Product: Dean Guitars EVO NOIR
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted
04/01/2008
at
11:13am
by
METALHEART
Features
:
5
PEOPLE CONFUSE THIS AXE BECAUSE DEAN MADE A VERSION WITH THE S3 HEADSTOCK THAT YOU DON'T SEE TRENT REZNOR USE....HE USES AN EVO NOIR...YET THEY CALL THE S3 HEADSTOCK VERSION THE REZNOR MODEL...WELL I HAVE EXPERIENCED BOTH AND I'LL SAY THIS THEY MADE EVO NOIR MODELS IN KOREA FIRST..GET ONE OF THOSE IF YOU CAN FIND ONE THE CHINESE ONES NEED ALOT OF TWEEKING...THE PUPS ARE COVERED CHEAP HUMBUCKERS NOT THE TWIN BLADE STYLE IN THE KOREAN VERSION...EMG SELECTS WILL FIX THAT PROBLEM AT A LOW COST...THE FRET BOARD ON THE S3 WAS SO THIRSTY FOR LEMON OIL IT WAS RIDICULOUS...BUT ONCE IT STOPPED ABSORBING IT BECAME A NICE DARK COLOR AND MATCHED THE ONYX PAINT ON THE GUITAR BETTER THE "FEEL" IMPROVED AS WELL...DRY THE FRET BOARD FELT LIKE FINE SANDPAPER
Sound
:
7
THE BUILD SEEMS OKAY BUT LESSER QUALITY THAN THE KOREAN VERSION...THE TUNERS ARE GROVER AND THE BRIDGE AND TAIL PIECE ARE SOLID...THE STOP NEEDED TO BE REMOVED STUDS WERE PULLING OUT OF THE BODY SO A LITTLE GORILLA GLUE AND A LITTLE LIGHT TAPPING WITH A COVERED HAMMER LATER, THE TAIL PIECE IS SOLIDLY ATTACHED AND THE SUSTAIN IS NOTICEABLY BETTER...THE FIT AND FINISH IS THE ISSUE WITH THE CHINESE MODELS YOU'LL HAVE TO GO OVER THE WHOLE INSTRUMENT AND "FIX" STUFF...MY KOREAN NOIR WAS FLAWLESS..THE FRETS ARE AWESOME SMOOTH EDGES AND POLISHED. THE PUPS ARE GREAT AND ALL HARDWARE IS AS IT SHOULD BE...MAKE SURE IT SAYS KOREA ON THE BACK OF THE HEADSTOCK...IF IT DOESN'T IT ISN'T...
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
7
THE KOREAN MODELS IN QUALITY RIVAL THE EUROPEAN MADE DEANS FROM A FEW YEARS AGO...THATS HOW MUCH THE QUALITY IN KOREA HAS IMPROVED...I OWN SEVERAL EURO MADE DEANS AS WELL...THIS GUITAR "KOREAN VERSION" IS AS SOLID AS A ROCK AND DOES THE "PAUL" THING WELL...THE UPPER FRET ACCESS IS AWESOME...THE DEAN DRAGSTER WAS ALSO MADE IN KOREA IN THE BEGINNING TOO WITH A COMPENSATED TAILPIECE...THATS A GREAT AXE AS WELL SIMILAR TO
THE NOIR JUST PAINTED WITH FLAMES...THIS AXE IS THE ULTIMATE WORK HORSE AND DOES IT ALL WELL...A PLEASURE TO PLAY...
Reliability/Durability
:
7
BUILT LIKE A TANK THE KOREAN FINISH WILL LAST A LONG TIME...THE CHINESE S3 ALREADY SHOWS PICK WEAR ON THE FRONT AND MY KOREAN NOIR IS TWO YEARS OLDER FROM AN OWNERSHIP STAND POINT...I JUST GOT THE S3 AS A BACKUP...PROBLEM IS IT NEEDS THE BACKUP ITSELF MORE..LOL ONCE GONE OVER THE S3 WILL BE OKAY I GUESS...
Customer Support
:
5
DEAN CHOSES WHO TO SUPPORT... IT SEEMS IF YOU ARE FAMOUS OR AT LEAST LOCALLY KNOWN YOU GET WHAT YOU NEED ...IF YOU LIVE IF NO MAN'S LAND USA AND YOU JUST BOUGHT AN XM MODEL YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN...THATS THE PHONE IMPRESSION THEY GIVE...SO YOUR ECONOMIC STATUS SEEMS TO MATTER...YEARS AGO I PLAYED LOVED AND WAS AN ADVOCATE OF DEAN NOW WITH THE INCREASE IN PRICING AND THE MIGRATION OF MANUFACTURING...YOU MUST BY DEANS ON A PIECE BY PIECE BASIS..SOME ARE GOOD SOME YOU SHOULD STEER AWAY FROM...SUPPORT OVER ALL IS A BOTHER TO MOST COMPANIES DEAN IS NO DIFFERENT...GET A GOOD GUITAR AND YOU WILL NOT NEED TO CALL ANYONE FOR SUPPORT THAT WORKS BEST FOR BOTH SIDES...CAVE ATE EMPTOR...LET THE BUYER BEWARE
Overall Rating
:
5
I'VE OWNED ONE OF ALMOST EVERYTHING OUT THERE IN 45 YEARS OF PLAYING AND DEAN IS A GOOD COMPANY WITH QUALITY INSTRUMENTS...PICK CAREFULLY AND YOU'LL BE HAPPY...I USE MESA AMPS AND LIKE I SAID USA,EURO,JAPAN,KOREA,INDONESIA,THEN CHINA IS THE ORDER AND STANDARD I USE FOR QUALITY IN INSTRUMENTS...OCCASIONALLY I'M SURPRISED BUT ITS RARE...ALL MFG HAVE SOME BREAK DOWN OF THIS QUALITY IN THEIR LINES OF INSTRUMENTS...BE SELECTIVE NOT IMPULSIVE AND YOU CAN FIND WHAT YOU WANT
REMEMBER TO GET KOREAN NOT CHINESE IN DEAN GUITARS AND YOU'LL BE HAPPIER EVERY TIME...THE NEW DIXIE DIMES ARE CHINESE AND THEY ARE GETTING A BAD REPUTATION...
