The finish quality is contradictory. The satin finish on the body is flawless: it’s consistent, smooth, and attractive. Dean guitars was bought Tropical Music from the original owner Dean Zelinsky in 1986. During this period, the serial numbers were printed on the last fret of the fretboard. Tropical Music did not follow the serial number format previously used and did not keep any existing records. There may be some kind of structure to the imports starting in 2008/2009 but there isn’t for anything older. A low budget action b-movie extravaganza, nothing more and nothing less and it doesn't pretend like it's something more either so it works if you're in the right mind-frame and don't expect more than that. The size of the frets features a good balance for either children and adults. And the rosewood fingerboard, even when it has sharp edges and a flawed finish, is comfortable and smooth in almost every aspect.

Keep in mind nearly every inexpensive instrument you touch needs some setup adjustments. The Vendetta XM, though, comes with an unusual excellent electronic soldering plus surprising tuners and bridge.

How to Date Dean Guitars with Useless Serial Numbers

There were high-quality Dean Soltero SLs built in Japan. They are built with better parts versus the Soltero SL’s made in Korea. Czech Republic Instead of going for a mahogany body like the rest of the Vendetta series, Dean used Paulownia. This is a rare Asian wood that offers some odd tonal properties different from basswood and agathis, which are standard for entry-level guitars. For starters, it adds some chime plus a tight-low end. I'm not a wrestling fan so I have no idea who 'The Big Show' is but he was better than you're average wrestler turned actor, at least in the role he was playing which was just a big bully bad-ass with a bad attitude. You also have access to Dean's vintage tremolo, letting you turn even the simplest of riffs into cascading soundscapes with a touch of the whammy bar. You can even deliver those classic metal dive bombs for added emphasis.

Now lets talk about Dean’s more affordable line of models that are manufactured outside of the US. If the guitar was made in 2008 or later, the serial number for Asian made Dean guitars will be a bit longer, and will also include one or two letters. The letters will tell you where the guitar was made, and the first four digits will tell you the year and month. That said, the Dean Vendetta XM is decent a so-so beginner’s guitar that shines on the hardware section and playability wise.

More so, it has sharp edges, flaws, and an overall rough feel. That’s because the finish is not polished and sanded well enough. Overall, the sound is decent and the quality goes better than the average beginner’s instrument, but the only purpose is to play with distortion. That makes this guitar good to play power chords, note-to-note metal riffs, solos, and similar. This of extreme importance: the Vendetta XM is extremely comfortable for beginners but it trades off some richness and sustain. But a beginner wouldn’t even notice about this.

Its lineup of products includes acoustic guitars, solid-body electric guitars, ukuleles, resonators, banjos, mandolins, amplifiers, and bass guitars. We recently reviewed the best Dean bass models you can buy right now and found out how they continuously build sleek-looking models with modern sounds. The Fret Zealot store has both styles available. This is the XMT, the other option is the hardtail version with the string-through design. That’s a good option for those who aren’t keen on the whammy bar and want more tuning stability. It will give you less room for the tuning to move around and more stability for your playing. It’s also a pretty common for people who want to do drop tuning. I wish that the body was either alder or mahogany but it will do just fine. Guitars do not play themselves, you have to do the rest. The Jeff Berlin models produced in Korea were the Jeff Berlin Bassic model. Bassic with two “s”, not to be confused the with the USA made Jeff Berlin Basic, one “S”. The sound it’s also outstanding: it sounds like metal through any combo amps or with any decent distortion pedals.Dean guitars produced in the USA between 1977 and 1985, and since 1996, can be dated using the first two digits of their serial numbers. Dean Guitars made between 1986 and 1995 do not have dated serial numbers, and Dean did not keep records. These guitars are hard to date. This guitar is made very well. The styling is awesome. The finish is great … read more and there's nothing really there to break unless you hit it with something It's a great guitar if you can deal with it's light weight. Post screenshots to an online forum and hope some guitar nerd with extensive knowledge helps you out