Dean Guitars
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| Dean Guitars | |
|---|---|
| Type | Private |
| Founded | 1977 |
| Founder | Dean Zelinsky |
| Headquarters | Tampa, Florida, United States of America |
| Area served | Global |
| Key people | Elliott Rubinson - CEO |
| Industry | Musical instruments |
| Products | Dean ML, Dean V, Dean Z, HardTail, Soltero, Vendetta, Razorback Series, Leslie West Signature Guitar, Michael Angelo Batio Signature Guitar, Dave Mustaine Guitars, Michael Schenker Guitars, Vinnie Moore Signature Guitar, Rusty Cooley Signature Guitar, Edge Bass, Exotica Acoustics |
| Owner | Armadillo Enterprises, Inc. |
| Subsidiaries | Luna Guitars DDrum Nord USA |
| Website | www.deanguitars.com |
Dean Guitars is a manufacturer of musical instruments, covering everything from electric guitars, bass guitars, acoustic guitars, and bluegrass instruments such as the mandolin and banjo. Dean Guitars was created in 1977 by luthier Dean Zelinsky who began building guitars at an early age. Zelinsky thought that rock guitar design had stagnated and decided to do what he could to change things. The first Dean guitars were released in the mid-1970s and featured designs including "pointy" guitar bodies and large V-shaped headstock. These designs quickly gained popularity because of their radical look.[citation needed]
Dean's marketing campaign, which featured models holding the guitars in alluring poses, was widely copied[citation needed] by other guitar manufacturers until the onset of the grunge rock movement in the 1990s. Dean has since revived this practice.
In 1986, Zelinsky decided he did not want to continue making guitars and sold the company to make furniture.[citation needed] In the late 1990s, Elliott Rubinson (CEO of Dean Guitars) revived the brand name, later bringing Zelinsky back aboard as an executive and creative consultant. Since then, Dean Guitars has grown in to one of the leading guitar companies in the world.[citation needed]
Guitar players who have used Dean guitars include Dimebag Darrell (Pantera and Damageplan), Dave Mustaine (Megadeth), Randy Rhoads (Ozzy Ozbourne and Quiet Riot), Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill (ZZ Top), Eric Peterson (Testament), Jerry Cantrell (Alice In Chains), Michael Angelo Batio (Nitro), Michael Schenker (UFO and MSG), Rik Emmett (Triumph), Ric Ocasek (The Cars), Rudolf Schenker (Scorpions) and C.C. Deville (Poison).[1]
