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Ryan: What I was most impressed with was how fast you got this off the ground. So what was the process like doing that?

Dean Z: A lot of work!

Ryan: I bet it was! I bet it was crazy!

Dean Z: The company was formed the end of July, early August 2008. Once the company was formed, we had to design the whole line, which was a little difficult, but not too difficult, because I had a lot of ideas.

Ryan: I was curious about that; Whether you came up with an entire line, or if you started with one guitar at a time, or how that went.

Dean Z: Well, I haven’t done everything that has been in my mind the last thirty years. It was time to dig deeper. When somebody writes a book, it doesn’t mean it is every book he has ever thought about but, it’s just what he wrote then...

Ryan: Good point.

Dean Z: I’ll show you one guitar called the Imperial which I had in my brain probably nineteen years. The original Dean guitars never did it, back at the other place... Anyway, back to the original question; We developed the line and figured out what it was going to be. Then we started doing all the mechanical drawings, both renderings and CAD drawings. Then we started machining and tooling. We had to get set up at our Chicago area plant and our Chinese operation and our Japanese operation. We are able to share a lot of files. Stuff that was generated here we were able to share and stuff that was done over there they were able to share with us.

Ryan: So technology is a huge help?

Dean Z: Yes, so when developing the line, we always render the guitar first to make sure we like it, it’s sexy and that it has all the features that we want. It’s easier to go from there to the computer CAD drawings and then after that, go to the CNC router. A lot of these guitars are built on a bit router. Every USA guitar, there are thirty-two USA guitars at the booth, every neck is hand-set... Made literally with a pin-routed tongue and a hammer and chisel.

Ryan: No kidding?

Dean Z: Like I did with the first Dean guitars in 1977.

Ryan: That is fantastic! The other question I had for you is the partnership with Jeff (Diamant) with Diamond Amps and how that came about. Have you known Jeff for a long time?

Dean Z: No, I’ve only known Jeff for a short while. I was really impressed with the amps and we talked about doing something together and the opportunity presented itself.

Ryan: So, that is great and it makes sense; guitars and amps going together.

Dean Z: Amps are a big part of it. Never really had an association with an amp company and now I’m owner of an amp company.

Ryan: That is wonderful! So the uniqueness of the DBZ Guitars- are these things you wanted to do? I am assuming you felt your hands were tied previously. So this is a good opportunity for you to express yourself- to show some different things out there. So what are you doing differently than maybe you were doing before, on these guitars?

Dean Z: I think right now I have a lot more time to focus. The other operation was…

Ryan: Craziness? *laughs*

Dean Z: A little more 'corporate' and money driven and I got in this business not because I could make a gazillion dollars. I got into it because I loved guitars. I’m a guitar builder. Now I can focus more on the guitars rather then the money part. The thing at DBZ is the guitar first. I’m able to spend the time and develop the guitars both sonically and aesthetically. We have a lot of bodies with wood carving. We never really owned any machinery at Dean Guitars until the last six months I was there. The first thing I did here was buy a CNC router and all the machinery, and now I’ve got my own tools.

Ryan: So show me the things you are particularly proud of.

Dean Z: The thing I am most proud of at the show is the Imperial. This is based on the ML guitar actually.

Ryan: Really?

Dean Z: Notice the thinness. When I started I was a young kid. You have to remember I started almost before Dimarzio’s came into play. Nobody even knew what good pick ups were and things like that. What happens is you kind of grew up thinking, "oh, you just change the pick ups and that is how you change the sound of the guitar". Nobody thought about the wood. Very early on dealing with rock stars, they were gravitating towards the ML. Rock stars buy guitars with their ears more then anything else. Like Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top when he did the Eliminator Record. He said “Man I just kept going to that one guitar with that sound.” So that let me know that the ML sounded better the the V and the Dean Z, which is like an Explorer. So, over the years I realized what gave the ML its tones and the liveliness was a thick plank of wood that was relatively thin and when you hit it, it had more of a resonance to it. Like a plank of wood rather then a log. That’s what made the guitar so alive. I was always thinking not everybody wants to play a pointy, wild guitar. So, thirty years ago I thought about the Imperial and just never got around to building it. So, as soon as I got my own thing going here at DBZ again this is the first guitar I put into production.

Ryan: I know you mentioned on your website you are using more exotic woods... So, what is this one made of?

Dean Z: This is Burled Redwood.

Ryan: It has sort of a retro hollow body look to it. It is fantastic.

Dean Z: Another thing that we are doing at DBZ is textured finishes. We are also tooling our own hardware.

Ryan: You have some really elaborate hardware.

Dean Z: Yes, Graphtech saddles and a lot of attention to detail. Something we are pretty excited about. The 3-D overlay... The cut in the Barchetta... Which is all done in the CNC process.

Ryan: Now are you using EMG’s (pickups) on all of your stuff?

Dean Z: No. We mostly use our own pick-ups and only use EMG’s on a few models.

Ryan: (picks up a Sepulchre model) This has a visual reference to an ML so did this stem from the ML?

Dean Z: I think it is sort of obvious; it’s in my blood or something. *laughs*

Ryan: So, are the graphics and finishes done in your shop or are you sourcing them out?

Dean Z: Pretty much. Some are, some aren’t. We are doing all the graphics in house.

Ryan: Thanks for your time! These are amazing.

Visit DBZ Guitars at: www.DBZGuitars.com or www.myspace.com/dbzguitars

By Ryan

"Well, think me up a cup of coffee and a chocolate donut with some of those little sprinkles on top..." editor{at}roadcrewmag.com

Comments(1):

1. omg his guitars have always been awesome, i hope he sells the Cavallo at a decent price, those guitars look so killer!!! http://www.dbzguitars.com/web/collection.html

   Wednesday, June 24, 2009 Clint