Drive Like the Wind I set up a mid-’70s 2x15" Sunn cab with an all-tube Verellen Meatsmoke head and soloed the Barchetta’s bridge pickup with bass and treble set at at their center detents. The thick tone boasted lots of high snap and surprisingly full lows for a bridge pickup, lending itself to hard rock and metallic riffing. Lows and mids responded naturally to changes in my picking style, producing a thicker, bubblier tone when using my fingers rather than a pick. The highs seemed less willing to back off when I employed a lighter touch, but the tone control effectively tamed them when I wanted to transition from slap-friendly tones to warmer, softer sounds. The control is handy for boosting lows and highs separately or together, though raising the treble above 75 percent (halfway into the boost zone) gives highs a noticeably processed edge.
Ratings
Pros:
Neck profile and taper are very playable. Pickups provide plenty of detail, definition, and punch. BTC tone control is effective and easy to use.
Cons:
Overusing the tone control gives the tone a processed-sounding edge. Pricey.
Tones:
Playability:
Build:
Value:
Street:
$1,199
Company
dbzguitars.com
Applying a bit of the Meatsmoke’s growling overdrive further rounded out the tone while giving the midrange a more authoritative bark. The richness of the mids and highs also increased, and their heightened touch sensitivity made it easier to control their intensity. This was especially true when digging in with a pick for Mike Inez-style grind, and then switching to softer fingerpicking for fuller-bodied tones with more low-end emphasis.
The neck pickup is almost as clear and articulate as the bridge, but with smoother highs and expanded lows. Fingerpicked bass lines leapt from the Sunn’s speakers with a meaty snap, similar to the sound of Tony Levin’s springy line in King Crimson’s “Sleepless.” The bass and treble controls were at their flat settings—great for solid rock tones with ample lows and pick-attack detail.
The bright-toned ash body and responsive neck pickup help create solid, snarling rock tones, but that’s not to say that the Barchetta can’t handle more subdued styles. Cutting highs produces jazzier tones, though I found that cutting them too much can overemphasize the lows. It can take a little effort to find a balance where one frequency range didn’t overpower another.
The Verdict The Barchetta SM delivers huge tones, superb playability, and distinctive looks. The massive frequency range of its EMG pickups provides outstanding clarity and power. Used conservatively, the tone controls offer plenty of variation, so you can tailor the tone to taste. The Barchetta’s asking price might be a little steep for some, but the bass’s solid build, comfortable neck, and enormously punchy tone should put it on the radar of players seeking an instrument with unique looks and potent sounds.Bird of Prey
The Hailfire’s debt to the Firebird is obvious both in its body profile and the raised center section. The construction, however, is very different from a Firebird. Instead of a multi-ply walnut neck-through design, the Hailfire SM is built with a relatively light mahogany body that’s capped with a dramatically carved and striking spalted-maple top. Its painted wings and raised, natural center area give the illusion that it’s a neck-through model, but in reality the guitar’s 22-fret, rosewood-capped mahogany neck uses set-neck construction and a contoured heel that enables access to the upper frets.
In terms of hardware and electronics, the Hailfire keeps things pretty lean. The through-body stringing negates the need for a tailpiece and improves sustain, and a Tune-o-matic-style bridge and Grover tuners help you keep intonation correct and the guitar in tune. Two Seymour Duncan humbuckers—a ’59 in the neck and a JB in the bridge—are responsible for the guitar’s considerable output. Both pickups are controlled by a 3-way switch and master volume and tone controls. This setup is nice and streamlined, though it may be limiting for players who like to switch between, say, a super-dark neck-pickup sound and a bright, spunky bridge pickup.
Open Fire
After warming up a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier half-stack and strapping on the Hailfire, I was blown away by how light the guitar is. At a hair over 6 pounds, it doesn't put as much strain on your shoulder as most guitars of this size—and nowhere near as much as your typical maple-capped mahogany guitars. The neck-to-body balance is pretty even, too, and the weight of the headstock doesn't pull the neck down to the floor when standing.
Ratings
Pros: Light and comfortable. Tried-and-true Duncan pickup combo offers a plethora of tones. Wide neck eases simple and complex chording.
Cons: Master volume and tone controls might be limiting to some. Bridge position gets muddy with a lot of gain. Shredders might prefer a narrower neck.
Tones:
Playability:
Build/Design:
Value:
Street: $849
DBZ/Diamond
dbzguitars.com
Most players know of the huge tonal range you can get by combining a Duncan '59 and JB model—it’s one of the most popular humbucker combinations on the planet—and they live up to their considerable reputation in the Hailfire SM. The neck pickup produces super-smooth mids and thick, even lows for jazzy clean work, and digging in coaxes out a rich high end without any harsh edginess. When output is clean or colored by slight overdrive, the neck pickup has a response and warm array of tones that are very similar to a Gibson SG, but with tighter, more focused mids and highs (a point that is likely attributable in part to the Hailfire's maple top). The neck's slightly wider feel toward the headstock makes chords comfortable, but it’s a little tougher to pull off lightning-quick legato leads and clean, string-skipping melodies.
With light to moderate overdrive, the Hailfire SM yields a muscular array of rhythm and lead tones. The JB's characteristic detailed highs cut like a knife, and its raw midrange and thick low end provide a solid foundation for everything from classic-rock rhythms to late-’80s hard-rock riffing. Turning up the gain on my Mesa's orange channel added a little congestion in the midrange and dampened the presence a touch, and I experienced the same problem after switching over to a more mid-heavy Marshall JCM800. So when using the Hailfire's bridge pickup for heavier tones, it's best to set the amp's gain right at the point where the tone is both saturated and balanced, and then to use the amp's EQ to add low-end punch and more blistering highs.
The Verdict
The DBZ/Diamond Hailfire SM is solid guitar capable of covering much more musical ground than its flashy looks might suggest. Its lightweight, balanced construction alone make it a winner in a world that's constantly demanding lighter, more comfortable guitars, and the solid build and pickup complement are capable of handling everything from jazz to rock, blues, country, metal, and beyond. Shredders might prefer a narrower neck, but if you're in the market for a guitar with hot-rodded tone and custom looks to match—and at a pretty damn reasonable price—the DBZ/Diamond Hailfire SM offers a lot of compelling selling points.
