Over priced Korean tat or worth the money?
moons ago before I knew what a good guitar played or sounded like I bought a Duesenberg Starplayer special in orange from Electro music in Donny for £350. Kept it for all of three days before I saw the price they where going for on eBay and flogged it, after all a bolt on les Paul copy must be shit right!?
anyhoo fast forward 10 years and now I can’t stop looking at The Caribou and wanting it to be mine.
I hear good things about them and YouTube makes them sound great but, are they?
anyone have real world experience of them?
£1600 is a lot for a Korean guitar no?
Comments
I’m not a huge fan of them hiding that fact constantly as if to help justify the price - but I am a fan of the guitars. I’ve got a 59er here and by chance the Diamond Deluxe tremola just showed up today that I intend to install...
I realised too recently that some of my very favourite recent recorded guitar tones are at least partially constructed with Duesenbergs - the Grand Vintage Humbuckers in particular...
Anyway, a Starplayer of some type is one of the many guitars on “the list”...
I've more or less had the lot in terms of the major brands, the starplayer was up there with the best of them. No need to change a thing, and the best trem I've ever used on any guitar.
(formerly customkits)
Overpriced tat from Korea is now a serious misconception on any guitar if the quality of the guitar is more than good enough - Look at Eastman from China - Bloomin' awesome Gibson-esq flavoured guitars - The LP's are excellent, especially once you get past the Made in China tag and no Gibson name on the headstock
As @chrisj1602 suggest, Duesenberg have a growing list of artist now who play them, so they are not a hype - I think they have plenty of character - No one guitar does it all, but unless you play a certain style, for many a Doozie is a nice addition for a collection etc that you'd play for a certain song/style - But certain bands and you might use it for all songs etc
My opening comment wasn’t a serious statement, a lot of great guitars can come from any place of manufacture but we as guitarist are always behind the curve. Places that used to be thought of a junk manufacturers changed years ago but the stygma still remains, often with no basis in reality.
After doing a bit more research I see new Schecter guitars from Korea are now going for £1100+ so really for the quality you seen in some of the Duesenbergs it’s starting to look like a fair price.
I guess I just need to go try one, which will be awhile since my left hand is in a cast for at least another few weeks.
The big one that went un-noticed at the time,to many, was the Kramer made in the USA models from the 80's - No Kramer Guitar was built in the USA regarding wood work - All shipped from ESP - Overseas hardware as well, so assembled in Neptune New Jersey - Somehow recall they changed the neck plate after a while and removed the MIJ part and just left it as Neptune NJ, to reflect the fact that the 'head office' was in NJ
They are fantastic guitars that hold their own in the very highest company and I tend to just laugh at anyone foolish enough to jump on the bashing bandwagon.
My Caribou is an astonishing guitar and I’ve genuinely played nothing finer.
Recent visits to Prague and Amsterdam have presented me with a reminder of this in the form of huge numbers of wealthy Korean tourists.
Some guitar factories have already left Korea for this reason
Quality, quality, quality!
in fact the guitar i played recently that was most similar to the Duesenbergs was one of the cheaper Korean Revstars, subject of another thread currently. I’d take a Revstar at a third of the price of the Duesenberg any day.
3 x CNC wood work machines now in Croatia, with 1/2 more to follow - Also invested in a 'paint robot' facility - So only the entry level Special in the price range is now from Korea - Bodies/necks then sent on to Germany for build/completion/paint etc
- The 25,5 inch scale
- Rosewood instead of ebony fretboard
And since they are at the same price as a Japanese Gretsch, I would always pick up the original.
I second that, great option for people on budget.
On the bright side, Jhonny Depp has a signature Duesenberg.
The ones I’ve played are very much like a Gretsch. Mine is incredibly similar to my old Jet. It’s better built from better parts and unlike a Gretsch actually works and is perfectly set up out of the box.
Put a doooozy and Jet side by side and there’s every chance I’d still choose the Gretsch though. There’s just something about them that feels fabulous.
Not a million miles away from a Caribou.
Very solid and one of those guitars that you really get to like, the more you play it.
Great Vintage HB and unbelievable trem system.
As good as pretty much anything, I'd say.
And like many on here, I've owned most of the higher end makes.
Go on, get that Caribou.