Dean Guitars: Difference between revisions

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Dean Guitars is a manufacturer of musical instruments. Primarily famous for their electric guitars they also make acoustic guitars, electric and acoustic basses, amplifiers, jazz guitars, resonators, banjos and mandolins.

(The original Dean Girl and Ad)

Dean Guitars was created in 1977 by luthier Dean Zelinsky who began building guitars at an early age. Zelinsky thought that rock guitar design had stagnated and decided to do what he could to change things. The first Dean guitars were released in the mid-1970s and featured designs including "pointy" guitar bodies and large V-shaped headstocks. These designs quickly gained in popularity because of the radical look and also because of the improved tone and sustain of the guitars, which are still regarded as superior to Fender, Gibson and PRS. They also have a unique fast-playing neck.

Dean's marketing campaign, which featured gorgeous models holding the guitars in alluring poses, was widely copied by other guitar manufacturers until the onset of the grunge rock movement in the 1990s. (Advertising-heavy magazines from this time, such as Guitar for the Practicing Musician, heavily influenced "lad mags" such as Maxim.) Dean has since revived this practice and continues to be the trendsetter in quality guitar design and radical marketing concepts; both in print and on the internet. Dean Guitars continues to be copied by other leading guitar manufacturers who look to the company for direction in both manufacturing, design and advertising.

In the late 1990s, Elliott Rubinson (CEO of Dean Guitars) revived the brand name, later bringing Zelinsky back aboard as an executive and creative consultant. Since then, Dean Guitars has grown in to one of the leading guitar companies in the world with a rabid and loyal customer fan base. It is not uncommon for some Dean owners to have 10, 20 or even 30 Deans in their collection.

Their online BBS community continues to be the most active in the entire industry with close to 10,000 active users and growing ranging from new players to pros and everything in between. You can learn about guitar engineering, how to play guitar, get playing tips and more. You can also just go there and hang. There is even an annual Dean Owners of America Club meeting to show customer appreciation to the Dean Owners. Hundreds have trekked from all over the globe to attend and celebrate the phenomenon that is Dean.

• Dean USA SEE all Dean USA Guitars
• Dean Z _photo_
• Dean ML This guitar is perhaps the most well-known Dean model (due to the late guitarist Dimebag Darrell.) The mass of the guitar is spread out over a wider area than most guitars in order to maximize sustain. The "V"-shaped headstock and "string-through-body" design are also used to increase sustain and improve tone.
• Dean V
• Dean Cadillac or "Caddy": This model is almost as famous as the ML. This guitar offers better upper-register access than the Gibson Les Paul, among other benefits.
• Dean Baby Series: These guitars are smaller, less cosmetically detailed versions of the V, ML, and Z. They are popular among guitarists who like the aggressive styling of the classic Dean designs, but prefer a lighter guitar.
• Dean E'Lite
• Dean Hollywood

• Hardtail
• Vendetta
• EVO ("Evolved, of Vintage Origins")
• Psychobilly
• Razorback (A radical variation of the ML model designed by Dimebag Darrell)
• Razorback V (Another design by Dimebag before his death)
• Custom 450
• Icon
• Nashvegas Zone
• Razor
• Exotica
• Mach 7
• Mach 5
• Muddy Bullseye (Custom built model for Zakk Wylde by the late Dimebag Darrell. Resembles the top body section of a Gibson SG merged with the bottom section of a Flying V)
• VMNT (the new Dave Mustaine signature model that was released at the NAMM convention center January 19th 2007)
• Playmate V (acoustic/electric bass guitar)
• Sarasota 12
• Soltero
• Palomino
• Performer
• Tradition
• Splittail (new for 2007)

Most models are also available for left-handed players; in many cases the only way to get a Dean left-hander is to have one custom-made.

• Jeff Berlin
• Michael Angelo Batio (Nitro)
• Corey Beaulieu (Trivium)
• Eric Bloom (Blue Öyster Cult)
• Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains)
• David Allan Coe, plays confederate flag "Dimebag" edition.
• Rusty Cooley (Outworld),(Revolution)
• Dimebag Darrell (Pantera,Damageplan and Rebel Meets Rebel)
• Rick Derringer
• Glen Drover (Megadeth)
• Elliot Easton (The Cars)
• Rik Emmett (Triumph)
• Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top)
• Billy Greer (Kansas)
• Sammy Hagar (Van Halen and Montrose)
• Matt Heafy (Trivium)
• Dusty Hill (ZZ Top)
• Kerry Livgren (Kansas)
• Dave Mustaine (Megadeth)
• Ric Ocasek (The Cars)
• Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails)
• James A. Rota II (Fireball Ministry)
• Michael Schenker (UFO and MSG)
• Rudolf Schenker (Scorpions)
• Steve Stevens (Billy Idol)
• Patrick Sweany
• Dallas Toler-Wade (Nile)
• Leslie West (Mountain)
• Nancy Wilson (Heart)
• Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society), (Ozzy Ozbourne)
• Jay Bones (Fuzigish)
• Malcolm "Rockwell" King (Fuzigish)

• Official Dean Website