I hear stories like yours all the time from people who have bought a Dot, modded it a little, and now play it more than their more expensive guitars. Here's my story...
I got my Dot from GC two years ago at a very good price. It's the cherry red finish. I loved the playability and the beautiful workmanship right from the get go...but it had two issues that needed immediate attention. First was the tuners...they were basically non functional. Those got replaced first. Next was the pickups. They worked OK but were rather blah sounding. I bought a set of Di Marzio Bluesbuckers for it and installed those...and wow!...instant tone monster! Bluesbuckers are humbuckers, but the second coil is basically just there to cancel hum, the result being a single coil-ish, P90-ish sound. Also, per Di Marzio's suggestion, I flipped the bridge pup around so the functioning pole pieces were away from the bridge rather than next to it. That takes just a bit of the bite out of it. That's all I've done to mine, and I couldn't be happier with it.
People ask how it stacks up to a 335. The answer is that you really can't compare the two. They look alike, but that's where it ends. The Dot is its own guitar, and a very good one, and...you can own a Dot in every finish available, do the mods I've done, and still be under the price of a 335. Amazing.
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