Customer Reviews

Dean EVO XM Solid Body Electric Guitar, Trans Black

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dean EVO XM (black)

Positive(s): Great look. Great feel. Excellent quality. Sweet sound. Stays in tune a long time. Looks great. Came with 6 foot long cord. Was prestrung (but had to tune it, of course). Totally worth the money!!

Negative(s): When it arrived, the nuts holding the knobs and the switch were a little loose. I tightened them and all was well. It only took me about 2 minutes to tighten them.

Concerns: Does not come with a strap or stand (no big deal, just letting you know).

Delivery Concern: The guitar itself was packed in a "Dean" guitar box with minimal protection around it (no big deal if it were just sitting in a warehouse somewhere waiting to be purchased). When it was delivered to me, Amazon packed it in an additional, larger box but there was only about 2 pieces of packing paper protecting it and keeping the "dean" box from moving around. Luckily my guitar arrived undamaged which was a surprise due to the lack of packaging materials used. Pack your packages better, Amazon!

Purchased this guitar as a cheap rig to teach my kids to play.

For the price, I was impressed with the materials quality/hardware of this guitar.
The black finish on the body is very cheap though, and has noticable blemishes.

However, the assembly was HORRIBLE and would be a major concern to someone who did not know how to set up a guitar.

1) All bolts/screws were loose. Including the neck bolts!
2) Fret edges were VERY sharp, spent about an hour filing them down.
3) Neck totally out of adjustment. I would say this is fine, since they should be shipped this way but I don't think it was intentional.
4) Intonation way off, needs a good tuning.

My main gripes are because Dean claims to set these guitars up in the US after they come from the manufacturer overseas.

I think that's total BS to be honest.

But, you get what you pay for and for $85 I got a lot.

I ordered this a while back from Amazon as the price was good. It's sort of a mixed bag. It's vaguely Les Paul-ish in appearance and setup, but remember that it's very much a budget guitar.

Overall the sound itself isn't bad. The pickups could be a bit better but honestly for a guitar in this price range they sound fine. Most of the build quality looks good - it would be nice if the pickup and control cavities had been shielded, but I can live with their decision not to.

The guitar does fall out of tune a little quickly, so if you're so inclined replacement tuners might be in order.

The main issue I have with the guitar though is fret buzz. The top 2 strings rattle like heck if you pluck them with any intensity. This is an issue that I simply haven't been able to solve and truthfully I think it may take a fret job (which approaches the price of the guitar itself if done professionally) to get rid of.

Also, complete personal preference here, but the matte finish on the neck I don't find as comfortable playing as a gloss neck finish. I've got guitars with both, and it just seems like my hand slides up and down the neck easier on a gloss finish.

Also, almost a completely irrelevant point, but the description of this lists it as "transparent black" - typically any finish described as transparent I expect to see some wood grain beneath. This isn't "transparent" - it's just a flat black painted finish.

I bought this guitar as one of my collection because of the Dean name. I have had other Dean's, and have not been sorry. This time, however, when the box arrived I thought, well, okay, let's see. When I opened the outer box, which I think was packed by Amazon (not sure, had Amazon label that maybe they shop out to warehouses?), there was two skinny pieces of crumpled brown paper protecting the Dean box, so it was rattling around quite a bit. Then what surprised me even more is that whoever packed it from Dean (whoever, not sure of the distribution line here) didn't even tape their box and the guitar fell out of the box into the outer box, then to the concrete, where the bottom strap bracket got scratched and also the bottom transom of the guitar. Send it back, not likely, how do you prove you didn't just drop it, but that ain't so. Amazon, check this quality control issue in a hurry. Besides all that drama, the guitar side of it is very good for the price. It plays nicely, the neck allows quick slides up and down, and the model I got, kind of a flat black, looks pretty damn classic. The pickups sound good for this model in the beginner to intermediate line, but getting past the box issue, it is what I would expect from Dean, a solid, middle-of-the-road option that you would be pleased with if you are not in a mega rock band with a label. I would recommend it, only, if there is a comment section, state that you want it packed properly. Besides that, I'm game with Dean still. They make a good product, never disappointed. :o)

I purchased the Dean guitar to exchange pickups for Rickenbacker Hi-gains, an inexpensive way to obtain a Rickenbacker-style guitar. The Dean was surprisingly light, probably made of basswood. The guitar was shipped properly and came without any problems other than the usual tuning. A nicely priced guitar that will provide years of enjoyment for the price paid!

I'm what some mght call a collector I have 16 guitars of many dfferent brands and price ranges. You can't go wrong with ths one. The finish looks great. Perfect for a beginner, or in my case someone who wants one to take anywhere without guilt for any wear and tare I suggested it to a friend whom asked my opinion on A or B I told him C or D the evo or the vandetta. He got a vendetta I put my evo against a few of my more expensive guitars & of course it's def not as nice as my LP, Mick Thompson Warlock, or Beast But for the 90 dollars paid this thing holds it's own I was shocked at how nice it is and sounds. Dean has done an outstanding job with the evo. The downside the packing. The box was in a bigger box with like 2 or 3 pieces of paper. It fell out of the dean box and was just sliding around in the amazon box lol amazon you should know better. But, I'm happy lucky me it didn't get damaged. Oh b4 you plug in check the nut on the input and make sure its snug mine was loose. Overall i'm 100% satisfied with the guitar.