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I recieved the Dove Pro today and


lucille64

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I'm not exactly sure where to begin......

 

It is very pretty in appearance, I did change out the stock strings to John Pearce 12-53 Phosphor/bronze & silk 610LM's.

 

It needed the nuts on the tuning gear posts tightened and the output jack/strap peg nut tightened.

 

I had to take about a half a turn out of the truss rod so the relief is at 12thousands.

 

Now... even with the stock strings or the JP's, it has very considerably less volume compared to my Masterbilt DR500.

 

It's low end is weak in comparison to the mids and high end. Of course that is in part to it being a laminated maple back and sides. The overall tonal balance could be better I suppose.

 

The neck profile is thicker than the DR500 which makes it feel a bit "Chunky" in my left hand.

 

The fret work is perfect. The nut is cut ok but if I was keeping it I'd have a new vintage real bone nut made for it.

 

The action is at 3/64th at the Low E on the 12th fret and 2/64ths at the high E @ the 12th fret.

No Buzzing or dead notes anywhere. It could not be any easier to play for sure.

 

My overall impression of the tone is that it's somewhat thin sounding and has a bit of that laminated boxy sound.

 

In time as the top ages and opens up it may get better. I may take those imported Grover tuners off and put a set of Gibson Deluxe vintage tuners on it or Gotoh 510's. The Grovers slip and are a bit sloppy even after adjusting them.

 

I have a real bone saddle that will fit it perfectly and I will put that on for the neighbor's son.

 

The finish and fit and workmanship is very well done overall.

 

So in conclusion it's an ok instrument and for that kind of money not really all that bad.

 

I think it will serve the young man's purpose for right now.

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I'm not exactly sure where to begin......

 

It is very pretty in appearance, I did change out the stock strings to John Pearce 12-53 Phosphor/bronze & silk 610LM's.

 

It needed the nuts on the tuning gear posts tightened and the output jack/strap peg nut tightened.

 

I had to take about a half a turn out of the truss rod so the relief is at 12thousands.

 

Now... even with the stock strings or the JP's, it has very considerably less volume compared to my Masterbilt DR500.

 

It's low end is weak in comparison to the mids and high end. Of course that is in part to it being a laminated maple back and sides. The overall tonal balance could be better I suppose.

 

The neck profile is thicker than the DR500 which makes it feel a bit "Chunky" in my left hand.

 

The fret work is perfect. The nut is cut ok but if I was keeping it I'd have a new vintage real bone nut made for it.

 

The action is at 3/64th at the Low E on the 12th fret and 2/64ths at the high E @ the 12th fret.

No Buzzing or dead notes anywhere. It could not be any easier to play for sure.

 

My overall impression of the tone is that it's somewhat thin sounding and has a bit of that laminated boxy sound.

 

In time as the top ages and opens up it may get better. I may take those imported Grover tuners off and put a set of Gibson Deluxe vintage tuners on it or Gotoh 510's. The Grovers slip and are a bit sloppy even after adjusting them.

 

I have a real bone saddle that will fit it perfectly and I will put that on for the neighbor's son.

 

The finish and fit and workmanship is very well done overall.

 

So in conclusion it's an ok instrument and for that kind of money not really all that bad.

 

I think it will serve the young man's purpose for right now.

 

I'm not surprised that you had to do some tweaks Epiphone quality control sucks, as far as volume goes mine is louder than my dr500mce I read somewhere that some come with some kind of cloth under the saddle might need to check that.

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No surprise there. Same is true for my new EL-00 Pro compared to my EF500. The 00 sounds good plugged in though.

 

 

Cougar........ I have no doubt my DR500MNA is louder and warmer sounding.

 

I haven't plugged it in yet. I will run it through the Trident board and see if that sweet EQ section on the Trident can't fatten it up a bit and give it a bit more low end punch. At least plugged in anyway.

 

I assume this young man will like it.

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Every single Epiphone Hummingbird I've ever played in store sounds dead compared to my Texan. I've never seen a Dove in store, but I've always figured they would sound on par with the Hummingbirds. The initial post in this thread pretty much confirms it.

 

Lucille...have you been able to try out a good IB64 Texan yet?

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(Lucille...have you been able to try out a good IB64 Texan yet? )

 

JW, no the closest music store to me is 300 miles away.

 

If I buy one, I will do it on your recommendation.

 

I know the original Texan I bought was a killer sounding and playing guitar.

 

Since the IB64 model has a solid mahogany back and solid spruce top it has to sound better than this dove did, or I would assume it does.

 

That's not to say all the Doves sound the same as the one I bought. I'm sure some of them sound pretty good.

 

The Dove I bought plays great and looks wonderful though.

 

I'm thinking the Hummingbird may sound different from the Dove to some degree because it has a Mahogany laminate back and sides verses the Maple on the Dove. Maybe the Bird is a bit warmer ?

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Don't have a Dove, but my Hummingbird and my Masterbilt sound better with other than John Pearce strings - I have Ernie Ball Earthwood lights on them now and they really opened up and RING now...I still have several sets of JP strings that I will no longer use. I have found them to sound dull right out of the pack on the several different guitars on which I had installed them, going back to a 1939 Harmony archtop.

 

I won't use them again.

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Don't have a Dove, but my Hummingbird and my Masterbilt sound better with other than John Pearce strings - I have Ernie Ball Earthwood lights on them now and they really opened up and RING now...I still have several sets of JP strings that I will no longer use. I have found them to sound dull right out of the pack on the several different guitars on which I had installed them, going back to a 1939 Harmony archtop.

 

I won't use them again.

 

 

Old Mark.......

 

I used Ernie Ball Earthwood lights for a long time and still believe they are very nice strings. I just suppose I prefer the JP 610LM set for a darker woodier tone than the brighter tone the EB's give me.

 

Tone is about the most subjective subject there is in most cases.

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Old Mark.......

 

I used Ernie Ball Earthwood lights for a long time and still believe they are very nice strings. I just suppose I prefer the JP 610LM set for a darker woodier tone than the brighter tone the EB's give me.

 

Tone is about the most subjective subject there is in most cases.

 

No argument desired - I just found that the JP's sounded pretty dull to me and that might be part of the problem with this Dove.

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I'm not surprised that you had to do some tweaks Epiphone quality control sucks, as far as volume goes mine is louder than my dr500mce I read somewhere that some come with some kind of cloth under the saddle might need to check that.

 

I'm surprised you had problems with Epi's QC - Many people think their consistency is better than ever right now, and getting better steadily...

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I'm not surprised that you had to do some tweaks Epiphone quality control sucks, as far as volume goes mine is louder than my dr500mce I read somewhere that some come with some kind of cloth under the saddle might need to check that.

 

I wouldn't say that having to do some tweaks on a new guitar is a reflection of poor quality control. a setup on a guitar is a personal preference. their quality control is basically: make sure it looks ok and that it plays.

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The soundhole electronics make me like the Dove more than the Hummingbird, but the bridge makes me like the Hummingbird more than the Dove.

 

I'm in love with the bridge especially the doves in flight bridge on the new gibsons.

 

 

 

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I'm surprised you had problems with Epi's QC - Many people think their consistency is better than ever right now, and getting better steadily...

 

Very true it is getting better but when new guitars show up with loose wire, wood shavings, and in some cases disconnected wires it has been said the last guy in the factory doesn't look he just ships.

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