 later I have a set of 5 on order from G&L, but it's KILLING me to have this guitar sitting here and not be able to use the vibrato. Oh, and the vibrato bar was WAY too straight and sat nearly perpendicular to the body. 1 minute worth of bending in a vice took care of that, though. I find I have to bend about half of the vibrato bars that cross my path, so I'm not taking points from the Doheny.

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    Re: NGD - G&L Tribute Doheny

    Post by guitarsammy » Wed Sep 04, 2019 1:14 am

    Almost 10 months later, and I’m still rocking this guitar as my no. 1 and haven’t even thought about selling it (unusual for me as I’m fickle AF and a serial guitar seller).

    The highlights (apart from the looks and the neck) are the pickups and the trem. I really do find the trem and bridge to be much more solid and playable than the one on my friend’s MIJ JM. His feels somehow ‘slack’ and unstable in comparison.

    The pickups and controls are ridiculously versatile and rich-sounding (again, my friend’s JM pales in comparison, though his does admittedly still have the much maligned stock Japanese pickups).

    Anyone else love these?

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    Re: NGD - G&L Tribute Doheny

    Post by 601210 » Wed Sep 04, 2019 5:43 am

    guitarsammy wrote:
    Wed Sep 04, 2019 1:14 am
    I really do find the trem and bridge to be much more solid and playable than the one on my friend’s MIJ JM. His feels somehow ‘slack’ and unstable in comparison.
    That's kind of apples and oranges to be fair, although I wouldn't be that surprised if the trem on this is better than the standard Strat one.

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    Re: NGD - G&L Tribute Doheny

    Post by Danley » Wed Sep 04, 2019 7:17 am

    I already mentioned I consider the DFV and AVRI Jaguar vibratos to be my two favorite - the advantage in having both is they’re each very different to opposite in response and feel. That said- I have had a few MIJ Jazzmaster units and they’re all disappointing compared to the US offset vibratos. But my opinion stands that I like both the DFV and Jaguar trem for different reasons :)

    I have a couple MFD equipped G&Ls (but not a Doheny) and MFDs are ‘my’ sound - they’re incredibly versatile, esp. using PTB controls and things come out the way I hear them in my head; not a copy of anyone else. But again, it’s best to have both as there are times I ‘need’ the classic recorded surfy tones of my Fenders.

    I really want a Doheny - I feel like a V12 is in my future.
    King Buzzo: I love when people come up to me and say “Your guitar sound was better on Stoner Witch, when you used a Les Paul. “...I used a Fender Mustang reissue on that, dumbass!

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