NGD: DiPinto Belvedere Standard

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Lost In Autumn
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NGD: DiPinto Belvedere Standard

Post by Lost In Autumn » Sun Jan 24, 2021 6:06 am

I had the pleasure of picking up a mid-oughts, Korean made DiPinto Belvedere Standard. It had been treated rather poorly by its previous owners and has some substantial dings in the finish, so I got it for the low-low of just $350.
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The worst is a substantial ding in the mahogany top near the tone pot, with a radial crack in the finish, a couple of inches out from it, but the back has numerous dings, as well. My plan is to refinish it this spring, with a sparkle gold top. In consultation with Chris Dipinto, who designed & marketed this guitar, he suggested simply filling the dings with bonds & spot putty, then respraying, but I'm somewhat concerned about cracks in the finish telegraphing through the new poly, as well as the impact of another thick layer of poly (it takes a lot to level a sparkle finish) to the tone of this semi-hollow body guitar. I also think it might be neat to strip the back and have it just clear coated mahogany, but that will also mean substantially more work... I have a few months to decide before I start the work, so we'll see.

In the mean time, a set up and new strings are in order and since I feel a vibrato is essential for any electric guitar, this was a good time to install one, as well. The original spec for DiPinto's Belvedere was a Bigsby B-70, however, retrofitting one on this guitar would leave the lugs for the stop tail piece exposed ad there's no guarantee that using a Bigsby B7 and a Vibramate would be an exact fit. That leaves a coup other options: A Bigsby B5 and a Vibramate V5 plate, or a Deusenberg Les Trem II. Both are effective solutions, but I feel the Bigsby and Vibramate combo is somewhat of a kluge and as much as I love the feel of the Bigsby units, i'm not entirely sold on the flat bar and the limited lateral travel. The Les Trem II, otoh, has a simple and elegant design, an adjustable bar and is half the price of a Bigsby B5, without the Vibramate. Win/win, right?
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A further plus is that installation was dead easy. the unit simply bolts into the lugs for the stop tailpiece and it comes with screws for both metric and SAE lugs. It took more time to read the instructions than to actually install the unit and string installation is markedly easier than the frustration inducing experience of stringing a Bigsby, too. I would put the feel of the unit somewhere in between that of a Bigsby and a Fender Floating Tremolo, perhaps a best of both worlds. Tuning stability is good, too, even with a knife edge Tune-O-Matic bridge.
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The Belvedere plays like a dream. The defining characteristic of DiPinto Guitars is the attention that Chris DiPinto puts into the fretboards after they arrive from the factories where they're made. This edition was made in the same Korean factory as early 00's Epiphone & Eastwood guitars, (Cort, I believe) and the fit and finish is comparable, back to back with a 2003 Epiphone WildKat & Airline Tuxedo that I own. The mini humbucker pickups, which are the same spec as Epiphone Firebirds, are remarkably excellent for an import guitar. I'd guess that they're Artecs, and they have a remarkable sparkle to them. I'd place their tone somewhere between a P90, with a full low end response and a Jazzmaster, with loads of sparkle and chime and an utter lack of the 60 cycle hum that's endemic to both of the aforementioned pickups. My first impulse with any new guitar is to replace the electronics with Emmerson CTS pots and pickups with either Lindy Fralins or Curtis Novaks, but on this one, while the pots & caps will get swapped after finishing, I don't feel any urgency to replace the pickups- they're that surprisingly good. Compared to other other import guitars, the fret level, dressing and polishing that Dipinto does prior to shipping out to the customer, really elevates his guitars above the rest and is still evident nearly 20 years later. Sadly, the level of distress on the guitar body, extends to the frets- the cowboy chord region has a fair about of pitting on the frets where it was likely dropped against something, leaving indentions from the strings. I'm fortunate that DiPinto Guitars is also my neighborhood guitar shop and once the paint work is done this spring, it will return to its maker to be refreshed into new condition.

I've wanted one of these for some time and they've been out of production for many years. I'm super stoked to have this in my possession and I'm looking forward to restoring it to its past glory!

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Re: NGD: DiPinto Belvedere Standard

Post by CivoLee » Sun Jan 24, 2021 8:41 pm

Cool guitar. DiPinto is a cool company. I was a fan of their Mosrite-inspired Mach IV, but I never had a chance to play one.

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Re: NGD: DiPinto Belvedere Standard

Post by Maggieo » Mon Jan 25, 2021 12:44 pm

Very cool! And smart move with the LesTrem; I've got one on my Rivolta and it's great.
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Re: NGD: DiPinto Belvedere Standard

Post by SignoftheDragon » Tue Jan 26, 2021 2:00 am

I had DiPinto Mach XII for a while- solid player with great 'KERRANG!'

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Re: NGD: DiPinto Belvedere Standard

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Tue Jan 26, 2021 3:18 am

That is super cool! Les Trem and mini-humbuckers/firebirds sounds like a hell of a combination! :w00t: :w00t:
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Re: NGD: DiPinto Belvedere Standard

Post by Lost In Autumn » Wed Jan 27, 2021 5:32 am

Shadoweclipse13 wrote:
Tue Jan 26, 2021 3:18 am
That is super cool! Les Trem and mini-humbuckers/firebirds sounds like a hell of a combination! :w00t: :w00t:
This is my first guitar in 38 years of playing, with mini-humbuckers. The stock pickups are generic OEM modes from Artec and they sound incredible. I’m mit in a hurry to replace them, but I can’t help but wonder how a Lindy Fralin or Curtis Novak mini humbucker would sound.

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Re: NGD: DiPinto Belvedere Standard

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Wed Jan 27, 2021 10:46 pm

Lost In Autumn wrote:
Wed Jan 27, 2021 5:32 am
Shadoweclipse13 wrote:
Tue Jan 26, 2021 3:18 am
That is super cool! Les Trem and mini-humbuckers/firebirds sounds like a hell of a combination! :w00t: :w00t:
This is my first guitar in 38 years of playing, with mini-humbuckers. The stock pickups are generic OEM modes from Artec and they sound incredible. I’m mit in a hurry to replace them, but I can’t help but wonder how a Lindy Fralin or Curtis Novak mini humbucker would sound.
That's amazing. I've always wanted to try mini-hums and Firebirds both. From every description I've read from people on here, I think Firebird pickups would really be my thing. And after seeing one or two installed in a Jaguar, I would really like to make that a project coming up...
Pickup Switching Mad Scientist
http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=104282&p=1438384#p1438384

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Re: NGD: DiPinto Belvedere Standard

Post by Lost In Autumn » Thu Jan 28, 2021 2:26 am

Shadoweclipse13 wrote:
Wed Jan 27, 2021 10:46 pm
Lost In Autumn wrote:
Wed Jan 27, 2021 5:32 am
Shadoweclipse13 wrote:
Tue Jan 26, 2021 3:18 am
That is super cool! Les Trem and mini-humbuckers/firebirds sounds like a hell of a combination! :w00t: :w00t:
This is my first guitar in 38 years of playing, with mini-humbuckers. The stock pickups are generic OEM modes from Artec and they sound incredible. I’m mit in a hurry to replace them, but I can’t help but wonder how a Lindy Fralin or Curtis Novak mini humbucker would sound.
That's amazing. I've always wanted to try mini-hums and Firebirds both. From every description I've read from people on here, I think Firebird pickups would really be my thing. And after seeing one or two installed in a Jaguar, I would really like to make that a project coming up...
I'm definitely tempted to put a pair in my Jaguar, which I'm not totally enamored with, even with Novak Jag-V's in it.

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Re: NGD: DiPinto Belvedere Standard

Post by Lost In Autumn » Wed Jun 30, 2021 1:49 am

so, to backtrack a little, I got a killer deal on this:
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Largely because it had been beat to shit. There was a pretty sizable ding on the front, as well as numerous chips, scuffs and scrapes on the back and edges. Given the condition, I may have actually paid too much, but I enjoy doing this work.
Image

The ding on the front also had a huge radial crack in the finish. I consulted with Chris DiPinto, the guitar's designer, to get his input. I'd thought I might strip it entirely, sand it out as much as possible, then refinish it, but Chris wisely pointed out that the mahogany body would need a fair abut of grain filling. He suggested just scuffing the body, filling and painting.
Image

But first, those finish cracks would have to be dealt with, otherwise, they'd telegraph through the new paint. I filled them with thin CA glue:
Image

Then I filled the smaller dings with Bondo & spot putty, before finishing the paint prep:
Image

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Re: NGD: DiPinto Belvedere Standard

Post by Lost In Autumn » Wed Jun 30, 2021 2:00 am

Next, I started masking the neck binding and fretbboard, using 1/4 pin striping tape for the binding & low tack masking tape on the fretboard.
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I masked off the back and sprayed a base coat of Chrysler gold lacquer & laid the glitter atop it:
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Then did the same for the back, using a GM Silver lacquer for the base:
https://i.imgur.com/rtIBzzX.mp4
I then sprayed about 16 coats of 2k poly on the body and headstock face, while the back of the neck got just a few coats of lacquer. After the poly cured, I sanded from 400-3000 grit, then hand polished with rubbing and buffing compounds, for a sheen that sits somewhere between glossy and satin.
https://i.imgur.com/VyiJt4p.mp4
Then I began assembly- the original electronics were janky import stuff- mini pots, Epiphone-branded pickups (it was made in the same Unsung plant in Korea that Epiphone & Eastwood were using) and this horrifyingly cheap switch; it all had to go:
Image

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Re: NGD: DiPinto Belvedere Standard

Post by smjenkins » Wed Jun 30, 2021 5:13 am

Awesome guitar and I'm looking forward to see the repair / refinish come along. I'd be interested in sound clips of the mini-humbuckers when it's all back together.

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Re: NGD: DiPinto Belvedere Standard

Post by Lost In Autumn » Wed Jun 30, 2021 5:28 pm

Image
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here's the finished product: just about everything was replaced: the tuners were an odd assemblage of stock, Jin-Ho tuners and some really janky stuff from a Takamine acoustic, that sort of worked, some of the time. They were replaced by a set of Jin-ho produced Wilkinsons. The pots were replaced with 1Meg Emerson Pro CTS pots, with a .022 uf orange drop cap, with Switchcraft switch and jack. A pair of nickel Firebird pickups, from Mr Fabulous, in Australia round out the electronics, while a Göldo DG Tremolo holds the strings down.
Image

I stopped my Dipinto Guitars (I'ts about 10 blocks from my house and Chris gave it his seal of approval!
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Last edited by Lost In Autumn on Sun Jul 04, 2021 2:20 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: NGD: DiPinto Belvedere Standard

Post by Maggieo » Thu Jul 01, 2021 12:23 pm

Sweet!!! :-*
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Re: NGD: DiPinto Belvedere Standard

Post by my bloody television » Thu Jul 01, 2021 6:00 pm

That's awesome! I moved to Philly last year and recently found out DiPinto was based there. Chris is a cool dude and it's a great little shop. He leveled the frets and fixed some electronic issues on my '64 Jag and did a great job. There are some really cool oddball one-off DiPintos at the shop.

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Re: NGD: DiPinto Belvedere Standard

Post by Scout » Sat Jul 03, 2021 6:10 am

Verycool!

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