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| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Musical instruments |
| Founded | 1977; 49 years ago (1977) |
| Headquarters | Tampa,Florida,United States |
Area served | Global |
Key people | Pam Rubinson (President & CEO) |
| Products | |
| Owner | Armadillo Enterprises, Inc. |
Number of employees | 100 |
| Website | deanguitars.com |
Dean Guitars, commonly referred to simply asDean, is an American importer and maker of stringed instruments and musical products with its headquarters inTampa,Florida.
Its products include solid-body electric guitars,bass guitars, and acoustic guitars. The company also distributesresonators, basses,banjos,mandolins,ukuleles,amplifiers, guitar cases, accessories, and custom guitarpickups.
The company was founded inChicago,Illinois, in 1976 byDean Zelinsky. Armadillo Enterprise purchased the business in 1997.[1]
Dean Guitars started in 1976 and made instruments used by bands such asHeart,Kansas,the Cars,Molly Hatchet,Triumph andZZ Top.[2]
With the advent of theSuperstrat andgrunge music, Dean Zelinsky sold the business to Oscar Medeiros of Tropical Music, who gained ownership of the brand from 1991, and until 1997 focused on selling to Europe and Latin America. The company had all but disappeared from the American market at that point.[3][dead link][1]
Armadillo Enterprises, under the leadership of Elliott Rubinson, then purchased the business in 1997. Rubinson, a musician who toured as a bass player for theMichael Schenker Group,Uli Jon Roth andMichael Angelo Batio[4] expanded Dean's products to include acoustic, electric and bass guitars; mandolins, banjos and ukuleles with prices from less than $99 to more than $13,000.[4] Rubinson had previously built Thoroughbred Music,[5] a music retail store, music supply, and music clinic. Rubinson sold Thoroughbred toSam Ash Music in 1999 so he could focus on Dean.[6][7]
After getting a number of endorser-user guitarists (includingDimebag Darrell,Michael Angelo Batio,Michael Schenker,Leslie West,Dave Mustaine,Michael Amott,Koichi Fukuda andJacky Vincent),[8] Dean Guitars' popularity increased. Under Armadillo Enterprises the company outgrew its Clearwater site and moved to a larger building that includes a custom guitar shop.[1][9] Today the company also assembles guitar pickups[10] and guitar parts.
In December 2016, Elliott Rubinson's son, Evan Rubinson,[11] assumed the position of President and CEO at Armadillo Enterprises (which includes Dean Guitars,Luna Guitars, andddrum).[3]
In February 2017, Elliott "Dean" Rubinson died from cancer. Richard Ash, CEO of Sam Ash Music Stores, said, "Elliott was a true genius. He would have been successful in any business but he went with his passion for music and built his business around it... He was truly one of my heroes. RIP Elliott Rubinson."[12]
Dean has the line ofelectric guitars that includes theML,V,Z,Cadillac, Splittail,Soltero, EVO, Icon, Custom Zone, Vendetta and Deceiver models.
Dean also has many signature electric guitar models. The company offers a number of customDimebag Darrell models.
The company has also worked closely withDave Mustaine ofMegadeth on a line of guitars. These cost from around $300 for imports to over $6000 for USA-built instruments. The Dean USA Dave Mustaine Signature VMNT Holy Grail[13] electric guitar, a more recent incarnation of the V introduced in 2016, is an example of the brand.
Dean also makes signature models forBret Michaels,Michael Schenker,Leslie West,Michael Angelo Batio,Michael Amott,Rusty Cooley, and other artists.[4]
The company'sbass guitar models include the ML, V, Z, Cadillac, Edge, Metal Man / Demonator, Hillsboro, Entwistle, EVO, Razorback, Spire and Custom Zone. Dean also imports and markets other string instruments such asresonator guitars,mandolins andbanjos.
In 2017, Dean unveiled several new musical instruments[16] to commemorate the company's 40th anniversary.
In 2018, the company formed a partnership between Dean USA Custom Shop and Angel's Envy Bourbon[17] to produce the Dean Envy Series guitars made from whiskey cask barrels.
In November 2019,Kerry King, guitarist ofSlayer, joined Dean Guitars, and in 2020 they made 2 models: limited edition and standard version
Armadillo Enterprises, the parent company of Dean Guitars, also ownsLuna Guitars andddrum.
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