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Ok brand new guy here. Green as a gourd. I'm wanting to buy a dillion electric mando. Anyway love the look of the guitar style man do. Looks like about $400. Bones. Is there a place or section on this forum that would discuss this model??. $400. Would be at the very top for me. Any body have one. That they care to discuss. Thank you for your patience.
115 views 0 comments, I knew I came to the right place!!
Welcome! There’s a specific Four, Five and Eight-String Electrics sub-forum here https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/f...ring-Electrics where you may have more luck. But the majority here play acoustic so you may need to patien to get a response. Plus the majority of folk here are in North America so may be doing other things with their Saturday evenings.
If you use the “advanced search” function in the upper right hand corner of the page, enter the keyword “Dillion” and select “search titles” then eight threads appear. Alternatively, you could google “Dillion site:www.mandolincafe.com” and see what that search engine finds for you. Good luck!
Lots to talk about here....
Never played a Dillion. I have a Mandoblaster that’s shaped like a Tele.
e.g. https://www.elderly.com/blue-star-5-...ter-recent.htm
Also, you might want to check out http://www.emando.com
Enjoy!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mondotele
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mondotele
I saw a Dillon in a store once. Don't need 8 strings on an electric. It was marked down and still did not go for it.
I have the DSEM 008, aka "a 335 style". It features an Alnico 5 humbucker with a push/pull on the tone pot. My experience follows, pretty much in order:
1. There was spare wood shavings that I had to get out thru the soundhole.
2. Tuners are great; knobs are probably more guitar than mando-sized.
3. The nut is not glued in; it also needs to be adjusted to be more comfortable on the grip.
4. The stock bridge was disappointing. I upgraded to a custom replacement from Andrew Jerman with graphtec saddles.
5. The bottom of the rubber "plate" around the pickup has separated from the body.
I'm still working at dialing this thing in. It seems to prefer the modest Laney Cub and Peavey Studio Pro amps to the Rivera head. Not getting rid of it yet, but not loving it either.
Ok now we're talking thanks everone for chiming in. I will start reading up.
I have many different electric mandolins. But haven't tried a dillon yet. I have seen them for sale , just haven't yet , i like the paul shape also , but i have been thinking of the one with the vine inlay.
They make a nice looking product. I can only verify that a four string electric mandolin run through my guitar amps and pedals is a whole bunch of fun. Another reason that I'm glad I have an electric is that I can practice unplugged in the vicinity of my wife without driving her crazy.
So, the DSEM 008 just came back from the tech with a great setup. Bills Music in Catonaville, MD is a mecca for repairs. Got a "supertune". Nut issues fixed, frets dressed, etc. It finally is a fun axe to play. So, figure about $100 for a good set up above and beyond the new bridge to get it where I want it to be. YMMV
I once met a music store owner who carried the Dillion line, and he genuinely loved all of the stuff - and even played it on stage . . . that has been the extent of my experience with Dillion.
So, latest update on the DSEM-008.
The "supertune" setup from Bill's Music has really made a huge difference for this instrument. The fretboard is much more comfortable to me, both from the sides as well as the top. The intonation is clearly better set than it had been; the difference with the upgraded bridge from Andrew really shines through now. Before my experience with this instrument always left me feeling like something was missing. Now I know it was a whole bunch of somethings. This instrument is a lot more fun now, as I'm learning its voice better, and what it wants from my mechanics, etc.
In conversation with Tony (the distributor), the Alnico-5 humbucker is confirmed to be passive. So far I've been able to dial it in nicely on both inputs of my modded Laney Cub 10, as well as the Peavey Studio Pro. I'm getting close to finding it on the Rivera, but not there yet.