I let the box sit around for about 5 hours to warm up before opening. The guitar came out as hoped, intact. The strings are old .009-.052. The build is amazing.
I first looked at the label inside because most of these are made by Daion, but a few are made by a Korean company that bought out Daion's factory. There is a Daion Headhunter 555 label with the founder's (Hirotsugu Teradaira) signature and a serial number ending in H. These show the guitar was built by Daion in Japan, yay! The serial number indicates it was built in 1983. So this is a true Made in Japan Daion factory lefty Headhunter 555. That's all great. And I'm told there is one other factory lefty, but it is in Australia.
The electronics all work, but the volume tapers are annoyingly biased toward one end of their range, probably linear taper instead of audio. Given the originality, that's something to get used to, not replace.
The sustain and resonance are phenomenal. Those were not just marketing hype. This is the only string-through semi-hollow I think I've played, and that may account for some of the sustain. Perhaps the channeling they did to the center block may account for some of the resonance. It is fairly loud acoustically for a semi-hollow, and the resonance is even more obvious unplugged. There may be something to the truncated center block that helps there too. I still plugged it right back in as nature intended.
There is a bit more neck relief than I like, so I went to adjust the truss rod and found a design flaw. The truss rod pocket doesn't have enough room for my allen wrenches, at least not for the 5mm wrench this truss rod appears to be. So I can't adjust it until I find or make a wrench small enough to fit in there. I adjusted the saddles instead, and it got to pretty good action without any buzz. The bridge has 2 screws to lock the saddles in place - never seen that before, but it seems cool. Even though I can still see more neck relief than I like, it plays very well now. So the truss rod can wait. It only bothers me not knowing how well the truss rod works on a 40+ year old guitar. But then, I'm also not looking forward to shortening an allen wrench either. So if I have to ding Daion on anything, this is it.
The pickups sound good, and I like their adjustment tripod, that allows for adjusting not just height, but tilt as well. The tapped positions pull off single coiledness decently, but not the best ever. These pickups shine as humbuckers. Using both pickups, having one tapped gives a character I've never heard from a semi-hollow, and it's pretty cool either way. I just don't care for both tapped. It seems to need one being humbucker to get a really good tone going. And the bridge in humbucker mode alone is pure rock goodness! Oh, and I noticed one high pole and found they are height adjustable using an allen wrench.
Other than a good cleaning and string change, I don't see anything else I don't love. This guitar is its own thing, unlike any other I've played. Fit and finish is artisan-level craftsmanship. There is no filler apparent in the inlays, even the lyre shaped logo, just amazing. The tuners are better than on most of my guitars, I can't believe they are original, but they are. It's fun to play, unusual, and has no issues I can find. I'm going to have to keep reminding myself I'm not likely to ever find another of this model in lefty. I'm giving it a case right away.
This one outclasses my Ibanezes and my Tokais. It might be just a bit better made than my 335 and Little Sister. It is more versatile than my 335, and in all other respects at least equal. I wish Daion had survived a tough market.
The plastic knobs gave me concern over its originality. The knobs and pickup selector switch are different from those advertised on the 1982 year model. However, I found several other Headhunters with my knobs and switch tip, so I think that was a 1983 change. Maybe some people didn't love the metal knobs, and I could see that. These speed knobs work out nicely, and after seeing them and the switch tip on some other 1983 examples, I think it's all original. There are finish swirls, but almost no dings or dents and that's amazing for a 43 year old electric.
I only wish I found the estate auction before it was flipped to Guitar Center. At that auction, it sold for a ridiculously low $270 + premium + tax, so about $333. It's still worth what I paid at GC, probably more, and I don't want to flip it. There were other guitars at that auction that also went for far too low, and I wish I had a shot at some of them, including a Heritage, a 1970 USA Mustang, an old Carvin, and a Charvel. But I think I'd still like this one most among them.
The Headhunter came in 5 finishes and this is my least favorite among them as it hides the flame in the wood. I can live with that, because I put playability and tone above looks for any guitar. This could have been any color and I'd love it. And it's not lost on me that I saw people on other forums give up on looking for one of these because they just haven't surfaced frequently. But there are 2 of them in righty at GC used right now! I was incredibly lucky to grab this lefty, especially considering it was on GC used for long enough to get discounted before I noticed it. In my research, I even saw one righty Headhunter mercilessly converted to lefty, destroying its value. This one stays here!
Edit: Added some illustrative pics:
That name is inlaid, not painted.
A string-thru semi-hollow, great sustain and resonance.
Adjustable allen key pole pieces and 3 screw pickup tilt adjustment
Signed by founder
Unfortunately tight truss rod access, oops.
Even a machined brass truss rod cover. Oh, and the fretboard marker inlays are brass too. Love this thing!
NGD: Daion Headhunter
-
BatUtilityBelt
- Reactions:
- Posts: 1893
- Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 4:25 pm
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
-
BatUtilityBelt
- Reactions:
- Posts: 1893
- Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 4:25 pm
It does play great. Funny you mention the Washburn. From what I've read, the earliest Washburns made in Japan came from the same factory as Daion - Yamaki. So that was a pretty special Washburn.
-
BatUtilityBelt
- Reactions:
- Posts: 1893
- Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 4:25 pm
I decided to break up a set and grind off 1/3 of the short end of this 5mm allen wrench to fit, but now the Headhunter once again has a truss rod wrench. And the action is perfect now.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
-
BatUtilityBelt
- Reactions:
- Posts: 1893
- Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 4:25 pm
Have you ever explored any legitimate job opportunities, scammer?
