Dean Guitars is an American manufacturer of guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

s. It was founded in 1976 by Dean Zelinsky

Dean Zelinsky

Dean B. Zelinsky , also known as Dean Z, Dean Barrett Zelinsky or DBZ, is an American guitar luthier who founded Dean Guitars in 1976 and founded DBZ Guitars in 2008....

 in Chicago, Illinois and is currently under the ownership of Armadillo Enterprises in Tampa, Florida

Tampa, Florida

Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....

.

History

Dean Guitars was founded by Dean Zelinsky in 1976, when Zelinsky was 17 years old. Oscar Medeiros gained ownership of the brand in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Armadillo Enterprises then purchased the Dean trade name in 1997.

Instruments

Dean is best known for their line of electric guitars that include the ML

Dean ML

The Dean ML is an electric guitar made by Dean Guitars in 1977 along with its counterparts, the Dean V, Dean Cadillac and Dean Z. This is the most well known Dean Guitar due to the radical look and V shaped Headstock and V shaped tailpiece. It was popularised by the guitarist Dimebag Darrell of...

, V

Dean V

The Dean V is an electric guitar made by Dean Guitars. It was released at the same time as the Dean ML, Dean Cadillac and Dean Z in 1977. It has the recognisable V shaped Dean Headstock and V shaped tailpiece...

, Z

Dean Z

The Dean Z Guitar is an electric guitar made by Dean Guitars in 1977 along with its counterparts, the Dean ML, Dean V and Dean Cadillac. It has the recognizable Dean headstock and the V shaped tailpiece...

, Cadillac

Dean Cadillac

The Dean Cadillac or Caddy is a guitar designed and created by Dean Guitars. It has resemblance to the Dean ML and the Gibson Les Paul. It was released alongside the Dean ML, V and Z. Glen Drover of the band Megadeth is known for using this guitar , as well as Rob Barrett of Cannibal Corpse, John...

, Splittail, Soltero, EVO, Custom Zone, Vendetta and Deceiver models.

Dean also has many signature electric guitar models. Dean offers numerous Dimebag Darrell

Dimebag Darrell

Darrell Lance Abbott , also known as Diamond Darrell and Dimebag Darrell, was an American guitarist. He was best known as a founding member of the heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan. Abbott also contributed to the album Rebel Meets Rebel, a collaboration between Pantera and David Allan Coe...

 models, including some signature ML models and his own original shapes, the Razorback

Dean Razorback

The Dean Razorback is an electric guitar made by Dean Guitars. It is a variation of the Dean ML, and was designed by Dimebag Darrell shortly before his death. The Razorback was at first a USA only model, but has recently begun to be sold as an import model, making it cheaper to buy...

 and Razorback V

Dean Razorback V

The Razorback V is an electric guitar designed by Dean Guitars and Dimebag Darrell in 2004 shortly before his death. It is a more aggressive looking version of the Dean V, and similar to the Dean Razorback. Corey Beaulieu of Trivium is known for using this guitar It has the more spikey version of...

. Dean also has signature models for Dave Mustaine

Dave Mustaine

David Scott "Dave" Mustaine is the founder, main songwriter, guitarist, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Megadeth. Prior to Megadeth, Mustaine was the first lead guitarist and a co-songwriter of the heavy metal band Metallica until he was fired from the band in 1983. In 2009, he...

, Bret Michaels

Bret Michaels

Bret Michaels is an American musician, actor, director, screenwriter, producer and reality television personality. He first gained fame as the lead vocalist of the glam metal band Poison. Besides his career as lead singer, he has several solo albums to his credit, as well as one chart single...

, Michael Schenker

Michael Schenker

Michael Schenker is a German rock guitarist, best known for his tenure in UFO, in addition to his solo band. He first rose to fame as a founding member of the Scorpions, then achieved fame in the mid 1970s as the lead guitar player for UFO. Since leaving UFO in 1978, he has been leading the...

, Leslie West

Leslie West

Leslie West is an American rock guitarist, singer and songwriter.-Biography:Originally named Leslie Weinstein, West was born in New York City, grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey, and in East Meadow, Forest Hills and Lawrence. After his parents divorced, he changed his surname to West...

, Michael Angelo Batio

Michael Angelo Batio

Michael Angelo Batio also known as Mike Batio or MAB, is a guitarist and columnist from Chicago, Illinois. His work has encompassed many genres, notably metal and its subgenres. Batio was voted the "No. 1 Shredder of All Time" by Guitar One Magazine in 2003...

, Michael Amott

Michael Amott

Michael Amott is a Swedish guitarist, songwriter, founding member of the bands Arch Enemy, Spiritual Beggars, and Carnage, as well as a member of the death metal band Carcass. He is the older brother of Christopher Amott...

, and other artists.

The company's bass guitar models include the ML, V, Z, Cadillac, Edge, Demonator, Hillsboro, EVO, and Custom Zone.

Dean offers several acoustic guitar and bass models as well.

Other Products

In 2007, Dean Guitars began producing their own pickups, called DMT (Dean Magnetic Technologies). Dean manufactures artist signature pickups for Dime, Schenker, West, Batio, Amott, Moore and others.

Dean also produces amplifiers for electric, acoustic, and bass guitars. At the 2009 NAMM trade show, Dean unveiled the new Dime Blacktooth amplifier, which is a recreation of Dime's favorite amp that he played in Pantera for over 12 years. It was released to the public in early 2010. The 20-watt combo version kept the Blacktooth name, but the head and cabinet version were renamed the Dean Dimebag D100 and D412. The Blacktooth, D100 and D412 are now produced by a subsidiary of Dean Guitars, Dime Amplification.

Artists who use Dean Guitars

Dean guitars are popular among players of heavy metal music

Heavy metal music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

, and their popularity rose with the death of Dimebag Darrell

Dimebag Darrell

Darrell Lance Abbott , also known as Diamond Darrell and Dimebag Darrell, was an American guitarist. He was best known as a founding member of the heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan. Abbott also contributed to the album Rebel Meets Rebel, a collaboration between Pantera and David Allan Coe...

 in 2004, guitarist for Pantera

Pantera

Pantera was an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas. Formed by the Abbott brothers, Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell in 1981, bassist Rex Brown would join in late 1981 with vocalist Terry Glaze. Looking for a new and heavier sound, Pantera had Terry replaced in 1987 with Phil Anselmo as...

 and Damageplan

Damageplan

Damageplan was an American heavy metal supergroup from Dallas, Texas that formed in 2003. Following the demise of their previous group Pantera, brothers Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul Abbott wanted to start a new band. The pair recruited former Halford guitarist Pat Lachman on vocals, and later...

. Other artists that play Dean guitars include Jeff Berlin

Jeff Berlin

Jeff Berlin is an American jazz, jazz fusion and progressive rock electric bass player.Jeff Berlin's bass playing is somewhat similar to that of Jaco Pastorius, though Berlin plays a fretted bass and has stated his distaste for Jaco imitators.-Early life:Jeff Berlin was born to parents who were...

, Vinnie Moore

Vinnie Moore

Vinnie Moore is a guitarist and a member of the English hard rock band UFO. Along with Yngwie Malmsteen, Tony MacAlpine, and others, Moore is known as one of the most influential guitarists to emerge out of the shredder boom in the mid 1980s.-Biography:Moore was born in New Castle, Delaware...

, Dave Mustaine

Dave Mustaine

David Scott "Dave" Mustaine is the founder, main songwriter, guitarist, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Megadeth. Prior to Megadeth, Mustaine was the first lead guitarist and a co-songwriter of the heavy metal band Metallica until he was fired from the band in 1983. In 2009, he...

, Glen Drover

Glen Drover

Glen Drover is a heavy metal guitarist from Missisauga, Ontario, Canada. He currently resides in MississaugaOntario. Drover is best known as the former lead guitarist in Megadeth and King Diamond, as well as his own band Eidolon, along with his brother Shawn Drover.-History:Glen Drover began...

, Leslie West

Leslie West

Leslie West is an American rock guitarist, singer and songwriter.-Biography:Originally named Leslie Weinstein, West was born in New York City, grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey, and in East Meadow, Forest Hills and Lawrence. After his parents divorced, he changed his surname to West...

, Michael Schenker

Michael Schenker

Michael Schenker is a German rock guitarist, best known for his tenure in UFO, in addition to his solo band. He first rose to fame as a founding member of the Scorpions, then achieved fame in the mid 1970s as the lead guitar player for UFO. Since leaving UFO in 1978, he has been leading the...

, Michael Amott

Michael Amott

Michael Amott is a Swedish guitarist, songwriter, founding member of the bands Arch Enemy, Spiritual Beggars, and Carnage, as well as a member of the death metal band Carcass. He is the older brother of Christopher Amott...

, Uli Jon Roth, Eric Peterson

Eric Peterson

Eric Neal Peterson, C.M. is a Canadian stage and television actor, known for his roles in three major Canadian series – Street Legal, Corner Gas and This is Wonderland.-Personal life:...

, Karl Sanders

Karl Sanders

Karl Sanders is an American musician, most widely known as the founding member of the American Egyptian-themed death metal band Nile. He was born in California, and lives in Greenville, South Carolina. Karl is endorsed by Dean Guitars, and has two signature models by KxK Guitars...

, John McFee

John McFee

John McFee is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist, and long time member of the Doobie Brothers.-Biography:...

, Tracii Guns

Tracii Guns

Tracii Guns is an American guitarist best known as the founder of glam metal group L.A. Guns as well as the supergroups Brides of Destruction and Contraband. He was also involved in the formation of the first lineup of Guns N' Roses but eventually left the group and was replaced by guitarist...

, Rusty Cooley

Rusty Cooley

Rusty Cooley is a guitarist from Houston, Texas known for his highly refined guitar technique.-Early life:Rusty received his first equipment on his fifteenth birthday. From that day on Cooley immersed himself in music, practicing upwards of 4 hours a day...

, and Michael Angelo Batio

Michael Angelo Batio

Michael Angelo Batio also known as Mike Batio or MAB, is a guitarist and columnist from Chicago, Illinois. His work has encompassed many genres, notably metal and its subgenres. Batio was voted the "No. 1 Shredder of All Time" by Guitar One Magazine in 2003...

.

Affiliated companies

Armadillo Enterprises, the parent company of Dean Guitars, also owns Luna Guitars and Ddrum

Ddrum

ddrum is a division of Armadillo Enterprises, Inc. that manufactures drums, percussion, and electronic drum triggers.-Acoustic drums:ddrum is a sister company to Dean guitars and produces drums that fall into one of several series, each following a motif of beginning with the letter "d" and grouped...

.

External links

• Official Dean Guitars website