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Hatsubai « The standard Dellinger »
Published on 04/06/11 at 14:05Caparison is a small company in Japan that makes hand crafted guitars. The Dellinger was one of the models that was released shortly after the first successful run back in 1995. There are some variations in the Dellinger series, but the Dellinger I have has an oiled mahogany body, HSS configuration, maple neck with an ebony fretboard, 24 jumbo frets, a Schaller floyd rose, a 5 way switch with a single volume and push/push tone to split the bridge/neck pickups.
UTILIZATION
Since Caparison is a small company, they tend to pay attention to detail a bit more than the average guitar company. The body and layout itself is very similar to the Jackson Soloist, and that should be no surprise considering the company's founder was a luthier for Jackson. The oiled finish feels very nice on your wrist, too. One thing that's different about Caparisons compared to most guitars is that the bridge is actually raised more than a normal floyd would be. It feels more like the old school Chavels where they used to route out the flush mount bridges. The neck is a medium D shape, so it's not a paint stirrer neck like certain other necks tend to be.
SOUNDS
Outright, I'm not a huge fan of Caparison pickups. They can work, but I prefer swapping them to something else. That said, the guitar is extremely resonant and has this great low-mid kinda sound that some other guitars don't exactly get. Caparison is very particular when it comes to the finish as the finish has a direct affect on tone. By using a thinner finish (in this case, an oil finish), it allows the wood to breathe more. The HSS configuration allows tons of versatility, and the push/push tone knob allows for even more tonal variations.
OVERALL OPINION
Like all Caparisons, this guitar sounds amazing. A pickup swap will probably need to be in order, but it all depends; some people love the stock pickups. The PH-R is a pretty good bridge pickup, and the neck isn't too bad. The push/push pots can sometimes go flaky, so you might want to get a push/pull pot instead for the bridge tone. Aside from that, it's definitely a guitar worth considering and probably my favorite brand.
UTILIZATION
Since Caparison is a small company, they tend to pay attention to detail a bit more than the average guitar company. The body and layout itself is very similar to the Jackson Soloist, and that should be no surprise considering the company's founder was a luthier for Jackson. The oiled finish feels very nice on your wrist, too. One thing that's different about Caparisons compared to most guitars is that the bridge is actually raised more than a normal floyd would be. It feels more like the old school Chavels where they used to route out the flush mount bridges. The neck is a medium D shape, so it's not a paint stirrer neck like certain other necks tend to be.
SOUNDS
Outright, I'm not a huge fan of Caparison pickups. They can work, but I prefer swapping them to something else. That said, the guitar is extremely resonant and has this great low-mid kinda sound that some other guitars don't exactly get. Caparison is very particular when it comes to the finish as the finish has a direct affect on tone. By using a thinner finish (in this case, an oil finish), it allows the wood to breathe more. The HSS configuration allows tons of versatility, and the push/push tone knob allows for even more tonal variations.
OVERALL OPINION
Like all Caparisons, this guitar sounds amazing. A pickup swap will probably need to be in order, but it all depends; some people love the stock pickups. The PH-R is a pretty good bridge pickup, and the neck isn't too bad. The push/push pots can sometimes go flaky, so you might want to get a push/pull pot instead for the bridge tone. Aside from that, it's definitely a guitar worth considering and probably my favorite brand.