Dean Guitars Avalanche 7-String

I have a new metallic charcoal 1999 Dean Avalanche 7. It was made in Korea. It has 24 frets, 2 Dean Humbucking pickups, grover tuners, a volume and tone knob, and a three-way selector. The strings go thru the body tp produce a more bassy sound. I have the non-tremolo model (thank God). It looks just like strat. This is a very no-frills guitar.

I use this with a Marshall JCM 900 2x12 combo, a SansAmp GT-2 (the best distortion, a lot like a mesa), a Boss Metal Zone (not bad), and a crybaby wah. This guitar easily beats the Ibanez Ax 7-string I compared it against. I'm not with that Korn crap but I guess it would sound good for that. It sounds really good for progressive stuff like Dream Theater. It has a very full and bassy sound. I almost never use the neck pickup, but I love the bridge pickup for distortion. I can't give it a 10 because I haven't compared it against the better Ibanez 7-strings or the Schecters.

Action was great. Pickups were great. Finish is great. Everything is great.

I haven't had it for a long time, but it seems like it should be able to withstand live performances.

I've been playing for five years and also own an Ibanez S470 (slightly better sound than the Dean, but it's a six-string). The best thing about it is that no one else has one, and when they see it they think it bites, but are blown away when they hear it. If it were stolen or lost, I would probably buy another, but I would try to check out the new DeArmond S67, which looks like a Guild S-100 (the absolute best guitar in the world-Kim Thayill from Soundgarden uses these), but has a tremendously low price, or the Schecter C-7 which also has a low price.

this is a 1999 dean avalanche 7 string. it is made is korea, has 24 frets, one tone and one volume. it has two dean humbuckers with a 3-way blade toggle switch, has the black metallic finish and pearloid type of fret markers. the body is made of basswood and the neck is maple with a rosewood fretboard, i did't get the floyd rose, my bridge is a tunamatic style tailpiece and the strings go through the body, the headstock is tilted back and has grover tuning keys. not much for features but is has all i need and would want out of a guitar and the pickups are mounted directly to the body.

i play metallica,korn,kiss,def leppard,ratt, and some other stuff. it sounds great the bridge pickup has a lot of bite and there is relatively no noise. i use a danelectro fabtone and a older peavey classic chorus. the sound is a little bright, but i think it is the amp because my rhoads v does it to. a lot of sustain and crunch and the low b string doesn't get muddy unless you tune to low a. with the pickups mounted on the body, tilted headstock, and strings through the body it resonates very well. kudo's to dean.

the action was fine to me, this is my first 7 string and i am not used to using 10's for strings. the neck pickup needed to be raised a little. all of the routing looks good as does all of the hardware and the frets and the finish. sweet.

this guitar is the bomb, especially if you are looking to get a 7 string that won't cost you a arm and a leg because the are a big manufacterer or their base model is lacking quality. the strap buttons are very solid and i would go play anywhere without another guitar for a backup.

i haven't had to deal with them yet.

i have compared 7 strings for over 7 months before getting this dean, i have been playing guitar for 9 1/2 years so i've learned alot about quality and price. this guitar is built just as good as an ibanez, lacking the dimarzio pickups. i am very glad i made this pick. i am satisfied, i think that if you are in the market for a seven string check one of these out, they won't kill your wallet.