Dove, fake or legit?

ElectricXII

Mellish said:

ElectricXII said:

Mellish said:

@streethawk ; just shows you how different two Doves can be.

Mine hates Elixir, doesn't mind Newtone Masterclass but loves anything D'Addario.

I suspect the now hard-to+get Gibson strings are manufactured by D'Addario.

 

Elixirs are made by D'Addario too IIRC.

Never knew that mate. 

Checked. Made by W. L. Gore. 

 

Gore only applies the coating. They don't have a string making facility and buy them in. I worked for WL Gore for 20 years 

Mellish

@ElectricXII ;

When Elixirs first came out they had coloured ball ends like D'Addario.

Looking around, though (AGF, UMGF) I can't find any who say Elixirs are made by D'Addario..

ElectricXII

@@Mellish ;

I left W L Gore in 2021, and at that time they definitely did not have a string winding factory. They almost certainly buy the strings in from another supplier. There's a pretty good chance it's still D'Addario.

Cranky

Beautiful, congrats!

 I had a chance at a Dove a few years back.  Really wish I had.

Mellish

@ElectricXII ;

Who knows mate?

Mellish

@Cranky ; they're very good.

Mine is as loud as you like, thunderous bass and ringing trebles. It's definitely a keeper. 

 

streethawk

Hey don't knock these elixirs, I'm pleasantly surprised so far. Couple of days and they've bedded in nicely. 

Not to be an outright nerd, but the second helping of conditioner has really sorted the rosewood out. Used Bigbends fretboard juice for the final dose. 

Mellish

@streethawk ; no-one *has* knocked Elixir, just a friendly debate over who the supplier could be...

Ah, switched the saddle round. Notice a difference?

 

streethawk

Mellish said:

@streethawk ; no-one *has* knocked Elixir, just a friendly debate over who the supplier could be...

Ah, switched the saddle round. Notice a difference?

 

Oh no I'm just saying, they are better than I expected.

Re saddle: I think if the seller got the guitar back now he'd think twice about letting it go. 

Mellish

@streethawk ; no worries mate.

Yes, they're good guitars. I swapped the factory bridge pins (Tusq I think) for good quality bone. To my ear it improved tone and volume. But YMMV. 

 

stickyfiddle

Fwiw I had elixirs on it when it was with me and they sounded great. They’re garbage on Martins but genuinely suited the hifi vibe of the dove perfectly 

ICBM

Mellish said:

I swapped the factory bridge pins (Tusq I think) for good quality bone. To my ear it improved tone and volume. But YMMV. 

I swapped mine for bone with abalone dots. It made no difference to the sound, but they look a lot nicer - which is much more important as we all know .

Mellish

@ICBM ; it's one of those you-hear-a-difference-or-you-don't.

Mrs M heard no difference but our daughters did and so did I. Imaginary? I dunno but if you hear it

then I guess you can say it's real - to you? I'm going to say it is, anyway  

 

drofluf

ICBM said:

Mellish said:

I swapped the factory bridge pins (Tusq I think) for good quality bone. To my ear it improved tone and volume. But YMMV. 

I swapped mine for bone with abalone dots. It made no difference to the sound, but they look a lot nicer - which is much more important as we all know .

Not saying that's the case here but it always annoys me when a manufacturer skimps on a detail like that. My Furch is a case in point: lovely woods, well finished, great workmanship, frets dressed and cheap plastic bridge pins.

But all credit to Furch; I emailed them to ask the taper and dimensions of the pins and they replied by asking my address and sending a set of ebony pins

ICBM

Mellish said:

@ICBM ; it's one of those you-hear-a-difference-or-you-don't.

Mrs M heard no difference but our daughters did and so did I. Imaginary? I dunno but if you hear it

then I guess you can say it's real - to you? I'm going to say it is, anyway  

 

It may depend on the particular pins, the guitar as well, or the strings. When I did it, I tested it carefully by swapping only three of the pins, so I could compare the sound of each string - E, G and A vs B, D, and E - then the opposite way round. (Using the same strings all the time.) I could hear no difference at all.

But doing that with plastic vs brass pins, definite difference, so it's not to say that *no* bridge pin change makes any difference, and I couldn't rule out your particular ones doing - although I actually think bone and hard plastic are similar enough in hardness and density (unlike brass) for there to be no real mechanism for it.

But whatever - the bone ones do look *much* nicer, and if that makes you feel better and play better, then it *is* better .

Mellish

@ICBM ; 

Yes mate, we go with what works for us. 

String wise this Dove works best with D'Addario EJ16. Really rings, but if I put Thomastik on, say, nothing but meh. That's not to criticise Thomastik, they just don't work with this guitar. 

The bone pins btw, FWIW ( I love 'em), came from JP Guitars.