Dean Guitars Daytona

This guitar is stunning. It is a no nonsense guitar with some top end features. The most impressive is its solid wood construction. It may sound simple, but even some of the $1,300+ guitars from Martin and Taylor only have solid wood tops with high pressure laminate backs and sides. Take a few minutes to look at some of the most expensive, highest rated acoustics from an of the major companies and chances are you will see the same materials used on this $200 Dean: Solid Sitka Spruce top, Solid Mahogany Back and sides. Sure, its made in China- but it is a very well made dreadnought with great tone woods and a beautiful sound. I won't give it a 10 because it does not have any electronics, but it deserves a 9 for the construction.

All I can say is WOW. Do yourself a favor and play one! I own several acoustics (Martin DCME, Taylor 414, Vintage Washburn 12 String, Dean Performer A/E) and only bought this one because I was looking for a cheap acoustic when I was away for 2 weeks on business and was miserable without a guitar. I spent an hour or so playing a few guitars in the $500- $600 range. I picked up this Dean and was blown away. I could not believe I could get THIS SOUND for $200. It sounds full and balanced in all tunings I have thrown at it, and it has volume to spare. I can honestly say that it holds its own with my Martin and Taylor. Of course the Martin and Taylor are nicer instruments, but this Dean sounds amazing. Play one.

This one is a joy to play. It was set up by the shop where I got it and, aside from changing the strings, it has not been adjusted. It is a wonderful guitar- no flash, but it has style. Frets were finished properly, flawless finish, feels nice and solid and resonates well.

I beat the heck out of this guitar. It comes everywhere with me (camping, to the beach, to play with friends). I have recorded with it and played small shows with it (mic'd), it has definitely taken some time away from my Martin and Taylor! It sounds great, stays in tune well, and is solidly built. It has been used and abused and always comes back for more.

Never needed and support.

I have been playing for roughly 15 years. I own several acoustics and electrics (Taylor, Martin, Dean, Washburn, Gibson, Fender, Jackson, Ibanez, Schecter, PRS, ESP, Epiphone, BC Rich) probably more than anyone should have, but they have all been acquired for a specific purpose over the past 15 years and I never had the heart to get rid of them. It is fair to say that I know guitars. I never expected this Dean to have an impact- as I mentioned, I only bought it because I was away on business and I was miserable without a guitar. I now play this more than any of my other acoustics. It plays so well and sounds like guitars 10 times its price, not to mention it goes everywhere with me because I can always replace it for only $200 if anything ever happened to it!

Play the guitar and you will buy it. I highly recommend this inexpensive workhorse- even if it cost 4 times what I paid it would be worth every penny.

Select Spruce Top, Mahogany Back and Side's. Rosewood board, Dot Inlays. M.O.P. Logo and Dean Wings on Headstock Abalone Inlay between Wings on headstock. Cast Sealed Chrome Tuning Machines, 20 nicely polished frets. Nice insignia around soundhole and through the middle of the back of the guitar,

Pretty darn good playing/sounding guitar. nice and warm with the Mahogany, and the Spuce brightens it up just enough. Action is low, fret job is very good. It was used with old strings when I bought it. It sounded good then next to 250-450 dollar guitars. I new it would sound very-good with some strings and the frets polished. And it did, also somewhat PAST my expectations. I was glad I bought it after cleaning and stringing it up.

Very Good for the money. I played Acoustics costing 4-5 times as much that don't have as good of action as the Dean Daytona.

No Issues!

Don't Know

Very Good intermediate/advanced guitar. Definatly better than any beginner I saw and played. As I stated earlier the guitar sounded better than Acoustics in the 250-450 range. And it played better than guitars in the 500-700 dollar range. I'm very happy with this acoustic and believe its a LOT of BANG fot the bucks! I've been playing Electric for 40 years. And acoustic from time to time. I expect my acoustics to play as easy as my electrics. This is a tall order. But this Dean comes VERY close and sounds great!

first let me premise the folowing ratings on the fact that this guitar is basically a starter guitar, not a $2000 taylor. obviously, if i were to do a comparative rating of all acoustic guitars, regardless of price, i probably would not be rating this instrument the same as i am below. in addition, there is no such thing as a 10 in this price range. with that being said, let's get on with it.

the dean daytona has a solid spruce top, mahogany sides, back, and neck w/ rosewood fingerboard, 20 frets, and was manufactured in china (how else do you get a solid top guitar for under $200), year not indicated. this is a strait acoustic dreadnought guitar with transparent gloss finish, nice simple soundhole inlay, and the distinctive dean headstock w/ basic nickle finish tuning pegs (no name on them). came strung w/ a set of ultra lite strings.

i give it a solid 8

i am new to guitar playing but found this to be the easiest playing guitar under $300 that i put my hands on (and i musta played more than 30 different guitars in this price range, including another daytona before i bought this one). at this point i am solely a strum and simple fingerpicking player. i am learning the simpler classic rock/folk stuff, dylan, neil young, jethro tull, with aspirations to one day be able to finger pick like jorma kaukonen.

i found the sound quality to be very nice with good tone, and a long resonnance. there is a slight tendency to buzz when loudly strumming open g and c chords (this is true when my accomplished guitar playing friends play it too, so i know it's not just bad finger positioning on my part), but does not seem to have the same buzzing once i move further down the fretboard or use a capo. the guitar came set up w/ a set of ultra light strings, but the low e and a strings were larger than the respective e and a strings i just put on there (a lite set of dean markley blue steels). with the new strings i get less of the throaty bass from the low e and a strings (which i had come to appreciate), also less of the tinty sounds off the high e, which is fine by me. there is absolutely no comparrison in the richness of the sound the new strings produce, not to mention noticeably longer resonnance. this switch makes the guitar sond much better. i think i might try a set of ultra lite blue steels next time i change strings though, just to regain some of the deeper bass.

this guitar sounds much better when i use a capo, which leads me to think that the nut may be the source of some of the buzzing i get when strumming loudly.

i give it a 7 as it came from the dealer, and a 7+ with the new strings.

the action on this guitar seems pretty good. it's no washburn, but as noted before, it was the easiest guitar to play of all the ones i tried in the price range. it is not without it's nuiances though. the edges of the frets, both top and bottom, are a little sharp, but i haven't cut myself yet. next time i have the strings off i think i'll hit them w/ some emery cloth. i also have difficulty when tuning the 3rd (G) string. when i get to a certain point of tension, just slightly flat, if i continue to turn the tuning peg, no change in pitch occurs until a certain point when i hear a ping, and then the pitch changes, usually just a little too sharp of being in tune. i thought rerplacing strings might change this but it has not. i'm not sure if this is a problem w/ the tuning peg or the groove in the nut on this string. all other workmanship seems very solid.

i give it a 6+/7-, mainly because of the difficulty in getting my g string perfectly tuned.

as a beginning player that has had this guitar (my first) for only 4 months now, i will refrain from rating the reliability/durability of this guitar at this time. all i can say is i haven't broken anything yet.

i have been playing this guitar every day for the past 4 months (i decided to learn how to play while i am recovering from knee surgery). i spent about two weeks playing a beat up old classical guitar that my buddy loned me before i bought my daytona. i spent a week visiting all the music shops in town and played more than 50 different acoustic guitars (including acoustic electrics), most of which were around $200-$300 (of course i couldn't resist seeing what a $2600+ taylor felt/sounded like. oooooh sooooo sweeeet). i asked tons of questions and generally got very good answers from the different salesmen (at least those older than 18). in the end, i found the daytona to be the easiest guitar to play and had the best sound that my novice hands could produce for under $250. several of the salesman were encouraging me to buy one of their starter kits w/ the guitar, tuner, strap, and soft case, but none of them sounded as nice as the daytona. plus, they all had either over gaudy finishes and/or inlay designs or were just plain jane with no character to them at all. the daytona however had a very distinct look too it, including the dean crested headstock, swoosh bridgeplate, and a simple inlay around the soundhole, which are just a bonus to the way it sounded.

if i lost this guitar, i would probably replace it with a nicer guitar, and then buy a little tarvel guitar for hacking around the campfire.

overall, i am very happy with my first guitar. i have since become far better at playing it than when i purchased it, and enjoy it's rich tones that much more. during this same time, i have revisited many of the guitar shops and played many more guitars. i still think the daytona plays as well and sounds better than any of the guitars i've seen under $250, and as good as most of the guitars that cost twice what i payed for this one (with the exception of a few new washburns at the local shop).

based on sound, ease of play, style, workmanship, and value, i give the daytona an overall rating of 8

An entry-level dreadnought acoustic by Dean, this one manufactured in China, which I guess keeps it affordable. 20 frets, with solid spruce top, and nice decorative inlays around soundhole and body. Natural finish w/no pickguard and with the distinctive Dean "swish" bridge give it a nice clean appearance.

For a guitar in the $200-250 range, it gives a good sound, with no buzz or defaults. Obviously not as good as higher end guitars, but great for a beginner to intermediate player. Maybe just my own ear, but it tends to emphasize the highest string a little more than I would prefer.

I started playing as soon as I got home, with no problems. All parts and action were fine.

It's a very simple instrument, but seems solid enough after a year of continuous play. No complaints.

Never tried to contact them - no need.

I've been playing intently on it for about a year. This is basically my first guitar, but it offers plenty of good sound and quality for a beginner to learn and develop on. It'll be awhile before I outgrow it. IMHO I believe this Dean compares favorably with some slightly higher-priced guitars (in the up to $400 category). The overall rating is based solely on the beginner category.