I've been playing 47 years. I'll be playing longer. Any guitar that's been in my rig 10 years or more is a keeper. Of the five I own, only this Dean and another electric have stood the test of time. With work, the neck, fretboard, and frets are as I want them. Those were the flaws, and I took care of them. It's now a very good friend, and I play it a lot.

Sound
I like the brightness of a maple acoustic. It sounds fine acoustically. Plugged in with the built in electronics and whatever amp it's going through, it can be dialed in anywhere I need to go. I have a Gibson J-200 as well, but I play this Dean more because it plays and sounds more electric than the Gibson. This is all subjective. Everyone has their own ears, I just like the sound of this guitar.

Features
It needed a second strap peg, but that's a dollar and about a minute's luthery, and I did that long ago. I subjectively like the pickup and equalizer.

Ease of Use
The neck, fretwork, fingerboard, and string height took tweaking and lots of playing to get right. However, after owning this axe for ten years, I've got a finely dialed in, great playing guitar. A 10 for me now, but it took a lot of tweaks and a lot of playing to get this part right. That to me is mostly what separates the inexpensive axe from the expensive one, or it should be.

Quality
I've played this guitar hard, haven't… read more been gentle, as gentle as I would have been with a more expensive axe. I have one nick on the head. The rest of the guitar is built like a tank. The finish is still flawless. This is a gorgeous axe. Just from a visual detail inspection, neither my previous Martin D-28 or my current vintage Gibson J-200 pass that sort of inspection, and neither has proven as tough as this Dean. Subjectively, maybe it's taken me a long time to truly appreciate it, but I am impressed still how it holds it's own with the big boys I've owned.

Value
After ten years of owning this guitar, I'm still amazed at what I got. It isn't just the price. I don't think I've ever gotten so much for so long out of any other guitar, and I like it more today than when I bought it in 2000.

Manufacturer Support
I talked to Dean folks ten years ago, about the neck issues, and although I did my own tweaks, I got the impression that they cared a lot about the quality of this guitar.

The Wow Factor
The appearance and the flawless detail of this guitar have been commented on by most of the musicians I know who've seen it. It is an attractive guitar.

Musical Background:
active musician

Musical Style:
Rock and roll, jazz read less