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USA Dean Guitars

In many ways this USA Dean Guitar is vastly superior to almost any other archtop set neck model of its type. The wood is better, The inlay work is better, The pickups are better, The bridge is better.  They are priced so low its almost a joke.

I have been selling Dean guitars for over 28 years, I remember when Dean was a 17 year old kid just starting out with radical shapes and weird headstocks.

The quality of  Dean's  original guitars is legendary.  Many people discounted them as not being credible due to the headstock and other radical things that Dean was doing.  Few people are aware that the large headstock was actually tuned so that the neck would resonate better and therefore make the guitar sound better.  Another little known fact is that on the Gibson Korina models of the mid 50's (the most sought after of all the Gibsons) Some of these had a forked headstocks much like the Dean's.  A forked headstock 50's Korina Vee can easily bring over $100.000.00.

 

 

Dean USA Custom Shop "Z"

This excellent example of a Dean "Z", custom shop guitar is semi hollow and built from very light resonant woods.  That is not a "Z" sticker on the guitar as it may appear in this photo but actually an "F" Hole that is bound in Ivoroid and shaped like a Z. This guitar was featured at the 1997 NAMM Show and it was depicted twice in their 1997 color catalog.  A finer Dean does not exist.

The photo of this guitar does not fully show the beautifully flamed top and it also can't convey just what a beautiful piece of Honduras Mahogany the guitar is constructed from. The neck is "V" shaped and the Ebony is premium Gaboon, the inlays are real Mother of Pearl and the quality is every bit as good as a Quicksilver,  Abstract or even a JET.

In case you are wondering why this model is called a "Z",  Dean's last name is Zelinsky and this was one of the first models he produced in his Chicago factory in the 70's.  Dean did make fine guitars but he never made them as nice as this one.  Companies Like PRS and Hamer have brought the quality benchmark to a much higher level today. When Dean was building guitars he only had to worry about making them better than Gibson. (Which was relatively easy).

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