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tjon901 « Amotts bloody Dean »
Published on 01/22/12 at 10:59Dean isnt afraid of putting crazy finishes on their signature guitars nowadays. They are kind of like how Jackson use to be. This is one of the MIchael Amott signature guitars. It is the Bloodstorm Tyrant. It has a crazy blood motif finish on it with a Arch Enemy skull on the body. The radical finish aside this is pretty much the same has his regular signature guitar. You get a mahogany body in the V shape. The neck is mahogany as well with set neck construction. The tuners up top are non locking Grovers. The bridge is a standard non locking tune-o-matic. The fretboard is ebony with 22 frets. The pickups are Deans own DMT pickups. They are just copies of the Duncans Amott use to use. The controls are just a volume and tone with a 3 way. The body is like a standard V but with some barbs added to the body to make it look more metal.
UTILIZATION
The V motif is all over this guitar with the headstock and the body, even the neck profile has a V shape to it. With the body shape you get good upper fret access. There is little to no obstruction to the upper frets. The beveled edge on the body makes it comfortable for when your arm is up against the body of the guitar. The inlay work on this example was spot on and since these inlays are very detailed that is important. This guitar could have done with some locking tuners. In this day and age locking tuners should be standard on hardtail guitars.
SOUNDS
The DMT pickups are made by Dean. They call them DMT pickups so they sound like they are more than no name stock pickups. They are copies of what Amott use to use. I guess it was easier for them to just copy them than to use the actual Seymour Duncans he used. The bridge pickup kinda looks like a Duncan Invader but it sounds a lot like a JB which Amott use to use. The large screw caps on this pickup make it a bit noisy just like the Invader. This is Amotts signature Dean pickup called the Tyrant. It has a bit of the old school JB tone to it with a lot of mids for clarity. The neck pickup is called a Dean Time Machine or something. It is a pretty smooth generic neck pickup tone. It might be based off a PAF or PAF copy like the 59. It gives a decent tone for the neck position. It is not too muddy and you can get a good lead voice from it. The pickups sound alright but I would have had more respect for them if they just stuck with what Amott really was using instead of copying them and putting the Dean name on them.
OVERALL OPINION
Dean is a company whos image has taken a bit of a hit in the recent years. A lot of players feel they have cashed in on the name of Dimebag and I am inclined to agree. There are so many Dimebag signature models now of stuff he he never played. Dimebag amps he never played Dean could change their name to Dimebag guitars. They are trying to court other players and give them signature models but a good 3/4 of their lineup is still Dimebag stuff. The founder of the company Dean Zelenski even left because he didnt like what was going on. If you do not care about any of this extra stuff and are just an Amott fan this guitar is for you. But even with this model I would recommend the standard finish version over this mural one.
UTILIZATION
The V motif is all over this guitar with the headstock and the body, even the neck profile has a V shape to it. With the body shape you get good upper fret access. There is little to no obstruction to the upper frets. The beveled edge on the body makes it comfortable for when your arm is up against the body of the guitar. The inlay work on this example was spot on and since these inlays are very detailed that is important. This guitar could have done with some locking tuners. In this day and age locking tuners should be standard on hardtail guitars.
SOUNDS
The DMT pickups are made by Dean. They call them DMT pickups so they sound like they are more than no name stock pickups. They are copies of what Amott use to use. I guess it was easier for them to just copy them than to use the actual Seymour Duncans he used. The bridge pickup kinda looks like a Duncan Invader but it sounds a lot like a JB which Amott use to use. The large screw caps on this pickup make it a bit noisy just like the Invader. This is Amotts signature Dean pickup called the Tyrant. It has a bit of the old school JB tone to it with a lot of mids for clarity. The neck pickup is called a Dean Time Machine or something. It is a pretty smooth generic neck pickup tone. It might be based off a PAF or PAF copy like the 59. It gives a decent tone for the neck position. It is not too muddy and you can get a good lead voice from it. The pickups sound alright but I would have had more respect for them if they just stuck with what Amott really was using instead of copying them and putting the Dean name on them.
OVERALL OPINION
Dean is a company whos image has taken a bit of a hit in the recent years. A lot of players feel they have cashed in on the name of Dimebag and I am inclined to agree. There are so many Dimebag signature models now of stuff he he never played. Dimebag amps he never played Dean could change their name to Dimebag guitars. They are trying to court other players and give them signature models but a good 3/4 of their lineup is still Dimebag stuff. The founder of the company Dean Zelenski even left because he didnt like what was going on. If you do not care about any of this extra stuff and are just an Amott fan this guitar is for you. But even with this model I would recommend the standard finish version over this mural one.