Dean Guitars Chafin Sarasota

I picked this Korean made Sarasota up at a resale shop in Connellsville PA. I fell in love immediately. Beautiful Tiger Maple top, and F holes and edges lined with "ivory". Yes, F holes...not the teardrop shaped ones that I've seen in many pictures..if anyone has any info about that particular feature please let me know....nice thin neck for my little hands...the inlays are beautiful abalone, even the Dean logo on the headpiece. Gorgeous case, one of the niceset I've ever seen. She looks like a classic hollowbody and plays like one too. zebra pu's, 3 way switch and volume and tone make for a simple and yet very versatile guitar, I play rhythm, and this is perfect for my needs. I usually play an Alvarez RD Elec/acou, and this guitar is versatile enough to be used as a replacement when I go to Blues jams....

She sounds as pretty as she looks. I've plugged in straight to a PA, into an amp and played her through a digitech pedal and you can do anything from Country to blues to ACDC and Pantera (don't ask)...you can pull just about any sound you need from this guitar. the strings bend well and intonation is just about perfect. She was a little bass haeavy at first but with some minor Pich up adjustment the problem was solved. NO BUZZ plugged into anything and on any switch position...much better than the Avalanche One.

Since I bought it used I am not sure if it was set up by a pro or at the factory, but it seems to be perfect. One suggestion and change I may be making is to change the saddles over to graphite for string life....I did that with my Avalanche and it made a HUGE difference in tone and string survival...I play 10's and occasionally have a tendency to go a little heavy on my strumming on certain tunes...from playing acoustic...I use Dean Markley signature series...wish they would make an Alchemy type string for electric...I love Alchemy's on my Acoustic...gold bronze. The top is not quite book matched, but it gives it depth and character. The action is flawless.

Everything seems as solid as a rck. Grover tuners, hold well.and I will be thrilled gigging with this guitar. My only fear is metal saddles....

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I've been playing guitar on and off for 30 some years...I'm no pro player, I use it as a tool to write with and get my musical point across. I am an all around musician, my instruments are trumpet, french horn, basic rhythm keys and guitar, fledgling bass player, and the occasional kazoo....I have a degree in music ed so I know a little about a lot....
If this guitar was lost or stlen, after bawling my eyes out, I would search high and low for another one, unless an old Gibson ES 125 with P90's crossed my path....

Others have filled in the features well, but this is a Korean made semi-hollow body guitar with 22 frets and set neck. I have seen some ads for this guitar that indicate it is bolt on neck. It is not. I also saw some indicating 20 frets. It is 22. The top is beautiful bookmatched maple. There is one volume and one tone and one switch. The pots and the switch don't feel like they are as solid as the rest of the guitar would indicate. Grover tuners feel like Grover tuners. The Body and F-holes are beautifully bound. I did note after I got it that the holes are F shaped and not the simpler shape I saw on most ads. I don't know if that makes this a later model or an earlier model. If someone knows, drop me an e-mail. I guess the cheap feeling pots and switch will drop this to a 9, but otherwise I'd give a solid 10.

I love the sound on my VOX AD50VT. I like blues and classic rock and I can recreate the sounds I want accurately. It also does distorted rock pretty well. I find it much warmer sounding than my Epiphone les paul custom. I noted that the switch and pots feel cheap, but no static or scratchiness so far while using them. The difference in sound isn't as pronounced when switching from neck to bridge position as it is on my other guitars. I don't really know why that is. So far I am very pleased with the sound of this guitar.

The fit and finish is simply flawless. I only needed to tune the G string and everything else was perfect. Action, intonation were spot on. The finish is perfect. I can't really find a flaw.

I just got the guitar, so I can't speak to durability. It is way lighter than a LP, so that is a plus in my book. I guess because of that one might think it would be less durable, but I don't think that will be the case.

Warranty is 5 years and I hopefully won't need it.

I have been playing at guitar for 30 years, but I just took it back up after a LONG break. I owned a Gibson ES335 many years ago and this thing blows it away in terms of fit and finish and fretwork. I hope it doesn't get stolen or lost, because they have been discontinued and I would HATE to be without this one. If you are looking at a semi-hollow and like the idea of a smaller size, you should grab one of these quickly. They won't be around long and I won't be selling mine.

Dean needs to work on it's marketing. After first learning of the Gibson 336 series, my vague notions of a Les Paul sized semi-hollow, hopefully double cutaway guitar seemed to be materializing. But was there anything out there besides the 336 and the Johhny B.? Yes, There is the Dean Sarasota.
Dean pushes the transparent amber version of this very original axe too hard. They have no picture of the Sarasota in Braziliaburst on their sight which is simply bad business. Their flame maple top Braziliaburst is just like Gibson's tobacco sunburst. It is extraordinary.
I have had my Sarasota burst for about a month now. I bought it online and was a little skittish after some to the reviews I'd read here. But not a one of them panned out. The sound is just outstanding. Warm, bluesy. A nice pick of Gibson and Fender between the pickups. The Les Paul sized semi hollow gives a well controlled feedback. Guitar is very bright and alive. It just rings even played on your couch without a cable in sight. \
I bought a 2003 and it seems Dean has cleaned up a few weaknesses. After a thorough examination by myself and my neighbor who builds hollowbody electric guitars we could find no parting lines on the back or headstock of this guitar. It is a single piece of routed mahagony with an absolutely beautifully bookmatched maple top. IT simply looks and sounds exquisite. I haven't used my Les Paul Deluxe since I got my Sarasota. I play it with a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe.
This guitar is the perfect "compromise" between a Les Paul and a 335 in a very affordable, actually quite underpriced, beautifully designed guitar. One thing you won't get from picture but you will in your hands is the very subltle yet clever sculpting in the cutaways. This is a work of art on the level of the Les Paul in its ability to be original with a conservative design.

Nice inlays, nice woods, glued neck, nice tuners

Compared to several more expensive semi-hollow bodies and the Dean sounded as good or better. Only critique I could possibly make is that the entire sound is a little bass heavy, even with the tone wide open and on the bridge pickup. The low e string is a little overpowering on my instrument, but could probably be fix via pickup height adjustments. Despite this it definitely deserves a 9 for tone.

Intonation was very nearly perfect. Everything as expected in a guitar at this price range.

The neck pickup has come loose from its mounting screw twice. The second time it happened, the wiring has come loose and needs to be resoldered. I am disappointed in this because it would have been rather simple to make sure the pickups stay on their mounts.

One tuner has gotten a little stiff in the 18 months since I've bought it. Strings don't last too long, and I have never broken a string anywhere except the bridge saddles.

The quality of the hardware is definitely the guitar's weakest aspect, though the tone of the pickups is wonderful.

NA

Overall a very nice guitar. Because of the hardware problems I've had, I would hesitate to rely on the guitar for performance. After the saddles are examined/polished and the pickup situation fixed, I would have very little to comment about except the super sexy tone and beautiful design.

Year: 2002, Korean made
Frets: 22 medium
Controls: Single tone and volume controls with 3-way selector switch
Pickups: H/H Dean Zebra humbuckers in bridge and neck positions
Wood: Mahogony body with set mahogony neck and rosewood fingerboard
Finish: Darker Transparent amber flame top
Body: Semi-Hollow double cutaway body with laminated top
Bridge: Tune-O-Matic stop tailpiece
Tuners: Non locking Grover
Neck/ Scale: 1-11/16" Nut & 24-3/4" Scale

The sound is the reason I bought the guitar. I wanted a second guitar to use for the rock songs that we have been playing and I like guitars that sound good and are flexible. When you play live and you don't have a roadie to chaufffer in a different guitar for every tune you need to select the best sounding guitar(s) with the greatest flexibility to cover all the songs you play in a night. That is why I own a Fender American Deluxe Strat, one of the most versatile guitars on the planet. And that is why I chose the Dean Sarasota. It picks up where the Strat stops. If you use the bridge pickup you have one of the best sounding (and one of the loudest I tested) rock guitars you can buy, and I compared it to several other brands ie. Gibson, Fender, Schecter, Cort, G&L, Guild, to name a few. No other guitar I tried could produce such a nice clear sweet flexible rock sound as well as this guitar. I was actually amazed. I didn't even intend to buy this guitar. The salesman at one of the music stores I was at said why don't you try this one. He said all the guys at the store think it's got a great sound. I wasn't even into semi-hollowbodies and when i tried it I said WOW! You are right this guitar rocks. Not only does it rock, when you flip it to the front humbucker and switch to a clean sound it is DEEP! It made my amp come alive like I have never heard it before. We're talking a nice deep clear jazzy blues sound. It was soooooo sweet!!!!!! You have to try one out to compare the sound.

The salesmen told me the figured maple top was as thick as the white binding around the guitar but it is actually thinner. I didn't see that in the store but I spotted it when I got it home. Also the headstock is a seperate piece of mahogony glued to the neck. The book matching isn't quite perfect but it is hard to notice. The nice part and the reason the guitar sounds so good is that the rest of the guitar is made of mahogony which produces a totally different sound then alder or ash.

I've been playing for a number of years and played in many different bands playing many different styles of music. Simply stated, "The Dean Sarasota 6-String is a great sounding guitar that sounds as good or better than guitars costing $2000 and up." If you want to blow your doe on a NAME then buy a PRS or a Gibson. If you want a great sounding flexible working musician's guitar try this one!

This is the prototype Chafin Sarasota handmade in Tampa, Florida. She has 22 frets on a rosewood fretboard. One piece top and back (laminated but no mid seam) Two humbuckers with volume and tone control for each and three way selector switch. Finish is transparent red showing nice wood grain.

Very nice sound. The controls allow you to blend the pickups in the #2 switch position to control tone and volume from each humbucker. As usual the neck hb is woody and full while the bridge is brighter.
I play mostly old rock and blues and this is a sweet guitar. Traded a Gibson Chet Atkins Tennesean for this (and a G&L Legacy)as the tone from this was as nice at the Gibson and the neck more comfortable.

The setup was great from the Annie's Guitar and Drums in Savannah. Frets polished and low action. Intonation great and very comfortable neck.

She seems pretty well built but is not a solid hunk of wood like a tele. For a semi hollow body very strong. Finish seems deep and all of the hardware is well mounted.

Haven't called the company

I have only been playing a couple of years but have turned into a gearhead pretty quickly. This guitar was part of a trade. I have had Gibsons (HR Fusion, Chet Atkins Tennesean, Nighthawk), PRS McCarty, Peavey Cropper Classic, Guild (Starfire 4 and Perrigrine Custom), G&L. The sound from this is comparable to the Fusion but not quite as bright and bitting. Better for the sound I was interested in.

I CURRENTLY OWN A 2000 DEAN CHAFIN SARASOTA , WITH SET NECK CONSTRUCTION , ZEBRA PICKUPS , AND THE PAUA ABALONE INLAYS ON THE FRETS . THIS GUITAR IS SO VERSATILE !! I PLAY EVERYTHING FROM DREAM THEATRE , TO OZZY , TO MR SLOWHAND HIMSELF . I CAN PLAY IT ALL WITH THIS GUITAR . BUT THIS GUITAR REALLY SHINES ON BLUES TYPE RIFFS . WHEN I PLAY BASICALLY ANY RICHIE SAMBORA RIFF , OR ERIC CLAPTON RIFF , I CANT HELP BUT SMILE . IT HAS A GREAT FINISH AND THE NECK IS SO WELL PUT TOGETHER. I HAVE PLAYED MANY OTHER NECKS THAT WERE FLAT AND TALL . EWWW . THIS IS THE PERFECT MIX . IT IS JUST A AMAZING GUITAR .

I CURRENTLY AM PLAYING MY OWN STYLE OF BLUESY ROCK WITH THIS GUITAR , AND SOME HEAVY METAL , EVEN THOUGHT THIS GUITAR ISNT REALLY A ROCK GUITAR . I PLAY A KUSTOM 65 WATT MULTI EFFECTS AMP WITH A CELESTION ROCKER 50 SPEAKER . I USE MY RP 100 WITH THIS SETTUP . THIS GUITAR ROCKS !! IT IS SO SMOOTH , I HAVE PLAYED THE ESP KH-2 NECK THROUGH MODEL AND MANY OTHER GUITARS IN THE "OUTRAGEOUS PRICE RANGE" THIS GUITAR HAS TWO HUMBUCKER PICKUPS THAT SHINE WITH TONE , AND BRILLIANT HARMONICS. I CAN EMMULATE RICHIE SAMBORA , AND ZAKK WYLDE HIMSELF WITH NO PROBLEM. THE SOUND FROM THIS IS OUTSTANDING. MY ONLY COMPLAINT IS EVERY NOW AND THEN , IN CERTAIN AMPS " A PEAVEY RENOWN SOLO SERIES 212" IT GOT A LITTLE MUDDY , I DONT BELIEVE IT WAS THE GUITAR BUT IF YOU HAVE THAT AMP , GET A DIFFERENT ONE B/C I BELIEVE IT WAS THE AMP . BOTTOM LINE , THIS GUITAR SOUNDS GREAT.

THIS GUITAR IS A 10 ON FIT AND FINISH . WHEN I SAW MY BABY IN THE STORE I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO MAYBE IT BEING A LIL LESS THAN 1,000 DOLLARS .. THATS THE KIND OF LOOKS IT HAS . I PAID 400 FOR IT , I WAS ABSOLUTELY DUMBFOUNDED WHEN I HEARD THE PRICE , I BOUGHT IT HOURS LATTER IN CASH!!. I HAVE THE RED TRANSPARENT TYPE FINISH AND IT IS OUTSTANDING . THE ONLY COMPLAINT I HAVE ABOUT IT IS THAT THE CLEAR COAT SCRATCHES VERY EASY WITH JUST AVERAGE PLAY WEAR. LIKE MOST "BEUTIFULLY FINISHED GUITARS.

I WOULD DEFINETLY PLAY THIS AXE LIVE MAN . I AM PLANNING ON IT . I WANNA SHOW THIS BABY OFF . THE ONLY THING IS IT IS VERY LIGHT , THE NECK IS PROBABLY HEAVIER THAN THE BODY . IF YOU STRAP IT UP IT LIKES TO PUT IT'S HEAD DOWN TO THE FLOOR A LIL BIT . OTHER THAN THAT , IT SEEMS LIKE IT WOULD BREAK EASILY B/C IT IS A SEMI HOLLOW BODY , SO DONT GO ON STAGE AND DO STUFF LIKE ZAKK , OR MAYBE EVEN EDDIE , KICKING THE AMPS AND WHAT NOT . THE BODY IS VERY THIN WOOD ON TOP BUT STRONG , IT IS HARD TO EXPLAIN BUT I BELIEVE IT WOULD BREAK IF YOU SMASHED HARD . WHERE AS A CHEAP IBANEZ WOULDNT , BUT THEY SUCK LOL.

I HAVE NOT DEALT WITH DEAN ON ANYTHING B/C THE MAN IN THE SHOP I BOUGHT IT FORM TREATS ME LIKE I AM ONE OF HIS "SELECT FEW" , HE TAKES CARE OF ME . I HAVE A FEELING THAT DEAN WOULD NOT STIFF ME IF THERE WAS A SERIOUS PROBLEM , BUT I HAVE NO SURE IDEA SO . DONT COUNT ON IT FROM MY EXPERIANCE , ME HAVING NONE WITH DEAN .

I HAVE BEEN PLAYING FOR A WHILE NOW AND I LOVE THIS GUITAR , I HAVE PLAYED MANY MORE EXPENSIVE GUITARS AND HONESTLY , I THOUGHT DEAN IS ONE OF THE ELITE BRANDS SELLING GUITARS TODAY , MY ONLY COMPLAINT IS NO ORIGINAL FLOYDR ON BEUTIFUL NECK THROUGH GUITARS .... GETTING BACK TO THE SARASOTA. THIS GUITAR IS A STEAL FOR THE PRICE , WHEN I ASKED THE LADY IN THE SHOP HOW MUCH IT WAS , I CRINGED , WEN SHE SED 400 , I TURNED MY BACK ON HER AND LAUGHED THINKING": HER MISTAKE IS MY GANE" LATER AFTER I BOUGHT IT I FOUND OUT IT WAS NO MISTAKE , THIS GUITAR IS WELL WERTH THE 4OO , IT IS THE ONLY THING IN IT'S CLASS . IT SURELY HAS MORE BALLS THAN A EPIPHONE!!!!!!!

Year: 2001, Korean made
Frets: 22 medium
Controls: Single tone and volume controls with 3-way selector switch
Pickups: H/H Dean Zebra humbuckers in bridge and neck positions
Wood: Mahogony body with set mahogony neck and rosewood fingerboard
Finish: Transparent amber flame top
Body: Semi-Hollow double cutaway body with laminated top
Bridge: Tune-O-Matic stop tailpiece
Tuners: Non locking Grover
Neck/ Scale: 1-11/16" Nut & 24-3/4" Scale

I play mostly blues and classic rock with an occasional fling into progressive rock. I currently play through a Fender Princeton 65watt Solid State with no added effects. At first glance the body of the Sarasota was much smaller than most semi-hollow bodies. I also have an Epiphone Alleykat which is quite a bit larger than the Dean. I was expecting the guitar to sound tinny and weak because of its diminutive appearance. I was dead wrong. This little baby can growl. I was first impressed by its rattle free acoustic sound. It rang clear and true. The neck pickup was rich when coupled with the Fenders clean and a touch of reverb. The mid's through the neck were warm and full and the high were clear but not too bright. The neck pickup is full sounding similar to a CLassic 57 Gibson but a little meatier sounding. Crank up the distortion on the neck pickup and you get growling Gretsch like rythm. The lows could have been a little more pronounced but the sound was clean even as I cranked up the volume into ear bleeding distortion. The neck/bridge setting chunked things up a notch. On clean it brightened up the sound trmendously over the neck alone. Distorted it was chunky and thick with pronounced top end. Too much distortion on this got a little fuzzy but amazingly I experienced very little feedback through the hollow body. Maybe its because of the solid wood block in the body behind the pickups. Dean clamed this prevents feedback. I guess they were right. The neck pickup was my absolute favorite. Whether it is Hendrix, AC/DC, or a few Ace Frehley's signature licks, the bridge pick-up has got serious bite. Its not uncontrollable but much more powerful than my Epi's bridge 57'. I'll use this guitar for lead lines mostly. The clarity and screaming bridge pickup are terrific. It works good at rythm but is a little bass light sounding for me. Overall it plays perfect into musical tastes. This thing screams. I've yet to find another guitar with better sound for the price.

I was impressed by the factory setup. The fit and finish were gorgeous. The binding had no flaws and the head was clean. The pictures on Dean's website did not do justice to how pretty the transparent amber flametop was on this guitar. I was amazed. It wasn't a perfect bookmatched top but it was still beautiful. I was pleasantly suprised. The finger board was clean but plain looking. Fancier in-lays would dress it up a little more. The Dean Chafin Del Sol is the upscale version of this guitar. The Sarasota has all the same features and is about $125 bucks cheaper so I couldn't see spending the extra dough. All in all Dean did a fine job. The finish was cleaner than my Alleykat and put my old Fender Strat to shame.

The guitar is solid but light. I would go thrashing around with it like I would with a solid body however I would gig with it with no hesitation. The finish is a mile thick and seems tough. The tuners are grovers and hold tune well without rattling. I'd take my Alleykat as a backup just in case I have to smack some belligerant drunk with this guitar but other than that the Sarasota should do just fine.

Dean is very slow filling there orders. I had to wait almost 6 weeks before I got mine and it "supposedly" wasn't on back order. Check around with dealers before ordering so you don't have to wait like me.

I've been playing for about 2 years. This is my third electric guitar. I've had a fender strat and a Epi Alleykat previous to this guitar. I was more pleased than expected with the Sarasota's excellent sound for the value. I compared this guitar with the Hamer Echotone and the Ibanez AS series before picking the Dean. It had the best sound in my opinion. If it was stolen I would run not walk to the nearest store and buy another before everyone learns of what a great deal this little beauty really is!