Dean Guitars Avalanche 7-String

I'm not exactly sure what year it was made. By others' reviews it seems as though it was produced from about 2000ad-2004ad. It definitely says Korea on the back of the headstock(i'de like to think it was made in the u.s.a). 24 fretted geeter. Great octive abuser... The o.g. set-up. Basswood body with a killer maple neck w/mother of pearl inlay dots. Metallic charcoal, I call it gun metal grey. Tune-o bridge, string through, putting nut lockers on it, grover keys, fatty frets perfect for my clumsy fingers, waiting for my emg60(bridge)emg85(neck) in mail.

I play speed metal and it sound GREAT! A little chunky when im low picking but im gettn my emgs soon so, that will be a problem no more. Very loud geeter. Much respect. The lows are LOW! It rumbles that is for sure...

I just bought the guitar from a guitar center in Indiana last monday. Im taking it in to get it looked at by a pro. After that im sure it'll be great. Probably sounded sweet from the factory... Beautiful Dean.

It takes a pounding everytime I use the damn thing. I had in Ibanez and let my 12 year old sister have it JUST so i could focus on 7 string for a while. Have a fender bass also. Dean is like a new baby in the house getting all the attention. Bad *** guitar! Ewspecially for the price.

have'nt needed it yet. I'm sure its just fine.

I've been playing for 4years but you add in a child for two years and marriage that equals roughly...........1year. But luckily I catch on quick. I would look for this guitar again if lost/stolen. If I couldn't find this specific guitar i would still purchase the Dean name again. I wish it had just one EMG85 on it somewhere. For the price I got it for it deserves a makeover...

I got mine in 2004. It was in clearence. It has 24 frets ONE VOL. ONE TONE three way switch. Two humbuckers I'm not sure what pickups they are. I'm guessing schaler. I don't know what kind of wood the body is. Nice Shade of RED. Rosewoood fingerboard. I'm sure the neck is maple. Body is like a Strat. The bridge is like a tune o matic. String thru the body design. Non-Locking Grover tuners. I think the scale is 25.5"

I like this guitar it sounds way different than my Universe and RG7420. I use a rack setup with ADA, Rocktron Mulitvalve, Intellifex, and BOSS SE-50. It use a second preamp for fx loop and it goes thru a MOSVAVLE and in to a pair of 4x12 cabs
This guitar stays in tune so well, I tune various tunings on this to standard seven string, standard with Drop D on the sixth sting, standard with lo A, Also a Double drop D tuning I use Zakk Wylde LO tune and add a .026 to the set for SEVEN STRING. The Double DROP D tuning sounds so damn good. I have not been able to get other seven strings to do this, but I imagine the extended scale seven strings could do this.

Action is low not super low, Pickups are good not as clean like the Ibanez. I haven't noticed any flaws with this guitar. It isn't a high end guitar, but I think it is a great value. I will soup up the pickups some day, I just like the sonic variety with different guitars. The jack is always loose on this. This finish is Red slightly see thru. There is a slight wood imperfection on the body but, I don't care.

This guitar holds it tune well, I think it is due to the direct pull headstock feature they mentioned on the headstock tag. I have a Warwick gig bag, I transport this guitar around. I prefer this guitar to pracitice and jam with buddies, rather than bring my more expensive IBanez Universe around.

I asked Dean a question about seven string. They were very friendly and took the time to respond.

I mentioned before most of these questions. I really love how this guitar can hold up to my rediculous Double D tuning. The Seven string is an OCTAVE below the Sixth string. I have a .70 guage on the loweset string. I want the ESP VIPER seven string. It looks so much like a SG.

This guitar was made in Korea . It has a basswood body , and a maple 24 fret neck . It has a thick neck , yet still comfortable to play on . There's 1 volume control , 1 tone control , and a 3-way selector switch . It has non-locking Grover tuners that do not go out of tune a lot , they're pretty good . It has a tune-o-matic bridge , a string-thru body .....

I don't know what else , it has a strat-like body .

I play a lot of thrash metal , death metal , progressive metal , and it suits them just fine . I don't use any pedals , I just plug straight into my Marshall MG100 HDFX , which is hooked up through a homemade 1x15 cabinet . now , its not any top-of-the-line gear , but I get a pretty damn heavy sound from it .
The pickups are fairly noiseless , and have a good output . The bridge pickup has a pretty bright sound , while the neck pickup has a richer sound to it . On clean , the neck pickup almost sounds acoustic-like . The neck pickup , when distorted , tends to have almost a hollow sound to it , there's no balls whatsoever . However , the bridge pickup has quite some balls , for a stock pickup , anyway . I crank the gain right up , and it has some chunky distortion , and squealing high-end .
Definitely no complaints , but the bridge pickup is getting replaced soon by an EMG 707 anyways :D

This guitar was set up pretty well . The action was alright , it wasn't as low as I prefer , but I adjusted that , with no buzzing problems . The pickups were adjusted just fine . The bridge was routed flawlessly .
There really were no flaws overall . I haven't spotted one , except , of course , the dings I keep putting in it without realizing .

This guitar will withstand live playing - if you're not a fool with it . I wouldn't recommend carrying this on stage if you're drunk to the point of falling over , because basswood is a softer wood . But , overall , this guitar's built like a tank . I've only had this for about half a year , but the hardware is lasting just fine , and the finish isn't lasting too bad either .

The strap buttons drive me crazy sometimes , but its probably the cheap strap that i have . It never comes off when i'm standing up playing , so there's no worries of dropping this guitar during a gig .

I've already used it at one "gig" (haha , my school's variety show...) without a backup . There were no problems , and I don't think there could've been , as this guitar is built solid . I'd have a backup anyways , in a different tuning , but I don't think I'd need it if it wasn't for the alternate tuning that it would be in .

Never dealt with the company , so this is a no opinion .

I have been playing for 3 years . I have owned a Jay Turser strat copy , a Univox Les Paul copy , and countless crap pedals (except the metalzone.....which i personally don't like) , all of which I no longer own . I now have my Dean Avalanche 7 , a Peavey Tracer , a Marshall MG100HDFX head , a homemade 1x15 cabinet , a digitech rp100 , and a Dunlop crybaby wah .

Honestly , if it was stolen , i would buy another 7-string . This was my first venture into the 7-string world , and while I know that this guitar is quite a bargain , I could save up more and get a truly high-end 7-string , with a floyd rose tremolo .

I wish it had a Floyd Rose locking tremolo . That's all I'd really want with this , because I'm already replacing the pickups , which were good anyways .

I highly recommend this guitar to someone low on money , looking for a decent 7-string . This is a great bargain , apparently even Guitar One said so !

Made in Korea. 24 frets, solid top. 1 volume, 1 tone, 1 3 way selector for pickups (H-H).
Basswood body with maple neck, rosewood fretboard with beautiful abalone inlays.
The finish on mine is metallic charcoal, and it should be some sort of grey/metallic tone. Instead, it's a mixture of grey with green, and with gold sparkle. Awesome color!!!
The body is much like a strat, well balanced and very confortable for me.
The bridge isa tune-o-matic 7 and the strings go thru the body.
The neck is fat and wide, but yet very comfortable.
It has Grover non-locking tuners that work very well.
The fret-work is not one of the best, but nothing a little polishing won't fix...

The stock pickups aren't the best in the world, but yet they are effective and with a decent output. They will be changed in the future (for some sweet DiMarzios!!).
The guitar shows some versatility, and it suits me well for the styles I play (progressive metal/rock, hard rock, fusion).

The action came low, right were I like it to be.
The only thing I have to complain is the fret-work. I'll need to make some polishing before I can say it's perfect...
The controls are noiseless and tight.
In fact, the whole guitar is very solid and built like a tank!
The finish is flawless and very well done.
Metallic Charcoal is an awesome color!!!

I'm preety sure this will be a reliable instrument for live situations.
The strap buttons are solid and so the finish.
I never gig without a backup, but I'm sure this baby can handle an entire world tour without complaining!! :-)

I've been playing for 7 years. I have 2 Yamaha guitars(Pacifica 312 and APX 7-A), 1 Ibanez (JPM p3) and an Admira (classical).
This is my first entry on the 7 string world. I think I made a choice that'll offer me many years of 7 string pleasure!!
I love the color, the wide neck, the inlays. and the tank-like construction.
I'm not a big fan of the pickups. The bridge saddles with most likely be swapped for some GraphTech ones, but that's just a personal preference...
I'd love it if it had piezo and stock DiMarzios, but, hell, this is a fine guitar as it is.
I recommend it!!

I Would believe it was made in 1999 or 2000. 24 frets with beautiful abalone inlays (nice touch Dean) A solid body strat-esque in shape, 2 Humbucking pickups with a toggle switch and 1 volume and 1 tone knob. Mine has a metallic charcoal finish, which is nice becase fingerprints are not too visible. With a string through body for added sustain ( the holes for the strings that go through the body are angled for greater tension on the lower strings) Grover tuners(work very well) Very wide friggin neck but i love it.

I seem to lean towards blues, classic rock, and modern rock..But I bought this to play the modern stuff and it works great . I use a Crate GFX 120 and plug straight in(I hate effects) the neck pickup sounds wonderous clean and the bridge sounds fair,,Im guessing new pickups could clear up the 7th string(which is bit muddy ) I cant say i can complain about the sound.

The setup was good but like all things i have to mess with it till it suits me. So I lowered the action a bit. I usually have the pickups raised quite a bit and when they are ajudted they stay put, there wwere no flaws(until I got ahold of it anyway)

Ive played with a couple different bands and i gotta say it does its job. ITs like a Gibson though it eats strings like crazy. the finish has a coouple dings but the paint is still on. The strap buttons are pretty nice and tuning is wonderful. But never play without a backup your dumb if you dont.

I have never had to deal with them.

Ive played alot of guitars, I have been playing solid for 5 years now and i must say a seven string at low cost that is good is hard to find. But people this guitar is killer and it wont dissapoint just remember the neck is huge. If it were stolen or lost Id invest in an upscale one- but id be mad just the same. Dean is a great not so well known brand but they make good stuff. So just check this bad a$$ out

Basswood body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard. 1 volume and 1 tone knob. 24 frets :). Bolt on neck :(. Two direct mounted humbuckers. Tune-o-matic bridge and grover (I think) tuners. Very basic.

I usually play Tool, some Primus, as much Dream theater as I can manage, and both Metallica's. I went out looking for a new, cheap 7 string to gig with while I saved for something better. I was poor, and my Ibanez RG7620 had pulled a Zak Wylde (fallen out of that back of our truck.)

I tried some of the cheaper Ibanez guitars (7420-21), as well as the Schecter Omen and Avenger through a POD (I use a Crate Blue Voodoo 2x12 and POD pro with the line 6 floor board). It made even my former guitar sound muted; Very bright sound. The tone knob can't completely hide this, but it is a VERY minor complaint.

About the only reason I gave the sound a 9 is because there ARE better sounding guitars out there, perhaps not yet in 7 sting form, however (I would like to try fernandes revolver).

The action was set a little higher than absolutely nescessary (I prefer it as low as possible). Adjusting the truss rod is a bitch, but well worth it.

What can I say, its a tank. It could be compared to one as far as weight as well (though not as heavy as a les paul). I didn't exactly have a backup when my poor ibanez fell to its death, I had that and a gibson gothic sg which I used for older, faster metallica riffs. I'm still in the middle of my transisiton to 7 string. After using this guitar for a couple months, I ran out and bought another one to use as backup.

It gets a 9 because the nut on the connector has come loose recently, and I've had to re-tighten it. Again, small cmplaint, but its not perfect.

Never broken down.

I've been playing guitar for 5 years now, started on classical (Yamaha, don't remember model). Bought a BC rich warlock (ugh, don't ever buy one of those) after that. got an Ibanez soundgear 5 string bass (liked it) and alesis drum machine to start writing with. Bought the SG after I got into a regular jam session, which eventually turned into a band. The other guitarist convinced me to get a nice 7 sting, at which point I bought the RG7620.

I haven't gotten around to trying many of the 7 strings that have cme out in the last 9 months or so, so I don't know how far 7 string quality has progressed since then.

All of the other reviews say it all.

W-I-D-E Neck! Almost looks like a bass. The neck is kinda heavy and the body is on the lighter side. Not too unbalanced, but it is a different feel than I'm used to (Ibanez Strat copies). With the wide neck, I've had to adjust my playing style a bit. All strings are easy to get to.

Grover tuners a solid (love em). From what I hear, you want to get the intonation set up professionally. Luckily this was done before I bought the guitar.

The string through body with the Tune-O-Matic bridge is what interested me the most about this guitar. I don't like Floyd Rose Tremolos, and didn't want another standard.

Maple Neck with 24 frets with pearl dot inlays. Prettiest guitar I've purchased yet.

I mostly play grunge/metal and the extra B string helps out with that. I'm using this primarily for recording (Cakewalk "Sonic" and Alien Connections "ReValver"). All of the effects are digitally processed through my studio computer.

The sound is pretty good for stock pickups. However, I see Seymour Duncan JB-7's in the near future.

The action and intonation were set up professionally by the previous owner - prior to my purchase. I'd have to say that it is set well.

The pickups a screwed into the body(which I thought was odd), but they are solid. The bridge and frets are perfect. No rough edges.

The paint job is a metallic black. Kinda neat looking. However, as you can see from the other posts... finger smudges are seem clearly.

This seems to be a very well finished guitar.

I play guitars pretty hard, and this one appears that it will hold up. The volume and tone controls are tight and smooth. I am going to keep an eye on the 3-way selector... it feels a little ... I wouldn't say flimsy, but I don't like it.

Overall it seems like it would hold up under some duress. NEVER GIG WITHOUT A BACKUP!

5 Year Warranty. No need for support.

I've been playing since 1991. This is my 5th guitar, but my first 7-string. If this guitar were lost or stolen, I'd probably try to get another one. In the lower price range 7-Strings you have few decent options. Before I bought this guitar I looked at a few others, but I went for the Dean name.

The only real shot I can take at this guitar is that I'd like to have better pickups. But, at the price, you can't beat it.

Ample features for a great guitar- other reviews say it all.

I play in a hard rock band, with our ranges influencing from Smashing Pumpkins to Iron Maiden. The dual humbuckers won't give you every sound under the sun, but they give me the sounds that I need to get a more than decent sound. Clean or dirty, this guitar delivers. I am playing this currently through a Randall Solid State head which I highly dislike, and an Ampeg 4x12 which I love. I've played it through my other guitarist's rig, which is the Ampeg 4x12 and an Ampeg V-50 tube head, and I was not disappointed at all. The only thing I'd recommend is maybe sticking a single coil in the middle, as I find it gives me a rounder sound combined with a humbucker when playing clean.

The action was a smidge low, but not drastic. I'm not the person to touch the guitar's insides, as I don't want to screw it up before a gig, so I haven't fooled with the action yet. Came prepped with 10 gauge strings, which wasn't my preference, but I have since changed my mind, as they make the guitar sing a lot more and give me a lot more intonation. Pickups are set, and I don't believe they are adjustable, but they are at a proper height for great sound. Excellent hardware, aesthetically and mechanically.

This guitar has already gone through several shows since I got it two months ago, and I have no complaints at all. The hardware will most definitely last me a long time, the pots are all smooth-moving. The guitar is beautifully finished, although black collects fingerprints rather easily. No strap problems at all. The strap buttons don't come loose or rattle. The only reason I have another guitar on stage is in the case that I break a string and to play songs in dropped D. If I didn't break strings and we played only a set of songs in standard tuning, the Avalanche would be the only guitar at the show.

Haven't dealt with them yet.

I have been playing for almost eight years. This is my second electric, but my first seven string. This guitar has definitely opened doors wide for me as far as songwriting and soloing. The other guitar I have is a Yamaha Pacifica, which is also an outstanding guitar. I love everything about this guitar right down to the solid Floyd Rose Trem. The only thing I'd add to this is a piezo pickup and a radical paint job, hee hee...

2000 Korean manufacture, 24 fret solid top, dual humbucker, Volume, tone, 3 way blade switch, looks like a strat without the pickguard. Tune-o-matic bridge and string through the body. Straight string pull headstock design (similar to Ernie Ball).

Has a very Stratocaster-like sound, despite the humbuckers. The stock pickups are decent, but not awesome. I play rock, classic metal and blues. I use a Vox 810 overdrive pedal as treble boost, and it really brings out the singing clarity of the guitar, exactly as it does with my strats.

Well made. It was easy to adjust the intonation and now it plays perfectly in tune throughout the fretboard. Solid construction, good quality neck joint, functional electronics.

Seems solid.

I was very impressed with the Dean website. You can speak with the owners of the company, and they answer back RIGHT AWAY. Haven't had any trouble to report.

I have 12 guitars (6 strats), and I picked this up to check out what a 7-string is like. I am well pleased with the quality and value. I would not hesitate to bring this guitar to a gig or a recording session. Eventually I may get around to replacing the pickups, but the stock units are definitely useable. The guitar is well balanced and comfortable to play, whether standing or sitting. The string spacing is also very comfortable- close enough to be easy to play, but far enough apart to be able to pick lead lines cleanly. My only complaint is that it would look cooler if it had a pickguard, like a strat. I may try to retro-fit a strat pickguard to it one day.

a new 1999/2000 Dean Avalanche 7 string...made in Korea...very futuristic silver sparkle finish (metallic charcoal?) kinda like something a evil-disco band like PM5K ot static X would use :)...anyways, it has 24 frets,2 contols (1 volume, 1 tone),2 passive humbucker pickups,the bridge i think is "tune-o-matic" style (not sure)but the strings go thru the body for more resonance etc etc....the body is basswood and the neck is maple...as far as the shape goes, think strat but with the bottom left (facing the strings, right side up)curve going more upward~ kinda odd, but it makes it diferent which is cool

i mainly play bass, but I'm in 2 bands and Im constantly writing songs on guitar...i got this guitar bcuz my last guitar broke on me and i was tired of tuning down a 6 string, bcuz i like having EVERY string open to me to write with...style wise on guitar i pretty much just stick with hardcore/metal, but I'll venture into more funky stuff and ska sometimes...this guitar works great for hardcore music...using a fender stage 112 amp i can coax everything from trebly-deftones distortion,to thundering coal chamber/crazy town(their song titled "think fast" is what i have in mind)distortion, to crunchy/gritty more grunge distortion like the older 311 stuff...as far as clean, this guitar can sound either very bright crisp and clear,clean and kinda muffled "underwatery" sound, or in between the two,it can get some really good jazz club and ska tones going....theres only some noise when the treble is turned up, but turn the knob to the bass side and it dissapears~this also may be the amp, because it seems noisy with just about every guitar ive put it with(epi-les paul,peavey predator)...overall i love the sounds of this guitar...if your looking to make some hardcore as hell distortion that can rumble your floor, look no further~thank you dean (i was tired of trying to get my bros Epi-les paul to get that deep of distortion)

I'll be quick: *Set up very well, action may be just a tiny bit low for the B and E stings, but easily fixed *Pickups a little high, but i adjusted them, no problems there *Everything else is PERFECT, the finish is flawless and i love the look of it (im into all that disco-action rock if you couldnt tell)

This guitar will withstand live playing im sure, tho it'll probly be my bro playing it when we do songs requiring lower tunings...this seems alot more durable than my friends' ibanez 7 string (i think its the AX series, silver color, the limp bizkit one)where his was so unbalnced the neck outwieghed the body :P strap buttons seem much better than average, but im still putting on strap locks, they are an item every serious player should equip on their axe

good service from people we got it from, and a 5 year warranty is no problem with me :)

ive been playing bass for 2 and a half years (guitar for about half a year, more of a side thing, but required for song writing), and i have a used warwick 5 string fortress(amazing bass,my pride and joy :), so i know what makes a quality instrument...though this isnt the guitar equivalent of a warwick, this IS a damn good guitar for a damn good price...i dont really think you can beat the sound for this price range...whether you play hardcore or you're just a jazz player looking to expand your guitar horizons, i think this could work for just about anyone...on a side note, ive played 4,5,and 6 string model Dean bass guitars, and i was REALLY impressed with their quality and playability for not being a "high end company", i think Dean is a brand more people should wake up and take notice about

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.