Dean V-Coustic Flying V acoustic abberation.

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Oh Dean, you is so metal.

Leave it to Dean Guitars, purveyors of all fine "Rock" guitars, to come up with an acoustic Flying V.

I can just imagine the meeting they head at head office circa 1987, all spandex and cocaine. " This will make us all millionaires!" I bet C.C. Deville was there ( though I admit, I'm not sure if he was ever a Dean endorsee, i just see this guitar and immediately think "Every rose has it's........)

All that said, my immature sense of irony wants to have this guitar for classic country gigs.

So very contrary.

Currently $250 Canadian.


R.W. Haller







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Budweiser collector sells his guitars

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It seems that the "King of Beers" is no longer king with this collector who, along with some other Bud paraphernalia, is selling these 4 guitars.

As a fan of more "stouty" beverages I'd likely not be seen on stage with one of these but if I was feeling ironic I'd go all out and grab the Dean logo shape.

R.W. Haller

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Please read our photo and content policy.

Dean Z-X Fake leopard fur fabric-covered Explorer

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Some crazy crazy dude - very possibly inspired by ZZ Top - has covered this Dean Z-X Explorer type guitar in fake leopard fur fabric. Need I comment any more? Other than to say that I hope whoever plays this guitar doesn't get too hot and sweaty on stage as it could end up being really stinky, and it's not like you can just bung it in the washing machine.

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of US $475.

Thanks to Tony E for bringing this guitar to my attention.

G L Wilson

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Dean ML Bass - Vintage 1981 Made in USA

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The Dean ML design is a hybrid between Gibson's Explorer and Flying V models. I've never been too struck by the shape of it until I saw this original American-made Dean ML bass from 1981. I guess some designs work better on a bass than on a guitar (and vice versa). Note the ubiquitous (for the period) DiMarzio pickups. This is a bass that makes quite a statement; I wish I was rock'n'roll enough to be able to carry off something like this!

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of US $1,349. (Note, headstock has been repaired).

G L Wilson

© 2014, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Dean Cadillac with small 'shrimpfork' headstock

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Dave Coulson writes via our Facebook page:

I was having a whizz around the Guitarz site - as you do - and I came across the black '81 Dean Cadillac, so here's mine which I picked up around 14 years ago. It's all original, with a 2-octave thru-neck, gold-coloured (plated?) hardware and the smaller 'shrimpfork' headstock, which seems to frowned upon by most Dean enthusiasts; personally I prefer it - the larger 'V' headstocks appears too big to me, giving something of an unbalanced look. I don't know what year the guitar was produced, or the country of manufacture (I'm pretty sure it's not USA made) but I'm led to believe that Cadillacs were only made with those headstocks between '83 and '85.

Maybe you can shed a little more light.

Cheers,
Dave.

I confess I don't know a great deal about the particulars of the various Dean guitars. I always quite liked the large headstocks, although there's no way you'd get a straight string-pull on one of those, so I can understand why they experimented with a more sober design. If anyone out there can help Dave with his questions, please leave a note in the comments below.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Dean Psychobilly "Picasso" (actually they meant Matisse but hey, they're just American guitar makers!)

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I'm usually not a fan of custom paint job but sometimes something stands out of the lot, like this Dean Psychobilly Picasso - one of three models of the short lived mid-2000s Psychobilly series. I like how the classic full hollow-body is subverted by the abstract pattern painted on its top - though it its clearly inspired by characteristic later paper cutouts of French master Henri Matisse and not Pablo Picasso at all - and the black hardware on top of that. 

It was not an expensive model, and from the reviews I could read - I myself never played a Dean (but I will soon, I expect a new Dean V any day...) - if the pickups of basic Dean models can be quite muddy (whatever that means, I never really understood this word, like 75% of guitar sound description vocabulary), they have fine bodies and neck, and are good starting point to diverse upgrades.  

And all this reminds me of good old psychobilly times, these music and style were quite prominent in my hometown a couple of decades ago, and provided us good fun and excitement...

Bertram

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Dean ML Matt Heafy (from Trivium) Signature with Rising Sun Japanese War Flag Finish (I so love long titles)

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Something I still quite don't get about electric guitars - though I've been interested in the topic for the last three decades - is that their design is supposed to determine the kind of music that should be played on them... The idea that a musical genre depends from the sound of specific gear - pickups, amp, effects - is already bizarre to me, since reproducing a sound and a style that already exist feels of limited interest if you're a spirited musician, but when it comes to looks, we are in the blur domain of utter stupidity...

Take for example this Dean ML with its Rising Sun finish: all the reviews I read about it say that its clean sound is quite good, that its neck is extremely playable and its special design makes it both well balanced and good-sounding, making it a perfect guitar for blues. Well, it's no surprise, since it's more or less a combination of Gibson's classic models, the Flying V and the Explorer, both designed in the 1950s and meant for bluesmen. And those humbucker pickups have been on jazz guitars for over half a century, so it's for sure a perfect instrument to play Hoochie Coochie Man - or Boys Don't Cry if you feel like it. 

The fact that this ML is the (short lived) signature model of the guitarist of some metal band called Trivium that I never heard about due to my general indifference to metal music (but a few bands like Suicidal Tendancies, Napalm Death, Burzum, Meshuggah or Sunn o))), but I'm not so sure of what should be called metal or not, and should Motörhead be included?) is of little importance, but this guy being half-Japanese kind of justifies the cool Rising Sun finish.

Yeah, I say again that the Rising Sun looks cool on a guitar, even if last time I said this there's been a slight controversy about it. For me, it's a beautiful design, very Japanese, sober, eloquent, and it's really part of European punk culture - I guess I love it since I saw it on a Clash cover in the late 70s, don't remember which one, not even sure BTW. I personally find it less disputable than the Confederate Battle Flag that ornates other signature models of the ML, and it is still in use in Japan for example for the fishermen union, and on the front page of some newspaper - nothing like the Svastika that is drastically forbidden in Germany (I'd probably think different if I was Chinese or Korean of course).  

Bertram

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

90s Acoustic Dean

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This electro-acoustic guitar from Dean has something vulgar that is almost exciting (like Patricia Arquette wearing pink leopard-print leggings and lake placid blue lace bra in True Romance, if you see what I mean..) I cannot find anything about it on the Web, though it's just from the 90s and from an important company, and not some brandless Japanese cheapo from the 60s - if anybody has info, it's welcome.

I'm busy with electro-acoustic guitars lately, and quite desperate to see that they are at 99% even more conservative than electric ones ; that's why I chose to show this one here: even if I think it's quite ugly, at least it tries something different.

Bertram

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

Dean Flying V

guitarz.blogspot.com

Lately I started to work on a project that would likely require a Flying V style guitar (I do music-based performances for which the visual aspect is very important), and I was wondering what brand I should get since I can't afford an original Gibson model, and I wouldn't be happy with a mere copy - and it has to be a good player enough.

Also I've always felt that the Flying V has kind of perfect proportions: you can do variations on a strat or a Les Paul but any change on a Flying V would spoil it - that's the price of minimalism, the slightest detail matters...

So I've been looking around and scratching my head for a while, and I reached the conclusion that the Dean V is the only one that respects the Flying V while being very specific with its characteristic headstock that mirrors the body.

Then I found this pic (here) of a retrofitted Dean V with the coolest natural finish and I knew I was right, stripped down to the simplest, this guitar is at its best (I wish I could have found a photo of the guitar only, but it came with the lady, whose face I pixelated).

bertram

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Embarrassing Dean Budweiser Guitar

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Can you imagine the shame of having to play this thing made by Dean Guitars?

Not only does it look absolutely awful, but I'd be so embarrassed that people might think I'd advocate drinking such an appalling and tasteless brand of "beer".

G L Wilson

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Dean Cadillac '1980'

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I've always loved the Dean Cadillac, it has the elegance of a true classic and I'm surprised that it doesn't have a better reputation. I guess that a lot of people will look down at it since Dean is renown for making guitars for metalheads - but the same people would die for an Explorer of a Flying V because Gibson started them! The Cadillac is a clear tribute to Gibson's creativity with its mix between a Les Paul and an Explorer, and two beautiful parents cannot make an ugly baby (except Zakk Wylde's ridiculous ZV, but we don't have to mention it more than that).

It has the characteristic Dean headstock, which shape is meant to bring volume and mass, hence sustain (in its way this headstock is also a modern classic, sober and dynamic). I have to admit that the Cadillac looses a lot of its beauty without its cream binding, and is anyway at its best in black (would look good also in natural wood finish if it was not spoiled by these inevitable flamed tops). This one even had the right upgrade by replacing the golden hardware (always a little bit cheesy) by black one.
The Cadillac bass is also quite something and I considered getting one but it doesn't seem to be available in Europe...

OK, beat me now!

Bertram

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Dean's Leslie West USA Signature Guitar

Reproduction of Dimebag Darrell's Cowboy From Hell guitar from Dean Guitars

Rock stars, modern artists, and Dean Guitars team up to pay tribute to Dimebag Darrell

Faith No More guitarist squashes competition: Jim Martin, formerly of Faith No More, has given up music and now grows pumpkins! (Just how many guitarists did Faith No More have, by the way? Another ex Faith No More guitarist, Dean Menta, has been playing guitar with Sparks for two or three years now.)

New Michael Schenker Electric and Acoustic Models from Dean: I'm disappointed that the acoustic isn't Flying V shaped.

Dimebag Darrell tribute guitars from Dean

Despite shooting, Dean Guitars to proceed with 'Dimebag' model

Damageplan guitarist Dimebag Darrell returns to Dean Guitars

Michael Schenker inks endorsement deal with dean guitars