iglam
New Member
I own two DC3s. Love them both, but they are different. Both are 2011s, both have maple necks, although one has birds. They play identically, as you would expect, but they sound different.
Guitar A (Dots) has Phase II tuners, and the bridge appears to be a core bridge with a brass block. I think the DC3 typically had steel blocks. Serial number is 11 172028.
Guitar B (Birds) has open back Phase III tuners which are really really stiff to turn, and no amount of coaxing will allow me to take them apart. The bridge looks like a core bridge, although the tremolo arm is maybe 3/4 of an inch longer and has a different radius in the right angle bend, making it hit the volume knob when I try and move it out of the way. The block is steel, not brass. The saddles themselves don't look like core saddles, and maybe look like SE saddles? The saddle adjustment screws are stainless, and not gold colored. The trem springs appear to be slightly weaker to me, which makes the trem sit forward a bit more than I'd like, making it harder to intonate. Serial number is 11 182963.
I can send pictures if anyone wants, but I'm wondering, what the heck do I have? This wasn't at the tail end of the DC3 run (they were still building them in 2012). Maybe they slapped some leftover parts together to finish a build? Maybe it was an experiment. Custom shop? I was surprised to find birds on a DC3, but it doesn't sound as good. A hotter sound, but not as warm. I suspect if I swap out the block for brass, it will sound better, but that still leaves me with the intonation problem.
iggy
Guitar A (Dots) has Phase II tuners, and the bridge appears to be a core bridge with a brass block. I think the DC3 typically had steel blocks. Serial number is 11 172028.
Guitar B (Birds) has open back Phase III tuners which are really really stiff to turn, and no amount of coaxing will allow me to take them apart. The bridge looks like a core bridge, although the tremolo arm is maybe 3/4 of an inch longer and has a different radius in the right angle bend, making it hit the volume knob when I try and move it out of the way. The block is steel, not brass. The saddles themselves don't look like core saddles, and maybe look like SE saddles? The saddle adjustment screws are stainless, and not gold colored. The trem springs appear to be slightly weaker to me, which makes the trem sit forward a bit more than I'd like, making it harder to intonate. Serial number is 11 182963.
I can send pictures if anyone wants, but I'm wondering, what the heck do I have? This wasn't at the tail end of the DC3 run (they were still building them in 2012). Maybe they slapped some leftover parts together to finish a build? Maybe it was an experiment. Custom shop? I was surprised to find birds on a DC3, but it doesn't sound as good. A hotter sound, but not as warm. I suspect if I swap out the block for brass, it will sound better, but that still leaves me with the intonation problem.
iggy
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