Dean V Dave Mustaine – Exotics In The Entry-Level Segment

Body And Neck:
Hardware:
Electronics:
Sound:
Value:

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Dean's lineup of lower mid-range guitars is in my personal opinion one of the best. There's a whole bunch of great models to choose from, including several great Flying V designs. The one that really caught my eye is the Dean V Dave Mustaine – a simple yet elegant guitar that brings many great features to a price range where you usually don't find them that often. Because of that, it is definitely among the best choices for beginners who like something different and exciting.

Body And Neck

What we have here is another one of Mustaine's Flying Vs. The guitar features a nice mahogany body paired with a standard Mustaine-style maple neck. It comes with a rosewood fretboard, standard dot inlays, and a pretty comfortable profile. Thinner than usual, you could say that this bridge is built for lightning fast shredding, but it's also pretty comfortable for more complex chords. Build quality is impressive for the money, which is one thing you definitely want as a beginner. So far, Dean V Dave Mustaine is on point.

Hardware

One of the most surprising aspects of this guitar has got to be its hardware. We're talking about a Tone Pros bridge with a string-through body design. The sustain you get from this combo is great, to say the least. However, that's not all there is to it. If you look at the headstock, you'll see a set of Grovers mini tuning machines, which thought to be the best cost effective solution for a rock solid tuning retention at the moment. In other words, the hardware on this guitar is built for performance, and that's something everyone can appreciate.

Electronics

In electronics department, you won't see any crazy active setups. Dean instead went with their own passive humbuckers, which will get you all the expression potential you need at a decent price. These pups have a distinct color to them, which might reduce their practical value in certain genres of music. With that said, if shredding is your game, they will work more than fine. Everything is wired to a set of two volume knobs and a single master tone knob. There's also the three-way pickup select switch.

Sound

Once you plug the Dean V Dave Mustaine into a decent signal chain and hit a riff, you will notice a few things. First, that there's plenty of saturation in the mid and low end of the frequency range, but also in the trebles. Highs aren't as crispy as they are on more expensive Mustaine's signature models, however they get the job done more than well. For metal, rock or blues, this guitar is a great choice.

Conclusion
Overall, Dean V Dave Mustaine has got to be one of the best-balanced guitars in its price range. It offers that classic V body shape but also a set of components to even out the looks with performance. If you're looking for a ‘future proof' beginner's guitar, this is probably as good as it gets.

For more info about the Dean V DM, click here.
For more beginner electric guitars, click here.