| SOLIDBODY ELECTRICS
SLICK NEW 6-STRINGS FOR EVERY TASTE AND
BUDGET
The guitar manufacturer aisles at NAMM were like a modern-day
Turkish bazaar of noise, color, crowds, and music, where guitar shoppers
could find just about anything their hearts desired and their wallets
could handle. The teeming, four-day music fair demonstrated the vitality
and imagination of an industry that is producing a broader range of fun
and sensible instruments than ever before.
DEAN
Dean is making an effort to build really nice, affordable guitars -- and
succeeding big-time. Their European-made X Series instruments ($349) come
in six different flavors -- from the pointy-body/split-headstock shapes
of '80s-era Dean to more traditional designs that echo PRS and Fender
-- along with a choice of black, transparent blue or red, or "braziliaburst"
finishes. Features include basswood bodies and Grover tuners, and Dean
provides a five year warranty.
ACOUSTICS & ARCHTOPS
ALL SPRUCED UP
Let's face it: The NAMM show is primarily about new technology. Many people
come for the gear -- hi-tech amps, multi-tasking stompboxes, and the latest
in digital home recording equipment. But there are also shoppers who eagerly
saunter right past the show's "louder, faster, better, more" booths, and
follow their noses to the smell of wood. Most of us, after all, started
out on some kind of acoustic guitar -- even if it was an El Cheapo handed
down from Uncle Ed -- and are still in love with the sparkle and resonance
that only an acoustic can provide. This year's show offered a bountiful
assortment of instruments for acoustic-minded folkies, flatpickers, and
jazzbos -- from traditional styled to modernistic models.
DEAN
Dean surprised a lot of guitarists by introducing a line of admirable acoustic
guitars. And, no they're not just hollowbody versions of Dean's notoriously
pointy solidbodies. We're talkin' classic, affordable dreadnoughts here,
complete with Grover tuners. The Dean Tradition retails for $300, and
an electrified, solid-spruce-top version, the Dean Tradition SE, goes
for $400.
June 1998 -- Guitar Player
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