Coming at you, it's the Dean from Hell!

[slash-ed]

Got this beauty in from the States yesterday. The pricing on these imports is way too expensive new, but this came at a good second hand price - mint condition and with 81/85, so I decided to take the plunge and give it a try.

Long story short... I'm very impressed with the build quality of this thing. For those not in the know, the import Dean From Hell guitars are made in China. Shockhorror... but it really is a very well made guitar, there are of course very minor flaws if you look closely, but on the whole, very solid and good quality. China is the new Korea! Well, at least for Deans, anyway...

It has a "V" neck profile, which is a bit unusual to me, but seems to play very well. Balance is perfect as with most good MLs. Haven't put the floyd through the paces yet - the dude sent me the wrong type of bar for whatever reason...

Anyway, here are some pics:

[danastas]

Very nice guitar, one of the best lightning graphics I've seen.

On the other hand, calling something the "new Korea" can't be good. I've only had bad experiences with Korean mades. I still think Mexican and Japanese quality are the best for foreign mass production.

[slash-ed]

Haha... you must know what I mean :P With China, Indonesia etc being generally regarded as the lowest on the quality pecking order. A lot of the MIK guitars I've had have been very nice, my main gripe being the thick plasticky poly finishes.

Jackson still holds the best value for Jap imports I reckon.

The finish, from what I've heard is a very clever mix of airbrushing and decals... everything except the actual bolts themselves is airbrushed, if I've got it right.

[chrisolson]

I've only had bad experiences with Korean mades.

My experience has been quite the opposite. Don't write them off.

[Rich#6]

I have had good experience with Korean made guitars as well. I thought I saw one of these that said made in Korea the last time I was at GC

[Bengal]

From my expierence it took Korea quite a while to get it. Most Korean made guitars from the 80's are pure crap. Started to get better in the 90's. It's much better now. Still doesn't mean I want to pay Ibanez over 3K for a Korean made Geiger S though...

I must say I've seen some decent stuff from China lately. It took them alot less time to figure it out...

Nice Dean. If I was to get one, it would be that graffic...

[Super_shredder]

very nice ML !!

i wouldnt say no to a korean made guitar...

[slash-ed]

I have had good experience with Korean made guitars as well. I thought I saw one of these that said made in Korea the last time I was at GC

The normal Dime sig MLs like the Far Beyond Driven model and such are MIK. The Dean From Hell, and all the Razorbacks are MIC. Although I recently heard that there are batches of Razors coming out of Korea as well... so it's anyone's game it would seem. There have however been a helluva lot less complaints about the higher end Chinese stuff than Korean, for Dean anyway.

[emperor_black]

Owned a Korean Ibanez and Korean Dean. The Korean Dean was absolutely flawless. Not a single complaint there except for some corrosion type stuff on the chrome. I think for chinese made, it takes a while to bring out the complaints. A fret buzz here, a sharp drop in sustain there, loose o/p jack, etc. But my last chinese made guitar was 4 years ago, and a Dean too coincidentally. Who knows, maybe they are as good as the korean-made nowadays. That said, personally, I can never get over that Dean headstock and the pickup selector switch located a mile away from my picking hand. But a cool "graphix-to-die-for"

[slash-ed]

How do you get "a sharp drop in sustain"? And why would it take any longer...

[emperor_black]

I dont know, but only on my 12th fret B string of my SLSMG, the note dies too quickly. ...rather too quickly I must say. That's what I meant. But the note does ring out clear...just dies too quickly. I made some truss rod adjustments and thought the problem went away, but last night I noticed it again.