Dean Guitars Chafin Boca 6-String

Its Very Simple and Easy to use, Dual Humbuckers with only 3 settings on the toggle switch and a single Volume and Tone Knob. Good for beginner or Intermediate. Mine Seemed a Little Awkward because the 2 piece Maple Neck had a standard Maple for the neck but the head stock was of a Burled Maple wood, none the less a beautiful guitar, the Cat Eye Sounds Holes are a little better to look at and less common than the standard sound holes on most Semi-Hollow bodies.

Amazing Sound for such a Simple Guitar, beautiful crisp and clear, much better sounding than your average Squire. Sound is On Par with more expensive guitars. However the ability to change the tone through the guitar itself isn't as good as Say an ES-350. but thats a guitar that cost A lot more.

The Guitar has an Amazing shape, its bigger than most Guitars but its far from heavy or cumbersome. the Quality is amazing, the Neck has an outstanding feel to it despite owning it brand new since 2004 to the present the Neck till has its smooth silky feel to it. The Rosewood Fret board hasn't faded nor marred since then either. The frets are in great shape and the sound is just as good as ever. I love my guitar and I love playing it because its different and its just as good as alot of more expensive models out there.

Has held up amazingly well since 04-09 and going on 2010 with no problems what so ever. Electronics are just as good as they were when I bought it and the Tuners work great. No problems At all of course I baby My guitar

I bought through an Independent guitar shop so I haven't dealt with the company at all, no real words for wisdom here

I started Playing since 2004 and this is my 1st and only guitar, ive used others such as a Squire and Fender Strats, an ES-350, Several Ibanez Models and such and I keep coming back to my Boca, its the overall best sounding to me and it feels the best in my hands.

Features:
- 1999 Korea model, modified LP, dual cutaway, semi-hollowbody
- 1 Dean MLX Zebra open-coil humbucker with dean logo (neck)
- 1 GFS Dream-90 Silver case humbucker (bridge)
- one tone knob, one volume knob, 3-way selector switch
- two "silhouette" sound holes - cream binding
- Color is Gunmetal Metallic
- Grover tuners, tune-o bridge, 22 frets-medium jumbo, 24.75 scale
- mahogany body and top, 2 piece maple neck, rosewood fingerboard

This Boca is slightly different from those previously reviewed here. While it is definitely a 6-string Chafin Boca it seems to have some upgrades from the factory that are unusual. For one the hole shapes and cream binding are not something that seems "standard" on this one. I also compared mine to a used one I found at a local shop; The interior of mine is OD Green, standard is unpainted. Standard has solid color finish, this one has very metallic gunmetal gloss finish. Standard has 2 open-coil non-zebra humbuckers, mine had Zebra humbuckers. (bridge is now a GFS aftermarket) Standard model has matching headstock, mine has matching headstock with Dean Mom of Pearl inlays and manta-ray or sting-ray shaped inlays in the fretboard and one on the headstock.

If you could take the smooth, silky overtones and vibrant harmonics of an Gibson 335 add in the warm, heavy, crunch of the Gibson SG, and still be able to ring out Brian Setzer "chunck and wail" with the full 3-Dimensional-make-your-ears-bleed Vox screams for under $500 would you buy it? Of course you would. Everyone knows Dean guitars are no joke when it comes to great sound for amazing value and this may be one of the best. While I'm not claiming that this guitar will do it all, it comes very close for a rather basic setup with no whammy.

I play Rock, Punk, Rockabilly, and blues. This is my primary ax and has been my workhorse for nearly two years. It is simply the perfect combination of harmonics, voicing, tone, and playability that makes this my favorite. The sound with the Zebra is clean and clear with a smooth balanced feel. Great for chorus and finger picking under vocals. The GFS Dream 90 is esentially a smooth but hot version of a standard p-90. Great crunch, amazing sustain, ripping bends.

Bottom line - Some people look at this guitar on stage and don't expect to hear a true crystal like LP sound of a Dire Straights cover, yet that's what they hear. But conversly, they also don't expect to here the twang, chunk, and rattle of the Reverend Horton Heat that is just as easy to thrash out. Punk thrash, AC-DC crunch, you name it and you CAN get the sound.

I bought this guitar from the original owner. Well actually I traded a rifle for it to my drummer but whatever. It hung on the wall in his basement for about 7 years til finally he got sick of me asking to buy it. I was always amazed at how cool a semi-hollowbody could look. Leave it to Dean to make a super cool semi. The finish is very glossy, thick, and classy - not like the overdone metallic flake that says "I'm shiny crap". I'm sure the factory setup is what it had when I finally got it along with a lot of dust. I did need to tweak the truss rod a 1/4 turn north and lower the bridge a hair. This brought the action low, low, low without ANY buzz and it is sooooooo sweeeet. I love everything about this guitar. Quality tuners, great frets, no noise, clean pots, clean switching, what more do you want????!!!

The paint on this baby should survive a fire or earthquake. That's a good thing because holloboys can be prone to cracking from dry heat and stage lights are a great source. There is not a single sign of abnormal wear on this guitar. I did ram the headstock into the bridge of another guitar while running around onstage and it has a little ding from that.
I have not had any problems with the electronics which is a damn good thing since there seems to be no way in hell to get to them should something go wrong. I don't expect it to and there is no reason this guitar shouldn't play every weekend for the next 40 years or so. I won't make it that long but it might. Just as a note, I have seen the electronics completely replaced in a sealed hollobody like this one. It takes specialized tools but my guitar tech tells me they do it all the time. Kind of like building a ship in a bottle I imagine.

Dean has always been great with me in answering questions(like what wood the body of this guitar was made of; -2 sheets and one block of solid mahogany) but honestly I have never had to have any of the three Dean guitars I own repaired or serviced.

I own 3 Dean Guitars; This Dean Boca, a Dean Cadillac Standard. and a Dean Exotica FM Acoustic. I also own a Reverend Flatroc, a SG-400 delux, and a Dillion Thinline Telecaster. I use them all and I doubt I will get rid of any of them. I have gone through several junkers some over $500 and have learned my lesson. The Dean Chafin Boca 6-string is easily as good as any listed here. I love to play it and pick it up first on most occasions. If you are looking to buy a Chafin Boca, do your homework, have a pro look at it for you, and get a fair price. If you do this you will have a solid guitar with amazing potential for sound and versatility. If you don't take these steps then don't come back here to complain. Happy rockin!

As noted below. Red metalflake finish.

I bought this as I didn't own a semi-hollow and didn't want to pay much. Tried the Oscar Schmidt Delta Blues and returned it, it had a number of flaws and upper fret access was poor. I like the sound of this thing; I wanted to be able to do B.B. King, etc., and this does it. It sounds close enough to a 335-style guitar for me.

BODY: No finish flaws or issues except at the neck pocket. There was a BIG glob of paint (red) sticking out from the body right at the right side of the pocket. How it left the factory like this is beyond me. Had to take it to a luthier to remove the paint, reshape the pocket and do a touch up. NECK: POOR. First, know that this is not a 1-piece neck, there's a scarf joint. Finish was thick satin poly; sanding scratch marks very visible under the finish. At almost every fret end the finish had cracked all the way through at the fret slots- very bad. The headstock has a black plastic overlay, when it was glued on apparently the adhesive solvent dissolved some of the black plastic and the resulting black goo got into some of the neck wood. Fretboard very sloppily sanded across the grain with too coarse a grit. Frets themselves OK. Ended up stripping the entire neck, was only able to remove some of the black stain as it had gotten too far down into the grain. Refinished the entire neck in nitro, much better now. OTHER: Pickups: Each coil of each humbucker (that's four of them) is cracked all the way across the top of the bobbin, right across the center through the middle of the pole pieces. HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN? The pickups sound OK to me, but cosmetically both pickups need to be replaced. Pickup selector switch bad, had to replace it. I should also mention the neck was shimmed from the factory.

Can't say.

I bought it used, out of warranty. Called Dean about a replacement neck, they did have them available at a reasonable price. Pretty helpful, I'd do business with them. Obviously I opted to repair the neck myself.

I bought this used for $130 and it had obviously been played very little and was not abused. I do not attribute any of the above problems to the previous owner, it came from the factory bad. After investing a lot of time and effort (and some cash) it looks much better and sounds good. It would not have been worth one dollar more to purchase. This is a CHEAP guitar and was pretty much thrown together. Would I buy another one? No. If you're considering one of these I'd reconsider; whatever guitar you purchase don't buy it sight-unseen. I thought I would have learned by now....

I'm not sure but I think mine was made in 2000, I think that's about when I bought, and it was new. Two cheapo opencoil humbucking pickups, master volume and tone. The neck is pretty thin but not too thin, there is a little neckdive if you're not careful with it. Would have been better if the neck was bound but then again it is a cheap guitar, but I really think this guitar would be nicer with seperate volume and tone controls, but it's still ok the way it is.
Also, I wish Dean had included some panels in order to reach the electronics, if anything ever shorts in there the guitar will be unfixable, and it cant really be modded (as in if i were to go in and add seperate volume and tone controls...)

I play some metal, lighter rock, christian stuff, a lot of different styles and its just dandy. I dont really use any effects other than a little distortion from time to time, its very quiet but as with all semihollow guitars there is plenty of feedback (sometimes a good thing, sometimes not). As with any guitar set up like this, neck gives you a full, round, fat sound, bridge gives you a brighter sound. It sounds great, its just the pickups are cheap, not really a bad sound, just it could be a lot better if that makes any sense at all.

The factory setup i would say was OK, but the thin little neck as bowed over the past couple years. Today I took the trussrod cover off for the first time...whoever or whatever put the screws in didnt really know what was going on apparantly, they were in the strangest angle, i really didnt think they were coming out. Hopefully I can straighten the neck out some and it'll be good as new again. The finish is nice, glossy, thick black. I believe they were all black. If i cared i would sand it all off and stain it just to see what it would look like. It fell of the stand or something once, i really didnt know what happened and got a little chip in the finish. I just bought some cheap black fingernail polish ("wet n wild" or something like that) and it filled the chip and matched the glossy finish just fine. The selector switch is surprisingly stout for a cheapo guitar, sure hope it stays that way though, no way it could be replaced as near as i can tell. I'm considering replacing the pickups with some nice covered p-90 copies that would sound good.

The guitar will be fine IF taken care of, same with any instrument except for the occasional freak incident. There's no way the finish will ever wear off, I think there is more paint than wood on the body of this guitar. I have to say the matching headstock is a nice touch though on a $220 guitar. Strap buttons are dandy, but i always like to keep an eye on them on any guitar.

5 Year warranty i think but i'm sure i've voided it out anyway by screwing around with setup and whatnot.

I'm mainly a bassist these days. If it were stolen I'd probably just buy something else in the 200-$300 range, or just stick to my acoustic for a while. I don't think it'll be stolen though, not that it is a bad instrument, just that it isn't worth anything. Believe it or not the instrument actually has a little bit of charisma to it, hard to explain. When people see it they are like "oh cool it's a semi thats hot"

Features to humbuckers, one tone and one volume button. Semi Hollow Body. I think the guitar is a great deal for your money. Dean makes excellant guitar, and you get more then waht you pay for. The tuners are Groovers, and you have a tune-o-matic bridge. I play classical, punk, classic rock, and country this guitar will do everything that a guitarist can image. I think that everyone should try a dean once

Alright sound. You get your money out of it. It is not a gibson, but you want be disappointed. The onyl thing i have had to make were a couple of bridge adjustments and new strings. She sounds awesome with pedals.

Great Action. If your beginning the low action is perfect. The only problem is that after playing for a while you might develop a dead spot on the 16th fret. All this requires is for you to raise the bridge alil...nothing else. Its plays like a charm.

Great, had to tighten up a the bolt where the cord plugs into, but other then that i would take her anywhere! I do have a slight problem with the high e string breaking, but i tihnk it is cause i play punk/rock alittle too hard.

Had a question and got a answer within the week. Very good support!

Very Good, its not a gibson, but it is worth every penny.

2001 Korean-made. Semi-hollow-body/dual cutout. Grover non-locking tuners. Tune-o-Matic bridge. Stop tailpiece. 22 fret/24.75 scale. Dean passive H/H pickups. 3-way toggle switch.

This is a follow-up to my review of the Chafin Boca 12-String which I purchased last year from Musician's Friend. (I have since learned that the 12-string is a MF exclusive... call them and buy one!)Essentially this is the same guitar in a 6-string version, although there are minor differences. I ordered the 6-string based on the incredible value the 12-string presented. The same pickups are provided on the '6':Dual Dean 'open' style HBs. (Although they do not have 'Dean' printed on them as with the 12-string.) They provide the same range of sound, from bright and clear through emphasized mid-range to a rich, full low end. Due to its H/H configuration, there is no extraneous noise whatsoever.

The 12-string came nearly perfectly set up, with only a slight lowering of the bridge necessary. The 6-string required a 1/4 turn on the truss rod, and a slight raising of the bridge to compensate and balance. It should be noted, however, that the 'factory' set-up was perfectly playable, and would even be prefered by many players... particularly those rougher than I... the adustments I made were only to suit my playing style. All strings were properly intonated with the exception of the 'D', which required a very slight shortening.
The 'Classic Black' 12-string finish contains a light gold speckling. The '6' lacks this speckling (somewhat disappointing... the '12' is absolutely gorgeous), but the high quality of the glossy black is the same... uniform and perfect. As with the '12', the 3-position toggle switch could 'feel' a bit more substantial, but as I pointed out in the '12' review, this is a common complaint with many electrics.

Everything about the Bocas indicates that they will withstand any reasonable use. I would certainly trust either one if it was all I had. Luckily... I now have them both.

See 12-string review.
5-year waranty.

I would echo the sentiment expressed in almost all the reviews of Dean guitars... they are an outstanding value. Even if disregarding their entry-level pricing, they are as 'playable' as any other brand I have played. The Boca '6' replaces a 'strat' I've had for 14 years, and joins its 12-string cousin and an acoustic/electric Dean Tradition SE as the three guitars I will use on stage, I suspect for a long time to come. (No, I don't work for Dean!) As I have driven nothing but Honda automobiles for 20 years... I believe that if you find an outstanding product at a reasonable price (in this case MORE than reasonable!) you go with it and stick with it. Best guitars anywhere?... of course not... but perhaps the best dollar for dollar anywhere!

6 string. Bolt on.
2000 model, black. Modified LP, dual cutaway, semi-hollowbody style. Chromed DEAN hardware. Stop tailpiece. Medium thichness nech, standard 1 11/16ths width at the nut, 24.75 scale. Dean open HB pickups (not Zebras). 2 Vols, a Tone and a 3 way PU selector toggle.

I play Blues and Classic Rock for the most part, sometimes drifting into jazz. THIS is a blues guitar, no "hiss" here. The semi hollow body can either give you warm sustain or wild feedback. Harmonics, sometimes unintened, are easy and not much is needed in the way of pedals to get smooth distortion (I use a Mystic Blues).
The neck setting can get muddy but the combined setting is quite different, sounds like a phase shift without the loss of bottom end.

Factory set up was very good. Octave harmonics were dead on, string height was low and pickups had just fine.
Neck has a nice feel and doesn't get too thick up high. The BOCA is the low end of the Chafin line and doesn't have binding or a set neck, still it is solidly built and quite handsome giving other mid-sized semi hollowbodies a run for their money. I considered the Epiphone AlleyKat at the time of purchase and found no appreciable improvement for the extra money.

This guitar was NOT meant to be thrashed. The hardware should give you a lifetime of service if you don't overstress it - but, after all it's a S/H and you probably will baby it just a little extra because of that. Everything is solid and well built and it should gig quite well.

Playing 30+ years. Before buying I compared it to: Epiphone AlleyKat and LP Standard. Gibson: Blues Hawk. The Gibson is very nice but WAY overpriced, the Epi's didn't sound or play significantly better than the Dean, sooo....
Active pickups would be nice or a piezo at the bridge, but these things you can do yourself (or have done). A great little blues guitar that can purr or scream.