Review--Dillion VMD-75 parts 1,2 & 3

[Haole Jim]

It was like the itch which could not be scratched to satisfaction. 'Passed up a perfect Mk I Ventures Model many years ago and in the time since, 'have Gibsoned and Fendered and Ibanezed and Line 6'ed and Washburned. 'Almost bought a Mo' in '90 and even exchanged a few correspondences with Mr. M., but he passed and nothing happened.

But the desire for a Mosrite lingered. Deep but not GAS-y. However, visiting a daughter who lived in Chicago, we walked to Tommy's Guitars and Cafe for a sandwich and chat. And no Mosrites, of course; they are danged few in Chicago, but among the 500 or so new and used surrounding the tables was a "Dillion" clone-oid "Mosrite."

'Finished up a corned beef sarnie and cola and sniffed hard. Metallic blue, looked very Mosrite-y in a superficial, low-end way. Tommy let this picker-customer plug into a used Laney which was already glowing and tune up.

Yech. Awful setup, frets sprouting both sides of the board. But to hold and listen and play, yup, something there. Tommy said it was a Dillion VMD-75 and was made in Vietnam (Vietnam?) and was discontinued and he would let it go for $350. We agreed on $300, which was known to be a dreadful mistake as soon as it was plugged into the old L6 Vetta I HD/412 Slant. But there was something there.

After a week of "effing" with the thing and filing at the fret ends, surrender; 'turned it over to the wizards at Third Coast Guitars and asked them to have at it. Having at it took over two weeks, weird, as one week is very usual. It was a gasp when a phone call asked if $115 plus strings was too much. What the hey, go the extra.

The moment of pickup was with trepidation. But plug-in at home was amazing. The cute buy nasty duckling had become a beautiful swan-princess.
(end of part 1)

[Haole Jim]

Post-Third-Coast Guitars $115 setup, fret-edge filing, plus new .011 flats, the Dillion VMD-75 from Vietnam was an eminently playable and pleasant-sounding guitar. Surprise! Cool!

Pups were P-90-oid, definitely. Bridge was a Tune-O-Matic clone-oid. Tailpiece was a Bigsby clone-oid, surprisingly smooth. No zero fret. 22 high, wide frets, nicely set. Maple neck much like a bolt-on SG profile and width (4 bolts, no plate), but not Gibson-tilted with relation to the body. Rosewood board not at all dark (cheap wood?), but slanted to parallel the neck pup after 22nd fret. Small double-dot inlays at the usual places and a stylized Egyptian "Isis" at the 12th fret. Neck was jointed to headstock, which was tipped back like a Gibson, spear-point truss rod cover. 24 3/4" scale. Good nut, well-cut. Neck joint was cleaner-tighter than 90% of Fenders personally seen. Kluson-clone-oid tuners with chrome buttons, staggered.

Body was opaque rich metallic blue, thin-coat. Interestingly, side-jack. Vietnamese interpretation of German-carved, nowhere near the sexy grace of a real Mo'. Heavy (new ones are mahogany-bodied, no guess what this is) White-black-white 8-screw pickguard. Vol and tone knobs sucked and were replaced with aftermarket. Decent V and T pots. Good-enoungh 3-way switch. Usual cheap strap buttons.
(end of part 2)

[Haole Jim]

Oops...'neglected in part 2, to mention a couple things. Tho the bridge is a tune-o-matic-oid, it has tiny rollers rather than wedges, for each string, kinda hip. And, the neck is bound in a nice cream. Overall impression of the honey-ish maple, light rosewood and cream binding neck is really very "fudge" coloured, attractive.

So, 'just finished a plug-in with the old Cyber-Twin on '65 Deluxe Reverb setting. No reverb or trem, treble 5 3/4, mid 6 1/2, bass 7 3/4, presence 7. Fender heavy pick filed to a point for precise melodic lines. Planet Waves circuit-breaker cable.

The Dillion is more reminiscent of an SG with P-90s than a Mo, but heavier and handles well in every way (.011 D-R flatwounds). Really comfy neck actually shallower shape than a Strat or Jag or SG, 12" radius board. Vibrato is just about as good as a real Bigsby and returns to pitch after half-step bends. On "Harlem Nocturne", "Night Train" and "The Endless Summer", all notes are full, articulate and pleasant. Sustain is about average. Delightfully low action (thanks to Third Coast Guitars' hot setup) This discontinued Vietnam instrument is not a hotrod, but for sure, a competent guitar which may well be the best $300 (+ $115 setup / leveling / fret-sprout-filing) axe this picker has ever played. Pretty much up there with an MIJ Strat on quality. Likely the current VMG-75 from Korea is even better, but retail is about $800. This IS a gig-able guitar. If the VMD-75 has any "glaring" weakness, it seems fairly "soul-very, very lite." Not much personality. Shy? Guitar has not been named, in almost 4 years.

Then, set it saide and plugged in the Mosrite Mk I. .011 D'Addario flatwounds set real low. Same 3 songs. As one would expect, the Dillion was a "Mustang," the Mo a "Ferrari." The more powerful pups are noisier but much more sensitive. Quality in every way is hundreds of miles ahead of the Dillion. What can you say, to all practiccal ends, no comparison.

Last, a Fender MIJ Classic Player Jaguar, .011 D'Addario roundwounds. Same 3 songs. A step up in quality at double the price, plus. Slightly shorter scale made the Jag's strings a little floppier, but Jaguars are not immortals for nothing. The Dillion was a step down, but not a real long one, and kind of to the side; they are different animals.