Dean Del Sol Guitar Review

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Review by Dave Burlock in Guitarist
Issue January 2001

DEAN - DEL SOL

Tasty inlay and gold plating or just a tarts' handbag?

Price £599 Dean's comeback brings to the UK a finely made Korean range from a USA brand once renowned for its kitch Las Vegas image

STARTED WAY BACK IN 1977, by Dean Zelinsky, Dean became known as much for its outlandish shapes (the ML, V, Z and Cadillac) as its sexist advertising. Although the brand is now primarily sourced from Korea (with some up market Czech-made additions) and features a full catalogue of electrics, basses and acoustics, the classic shapes are still available and those Dean girls are a part of every USA trade show. Here, we take a look at a distinctly un-Dean design. The The vaguely Ibanez Artist-inspired Del Sol is part of the three-guitar Chafin series, named after Dean's head USA guitar maker, Ben Chafin.

The Del Sol tops this Chafin mini range which starts with the bolt on neck Boca, followed by the less flamboyant (and more price conscious) set-neck Sarasota with chrome-plated hardware, twin zebra coil humbuckers and just plain ol dot-inlaid fingerboard.

With echoes of Ibanezs Artist guitar in this symmetrical double cutaway design, the Del Sol - like all the Chafin series - is a center blocked semi with twin slit soundholes and an arched, maple-veneered top. Despite the semi nature, the extra bulk and clearly mahogany construction, which appears to have an ash facing-veneer on the back and, of course, a maple veneer on the arched front, accounts for a weightier guitar than the EVO 60. But bearing in mind the strap button position behind the lightly chamfered heel, the body weight means the guitar isn't as neck-heavy as it could be.

Again the binding is a little scrappy in places, but there's little doubt that the multi-ply black and white inner purfling detail around the body and fingerboard edge give the required deluxe appearance. But it's those rising sun inlays, which are surprisingly neatly inlaid onto the rosewood board, that give this guitar its name and air of uniqueness. Like the EVO 60 the neck and fingerboard feel really good from the off. Despite a rather enthusiastically low string height setting on the bass side and the need for a slight truss rod tweak, this Del Sol really was ready to go from the box.

Again the electronics are simple, with two gold-plated, covered humbuckers passing to a three-way toggle switch that nestles between the volume and tone control. There are no back plates, so mounting the controls has to be done through the slit soundholes. To that end you'll notice small clip-on connectors which join on the pickups' output wires.

Sounds

If the EVO 60 was a bit of a let down sonically, the Del Sol compensates for its over-the-top cosmetics with a sound that has an ES-335-like character. It's still a bit bass-light, especially the bridge humbucker, but the not-too-hot outputs from these pickups produce an old-style PAF like sound with a semi-hollow resonance that seems to widen the sound compared with a solidbody; less mid-range more highs and lows. While BB King licks sound perfectly matched through the clean channel of a Mesa/Boogie Nomad, rather like PRS's Hollowbody design, this guitar excels at grungy, tough and ruff tones - ironic, bearing in mind the visuals! It may shout Las Vegas fusion, but tonally the Del Sol should have a much broader appeal.

Korean guitars are often sneered at by those who are lucky enough to own high-value USA or British models. But they are getting dangerously good these days. And with the continued input from American and European guitar builders, it won't be long before details such as pickups (and hopefully), timber, frets and fingerboards will begin to match the finish quality.

The Del Sol may not appeal to everyone with its elevated price and historical image but sonically this is a neat, small-bodied ES335-alike that captures semi resonance with a broad stylistic appeal. There's more to Dean than rock shapes and chicks.

DEAN DEL SOL

PRICE:£599
ORIGIN: Korea
TYPE: Semi-hollow, arched-top electric BI Mahogany with carved maple top and binding
SCALE LENGTH: 628mm (24.75 inch)
NUT/WIDTH: Graphite/42.7mm
FINGERBOARD: Bound rosewood, 'Sol inlays, 305mm (12-inch) radius
FRETS: 22, medium jumbo
HARDWARE: Gold-plated Grover tuners, tune-o-matic and stud tailpiece
STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 52mm
ELECTRICS: Two goldcovered Dean humbuckers, three-way toggle, volume and tone
WEIGHT (KF/LB 3.75/8.25
RANGE OPTIONS: The Chafin series also includes the bolt-on Boca (£319) and the less flamboyant-looking setneck Sarasota (£449)
LEFT. HANDERS; No
FINISHES: Classic white, trans amber, trans red, trans blue (as reviewed).