| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Musical instruments |
| Founded | 1976 |
| Headquarters | Tampa, Florida, United States of America |
| Area served | Global |
| Key people | Elliott Rubinson - Owner |
| Products | Electric guitars Bass guitars Acoustic guitars Amplifiers Pickups |
| Owner(s) | Armadillo Enterprises, Inc. |
| Subsidiaries | Dime Amplification |
| Website | www.deanguitars.com |
Dean Guitars is an American manufacturer of guitars. It was founded in 1976 by Dean Zelinsky in Chicago, Illinois and is currently under the ownership of Armadillo Enterprises in Tampa, Florida.[1]
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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. [2]Armadillo Enterprises then purchased the Dean trade name in 1997.[3]
Dean is best known for their line of electric guitars that include the ML, V, Z, Cadillac, Splittail, Soltero, EVO, Custom Zone, Vendetta and Deceiver models.
Dean also has many signature electric guitar models. Dean offers numerous Dimebag Darrell models, including some signature ML models and his own original shapes, the Razorback and Razorback V. Dean also has signature models for Dave Mustaine, Bret Michaels, Michael Schenker, Leslie West, Michael Angelo Batio, Michael 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.
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.[4]
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.
Dean guitars are popular among players of heavy metal music, and their popularity rose with the death of Dimebag Darrell in 2004, guitarist for Pantera and Damageplan. Other artists that play Dean guitars include Jeff Berlin, Vinnie Moore, Dave Mustaine, Jack Kilcoyne, Glen Drover, Leslie West, Michael Schenker, Michael Amott, Uli Jon Roth, Eric Peterson, Karl Sanders, John McFee, Tracii Guns, Rusty Cooley, Michael Angelo Batio and Wayne Static.
Armadillo Enterprises, the parent company of Dean Guitars, also owns Luna Guitars and Ddrum.