 |
||
|
||
| Dean® EVO XM Electric Guitar Review | ||
| © Darrell Young | ||
There's a type of guitar one could consider a "cheap" guitar. Then, there's another type one could call "low-cost." The latter is not expensive, but has great quality and sound. Some would never think of buying a cheap or low-cost guitar, but dwell in the higher income levels that allow purchasing such fine instruments as a genuine Gibson®, Martin®, PRS®, or Fender®. Well, I've found a guitar that combines the high-end qualities of a finer than normal instrument, with the affordability of a low-cost guitar. The Dean® EVO XM! |
|
|
|
Dean® has been around a long time, and many will have fond memories of a Dean as their first guitar. Today's Dean guitars are exceptionally nice, even in the lower cost range. Of course, they also make medium and high-end guitars that will blow your socks off in looks and sound. Check them out here: www.deanguitars.com When I accepted this little jewel of an Axe for review, I knew right away that my Guitar Acquisition Syndrome |
|
(G.A.S.) would never let me return it. I plugged this baby into my Fender Cyber-Twin, cranked in an old Fender Blackface emulation and started playing some sad sad blues. For a little while I was very very sad, 'cause my little EVO was crying. I had the blues, and my new axe influenced me. For a while, I thought I was BB himself, whose Thrill Was Gone. But, then, I realized that this guitar could also ROCK! I started cranking out some power chords to stop the blues, and soon it was More Than A Feeling (Boston) rattling the windows of my neighbors house. That was it! My Thrill was back, along with the realization that it was indeed More Than a Feeling. I was hooked. How could a low-cost guitar make sounds like this? What had Dean done that was so different from many other manufacturers? |
||
They had created an LP Style guitar with a SOLID MAHOGANY body. Sustain is amazing! Many manufacturers of "cheap" instruments choose to use a form of plywood in their instruments. They call it a laminate, and usually won't even name the exact wood being used, but call it something like "hardwood." Well, Dean has "done them one better" with the EVO XM. Instead of a vibration dampening laminate, they have used a solid chunk of Mahogany for the body. Solid wood vibrates as a unit, and so offers much better sustain. |
|
|
|
The neck is made of quality Maple with a nice pattern, and the fingerboard is a excellent grade of Rosewood. These woods all vibrate in unison and cause a level of sustain that is usually only apparent in much more costly instruments. The tuners are sealed, and seem nice and tight, with no apparent slippage even with some heavy power chording. She stays in tune! I especially like the fit and finish of the neck, with its well shaped and sanded medium-jumbo frets, and slightly curved fingerboard. |
|
It is very easy for a short fingered fellow, such as myself, to play with the thin 60's style neck. The neck is not too wide, with a nut width of 1 5/8ths inches. The action is very fast. I found that the standard stop-bar tailpiece and individual string intonation sliders work very well. It was easy to raise or lower the bridge, and adjust the intonation of the strings, so that she plays well up the neck. With 22 frets, you can go waaaay up the neck, if you'd like. If you are used to playing with an LP style guitar, you will find this guitar very familiar. |
||
The Dean® brand pickups provide a true humbucker sound, with none of the buzzing and feedback of single coil pickups. The bass and mid-range are much more than you would expect on a guitar of this cost, with real LP gravel and bite. The highs are clear and bell like, with a degree of chime normally only found in more expensive hardware. There is a single volume knob and one tone knob. The three way switch allows one to switch between the two pickups, or use them together. |
|
|
These simple controls are very easy to use, and imitates many of the high end LPs which have simplified their controls. Dean has done an amazing job with this EVO XM, and kept the cost down too! The retail price for this axe is just $189.00 USD, with a probable street price of around $150.00 USD. I can truly recommend this excellent guitar! Buy one for yourself. You won't spend that much, and you will be rewarded with excellent value for your money. Finally...an LP clone, with a resonable price, great sound, and smooth playability. Keep up the good work, Dean! |
||
Technical Specs |
||
|
||
Large Images for Detailed Examination |
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
 |
||
