Is Dean using Dimebag Darrells name on inferior guitars?

[jairic]

Yes or no, is Dean putting Dimebag's name on crap cake guitars to make a lump of money on his increasingly large following?


Rant:

Are they kidding? They are really going to try and sell these guitars with Dimebag Darrells name on them for that much money?

When these guitars first came out, i was excited beyond compare, I could not wait to play one. Since then it has been dissapointment after dissapointment. Usually when you convince yourself something is going to be amazing, it is. Not in this case. The newer Razorback bolt-ons are no exception. I dont' know what the neck is really made of, but I would guess that if one cut it apart, it would reveal a particle board core. Every single DBD Dean I have played has been horrible. This is from 3 different stores and many different models. This all leads me to believe that Dean is using Dime's name to make a huge amount of money off of his untimely death and immense rise in popularity.
Rant over.

[OLIE_ROCKS_THE_80'S]

I did not think they were all that bad! what are your complaints exactly?
Have you played the Washburn branded dimebags?

[jairic]

I used to own a Washburn DBD guitar, it was the lowest end model and I love it to death, I traded it in a moment of weakness for an RG220....
The Deans, tons of complaints, I'll start with the $449 Bolt on Razorbacks, play like crap, sound like crap, even after a "pro" set up at GC the action was still horrible. I've personally been there when two of the arrived with broken string nuts. Moving up to the $800+ DBD's, the "amazing" tops on these things, wether it be the Flame or lightning bolt are always flawed terribly. For that money, if they can't print a graphic on a guitar any better than that....
I actually was overheard complaining about a Dean From Hell not staying in tune worth a crap, so the manager of that GC offered to have his tech set it up nicely for me. I knew the Tech and have had him work on my gear before, so I came back a few days later and played it, and it still didnt' stay in tune at all. Not even flirting with staying in tune. That thing couldn't see tuning stability from where it was with a sniper scope.

On to my most recent experience, yesterday at GC I played a Dimebag Dime-O-Flame and the neck pick up just plain didnt' work. Not at all.
I've also noticed that the necks on the bolt on razorcraps look a whole lot like the neck on the $79 Dean Evo LP Clone Crappers. For $449, you could get an Ibanez, Jackson, Schecter, OLP, SQUIER!!!! that would blow that thing away by miles. Not to mention, we are not talking Japan made quality on these bearded babes... no no... China on most, and Korea if you're lucky.

[jairic]

However, I should note... I have not played one that was set up by a Dean familiar tech, maybe that would make a huge difference. But again, for some of these being around $1k, it's no good.

[Dino]

I think you are just spending too much time at GC.

[Jemma_Ann's_man]

Dean guitars. to me = yuck. I played the razorbacks.
not so good imho.

weird weight the neck does a dive bomb itself towards the floor. LOL
pups sounded like muddied crap even though a good mesa stack.

it was like $1099 and guess what? MADE IN KOREA.

with a licensed by floyd rose trem which is lower quality than a real floyd rose. reason why people buy it?

It says DIME on it with flames. lol

I've never been a fan of guitars at GC. most of them have horrid setups.

and the build quality of deans is not so good. I think the only good deans I've tried were the US hardtails, which looked like a PRS rip off.

Washburn dimebag guitars based on a guy who owned it said he liked it better than the dimebag darrel razorbacks.

however there are some people who love those guitars. I'm just not one of them.

[ColinMmmmm]

It'd be nice to see what the poll results would be, but alas . . . I'd vote yes - Dime was a monster (R.I.P.) - and kids everywhere still look up to him for his badass approach to guitar without the pretentiousness associated with other guitarists. But I was surprised when I found out the $1400 Dean models didn't have an original Floyd. But I'm sure their USA models are awesome . . . they certainly look it anyway.

[Holy Katana]

Yes. The Dean from Hell plays alright, and I'm sure the USA Razorbacks do, too, but the majority of Dimebag guitars are pure crap. Dime's probably rolling in his grave.

[Claudio Passamani]

define inferior.

[ColinMmmmm]

Worth half what you pay for them? Just throwing this out there . . .

[DavyH]

I don't think they're so much branding inferior guitars as branding as many as possible. Their marketing strategy is reminiscent of the lifestyle of most scavengers. Poor taste.

Haven't played one, never will. I cannot stand the look of any of their guitars thanks to the headstock on steroids.

[losgatosrg350dx]

any guitar dimbag played, was nothing close to a production model

his choice of wods, neck contours, types of wiring, esspecially since he bl pups

and all his "custom shop" guitars from whereever he got it were all setup phenominaly, but unfortunately i do agree that i have yet to see a decent dime guitar, i even picked up one priced at 3k, it was a joke, a complete joke

dean used bl pickups, even in concert and in recording, but he did sell out to sd for the dimebucker, and when he plays a guitar in concert wich has the famous sd logo on it, it was a completely custom built sd, built along and to the specs of the bl he used......he liked bl, but a full endorsement is what he got

when u pickups a guitar with the xl-500 and then try one of the same spec with a dimbucker, they are two completely differnt sounding pups

but i am sure, dime didnt veer off too much into the sd sound....so im possitive all his sd "dimebuckers" he played werent anything close to the dimebucker they sell

[Ayrton]

I am so tired of reading how Dean is somehow milking Dime's death, so I am only going to say this once.

Dean does not do ANYTHING that does not have the express approval of the Abbott estate. If Vinnie Paul wanted Dean to stop selling guitars tomorrow with Dime's likeness on them, they would (baring contractual obligations).

The same thing goes for the Hendrix estate, or any other dead celebrity still selling products.

[DEADTUNES666]

I worked for a Dean dealer, and I think their stuff is laughable on par with Cort. I'm also a jerk, but Dean has very little redeeming value to me as a viable alternative to a real instrument. Without just bashing and being a pr!ck...

1) It might be me but they have a stigma to them, from being associated with Heart back in the day as a crud guitar. I find it hard to look past that. Kind of like a dude who had a sex change, I would have problems with banging something like that.

2) To me they have an inferior feel. Like some of their stuff wants to feel Gibson like but I don't connect with it. I am not a Gibson fan but I understand what would make someone want to play one. I don't get the whole Dean thing...

3) The guitars are not real crossover types of players for my liking. The dime guitars don't do jazz or pop real well. The Cadillac-V-Z don't have that sound that kills IMO. The Peavey Cropper Classic was a great example of a guitar that bridged so many musical gaps

4) On par with Epiphone. If you can't afford an axe with good electronics, get an Epiphone or a Dean

[losgatosrg350dx]

Originally Posted by Ayrton

I am so tired of reading how Dean is somehow milking Dime's death, so I am only going to say this once.

Dean does not do ANYTHING that does not have the express approval of the Abbott estate. If Vinnie Paul wanted Dean to stop selling guitars tomorrow with Dime's likeness on them, they would (baring contractual obligations).

The same thing goes for the Hendrix estate, or any other dead celebrity still selling products.

i dont think u grasp the concept of production and marketing and just plain ol money making

lets just say dime played a monster guitar
and yes the abbot estate aproves and is incharge of what the dime name goes on

but i havent seen one dime that played or sounded better than a high end jackson or a carvin

DONT LIKE DEAN NECKS
DONT LIKE THE dimbucker VS the bl xl-500
DONT LIKE WOOD SPECS AND DESIGN
DONT LIKE WIRING
DONT LIKE

did dime play a standard off the sheft dean guitar

no he played a tricked out, built and speced superb model custom chop dean, washburn, etc guitars
no he played great wiring setups with fully shielded high gain with the xl-500

have u seen a single dime labeled guitar with a xl-500? maybe one with a fully shielded copper w/hand soldered seams??

im not sure....so ur saying these dime "authorised" guitars are great because the abbot estate is in charge....??


maybe im crazy...