Review: JLF "Dominator Custom" 6-string Electric Guitar.
By: Captain Vibe.


Having reviewed hundreds of guitars for many magazines over the years, I was excited at the prospect of checking out something that I can truly say is new and will certainly turn heads.
The company is called JLF and they are set to make a huge impression on the guitar playing fraternity. Jason Fazio who is the man behind JLF was kind enough to send me the latest in the range of these hand-built steel & timber guitars called the Dominator Custom.
This all steel body design on first appearance looks impressive to say the least.

What makes these guitars unique is the choice of construction materials and a design concept that is both stylish and very functional.
The Dominator utilises a neck through quarter-sawn Mahogany neck that is attached to a hand forged bright mild steel body. The body is highly polished and chrome plated and is very striking in appearance. It is interesting to note that the body is hollow and the unique joining method allows the hardware to be mounted directly into the timber that flows through the centre of the guitar.

The test instrument includes a 22-fret fingerboard made of ebony with cubic zirconium side dot markers and arrowhead style abalone inlays for the fret positions. The hardware is all top notch with a custom milled toggle switch and hand-made pickup surrounds. You have a variety of hardware selections available but this Dominator came with Di Marzio PAF pickups and a 3-way switch with one volume and tone. The perforated scratch plate is a very cool feature and unique to JLF guitars.

On appearance alone, the Dominator is well built, unique and certainly a very striking guitar to look at. The craftsmanship is highly detailed and all models come with a lifetime warranty ensuring many years of trouble free playing. The test was to plug in and put the Dominator through its paces. If it sounded half as good as it looks then the guitar is something so I began by pulling out a few amps and things to have a listen.
The first test was a clean setting on a valve amp and the dominator produced a nice round tone that is rich and full with a wide range of sounds available at the flick of a switch. You have good control and as you drive the sound more the guitar begins to kick in.
The PAF's produce heaps of output and for heavy sounds this guitar will surprise most players, as it sounds good indeed. There is a solid feel to the instrument and it is easy to play and from clean Jazz or Country, to ripping Metal styles, the Dominator Custom will certainly accommodate these applications without too many problems. Other models in the JLF range include bell-brass bodies and a variety of hardware options, which you can discuss with Jason and the team at JLF.