Opinions on Dean guitars?

dmbvideos · Unread post by **dmbvideos** » Fri Apr 02, 2004 12:31 am

I've been eyeing a Dean Key Largo, but I've never played it or even seen one in person. Obviously I'd have to do that before purchasing.

But I was wondering if anybody else has had experiences with Dean guitars?

Here is the picture: http://www.vintagefret.com/pages/11199.html

Thanks,

Tony | dmbvideos.com

Oahu · Unread post by **Oahu** » Fri Apr 02, 2004 11:12 am

Deans look great upon first glance, but sound like crap. The solid wood ones sound a lot better, but what you're paying for is the abalone: A Low End Taylor/Martin/Goodall/Larrivee/Collings would be much better. Cheaper than that go with a Takamine or an Alvarez.

My opinion. I could be wrong.

DT · Unread post by DT » Fri Apr 02, 2004 2:24 pm

my friend plays a dean... i play it a lot and it has a real throaty, not really acousitc sound to it. I dont really know how to describe it. Its much better for soloing than my guitar because it has a wider fretboard and low action, but its not very good for playing dave-style music. Sounds good when you play classic rock songs like The Who and some Zeppelin though. Not much of a strummer, just picking and slamming :lol:

Snyder · Unread post by **Snyder** » Fri Apr 02, 2004 2:56 pm

In my opinion, Deans are a joke. They are all flash but barely a guitar. You could do way better than a dean.

ryopan · Unread post by **ryopan** » Fri Apr 02, 2004 5:40 pm

.......hey guys. whats up......

well i have a dean and i really enjoy it.
for what i paid, i think the sound is great. no, its not my first guitar so im not fooling myself in the sound. its a very playable guitar. i bang away on it for hours almost every day and it holds up.

i have an exotica qse (spruce top, maple back and sides) and the sound is hard to define. it doesnt ring through but its also not a tight sound. when playing w/ other people, it cuts through their sound a bit. it has a nice lead voice.

i would suggest playing it w/ a clear head. ive played really crappy deans (really crappy) but mine sounded great to me. good luck w/ the search though.

my name is ryan, and yes, i play a dean.....

m98ter · Unread post by **m98ter** » Sat Apr 03, 2004 3:49 pm

Stay away from Deans if at all possible! I owned an exotica qse for about a year and a half and really loved it...........that is until the bridge started to pull away. Sent it back and got a brand new dean....same thing started to happen to that one after about three days of playing it. They really lack quality in my opinion, and you can find something much better for the price.

bryanwie · Unread post by **bryanwie** » Sat Apr 10, 2004 3:22 pm

I have a solid mahogany and sitka dean. ITs a jumbo cutaway.

Its pretty, get compliments on its looks, and people who know dick all think it sounds great.

But its soo damn tinny, and its effin heavy, and it doesnt sound that good.

I'd buy one for a beach guitar, pick up chicks with the looks, dont care if it breaks. I wouldnt buy one as a primary guitar tho.

BillyTripper41 · Unread post by **BillyTripper41** » Thu May 20, 2004 11:34 pm

I have a Dean Exotica QSE. It has quilted maple back and sides and a sitka spruce top. It has abalone around the front and soundhole... rosewood fingerboard and it sounds pretty much like a quilted maple taylor 614ce. I wouldn't say its as good a guitar, but its damn close. It has the fishman acoustic matrix II pick up in it, came factory. I throw Elixer Polyweb Lights on there and it sounds like a dream... however the QSE, is the ONLY one I would recommend, for I have no other experiences with the others. that's just my two cents.

BillyTripper41 · Unread post by **BillyTripper41** » Thu May 20, 2004 11:35 pm

I have a Dean Exotica QSE. It has quilted maple back and sides and a sitka spruce top. It has abalone around the front and soundhole... rosewood fingerboard and it sounds pretty much like a quilted maple taylor 614ce. I wouldn't say its as good a guitar, but its damn close. It has the fishman acoustic matrix II pick up in it, came factory. I throw Elixer Polyweb Lights on there and it sounds like a dream... however the QSE, is the ONLY one I would recommend, for I have no other experiences with the others. that's just my two cents. It's also as bright as they come, even the bass tones are bright and excellent. warehouse sounds just like the folsom field version... its great.

Ranting Thespian · Unread post by **Ranting Thespian** » Fri May 21, 2004 12:07 am

I played a Dean electric before, kind of a strat style, and actualy, it wasn't bad. Never played an acoustic, though.

saleen · Unread post by **saleen** » Fri May 21, 2004 2:13 am

I have played a cheaper dean with pretty high action and stuff when I borrowed it for a semester before I had my d-15. It worked and everything, but for the price I feel like I would have definately gotten something else. I felt like if I had bought it I would have been pissed because I paid for the little ring of abalone looking stuff (probably fake) around the soundhole when I could have had a way better guitar. This was a cheap guitar to start with though, no way it cost more than 400 bucks.

wayward_blue · Unread post by **wayward_blue** » Sat May 22, 2004 12:53 pm

I'm not sure how dean's acoustics are. I know their electrics are pretty good sounding guitars but they haven't been in the acoustice business for too long. If it has the sound, feel, and look that your looking for and its in your price range go for it but otherwise I would lean towards a maker that has been making acoustics for a little bit longer.

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Opinions on Dean guitars?

Opinions on Dean guitars?

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