Dean Exotica Quilted Maple Acousticic/Electric Cutaway Guitar, Tiger Eye Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Bought this guitar in May 2010. I'm a beginner-intermediate guitar player.

Pros:
1. Great looks with high quality finishes. The quilted maple really adds appeal here. The iridescent pearl inlays around the body top edge, rosette and fretboard just makes it the more impressive.
2. Sounds good. Has good bright tone expected from a maple top & bodied guitar with decent loudness.
3. Quality seems top notch: the tuners, frets, overall craftmanship, no loose parts, no fret buzzez.
4. Action is just right with an adjustable neck
5. Good electronic pickup. For 2010 Dean has the I2NR pickup instead (no aphex exciter tho). I've played live plugged in at church service several times and I'm very satisfied with the sound the pickup gives. The 4 band EQ gives plenty of flexibility. No feedback issues, no hissing. The tuner works well but is not chromatic so won't help in case you want to detune say the low E to a D.
Cons:
1. For 2010 it seems the top's sunburst effect look is much more pronounced. I'd prefer the looks of the 2009 shown. The sunburst effect starts from 100% black to the orange-brown color seen in the picture.
2. Sound is brighter and more metallic than I'd like and not as loud as other dreadnought/jumbo guitars. I have some Elixir Polywebs to mellow it down to taste: Elixir Strings Acoustic Guitar Strings, 6 String, Light POLYWEB Coating
3. Construction seems to be of maple veneer/ply wood instead of solid maple. Well .. you get what you pay for.
4. No pick guard around sound hole. Added a transparent one that I found online.
Overall seems to be a bright sounding guitar with good electronics and awesome looks worth twice its price.
Link to Dean website: [...]

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Dean Exotica Select Tiger Eye acoustic-electric guitar features the Exotica single cutaway body design, and such cosmetic refinements as a stunning quilted maple top, back, and sides, abalone hourglass fretboard inlays, and a tiger eye finish. It also comes fitted with a Dean Tuner preamp to make it plugged-in ready.Exotica Select Tiger Eye~Quilted Maple Top/Body~25-1/2" scale~Mahogany Neck~RosewoodFingerboard~Abalone Hourglass Inlays~Black Hardware~Grover Tuners~Abalone Binding~Abalone Rosette~Dean Preamp w/Tuner Electronics

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