I've got a Duesenberg Starplayer TV that I really love the feel of. Great vibrato design on these things. Very nicely weighted. Great neck. Plays like a dream and looks super cool. The only thing I don't like about it is the bridge pickup. It's a little too hot and bright. I was thinking of maybe Gretsch'ing it up a bit by dropping a TV Jones Classic or something similar in there.
Any thoughts?
Uh oh.
Proteus..... must..... bite..... tongue..... 
I own 4 of them. Hate the stock pickups. ALL have TV Jones in them = awesome now. You have some wood work to do (just like a 5120 mod), but it's worth it.
While Gretsch is still my #1, my modded Doozeys are a very strong #2. They're part of my "island" guitar survival kit. 
FYI: I dislike the company and it's practices, but the guitars are killer. Forgive me, Prot!!
Yeah yeah.
jslator, it's probably not fair of all of us to refer to the history of Dues...Duesen...Duesenbe...oh, I can't say it, you know what I mean...guitars on this site without providing the background.
WAAAY more than you'd want to know about the running gag, and maybe SOME of what you'd like to know about they actual Dieterwürst guitars, is contained in these threads from the past.
November '06: Rabid Ranting
April '07: Getting under Dieter's skin
February '08: A Real Duesenberg Weighs In
Dare you to go through all of it!
I get the distinct impression that Doozey's have been discussed here before. 
I actually looked for a forum search function but didn't see one.
Don't TV Jones have pickups packaged so that you can drop them in wherever you have a regular humbucker? If I went with that mounting option, would I still need woodwork?
Those are his "English-mount" pups, and no you wouldn't. Their proportions are a little different than that of his Filtertron-shaped pups, though, and that matters aesthetically to some people.
I think you CAN get Filtertron-looking surrounds for the English-mount models, though, which would improve the appearance over plain ol' Gibso-style pickup rings.
We lack a search function. The trick is to use a site-delimited google search (append "site:gretschpages.com" after your search terms).
Thanks on all counts Proteus.
Tim: I forgot how funny those rants were. Love the Deiter picts!
I PROMISE: My Tru Arc's will not live on a Doozey!!!
I know...I've been wasting time reading the wiener raves in the second thread. My gut hurts. You were on a ROLL, bud.
I think it may have gone a little over the top. I must someday convey my apologies to Dieter.
I did feel better after corresponding with Denny.
Hey Pro, I just read all those threads. And for whatever it's worth, I agree implicitly. It's always bugged me to hear of "Duesenberg Guitars." No matter how much I actually kinda like them, the fact that he's using that name really bugs me.
Real Duesenbergs (of which I've seen a few, including some of Jay Leno's) are a pretty transcendent experience in person. Knowing the history behind the company, and the engineering behind the cars (as you said, overhead cams, etc.), and seeing it all in such a classically (superlative) beautiful package, it's pretty incredible. Lastly, you factor in that they came from two dudes in Indiana, and not from the German military (because we all know Germans make the best engineers) - that's probably the all time greatest car company.
Imagine if Gretsch had made 494 guitars, ever (I believe Duesenberg made 494 cars, 495 if you include the prototype). We know and love Gretsch now, and hold them in pretty high esteem compared to the competition. But they've probably produced some 100,000 guitars by now (I'd love to know actual production numbers). Imagine if, knowing what we know about the pure awesomeness that is Gretsch, there were ~500 of them in the world.
That's what a Duesenberg should be.
Tim,
don't open. You only see nightmares.
Sorry pal...
I like them, for the looks. No idea about the sound or the company's history/name stuff or anything..
I'll read the rants later :)
I'm embarrassed to say that I had never actually heard of Duesenberg automobiles until I started looking into the guitars.
Well there you go then. Through a convoluted roundabout, the dang guitars have introduced someone to the cars.
I'm old.
If the guitars sounded as good as the cars, they'd be on to something. They brought a bunch to my studio and wanted me to endorse them. I can't get past the fact that they sound bad, although the quality is very good.
They have no twang. The middle position does nothing. I think they reverse-wind the neck pickup.
There's a museum in the old Cord, Auburn, Duesenburg factory. If you're ever driving though northern Indianna, check it out. They have some great stuff.
BZ
In fact, it's something like Mecca for serious old car guys.
And the cars DO sound great.
Here's a couple recordings from the Labor Day Auburn meet...though not a mighty J winding out (which we've heard millions of times in movies as THE sound of a powerful car, without realizing it).
These are not clips of a J in full roar. They're a walkaround and a closeup of a nicely-tuned (but cold-started) idling/revving J engine (in a rare unrestored car) which hasn't been apart since the day it was built, sometime in the early 30s.
I am a late joiner of the GDP and had never seen these rants before. I haven't enjoyed myself more in a long time. Proteus, you are quickly becoming my favorite author.
Proteus, I think you'll be interested to learn that controversies surrounding Duesenberg guitars (however unrelated to this one) on these 'Pages extend farther back than you may know.
In a long since forgotten iteration of the esteemed GDP (a couple three versions before that which we now call "the archives," we're talking ~2003 here) I posted an inquiry regarding Duesenberg guitars. I had just finished watching a Rolling Stones Concert on HBO (I believe it was this one), and found myself wondering about an unusual guitar played by one Ron Wood. Unfortunately the camera operator did not share my interest in guitars and refused to close up on it, but to my eyes it looked like a Gretsch Jet with a yellow top, PAF-style 'buckers, f-hole, a Bigsby, and a decidedly un-Gretschy headstock.
Given that I was (at the time at least) saving up for a Gretsch Jet, you could say I was intrigued. Perhaps it was my lust for a Jet that made me blind to the fact that it wasn't really a Jet, but Ron's own signature Duesenberg model.
Of course, I then consulted my favorite source for anything guitar-related, the GDP. I asked if anyone knew anything about the guitar and soon received a few enlightening replies. Though I learned it was not a Gretsch I was still quite interested, for I intended to have a piggy bank full of cash at the end of the year with which I would buy an expensive guitar. You see, the process of saving up for a Gretsch was a long one for me, as I had no job. I did have all the time in the world to look at guitars on the internet, and my theoretical "next purchase" changed weekly. But I digress.
I posted something in that thread to the effect of, "that Deueuesenburg is the most beautiful guitar I've ever seen." The legendary Zak Izbinsky replied by saying that it was a hideous guitar (though I recall he worded it more colorfully). Well I was 15 at the time, and he had just insulted my schoolyard crush, so to speak. So obviously the thread erupted into what was probably my most heated GDP argument, except maybe the time someone called Mr. Rogers a paedophile . I called Zak arrogant and elitist, which prompted his girlfriend to start a GDP account so she could insult my taste in music (I guess the Rolling Stones are not as cool as Canadian rockabilly), so I insulted her taste in men, etcetera, until the thread was eventually locked.
I don't know if anyone else around here remembers this, but it is not my best memory of Zak Izbinsky, who was otherwise pretty cool to me. This is what I think of when Duesenbergs come up on discussion boards, and prior to tonight, I was entirely unaware of your distaste for Dieter's guitars. I'm surprised at my ignorance, for I generally read your rants with relish. Though I still don't have a Jet or a Duesenberg, I think they are beautiful guitars.
For what it's worth, I also didn't know about the legendary cars until after I learned about the guitars.
LOL. Proteus, I saw this thread and came here to post exactly the words in your first post....exactly.
Otter, I think Duesenbergs are hideously ugly too, they're an insult to whoever or whatever was called Duesenberg before, an insult to good taste, and they really don't deserve the "art deco" tag they sometimes get. I love Art Deco, more than strongly dislike the look of the Duesenbergs.
We had a GDP member from Germany ("Mr Whizz", after the obscure Jerry Reed rockabilly tune) in the GDP's old days who had a black Les Paul sized semisolidbody Duesenberg with a Digsby he'd put a DeArmond pickup in, and I always referred to it as his "Udo-Jet".
Of them all, the only Duesenberg that looks cool is the double cat. It's got kind of a Rickenbacker vibe going. But I surely can't understand their pricing. And... the headstock is phenomenally ugly!
The headstock IS surprisingly ugly, and as I've beat into the ground in previous rants, the "art deco" touches they attempt are amazingly inept. The logo is particularly bad.
And of course you kinda like the Cat, bd, you have a strong Rickenbacker weakness! As pure design, it's a bit more successful than the others - but just as derivative and me-too in its own snarky way.
Otter, thanks for the historical perspective. I'm well aware there were many years of GDP I missed, and Zak and Prez's names are legendary in my mind though I don't know if I've ever read any of their posts. I've great respect for the old-timers and forbears, and wish they'd come around again.
I THINK there were some archives attached to the first GDP version I was around for (circa early '05), and I tried to read through those as I had time. Wonder if Bax can hook them back up.
Sounds like the first GDP Duesenberg conflagration was a right merry battle, and I'm sorry I missed it. (And equally sure I would have sent it sideways with my automotive history slant.)
Bear - go awn with ya, man! If just I could come up with a plot and characters, I could write a book...
Proteus said: bd, you have a strong Rickenbacker weakness! As pure design, it's a bit more successful than the others - but just as derivative and me-too in its own snarky way.Oh, I completely agree. And, since I can't get over the derivativity, I won't buy one. Well, that and the fugly headstock (and I could buy two Jets for the price of that sucker, and I'd *still* have to upgrade the Dieterberg with TV Jones). And let's not forget that price again, now that's the REAL doozy!
