Hallmark 60 vs Dipinto

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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »

Hallmark 60 vs Dipinto

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SHADOWNIGHT5150 Joined: Jul 14, 2013 Posts: 345	Posted on Jul 10 2023 01:25 AM Ok so im looking at 2 guitars to get Either a Dipinto in all white or a Hallmark 60 in green and blue sparkle the differences in the two are from what I understand are these Price The hallmark is 999 with 25 shipping where the dipinto is 1050 with 95 shipping Overall the price difference isnt too far from one another but the hallmark wins in this shootout Tone From my understanding the dipinto is basically a 4 pickup strat with on off switches for each pickup and a jaguar trem bar Where the hallmark is more like a mosrite with its growly twang Basically the dipinto is polite and well mannered where the hallmark is punk rock spit in your face level brash weight I dont know from experience just from reviews ive read but the dipinto seems to be around 7 lbs where the hallmark is 8-9 lbs My back isnt as strong as it used to be so lighter guitars are a big factor for me case The dipinto comes with a gig bag where the hallmark has a hardshell case its a real tough thing to pick cause both are super cool and surfy as heck Since itd be in a surfpunk band ive started i kinda want the hallmark but the weight of the dipinto is really pushing me in that direction what would you all suggest Top
taijiguy Joined: Mar 27, 2006 Posts: 214 Newington, CT USA	Posted on Jul 10 2023 06:08 AM I've never played a DiPinto, but I love my Hallmark C65. It sounds like a Mosrite, but is easier to play because the neck is a little wider, and it's built like a tank. I would compare the quality to any $2500-$3000 guitar. They have a really good resale value. A C60 in excellent condition can sometimes be sold for what you paid new. I think one of the reasons is that due to the weakness in the supply chain, new ones are hard to come by. Top
cirecc Joined: Mar 06, 2006 Posts: 311 seattle, wa	Posted on Jul 10 2023 10:57 AM I would add that you’re correct about the dipinto being a four pickup strat. Those “strat” pickups aren’t very good in my opinion and are just ceramic bar magnets with metal slugs instead of a traditional strat style pickup with alnico pole pieces. When the other guitarist recorded tracks with them, I had a hard time getting them to sound good in the mix. They had a mushy compression that wasn’t the most pleasant as it didn’t have the nice articulation of a strat pickup and emphasized the upper mids more than I would like. That being said, you could throw some decent alnico strat pickups in there and completely transform it into something much nicer sounding. Also, this was an early dipinto (maybe 1999) and our mixes are very thick/lush, so it might be a different story with a different mix and maybe the pickups have improved over the years. — -Eric New music! https://thedesolatecoast.bandcamp.com/releases Spotify Also: https://theverb.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/theverbseattle/ Top
Fady Joined: Mar 07, 2010 Posts: 2274 North Carolina	Posted on Jul 10 2023 12:08 PM I have also wondered about the pickups in the DiPinto's given their composition. Enough to keep from ever seriously considering buying one despite what Los Straitjackets seem to effortlessly to coax out of them going straight into Deluxe Reverb Re-Issues. But then again, Los Straitjackets! PS - I have poured over the Hallmarks on/off over the years too, granted I've never made the jump for one of those either. Maybe one day. < insert 'dunno'/shrug emoji > — Fady El Mirage @ ReverbNation Top
futureboy Joined: Aug 28, 2008 Posts: 115 East Coast	Posted on Jul 10 2023 02:41 PM I had a Hallmark 65 for a bit. I liked a lot of things about the guitar - played great, sounded great, and had the lowest action of any guitar I've played. It was a heavy guitar, and with my body type, sitting down with it wasn't all that comfortable. I do think the Hallmark 65 is a great guitar -- just some things didn't work for me. I think if Hallmark could get some lightweight Alder bodies that would be sweet. The last time I emailed Bob Shade about his site and inventory, it sounded like things were slowing down. But don't quote me on that. They might be harder to get down the road. I haven't played a DiPinto guitar but they look cool too. Top
cirecc Joined: Mar 06, 2006 Posts: 311 seattle, wa	Posted on Jul 10 2023 02:54 PM I found a pic of the back side of those dipinto pickups from Tony’s guitar. They remind me of the old squier affinity pickups from back in the day. — -Eric New music! https://thedesolatecoast.bandcamp.com/releases Spotify Also: https://theverb.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/theverbseattle/ Last edited: Jul 10, 2023 14:56:48 Top
cirecc Joined: Mar 06, 2006 Posts: 311 seattle, wa	Posted on Jul 10 2023 02:55 PM I also wonder if Los Straightjackets used different pickups in their actual guitars — -Eric New music! https://thedesolatecoast.bandcamp.com/releases Spotify Also: https://theverb.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/theverbseattle/ Top
Tqi Joined: Dec 07, 2014 Posts: 1222	Posted on Jul 10 2023 03:43 PM - Last edited: Feb 02, 2024 16:17:55 Top
cirecc Joined: Mar 06, 2006 Posts: 311 seattle, wa	Posted on Jul 10 2023 04:08 PM Tqi wrote: Do stock Dip covers fit standard Strat pickups? Now that I have the Spark Jag, the chances of me ever getting a Galaxie are nil, but if I won the lottery I'd be fascinated to see what one would sound like with a set of Milks! (I have mentioned them before, they're my favourite strat pickup... and now I no-longer have a strat...) I think they do though Tony hasn’t bought new pickups yet for me to install and verify. — -Eric New music! https://thedesolatecoast.bandcamp.com/releases Spotify Also: https://theverb.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/theverbseattle/ Top
Surfadelphia Joined: Sep 04, 2017 Posts: 437	Posted on Jul 10 2023 04:15 PM Interestingly, besides the Chinese import guitars, you can still custom order a DiPinto Galaxy hand made in Philadelphia, USA but it will still come with the same Korean made pickups as the Chinese made versions do. As per Rich DiPinto, their original intention was to have the pickups in the Philly built guitars be USA made, but ended up using the original Korean made pickups because they just sounded better. DiPinto used to do a 12 string version of their Mach IV guitar (they are actually making the Mach IV 6 string again) which is a shorter 24.75" scale and has two single coils pretending to be a humbucker in the bridge and a single in the neck. Never played the 6 string Mach IV but the 12 string I had a chance to play was a really excellent 12 string electric. Played and sounded great. Top
cirecc Joined: Mar 06, 2006 Posts: 311 seattle, wa	Posted on Jul 10 2023 04:29 PM Yeah, that dipinto is a Korea made version from way back when. Tony also bought a used custom galaxy that is basically a dipinto jazzmaster. — -Eric New music! https://thedesolatecoast.bandcamp.com/releases Spotify Also: https://theverb.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/theverbseattle/ Top
Bango_Rilla Joined: Jan 06, 2019 Posts: 182 Bananas, TX	Posted on Jul 10 2023 07:52 PM I love my DiPintos (I have many!) but I've tweaked and modded them a bit. Raising or lowering the pickups are going to give you different levels of mellow/aggression. I also have a Hallmark Swept wing which I gigged with for a long time. On average, a DiPinto Galaxie is about 8lbs 8oz. I say that having 6 in-hand and one out for paint, and two sold, so my number is fairly solid. My swept wing weighs 8lbs 15.5 oz, I don't know what a Custom 60 runs. If the Hallmark 60 has a trem, I'd warn that IN MY EXPERIENCE that Hallmark trem is fun, and sounds great, but has a weird thing where it tended to unwind my high E string at the ball end. Once in the studio, once at a show. Bob (and everyone) will tell you to use "reinforced" strings, which I think cost double or triple what a regular pack costs. I soldered ball ends on a bunch of packs of strings too, and that works, but more maintenance than I wanted to keep up with. If you've played for a while, go dig the rest of the specs too. DiPintos are pretty standard 25.5 (Fender) and Hallmarks Custom 60s are 24.75 (Gibson, etc), the Sweptwing is 25.5. Measure the nuts and figure out which one you like. My hallmark has a pretty narrow fretboard (1 5/8?), the Galaxies a hair wider, if you're not used to the strings being close to each other the Hallmark does take a little getting used to. The Hallmark pickups are definitely hotter and might be said, more aggressive. One can endlessly debate the merits of the pickup quality in the Galaxies (many have, and many will) my stock ones are fine. I happen to pick up the older Korean (big funky headstock) models, but the Safaris are excellent too (sold one to my other guitar playing band-monkey) and I highly recommend a Safari for folks who want a great playing Galaxie, minus an oversized headstock. Edited to add a much smaller version of this pic. Sorry! — Bango Rilla! DiPintos, Fenders and Reverb (oh, my!) The GO-GO Rillas Bandcamp \| Facebook \| Instagram \| YouTube \| TikTok \| Threads: thegogorillas \| Spotify Last edited: Jul 10, 2023 20:01:16 Top

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