Vintage V58JDAB Jerry Donahue (ash blonde)

The V58JDAB is built around an unbound American alder body (the JD Duncan’s alder body has a bound ash top) with an Ash Blonde finish. The finish on the solid, hefty plank is evenly applied, though there were a few very tiny particles trapped in the finish on the top. A single-ply white pickguard adds a classic ’50s touch. The guitar features a bolt-on, one-piece hard maple neck/fretboard with perfectly inlayed black dot position markers and a vintage-style 7 1/4" radius. The neck itself feels quite comfortable, although it doesn’t sit entirely flush with the body, and the nut is seated slightly askew. The 22 medium frets were nicely dressed, cleanly installed, and felt good to the touch except for a few sharpish edges. The guitar’s setup and intonation were reasonably good, but both could have benefitted from a little finessing. That said, the relatively low action easily accommodated aggressive string bending without fretting out, and fret buzz was minimal overall. On these counts the Vintage delivers when it matters. The Wilkinson Deluxe WJ55S tuners and WTB bridge are very solidly built, stable, and perform well. The volume control is quiet in operation, but goes from silence to “on” rather abruptly, and the lack of a gradual linear taper may let down players that like pinky swells and volume dynamics. The tone control is more effective, but touches the mounting plate when turned. In general, the Vintage delivers in terms of playability, but there is room for improvements in quality at the detail level.