This is my "go to" guitar. I bond with it. The pups are versatile. Feel is great. Looks are boutique. Stays in tune. Vibrato is perfect. Worth every penny! 😊
If you're measuring at the jack you are also including the volume pot resistance in parallel with the pickup.. This can have a significant effect (e.g. a 250k volume pot will make a 15k pickup measure around 14k)... With both pickups selected you have two pots in parallel with the pickups, and they may even be different values to shape the tone of each pickup. I'm guessing here, but that could be the missing piece in your calculations.
Looking at a schematic (which may or may not be accurate), there is a capacitor in line with what looks like a coil tap on the bridge humbucker in the middle position,,,, this will account for your reading. The cap will block your DC resistance measurement of that pickup, hence the identical value.
Sounding good, shame it doesn't quite do it for you but so it goes. I've had my Starplayer Rebound for a couple of years now and I am using it on sessions more and more - took me a while to adjust to it, esp. the 10 - 52 string set they ship with. I have stayed with 10 - 52s on it (10 - 46 on my Les Paul, Strat etc.) and the extra weight on the low end has pushed me to write more riffy stuff which I'm enjoying. It fills a nice semi acoustic electric gap for me . . .
Way back when I asked my favourite guitar dealer (Uli Kurtinat, Cologne) for a good, versatile guitar, he showed me this guitar. I was more than a little sceptical because this did not look like anything I had in mind. It just did not look like it could do Hard Rock, a bit of classic Metal and Pop-Punk (as in Green Day, for example). As always, Uli told me to take it home and try it out for a few days. Well, I was convinced by the instrument within a very short time. And it does do everything I want it to. Uli always said that it is the instrument that chooses the player and not the other way round. Some time ago, I had the neck P-90 replaced by a D-Tron humbucker, Duesenberg's take on the Filtertron.
Your college notes are quite correct (I'm a retired electrician, among other things) and I can't explain the resistance anomaly. Perhaps they designed a switch that doesn't work in the usual way, and incorporates a series resistor in the middle position to get a balanced output. Who knows. Intriguing!
Shame you didn’t like it. I bought the same guitar during lock down, it’s my favourite guitar. I’ve played everything from Tool to Johnny Cash on it. I find it to be a very versatile guitar. I like it so much, I am considering getting a Duesenberg Caribou.
Confused now. Thought middle position would just be as 1/R = 1/R1 + 1/R2 and Kirchoff's Laws were for current and voltage in a circuit. If it is the usual reciprocal rule then that implies that R2 is infinite when you select middle position doesn't it?
I have played a few PRS guitars and felt the same way. I did like a Vela S2 but didn't like the uneven pickup volumes. PRS makes great instruments with quality parts perfectly assembled. Yet I haven't found one that I want to buy. Just like this Duesenberg, some guitars make one lust for them, others are meh. For years I loved the hype about Reverend guitars. So many sounded great on videos. There were no dealers near my small town. One day I took a trip to another city and found a shop with several of them. I picked up the ones I thought I would like the most. _None_ of them gave me any kind of spark. I played a few more... nothing. I haven't played the whole range, but I'm not going out of my way to find any either. I ordered a $200 Grote guitar from Amazon. I loved it even with its imperfections. It felt comfortable. It sounded good plugged in and acoustically. I even bought a hard shell case for it. Unfortunately it had to be sold when money was needed quickly. Will I get another? Maybe. I'm sticking with my one ukulele and one small acoustic guitar until I absolutely prove to myself that I need another guitar. The one I own now works. As a non-professional, having a second guitar isn't a necessity.
If your looking for a Filter'Tron friendly guitar with a neck that won't make your hands hurt for days, she's a beauty. Seen but a few. Details were impeccable. Custom hardware was impressive. Overall look: Spot on. More boutique I thought.
Enjoyed your take... I saw one on a YT clip but didn't know what it was and just had to find out...two weeks later i had a Starplayer TV Phonic Venetian White.... absolutely gorgeous...I love it (though it is a little bit fancier than the one you have reviewed) Cheers. Did you go to National Sea Training College at Gravesend?
The middle position on this guitar is wired totally differently to a les paul etc. Thats why it sounds different in the middle position, and probably why it meaures differently. There is some out of phase stuff going on. I have this guitar in vintage sunburst and i love it. You can usually pick one of these up brand new for around £2000 if you shop around.
Hi John - cheers from south sunny Algarve - Portugal. You are absolutely right in your appreciation and wise thoughts: I have 2 Duesenberg guitars - one like that one Mike Campbell sign. and a Joe Walsh sign. They pretended to electronically emulate a Strat in the misterious middle position - and I think they nailed it. My appreciation is: I’m gone a sell both guitars just because they are “cold” and rigid… the engineering and the build quality are top - but they are a bit heavy and expensive… and I own too many guitars and other prefs 🙂 Cheers and thanks for your excelent videos!!
@@zedasiscas3830 - That's funny. I too bought Duesenberg trems for other guitars. I have a deluxe I'm in the process of painting black to put on my Yamaha Revstar. It's just a heavenly trem far superior to Bigsby. I've only had my starplayer tv phonic for a day but... I'm on the fence about selling it. I got such a deal though I could easily make a profit
Duesenbergs are very much among the Concert Grandes of guitars. I know not every guitar is for everyone, but honestly, it feels like you were trying to find any excuse to NOT like this guitar. If I had not held and heard several in person the tone of your review would have dissuaded me from wanting to pursue one further. I hope others weren't dissuaded. For ME these guitars don't just move sound; it's as if they're manipulating the gravitational field in the room.
I LOVE this guitar. Everything about it appeals to me John .... except, perhaps, the price ... and yet, as me auld Fatha used t' say " If ya want it, get it " lol. My problem is ; in my periphery, I still see the second wife standing beside the first wife wielding their axes ( of the Viking kind ) ... and their " chops " were extremely well rehearsed 😂🤣
Great review Big Fella, i like the Guitar, but if it doesn't float your boat then it doesn't float your boat great show as usual. It's hard to define that x factor. PEACE AND LOVE TO EVERYONE ❤❤.
It’s odd isn’t how sometimes guitars, no matter how good, just don’t do it for you. Just one of those things really. Still a great review, John, and I think I might go and try one of those for myself.
i like really like it but it doesnt have the features i look for in a guitar, no ss frets for one, and for that price i would want a guitar i dont have to make any compromises on
I did wonder whether DUESENBERG guitars had any connection with the American DUESENBURG car company, as it did seem as if the design of that guitar bore similarities with vintage automotive design. But no, apparently not. For me, the design of the guitar is a bit too 'busy'. Their guitars are plekked apparently. So no surprises it the necks play well. But German precision... for me it tends lack soul. Just my opinion...
actually he said the action needed fixing, and I would agree. If they plek these, their plek machine is garbage. It was not BAD mind you, but far from great. My cheap $400 Revstar had better action out of the box, no pleking.
Short of selling a kidney, I'd never be able to afford one of those, John. In all of your vids I've enjoyed the tones that you produce, but that was off the scale. Hell, who needs two kidneys anyway?
I reckon the most important thing about a guitar is 'do I look like an awesome , cool ass mofo with this?' and it scores a 10
This is my "go to" guitar. I bond with it. The pups are versatile. Feel is great. Looks are boutique. Stays in tune. Vibrato is perfect. Worth every penny! 😊
If you're measuring at the jack you are also including the volume pot resistance in parallel with the pickup.. This can have a significant effect (e.g. a 250k volume pot will make a 15k pickup measure around 14k)... With both pickups selected you have two pots in parallel with the pickups, and they may even be different values to shape the tone of each pickup. I'm guessing here, but that could be the missing piece in your calculations.
Looking at a schematic (which may or may not be accurate), there is a capacitor in line with what looks like a coil tap on the bridge humbucker in the middle position,,,, this will account for your reading. The cap will block your DC resistance measurement of that pickup, hence the identical value.
Really nice demo track, immaculate playing. You show the guitar at its best. I can hear why Ron Wood liked these.
Sounding good, shame it doesn't quite do it for you but so it goes. I've had my Starplayer Rebound for a couple of years now and I am using it on sessions more and more - took me a while to adjust to it, esp. the 10 - 52 string set they ship with. I have stayed with 10 - 52s on it (10 - 46 on my Les Paul, Strat etc.) and the extra weight on the low end has pushed me to write more riffy stuff which I'm enjoying. It fills a nice semi acoustic electric gap for me . . .
You're right John, 8.35k and 5.64k in parallel = 3.37k, but there are other components in there as well and I don't know how they're wired
Way back when I asked my favourite guitar dealer (Uli Kurtinat, Cologne) for a good, versatile guitar, he showed me this guitar. I was more than a little sceptical because this did not look like anything I had in mind. It just did not look like it could do Hard Rock, a bit of classic Metal and Pop-Punk (as in Green Day, for example). As always, Uli told me to take it home and try it out for a few days.
Well, I was convinced by the instrument within a very short time. And it does do everything I want it to. Uli always said that it is the instrument that chooses the player and not the other way round.
Some time ago, I had the neck P-90 replaced by a D-Tron humbucker, Duesenberg's take on the Filtertron.
How was the or is the D tron ?
@@bobbyarthur-yf3yf The D-Tron does its Job just fine. The sound ist a bit hollow, but I like it.
Your college notes are quite correct (I'm a retired electrician, among other things) and I can't explain the resistance anomaly. Perhaps they designed a switch that doesn't work in the usual way, and incorporates a series resistor in the middle position to get a balanced output. Who knows. Intriguing!
Absolutely love the sound and whole Idea of this guitar John. Right up my street! 😀👍 Loved the Guitarmonies too 😎😎👌👌
Shame you didn’t like it. I bought the same guitar during lock down, it’s my favourite guitar. I’ve played everything from Tool to Johnny Cash on it. I find it to be a very versatile guitar. I like it so much, I am considering getting a Duesenberg Caribou.
Confused now. Thought middle position would just be as 1/R = 1/R1 + 1/R2 and Kirchoff's Laws were for current and voltage in a circuit. If it is the usual reciprocal rule then that implies that R2 is infinite when you select middle position doesn't it?
Great playing John ,Cracking review
I have played a few PRS guitars and felt the same way. I did like a Vela S2 but didn't like the uneven pickup volumes. PRS makes great instruments with quality parts perfectly assembled. Yet I haven't found one that I want to buy. Just like this Duesenberg, some guitars make one lust for them, others are meh.
For years I loved the hype about Reverend guitars. So many sounded great on videos. There were no dealers near my small town. One day I took a trip to another city and found a shop with several of them. I picked up the ones I thought I would like the most. _None_ of them gave me any kind of spark. I played a few more... nothing. I haven't played the whole range, but I'm not going out of my way to find any either.
I ordered a $200 Grote guitar from Amazon. I loved it even with its imperfections. It felt comfortable. It sounded good plugged in and acoustically. I even bought a hard shell case for it. Unfortunately it had to be sold when money was needed quickly. Will I get another? Maybe. I'm sticking with my one ukulele and one small acoustic guitar until I absolutely prove to myself that I need another guitar. The one I own now works. As a non-professional, having a second guitar isn't a necessity.
If your looking for a Filter'Tron friendly guitar with a neck that won't make your hands hurt for days, she's a beauty. Seen but a few. Details were impeccable. Custom hardware was impressive. Overall look: Spot on. More boutique I thought.
2nd watch, learning more.
1:24- Nuf' said. Many thanks.
Enjoyed your take... I saw one on a YT clip but didn't know what it was and just had to find out...two weeks later i had a Starplayer TV Phonic Venetian White.... absolutely gorgeous...I love it (though it is a little bit fancier than the one you have reviewed) Cheers. Did you go to National Sea Training College at Gravesend?
I would love to know what you are using for your rig? That sound is fantastic on your demo!
The middle position on this guitar is wired totally differently to a les paul etc. Thats why it sounds different in the middle position, and probably why it meaures differently. There is some out of phase stuff going on. I have this guitar in vintage sunburst and i love it. You can usually pick one of these up brand new for around £2000 if you shop around.
Hi John - cheers from south sunny Algarve - Portugal.
You are absolutely right in your appreciation and wise thoughts: I have 2 Duesenberg guitars - one like that one Mike Campbell sign. and a Joe Walsh sign. They pretended to electronically emulate a Strat in the misterious middle position - and I think they nailed it. My appreciation is: I’m gone a sell both guitars just because they are “cold” and rigid… the engineering and the build quality are top - but they are a bit heavy and expensive… and I own too many guitars and other prefs 🙂 Cheers and thanks for your excelent videos!!
The tremolo is so good that I bought and installed a few in other semis 🤩
How did your selling go ?
@@zedasiscas3830 - That's funny. I too bought Duesenberg trems for other guitars. I have a deluxe I'm in the process of painting black to put on my Yamaha Revstar. It's just a heavenly trem far superior to Bigsby. I've only had my starplayer tv phonic for a day but... I'm on the fence about selling it. I got such a deal though I could easily make a profit
Fantastic 😊❤ have a good weekend john
Beautiful guitar. £2000 out of my price range, but thanks for letting me lick the shop window.
what an awesome t-shirt! you rock! tyvm! :)
Duesenbergs are very much among the Concert Grandes of guitars. I know not every guitar is for everyone, but honestly, it feels like you were trying to find any excuse to NOT like this guitar. If I had not held and heard several in person the tone of your review would have dissuaded me from wanting to pursue one further. I hope others weren't dissuaded. For ME these guitars don't just move sound; it's as if they're manipulating the gravitational field in the room.
Each to their own mate. It wasn't a bad guitar, but it just didn't float my boat.
C'mon man, really? There's no way you don't work for Duesenberg. And yes I own one. The Starplayer TV phonic in venetian white
A not a Gretsch rockabilly machine. As usual, a thorough and honest review, even if it doesn't float your boat(note the nautical reference).
I LOVE this guitar. Everything about it appeals to me John .... except, perhaps, the price ... and yet, as me auld Fatha used t' say " If ya want it, get it " lol. My problem is ; in my periphery, I still see the second wife standing beside the first wife wielding their axes ( of the Viking kind ) ... and their " chops " were extremely well rehearsed 😂🤣
Great review Big Fella, i like the Guitar, but if it doesn't float your boat then it doesn't float your boat great show as usual. It's hard to define that x factor. PEACE AND LOVE TO EVERYONE ❤❤.
Sometimes a little research helps to discover the "secrets" of this wiring. Because they are not that secret.
It’s odd isn’t how sometimes guitars, no matter how good, just don’t do it for you. Just one of those things really. Still a great review, John, and I think I might go and try one of those for myself.
1/total =(1/resistance A) +(1/resistance B)
Sounds just the job for Southern Rock.
In your hands, this guitar sounds so much better than in mine. 🙂
i like really like it but it doesnt have the features i look for in a guitar, no ss frets for one, and for that price i would want a guitar i dont have to make any compromises on
Laws are made to be broken?
I did wonder whether DUESENBERG guitars had any connection with the American DUESENBURG car company, as it did seem as if the design of that guitar bore similarities with vintage automotive design. But no, apparently not. For me, the design of the guitar is a bit too 'busy'. Their guitars are plekked apparently. So no surprises it the necks play well. But German precision... for me it tends lack soul. Just my opinion...
actually he said the action needed fixing, and I would agree. If they plek these, their plek machine is garbage. It was not BAD mind you, but far from great. My cheap $400 Revstar had better action out of the box, no pleking.
Short of selling a kidney, I'd never be able to afford one of those, John. In all of your vids I've enjoyed the tones that you produce, but that was off the scale. Hell, who needs two kidneys anyway?