My experience with a Doheny

[mikemjr12]

I know there are a lot of people on this forum looking for more info on the Doheny, so I figured I'd offer up my thoughts on it so far. I've only had mine since 5/4/18 and haven't tested it under every scenario possible. But I'm familiar with G&L and can offer up my experiences so far and how it compares to others I've played. Feel free to ask me questions about it and I'll do my best to answer. The Doheny I have is Alder body (8.5 pounds give or take), rosewood finger board, dual fulcrum bridge.

TL;DR - the descriptions from G&L and various venders, while frustrating and perhaps lacking detail, are accurate.

Pickups - I like them. I think the folks at G&L did their research and listened to feedback when developing these. They have a lot of what makes MFD pickups great - clarity, expanded frequency range, note definition, and so fourth. But they don't seem to have any ice picky highs (formvar wiring perhaps?). They have a noticably softer attack than my SC-2 with jumbo MFDs (more on comparisons later). I think there's more bass present and maybe some low mids. Doesn't get muddy and I wouldn't call the attack soft ala humbuckers. People have described the pickups as sounding "big" and I think this is what they're getting at. The added bass and softer attack makes it sound big. The neck pickup is a distant cousin of the strat. Fuller mids, more output. Bridge pickup is thick for a single coil bridge. Not twany like a tele or thin like a strat. Not as harsh as a P90. Middle position is great as well. They blend together and balance very well. They definitely have a vibe all of their own. Sound great with overdrive and clean.

Neck - the neck is very smooth and comfortable. I'm used to the 1 5/8 nut width on my other G&Ls, so the 1 11/16 neck has a different feel. I have average sized hands. I feel more 'in control' of my SC-2 because of it's slightly narrower nut. I can wrap my hand around better. But I don't feel like I'm fighting the Doheny - I'm just slightly challenged by it. The 21 frets takes a little getting used to as well, but I don't play that far down the neck. I can understand if people want to hold out for different neck profiles, but the different between this and other standard G&Ls isn't that drastic.

Hardware - the PTB system is, imo, a superior design to the classic single tone control. I've found the roll offs to be fairly subtle at low volumes and more pronounced at higher ones (go figure!), but the amount of cutting is very useable. The taper on the pots of my model are a little sticky and probably need to be cleaned. But they feel substantial. I generally prefer the saddle lock bridge, but the dual fulcrum bridge is nice for adding some vibrato. I haven't used it much yet. I can't tell if it's been adjusted since leaving the factory or not. But the action is great across the guitar so I'm just leaving it as is for now.

Comparison to my SC-2 - I was really interested in how this guitar's sound would differ from my SC-2 with jumbo MFDs. The SC-2 sounds thinner, has slightly less output, and all three positions have a distinct voice. The neck is stratty, the bridge tele-y, and the middle position has a funky thing going on. The Doheny sounds fuller and the middle position sounds much more refined than the SC-2. The SC-2 sounds more bluesy (neck) and country (bridge/middle) to me, with a high end sheen. With enough preamp gain, the SC-2 can be pushed to rock territory, but you'd probably be better off with something else. And its attack is always tight and focused, which can be less forgiving to mistakes. The Doheny is less genre specific on its own with an overall rounder tone. Handles gain and rock tones better, but still gets nice and shimmery for clean work. This might sound like I'm bashing my SC-2 and placing the Doheny on a pedestal and if I had to choose one, I'd probably go with the Doheny. But luckily I don't have to choose one or the other. I still play the SC-2 frequently. I like the neck a little more and it still has a great vibe to it.

I hope this helped. Or maybe it just left you more frustrated about whether or not to take the plunge. Or maybe you're waiting for the tribute models to become available because it's hard to justify the price of a USA made one. If you're wondering if it can play XYZ style of music or if it sounds like a certain artist - the answer is probably, I don't know, and/or that depends. Just about any guitar, with the right set up and accompanying gear, can be used to sound like whatever it is you're after. Can you play jazz with this? Sure, why not. Rock? Go for it. Metal? Knock yourself out. Regardless, if you are a fan of G&L's guitars, then I think you will like the Doheny.

Happy to answer any questions you folks have!

[BoringPostcards]

Thanks for posting. I'm definitely getting one as soon as I can muster the cash and make up my mind how I want it to look. I'm leaning towards Blackburst, Emerald Green Metallic or one of the clear options like red or blue.