MGR/MV, La Habra, CA « Dean VX »
Published on 11/25/04 at 15:00I bought it on ebay, direct from a retailer, for $239.99, with free shipping.
The look. I have been wanting a Flying V for a long time. I had looked at Deans, but at first I wasn't fond of that reverse flying v headstock. It started growing on me, though. Then I saw that Michael Schenker, one of my heroes, is now playing Dean guitars, and in fact they have designed the Michael Schenker signature model. That was it. I had to have one.
Mine is black, with black/white zebra humbuckers, no pickguard, very nice abalone-like dot inlays, and the original v plate instead of a stop tailpiece. The strings feed in from the back of the guitar. The look is very, very nice. I could stare at it for hours.
The pickups are muddy and unfocused. This guitar is made in China, and for the price, the cheap pickups are understandable. If you usually play through an effects pedal, this won't matter to you. Once I played it through my Zoom 707, it came to life. It sounded great.
But if you like to just go through the amp, you probably will want better pickups. I'm planning to put some Seymour Duncans in mine.
The pickups are the ONLY flaw. I was surprised with the quality of the neck. I have played other inexpensive Vs, and they are always unplayable beyond the 12th fret. Not this guitar. The fretwork is acceptable all the way to the 22nd fret. I had to raise the action just a bit, to get rid of a little buzzing, but it's still reeasonably low. The neck is unpainted, it just has a light coat of something, probably lacquer, but I like that. The Grover tuners are quite nice. The abalone-like inlays sparkle beautifully when you turn it in the light. The black finish looks very classy. And it is light in weight.
Overall, this guitar is excellent. Dean could sell it for $350 or more if they wanted to. It is to their credit that they do not.
It has a beautiful look, a good neck, decent fretwork, good tuners. The only obvious flaw is the pickups. However, the guitar is so playable that changing the pickups would be worth the while. The Dean VX is truly a good deal.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
The look. I have been wanting a Flying V for a long time. I had looked at Deans, but at first I wasn't fond of that reverse flying v headstock. It started growing on me, though. Then I saw that Michael Schenker, one of my heroes, is now playing Dean guitars, and in fact they have designed the Michael Schenker signature model. That was it. I had to have one.
Mine is black, with black/white zebra humbuckers, no pickguard, very nice abalone-like dot inlays, and the original v plate instead of a stop tailpiece. The strings feed in from the back of the guitar. The look is very, very nice. I could stare at it for hours.
The pickups are muddy and unfocused. This guitar is made in China, and for the price, the cheap pickups are understandable. If you usually play through an effects pedal, this won't matter to you. Once I played it through my Zoom 707, it came to life. It sounded great.
But if you like to just go through the amp, you probably will want better pickups. I'm planning to put some Seymour Duncans in mine.
The pickups are the ONLY flaw. I was surprised with the quality of the neck. I have played other inexpensive Vs, and they are always unplayable beyond the 12th fret. Not this guitar. The fretwork is acceptable all the way to the 22nd fret. I had to raise the action just a bit, to get rid of a little buzzing, but it's still reeasonably low. The neck is unpainted, it just has a light coat of something, probably lacquer, but I like that. The Grover tuners are quite nice. The abalone-like inlays sparkle beautifully when you turn it in the light. The black finish looks very classy. And it is light in weight.
Overall, this guitar is excellent. Dean could sell it for $350 or more if they wanted to. It is to their credit that they do not.
It has a beautiful look, a good neck, decent fretwork, good tuners. The only obvious flaw is the pickups. However, the guitar is so playable that changing the pickups would be worth the while. The Dean VX is truly a good deal.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com