Huss & Dalton Statesboro - Review

[s2y]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

As for the H&D neck profile, I bet if you played it every day it would be great! But, like me, looks like you have a few guitars. I think most Les Paul vintage style guitars have too chunky of a neck shape, but I adapt, although, my favorite shape will always be a nice medium C.

I'd think medium C or thicker is best due to the way short horn guitars want to hang.

[maplebaby]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

Thanks, all that PRS needed was some good pickups, Wolfetones, and it sounds great now.

As for the H&D neck profile, I bet if you played it every day it would be great! But, like me, looks like you have a few guitars. I think most Les Paul vintage style guitars have too chunky of a neck shape, but I adapt, although, my favorite shape will always be a nice medium C.

I think the picture I took of the Zemaitis volute makes it look bigger than it really is But if you think that's big, check out the volute on my L5s, now it's a whopper, but it never gets in the way, and it's one of the best, fastest, playing necks I own, a Ferrari! I haven't touched the truss rod since I first set it up 6 years ago.

That is a beautiful guitar sir! I've loved this model since the early days of my guitar life in the 70's when Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad played them. Unfortunately i've not seen to many of them in the wild to get to actually play. Again, that's a beauty! What year is it?

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by maplebaby

That is a beautiful guitar sir! I've loved this model since the early days of my guitar life in the 70's when Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad played them. Unfortunately i've not seen to many of them in the wild to get to actually play. Again, that's a beauty! What year is it?

I remember Mark Farner's! I also remember Paul Simon's black one in "One Trick Pony" and concert in Central Park! Mine's a 1974, and I also have a 1978, which is my favorite, as it just has something magical about the tone...



Even through the distortion of an old Ampeg amp you can hear the spank...



And some straight in a tweed amp (Clark Beaufort) blues...



To be honest, many of these guitars were quite heavy, I've heard some of them got into the 11 lb range, but mine are in the 9 lb range. The "Cherry Sunburst" is 9.2 lbs, the "Fireburst" is 9.8 lbs. The reason being is the body is 100% maple, no weight relieve on these! And they don't sound like Les Pauls so that kind of throws you. The Gibson Super Humbucking pickups are low DC resistance (8K), but the magnets are ceramic, giving them a spank.

I've heard people say how they hate the tone of them, but I LOVE mine. And it took me over 5 years of looking over the internet to find the first one, I found the Firebust shortly after.

Other than some Special Edition Les Paul, these were the most expensive solid body produced during the years they were made.

[maplebaby]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

I remember Mark Farner's! I also remember Paul Simon's black one in "One Trick Pony" and concert in Central Park! Mine's a 1974, and I also have a 1978, which is my favorite, as it just has something magical about the tone...



Even through the distortion of an old Ampeg amp you can hear the spank...



And some straight in a tweed amp (Clark Beaufort) blues...



To be honest, many of these guitars were quite heavy, I've heard some of them got into the 11 lb range, but mine are in the 9 lb range. The "Cherry Sunburst" is 9.2 lbs, the "Fireburst" is 9.8 lbs. The reason being is the body is 100% maple, no weight relieve on these! And they don't sound like Les Pauls so that kind of throws you. The Gibson Super Humbucking pickups are low DC resistance (8K), but the magnets are ceramic, giving them a spank.

I've heard people say how they hate the tone of them, but I LOVE mine. And it took me over 5 years of looking over the internet to find the first one, I found the Firebust shortly after.

Other than some Special Edition Les Paul, these were the most expensive solid body produced during the years they were made.

Love the tracks! Is that your vocal too? The guitars sound terrific - so cool you have two of them. The TB is killer and I love the end of the fingerboards! So great when you have guitars you love and make the sounds you want to have in your music.

Thanks for sharing your time and trouble to post these pictures and recordings!

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by maplebaby

Love the tracks! Is that your vocal too? The guitars sound terrific - so cool you have two of them. The TB is killer and I love the end of the fingerboards! So great when you have guitars you love and make the sounds you want to have in your music.

Thanks for sharing your time and trouble to post these pictures and recordings!

Yes that's me singing, and it is cool having two of these guitars. BTW I appreciate your reviews of instruments and I usually try to comment on them, that's how I knew you had so many guitars!

And having guitars you love for specific sounds, as you say, is really great. I make my living as a house guitarist for some luxury venues where I play acoustic and sing. I do bring an electric out occasionally, but mostly, it's acoustic, and frankly I get hired for my voice. So in my downtime, I love to record music and having a selection of cool amps and guitars is my number one hobby.

I'm very thankful that I get to do music as a living (I've been fulltime, for over 20 years), but I miss the days of touring around and playing electric in bands. And by the licks you were playing in that video, I can see we have some of the same roots. I LOVE Dicky Betts and Duane Allman's playing. I wore out and re-bought "Beginnings", "Eat A Peach" and "Live At The Fillmore" more times than I care to admit. The other day I was selling one of my Zemaitis guitars and a guy that was interested asked me if he could play Allmans on it. I smiled and sent him this short live clip, and no it's not the licks that I copied but the feel...



I bet your going to making clips like this with your Statesboro! Oh yeah, I love that review of the RS Guitarworks Esquire...

[maplebaby]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

Yes that's me singing, and it is cool having two of these guitars. BTW I appreciate your reviews of instruments and I usually try to comment on them, that's how I knew you had so many guitars!

And having guitars you love for specific sounds, as you say, is really great. I make my living as a house guitarist for some luxury venues where I play acoustic and sing. I do bring an electric out occasionally, but mostly, it's acoustic, and frankly I get hired for my voice. So in my downtime, I love to record music and having a selection of cool amps and guitars is my number one hobby.

I'm very thankful that I get to do music as a living (I've been fulltime, for over 20 years), but I miss the days of touring around and playing electric in bands. And by the licks you were playing in that video, I can see we have some of the same roots. I LOVE Dicky Betts and Duane Allman's playing. I wore out and re-bought "Beginnings", "Eat A Peach" and "Live At The Fillmore" more times than I care to admit. The other day I was selling one of my Zemaitis guitars and a guy that was interested asked me if he could play Allmans on it. I smiled and sent him this short live clip, and no it's not the licks that I copied but the feel...



I bet your going to making clips like this with your Statesboro! Oh yeah, I love that review of the RS Guitarworks Esquire...

okay that clip made my day! Sweet tones and sweeter playing! You killed the sig riffs and i loved the bends to pitch! Was that the Zemaitis guitar? It had almost a single coil quality to it - great stuff!

Thanks for the kind word on the vids...very appreciated.

[rockabilly69]

Yeah that's the 24 fret Zemaitis through a Origin Effect Revival Drive into a Clark Beaufort, and the neck pickup has a unique tone due to the placement and the 25" scale length. That's why it has a single coil vibe! It's not the first guitar I would pick to play Allman Brother stuff, your Statesboro would be a much better choice, but I did it for the guy wanting to buy it. Unfortunately he dropped out of the deal, fortunately though, I decided to do something to it that I've always wanted to do to a Zemaitis, and that is, install a OC44 Rangemaster into it, and a G&L PTB tone control set up, which is, Master Volume, Treble Cut, Bass Cut.

I love having a Bass Cut to thin out the neck pickup whenever I want to! I have that circuit in my G&L Legacy that's where I learned about it. As for the OC44 Circuit, many of the original 1970's Zemaitis guitars had germanium boosts in them to help push the vintage amps. I have 5 Zemaitis guitars so why not use one as the sacrificial lamb

The most obvious example of this type of tone is the intro for The Faces "Stay With Me"

It was kind of nerve racking cause I had to hack out a hole behind the cover plate for the boost circuit...



eventually I got it cleaned up...



The only thing you that looks different is the mini-switch to turn on the boost. It's in the center of the knob layout, and very easy to hit for a solo.

[maplebaby]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

Yeah that's the 24 fret Zemaitis through a Origin Effect Revival Drive into a Clark Beaufort, and the neck pickup has a unique tone due to the placement and the 25" scale length. That's why it has a single coil vibe! It's not the first guitar I would pick to play Allman Brother stuff, your Statesboro would be a much better choice, but I did it for the guy wanting to buy it. Unfortunately he dropped out of the deal, fortunately though, I decided to do something to it that I've always wanted to do to a Zemaitis, and that is, install a OC44 Rangemaster into it, and a G&L PTB tone control set up, which is, Master Volume, Treble Cut, Bass Cut.

I love having a Bass Cut to thin out the neck pickup whenever I want to! I have that circuit in my G&L Legacy that's where I learned about it. As for the OC44 Circuit, many of the original 1970's Zemaitis guitars had germanium boosts in them to help push the vintage amps. I have 5 Zemaitis guitars so why not use one as the sacrificial lamb

The most obvious example of this type of tone is the intro for The Faces "Stay With Me"

It was kind of nerve racking cause I had to hack out a hole behind the cover plate for the boost circuit...



eventually I got it cleaned up...



The only thing you that looks different is the mini-switch to turn on the boost. It's in the center of the knob layout, and very easy to hit for a solo.

Beautiful guitar..so unique. You make it sound sweet - a nice voice that’s different from the Gibs.

[dnf777]

All tonal and personal preference issues aside, laquer has become very difficult to “handle” lately, with increased regulations about venting and disposal. On a personal note, I have been banished to the chicken coop-converted spray booth for finishing guitars. The entire house would smell like spilled nail polish for a day or two. You must also keep away from furnaces, stoves, and use sealed fans, as laquer vapors are flamable. I tried water-based laquer, but prefer a total switch to poly if the chicken coop is too cold.

[redir]

I didn't know H and D made electric guitars but really it's just a Les Paul isn't it? I didn't watch the whole video but I don't see anything unique in it. I would rather just have a Les Paul honestly.

[maplebaby]

Originally Posted by redir

I didn't know H and D made electric guitars but really it's just a Les Paul isn't it? I didn't watch the whole video but I don't see anything unique in it. I would rather just have a Les Paul honestly.

This is their first electric guitar, a new effort that's coinciding with their 25th anniversary of guitar building.

Only Gibson can make Les Paul's so no it's not. To say it's not unique to itself isn't accurate either. If your mind is made up for a LP nothing else will suit you for sure. It's certainly possible, IMO, to have both!

[Organic Sounds Select Guitars]

Just a note to say that I sure enjoyed your video review. Love the Huss and Dalton guitar company - super nice people and great builders. I can definitely learn something from your video presentation - nice work!

[maplebaby]

Originally Posted by Organic Sounds Select Guitars

Just a note to say that I sure enjoyed your video review. Love the Huss and Dalton guitar company - super nice people and great builders. I can definitely learn something from your video presentation - nice work!

Thank you...greatly appreciated!

[Marley]

The decide to go down a new path and come up with.....the Les Paul? That might be the closest looking LP I've ever seen outside of Gibson. I'm no LP fan, but that is a nice looking guitar and cool review. I like the Black. It does look exactly like a LP. It makes me wonder. Gibson sued PRS over infringement, and lost and the PRS looks significantly different than this does. Does Gibson go after H&D or do they not even bother anymore?

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by Marley

The decide to go down a new path and come up with.....the Les Paul? That might be the closest looking LP I've ever seen outside of Gibson. I'm no LP fan, but that is a nice looking guitar and cool review. I like the Black. It does look exactly like a LP. It makes me wonder. Gibson sued PRS over infringement, and lost and the PRS looks significantly different than this does. Does Gibson go after H&D or do they not even bother anymore?

I wouldn't doubt that Gibson will be going after H&D on this one. I think it's just a matter of time. If anyone is interested in one of these guitars, I would jump sooner than later From what I hear from Maplebaby's clips, it's a great sounding rig! The Fralin pickups sound really good for the tones he was going after (classic PAF Les Paul). And they cost less then a full blown R9!

But the claims of being built with more attention to detail than a Gibson custom shop, and with better materials, and with more attention to detail, I don't agree with. The reason being, to me, is that the Gibson custom shop has been dialing these in for a long time, and the Historics are getting better and better all the time, especially since around 2013. My 2014 and 2019 Historics are spectacular instruments, and feel about as good as guitar can feel. And the fact of the matter is Gibsons have the lacquer finish, which most people (for the same price), would prefer, me being one of them.

I have played plenty of high end H&D acoustics, and I own three Gibson custom shop Historic Les Pauls, so I think I know the level of quality of both of these companies good enough to judge that. Bottom line, either one will be great!

One thing to consider, because of their buying in bulk power, Gibson is getting some killer lightweight mahogany and ridiculously flamed wood for the tops. That said, you could buy one of these flamed H&Ds set up great for the price of Historic Goldtop.

One thing I'm sure of is, when you're spending this kind of coin on a guitar, I think you really have to play them all and determine yourself. Maplebaby is a fine guitarist, and if he say's good about the H&Ds, then it's pretty hard to discredit that. There maybe something about the neck carve or just the way the guitar hangs that may make a person go for the H&D. Or maybe you just prefer the sound of the Fralin pickups over the Gibson Custombuckers. There's just so many variables.

But as I said, I think Gibson will go after H&D as this guitar, although cool, it's totally too close for comfort on the design, it's just too close to a Les Paul in shape. Actually it looks very much like the Heritage H150, and Gibson is now suing Heritage!