NGD: It's a real Duesey

grayn

DUESENBERG FULLERTON ELITE
Got this beauty today, from Sound Affects.  Pre-owned but in immaculate condition.
This is the 3rd Duesey that I have owned.  The other 2 were a Paloma and an Alliance Joe Walsh model.
The Paloma was in red sparkle, which I couldn't get used to and the Joe Walsh felt like the body was too small.
Both were superb guitars however and I was keen to find the right Duesenberg for me.
I also wanted to get another semi, as my main guitar and this one seemed far too good to let pass.
It is semi-hollow with a sustain block and could be looked at as Duesenberg's version of an ES335.
But I think it looks more like a Hofner Verithin, from the front.
Except, unlike the standard 335 and Verithin, the Fullerton Elite comes with a fantastic Tremolo system.

The first thing I noticed was that it seemed relatively light weight.
I remember my Gibbo 335 as being a fair bit heavier and more cumbersome, though to be fair it had a wonderful neck.
The Fullerton still feels reasonably substantial but for it's dimensions, it sits and hangs very nicely, when playing.
The Catalina Blue colour seems darker than in photographs, which I really like.
The finish has a very subtle, metallic sparkle too, which adds to the looks.
I guess Duesenberg's, sort of Art Deco, styling will not be to everyones taste but I, in the main, like it.
I've never been keen on their scratchplates but at least this one isn't in gold sparkle, just a nice pearly white.
The overall build and finishing quality is excellent, as have all the Dueseys I have owned.
The one peice maple neck has a 12 inch radius fingerboard and a very playable D profile.
I really like the fret inlays, and the whole guitar came very nicely set up, though I'll put heavier strings on it.
The pickups are as used on other models, being a Domino P90 at the neck and a Grand Vintage Humbucker, at the bridge.
I thought before I got it, that I'd prefer these 2 the other way around but now I'm not so sure.
The HB has a lovely, vintage tone, somewhere between a PAF and a Filtertron and played with light crunch, really sings.
Lots of clarity and punchy definition makes it work really well, alone and in conjunction with the P90.
That P90 has lots of body and a well rounded tone, that still has some single coil bite.
I'd love to hear the P90 in the bridge position but I'd hate to lose that HB.
Overall then, a great sounding guitar, with that airy transparency you often get with a semi acoustic.
I've said it before but Duesenberg make a fantastic tremolo.
It may look like a Bigsby but it is just so much more, being as smooth as can be, with a great pitch range, up and down.
To my mind, the Bigsby is the Corvette; cool, vintage and set up right, loads of fun.
The Duesey trem is the BMW; it's just in another league of performance and sophistication.
As soon as I put a strap on this guitar and hung it on me, I knew this guitar would suit me just fine.
And amped up, it is as sweet as can be.  Gutsy but a real sweet toned guitar.

guitars4you

That looks cool - both style and colour

AND BEFORE ANY ONE ASK'S OR SUGGEST OTHERWISE THEY ARE NOT MADE IN KOREA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jason

I have one of those (in black) I love it, probably the best built guitar I have, absolutely flawless, happy NGD

Seziertisch

guitars4you said:

That looks cool - both style and colour

AND BEFORE ANY ONE ASK'S OR SUGGEST OTHERWISE THEY ARE NOT MADE IN KOREA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Asian-made guitars have come on a lot ...

Universal8

Stunning guitar and not the usual Fender/Gibson yawn fest

octatonic

I would call that Gary Duesey.

freakboy1610

That's lovely! Congratulations. 

guitars4you

Seziertisch said:

guitars4you said:

That looks cool - both style and colour

AND BEFORE ANY ONE ASK'S OR SUGGEST OTHERWISE THEY ARE NOT MADE IN KOREA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Asian-made guitars have come on a lot ...

Only the more budget Special has the wood CNC'd  from Asia - And even then sent to Germany for final assembly, parts, pick-ups, finish etc etc etc - All other Doozies start with a state of the art CNC facility in Europe for wood fabrication, then sent to Germany for parts, hardware, finish, assembly set-up inc Plek etc - And of course all QC, marketing, design is from Germany 

Not sure why anyone could LOL by original comment above - unless of course they doubt such a fact 

wesker123

Happy NGD. I have black elite they are great guitars. Retro cool looking too. 

Whitecat

guitars4you said:

Seziertisch said:

guitars4you said:

That looks cool - both style and colour

AND BEFORE ANY ONE ASK'S OR SUGGEST OTHERWISE THEY ARE NOT MADE IN KOREA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Asian-made guitars have come on a lot ...

Only the more budget Special has the wood CNC'd  from Asia - And even then sent to Germany for final assembly, parts, pick-ups, finish etc etc etc - All other Doozies start with a state of the art CNC facility in Europe for wood fabrication, then sent to Germany for parts, hardware, finish, assembly set-up inc Plek etc - And of course all QC, marketing, design is from Germany 

Not sure why anyone could LOL by original comment above - unless of course they doubt such a fact 

I LOL’d for the early intervention, not because I think it’s wrong! Comic timing.

Teyeplayer

Whitecat said:

guitars4you said:

Seziertisch said:

guitars4you said:

That looks cool - both style and colour

AND BEFORE ANY ONE ASK'S OR SUGGEST OTHERWISE THEY ARE NOT MADE IN KOREA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Asian-made guitars have come on a lot ...

Only the more budget Special has the wood CNC'd  from Asia - And even then sent to Germany for final assembly, parts, pick-ups, finish etc etc etc - All other Doozies start with a state of the art CNC facility in Europe for wood fabrication, then sent to Germany for parts, hardware, finish, assembly set-up inc Plek etc - And of course all QC, marketing, design is from Germany 

Not sure why anyone could LOL by original comment above - unless of course they doubt such a fact 

I LOL’d for the early intervention, not because I think it’s wrong! Comic timing.

Same here, if I could give a lol and a wis simultaneously that’d have been exactly the time for it.

guitars4you

Teyeplayer said:

Whitecat said:

guitars4you said:

Seziertisch said:

guitars4you said:

That looks cool - both style and colour

AND BEFORE ANY ONE ASK'S OR SUGGEST OTHERWISE THEY ARE NOT MADE IN KOREA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Asian-made guitars have come on a lot ...

Only the more budget Special has the wood CNC'd  from Asia - And even then sent to Germany for final assembly, parts, pick-ups, finish etc etc etc - All other Doozies start with a state of the art CNC facility in Europe for wood fabrication, then sent to Germany for parts, hardware, finish, assembly set-up inc Plek etc - And of course all QC, marketing, design is from Germany 

Not sure why anyone could LOL by original comment above - unless of course they doubt such a fact 

I LOL’d for the early intervention, not because I think it’s wrong! Comic timing.

Same here, if I could give a lol and a wis simultaneously that’d have been exactly the time for it.

thanks - I just thought it was someone effectively accusing me of a false story etc 

skullfunkerry

Very nice! I do like Duesenbergs, although I'm not sure I'd have a use for one. Happy NGD!

And btw, even if it was made in Korea (I know it wasn't), who cares? My #1 at the moment is Indonesian...

Seziertisch

skullfunkerry said:

Very nice! I do like Duesenbergs, although I'm not sure I'd have a use for one. Happy NGD!

And btw, even if it was made in Korea (I know it wasn't), who cares? My #1 at the moment is Indonesian...

A friend of a friend lived near the Gibson factory in Nashville. He saw the workers on their way to work every morning. He said they were like factory workers anywhere, definitely not highly skilled perfectionists working a well paid job for an employer who valued their skills. 

In fact, Gibson seems to have one of the worst reputations as an employer in the US, so it seems likely that the more capable and ambitious workers move on to something else fairly quickly.

I tried out a couple of the more affordable (US made) sub €1K Gibson Juniors in a shop a few months back. The fretwork and finishing we’re pretty bad on the couple I tried. By comparison the couple of Indonesian Squiers I tried were immaculate.

The whole “made in the USA” thing doesn’t really hold true in a lot of cases anymore, nor has it with a long time.

TheMarlin

Beautiful. 

I’ve had a few Dusey, and own a Caribou right now.  Awesome guitar.  

The Bigbsy-a-like on these guitars is truly epic, but it’s not better than every Bigsby. 

A proper Bigsby B6 setup properly is the best of the best.  And, in particular, the B6 on my Anniversary (custom shop) is perfection. 

Still though, the Dusey is ‘just’ behind that for functionality, and pretty much kills every other Bigsby model. They’re superbly designed. 

Modifying a Bigsby can have fantastic results.  A few mods to a Bigsby B50 (the worst Bigsby ever) turn it into one of the best. 

Seziertisch

TheMarlin said:

Beautiful. 

I’ve had a few Dusey, and own a Caribou right now.  Awesome guitar.  

The Bigbsy-a-like on these guitars is truly epic, but it’s not better than every Bigsby. 

A proper Bigsby B6 setup properly is the best of the best.  And, in particular, the B6 on my Anniversary (custom shop) is perfection. 

Still though, the Dusey is ‘just’ behind that for functionality, and pretty much kills every other Bigsby model. They’re superbly designed. 

Modifying a Bigsby can have fantastic results.  A few mods to a Bigsby B50 (the worst Bigsby ever) turn it into one of the best. 

I modified the the B7 on my Les Paul - replaced the rollers with ones from Callaham, put on a Chet Atkins wire arm, added a Duesenberg spring and shimmed it up off the body to decrease the break angle. It is super responsive and touch sensitive. Better than the Duesenberg trems I have on other guitars. However, the cost of the mods added up.

Jalapeno

Just Wow ! <faints>

grayn

Thanks guys.
There are good and bad guitars from any part of the world.
This Duesey is quite a few steps above good, wherever it was sourced, built, finished etc.
My thoughts are Croatia and Germany.

I knew my Bigsby comparison would get some comments, that's half the reason I put it in.
I'm actually a fan of Bigsbys without the retaining bar but I still think the Duesenberg trem is even better.
They've even made re-stringing a lot easier, with a small block on the main anchor bar.
God bless 'em.