Dean Dime-O-Flame ML review

Everybody knows flames are cool. This guitar - part of Dean's Dime Tribute range - doesn't overegg the Dimebag pudding with crests, stickers and funereal paint jobs. Instead, it pays tribute to the man's lunacy with a colour scheme that's slightly daft and totally adolescent.

This guitar has a lot more to offer than the cheaper model in the series, the DBD Tribute, and not just in terms of cosmetics. Quite simply, this is a more interesting guitar. While a cursory scan over that familiar ML body and Series II Classic V headstock might suggest that this is just the Tribute with a different coat of Dulux, you'll be surprised at how different they actually are. For starters, the Dime-O-Flame is made in Korea and costs twice the price. But more significant is the fact that Dean have used totally different woods in its construction. While the DBD Tribute has a basswood body and bolted maple neck, this deluxe model is made entirely of mahogany with the neck set deep into the body.

Dean have thrown another curveball when it comes to the pickups. This has nothing to do with the neck item (that's just another zebra humbucker, complete with masking tape) and everything to do with the beast in the bridge - a Seymour Duncan Dimebucker that unleashes mayhem when run it at high volume. Not only does this bring increased versatility to the spec but it's more faithful to Dime's own guitars, which were often equipped with a similar configuration.

Authenticity

Elsewhere, there's another very obvious difference. While the Tribute scores points for convenience with its string-thru-body format, the Dime-O-Flame hits back for authenticity with a Floyd Rose-licensed trem. Dimebag was a fiendish user of the whammy bar and if you're serious about nailing his sound, you'll want your guitar to have one. There's not much to choose between the two axes in terms of comfort, with the Dime-O-Flame supplying the same great access, fretboard comfort and weight distribution. But one striking factor of this model is the obvious tuning benefit of a locking trem. However hard you thrash this axe, it holds pitch.

Ultimately, the pricier Dime-O-Flame model has a more interesting raw tone. It's warm and deep, in the way that good mahogany electrics tend to be, and actually deals capably with a number of styles besides metal. So it should come as no surprise to hear that this model excels at the Filth, with the neck humbucker supplying the perfect punch for riffs like Walk and the bridge Dimebucker offering a sizzling lead sound for Dimebag solos.