See and hear as the guitar's namesake talks about and plays his newest axe. (Bonus: hear the guitar through Friedman Jerry Cantrell Signature head.)
The Archon Classic is not a re-issue of the original Archon, but a newly voiced circuit with the Lead channel excelling in 70s and 80s rock tones and a hotter Clean channel able to go into breakup. This is the answer for those wanting an Archon with a hotrod vintage Lead channel gain structure without changing preamp tube types and a juiced up Clean channel without having to use a boost pedal all wrapped up in a retro inspired cabinet design." - Doug Sewell, PRS Amp Designer
A fine-tuned, well-worn feel, noiseless pickups, and a broad tone vocabulary made possible by clever switching mark real refinement in Player II Modified versions of Fullertonās foundational designs.
- Noiseless single-coil pickups ā Classic Fender tone without hum
- Higher-output humbucker ā More power with articulate midrange bite
- Push-pull switching ā Expands tonal versatility by splitting humbuckers
- Treble bleed circuit ā Maintains clarity when rolling back volume
- Modern āCā neck with rolled edges ā Smooth, broken-in feel for effortless playability
- Redesigned active preamp (basses) ā Improved tone control with enhanced midrange
- Upgraded bridges, locking tuners, and TUSQ nut ā Better tuning stability, sustain, and intonation
In this episode of 100 Guitarists, weāre talking all things surf rock, from reverb to tremolo picking and much more. And while āMisrlouā is undisputedly his most influential work, maybe Daleās best records didnāt come until a few decades later.
āAll the kids in all L.A. / Come to hear Dick Dale play,ā or so goes the title track from Dick Daleās Wrecking Crew-heavy 1963 album, King of the Surf Guitar. Immodest though it might seem to proclaim such a status, he was indeed at the top of the heap.
For many, Daleās legend precedes him. His sound, first heard in a So Cal beach ballroom, created the surf guitar vocabulary and transformed the guitar universe, starting with the 1962 release of his take on the traditional song āMisrlou.ā Ever the showman, he worked closely with Leo Fender developing the right gear for the gig as he played his ripping instrumentals to larger and larger audiences. He also inspired a Hendrix lyric and had a late-career renaissance thanks to Quentin Tarantino.
In this episode of 100 Guitarists, weāre talking all things surf rock, from reverb to tremolo picking and much more. And while āMisrlouā is undisputedly his most influential work, maybe Daleās best records didnāt come until a few decades later.
This episode is sponsored byTraveler Guitar.
Fabulous neck with just-right fatness. Distinctive tone profile. Smooth, stable vibrato. Ice blue metallic and aluminum look delish together.
Higher output pickups could turn off Fender-geared traditionalists.
$939
Eastman FullerTone DCā62
An affordable version of Eastmanās U.S.-made solidbody rolls with unique, well-executed featuresāat a price and quality level that rivals very tough competition.
Eastmanās instruments regularly impress in terms ofquality and performance. A few left my PG colleagues downright smitten. But if Eastman isnāt a household name among guitarists, it might be a case of consumer psychology: Relative to most instruments built in China, Eastmans are expensive. So, if you spend your life longing for a Gibson 335 and a comparable (if superficially fancier) Eastman costs just 20 percent less than the least expensive version of the real deal, why not save up for a bit longer and get the guitar of your dreams?
For some players, though, such brand-devotional hang ups are obstacles to getting the best instrument for the best price. Some just like having an alternative to legacy brands and models that live as dreams in a zillion other heads. As Eastman evolved as a company, theyāve paid close attention to both of those market segmentsācreating refined original designs like the El Rey and Romeo while keeping quality, execution, and playability at an exceptional standard. With the introduction of the FullerTone instruments, a series of Beijing-built guitars modeled after Eastmanās California-built, Otto DāAmbrosio-designed solidbodies, Eastmanās price/performance goals reach a kind of apex. Because the FullerTone guitars arenāt archtops or thinlines and use bolt-on necks, they range from just $799 (for the simpler SCā52) to $899 (for the more full-featured DCā62 reviewed here). Thatās a competitive market bracket, to say the least, but Fullertone delivers the goods in ways that count to players.
Somewhere in an Alternate O.Cā¦.
You donāt need to be a certified Mensa member to suss the FullerToneās design benchmarks. The nameās likeness to that of an Orange County locale where historically important electric guitar design took place is a less-than-covert tip of the hat. More tangible evidence of the DCā62ās Stratocaster inspirations exist in the shape of a bolt-on, 25.5"-scale neck, six-on-a-side headstock, a curvaceous double-cut body, and vibrato. (The more Telecaster-like DCā52 uses a T-style bridge and comes sans vibrato).
Many of these design nods, however, are distinguished by Eastmanās refinements. The patented neck joint, for instance, mimics that of the upmarket, U.S.-built Eastman DāAmbrosio. It employs just two screws, bolted into steel anchors in the neck itself. Itās a robust, clever design. The joint, which works in part like a long tenon, provides extra neck-to-body contact, making the effortless access to all 24 medium-jumbo frets all the more remarkable. (The fretwork, by the way, is impeccable).
āThe neckās profile will pique the interest of anyone bored with the sameness of generic, modern C-profiles.ā
The neck itselfāroasted maple, satin-finished, and capped with a 12"-radius Indian rosewood fretboardāuses an angled headstock design that differs from Fender convention, but the break angle is much shallower than a Gibson, which aids tuning stability. The neckās profile, though, will pique the interest of anyone bored with the sameness of generic, modern C-profiles. Eastman calls it a medium-round profile, but that doesnāt do justice to its substance, which calls to mind Fenderās chunkier 1960s necks. Itās not a shape for everyone, and shredders and players with really petite hands might be less enthused, but itās exceptionally comfortable, fills the palm naturally, and, at least for me, induces less fatigue than slimmer necks.
The Strat-style vibrato is a smart, functional evolution of a classic form. The arm sits securely in a rubber sleeve that keeps it precisely where you want, and the bridge itself is fixed to a substantial brass block and features individually intonatable saddles. The vibrato is so smooth and tuning stable that you will want to use it often. Really aggressive, twitchy vibrato technique can produce knocking against the body as you pitch upāat least as itās set up at the factory. Otherwise, itās fun and forgiving to use.
I would be remiss, by the way, if I didnāt mention how good the black limba body looks in satin ice blue metallic with a brushed aluminum pickguard. Though the DCā62 is available in black and desert sand (the latter with gold anodized pickguard), this particular combination is beautiful, elegant, and tasteful in a way that accentuates DāAmbrosioās timeless lines.
Substantially Yours
The DCā62ās pickups are produced by Tonerider, and they include two stacked noiseless alnico 5 single-coils in the center and neck positions (measuring 7.9 ohms) as well as an alnico 2 unit, also measuring 7.9 ohms, that Eastman calls a āsoapbar humbucker with gold-foil cover.ā Thatās a curious mash up of nomenclature. Traditionally, āsoapbarā pickups are P-90s, which are single-coils, and though the gold-foil-style cover looks cool, it doesnāt lend any gold-foil-ness in terms of construction. Tone-wise it inhabits a unique place. Some aspects of its response evoke a Stratocaster bridge pickup rendered large. There are also hints of a Telecaster bridge unitās meatiness. But of all the pickups I compared it to (at one point there was an SG, Telecaster, Wide Range-equipped Telecaster Deluxe, Stratocaster, and J Mascis Jazzmaster strewn about the room), it sounds most like a Rickenbacker Hi-Gain in an ā80s 330. Thatās cool. I think Hi-Gains are underrated and sound fabulous. But the Tonerider unit is definitely not an S-type pickup in any traditional sense. The stacked single-coils, too, deviate significantly from the Stratocasterās sonic mold. They are noiseless, as advertised, but have heat and push that make a vintage S-style pickup sound glassy and comparatively thin.
The Verdict
With a fantastic neck, smooth playability, and tuning stability that keep you glued to the instrument, the top-quality DCā62 is flat-out fun to play, which is good, given that at $899 itās in a price class with Fenderās excellent Mexico-made Player II guitars and PRSās superlative SE series, to name a few. But the DCā62 offers a unique palette of tones that donāt fit neatly into any box, and with a shape that breaks from tradition, itās a competitively priced way to take sonic and stylistic paths much less trodden