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List Price: $199.13
Sale Price: $99.99
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I bought this guitar for my 6 year old who had outgrown his toy acoustic guitar. I am a veteran player and am very impressed with the quality both in construction and sound from it. My child is even more interested in practicing now with the "cool" sounds he is getting from it and (probably most important to him) it looks cool.
I researched several competitor guitars and found this one far superior for the price. The 3/4 size should last him through elementary school years and possibly beyond.
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Ok this thing is friggin rad!
Pros: Small, fairly lightweight for a solid body, tuners are slightly better than what I was hearing (at least they're phillips screwed into the mechanism and not totally die cast and held into place with just the tuner covers like some cheaper acoustics I've owned)
Cons: The bridge had to be adjusted and all of the pieces moved back. I didn't look up Gibson specs or anything but I just moved the low E's as far back as it would go while testing 12th fret harmonic vs 12th fret sound and I ended up about as far back as you can go before the screw that holds the piece on started hitting the string. It was dialed in just before the point where I'd have to cut the bolt down so it didn't hit the string. The rest of the bridge pieces are slightly less further back as the strings get higher tone, so it ended up stepping up from lowest to highest and looking like a set of stairs. This really isn't a con, as almost all guitars need to be tooled up before they're worth a crap -but since it said it was tested and adjusted by Dean professionals on a sticker on the neck I figured it counted as a con.
After the 20 minutes or so I spent putting new strings and adjusting the bridge I knew right away that this baby was well worth the price. I brought the pickups down a bit as they were really really high up especially on the low side of the strings, which gave the guitar a really bassy muddled sound.
I like the action and the neck is sweet. Also the headstock (to my relief) didn't say 'Playmate' on it, and instead it says Dean in cursive. So now I wont feel like I'm playing with a kids toy.
All in all a great little guitar, I'll probably pick up a second one for my nephew in a few years when hes old enough to actually respect an instrument, and go pawn the Squier strat he trashed; for like 20 bux or so. (hey that's a 20 sack right there don't laugh!)
I paired this baby with a Peavey 12w transtube amp (which smokes those mini fender ones)
Now I can finally jam in the bathroom. While I poo. JK xD
Best Deals for Dean Playmate EVO Junior Solid Body Electric Guitar, Classic Black
This is a nice 3/4 size electric guitar, especially for the price. I say 3/4 size because it's perfect for a teenager or an adult with small hands. It's not the smaller 1/2 size that would be appropriate for an 8 year old or younger player.
Better than average Chinese construction. The neck has a satin rather than smooth finish that keeps my hand from sticking, but took a little getting used to. The body is a nicely applied gloss black. The frets and fingerboard are well done, with no sharp edges.
When it arrived, it needed some adjustments, but after setting the string height and intonation to "Gibson electric" factory specs, the action and intonation are fine. Both of these are easily set with the "tune-o-matic" bridge. I mention intonation because not all 3/4 size "short scale" guitars can be adjusted to intonate correctly, but this one can. Search the web for "intonation" and "Gibson guitar specs" for more info.
Sadly, mine arrived with major scratches on one side. This was caused by a missing foam pad inside the box. Where the pad should have been, there was only the hot glue that was meant to hold the pad. During shipping, the (hard) hot glue rubbed major scratches into the area that the pad should have been protecting. Also, the cord plug was loose. A little work with automotive rubbing compound took care of most of the scratches, and tightening the plug retaining nut and adding locktite took care of the loose plug.
This guitar comes with a cord to connect it to an amplifier, something not mentioned in the description. It also comes with 2 allen wrenches for making truss rod (neck) and bridge height adjustments.
Dean makes a gig bag specifically for this guitar, and several other brands of 3/4 size electric guitar gig bags are available as well.
Overall, 4 stars (one star off for the scratches and loose plug). I would definitely replace it with the same model if were lost or stolen.
Honest reviews on Dean Playmate EVO Junior Solid Body Electric Guitar, Classic Black
Although other reviewers have given it a solid 4.0 stars, I consider this guitar a waste of money. Sure it's $99 (at the time of this review), but you will ultimately beg to have a more quality set up.
My gripes:
1. After playing for awhile the 1/4 locknut washer for the output fell off. I re-attached, but now the darn thing doesn't produce any more sound through the amp.
2. One needs to constantly tune the strings. If you just love spending a lot of time trying to tune rather than play, get this guitar.
I read someone else's review and mentioned the same locknut washer problem, yet they still gave this guitar a 4 star review. I beg to differ. Some people have lowered expectations I suppose.
I'm opting for the Epiphone LP Special II Les Paul Collection Electric Guitar. It's $69 more, but I'd rather spend that difference now with quality pick-ups, headstock, and bridge.....rather than having to stare at a $99 mess now.
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Bought this for my son. Rust on the strings. Frets sticking out not filed down. Pickups not aligned and lopsided. Rattled( not buzzing)when playing the Low e. This is unacceptable.
