Dean Professional Series

Re: Dean Professional Series

Never seen a Sunburst one. Could be refin but could have been a one off. Dean did do few in race car type coloring but those had nice glossy finishes. There is a new series called the 1000 Series and they look similar to the Pro. Also there was a MHG Series and those were similar too. That model run was about a year to 18 months ago. Did it have body binding? How about a belly cut? Only the Pro Series have the belly cut. Gotta link to the shop?
 
Re: Dean Professional Series

just called them. weird story. marked dean u.s.a. pro on the tag, with all the same body features as the old ones [belly cut and no binding]. marked as a new instrument, priced at about 1,330. serial dates it to '04, but they received it from their distribution center in nov., '12. maybe a non-standard finish or prototype that got buried in the warehouse all these years, and finally made its way into a shop. wish i could afford it; its real nice.
 
Re: Dean Professional Series

BTMN said:
Nice looking guitar. Fun strap.

Haven't noticed you on the Dean Forum, yet, www.deanguitars.com/forum come join up. We throw some good parties.
Click to expand...

did DOA already happen this year Gene?? I have had to canx out every year Ive been registered (last 3 up til this year) I didnt even throw my name in this year cuz my car threw a low end bearing..

Itsabass, SWeeet!!! Congrats!!
 
Re: Dean Professional Series

BTMN said:
Great guitars made for Dean by USMasters. They came with Duncan 59N and JBBs in them. I have a Z Pro. They were made for about a year and a half from 2004-2005. $600 for really well made USA guitar is a good deal. Case?
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Well, I sent these in for a rewind, and Derek claims they are not Duncan pickups. They say '59n and JB right on the bottoms...
 
Re: Dean Professional Series

That is strange for sure. I've had 4 USA Dean Hardtails, one level up from the Pro Series, but every one of them came with a JB in the bridge and a 59' in the neck....except one that had a PG in the neck. What made you send them in for a rewind? Did they have the SD Logo and name embossed on the baseplate?

That sure is weird, to have fake JB/59'?
 
Re: Dean Professional Series

Jeff_H said:
That is strange for sure. I've had 4 USA Dean Hardtails, one level up from the Pro Series, but every one of them came with a JB in the bridge and a 59' in the neck....except one that had a PG in the neck. What made you send them in for a rewind? Did they have the SD Logo and name embossed on the baseplate?

That sure is weird, to have fake JB/59'?
Click to expand...

They aren't fake. They are Duncans that were O.E.M. in my Dean U.S.A. guitar. But Derek is asking for $40 extra because they "are not Duncan pickups." Dean called them JB and '59, and as you say, U.S.A. Deans are known to use Duncans often – this exact set much of the time. These pickups are either O.E.M. Duncans that were ordered en masse by Dean, or they are Dean-manufactured (do they even make their own pickups?) with full license from Duncan.

It isn't yet determined what is going on, but as of now, Derek is saying that they aren't Duncans or Duncan Designed, but might be "based on" Duncans, whatever that means. All I know is that they are stock, and they say '59 and JB on the bottoms, on sticky white labels, similar to these used on Duncans:

seymour-duncan-jeff-loomis-signatur-2-Mne4tah.jpg

I sent them in for rewinds because I don't like the '59/JB, but I need to keep these exact pickups in the guitar in order to match the stock hardware, which is specific to this exact model of guitar. I tried to send them in for this years ago, but the Custom Shop employee I'd been dealing with (Riley) vanished into the wind when all the specs had been decided and it came time for him to send me an RMA (this is before you could order directly online – you had to submit a request, and do an e-mail exchange with a C.S. worker). My followup (or maybe even multiple followups) were never acknowledged. Scott F said he'd razz them for me at one point, but that never happened wither. I finally just submitted recently via Web order, now that this is available. They got the pickups Dec. 11, and I got the e-mail hitting me up for 40 extra bux today.
 
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Re: Dean Professional Series

I would call and possibly plead your case. They are either Duncans or they aren't.
 
Re: Dean Professional Series

I have nothing to "plead." I told them the whole story already. I was just hoping for BATMAN's input on the situation, since he is somewhat of a Dean expert, and has stated multiple times that these guitars carried a '59/JB set from the factory.

Since these are the original pickups, since these guitars supposedly came with Duncans, and since the pickups have Duncan stickers on them that say '59 and JB, then the only way they aren't Duncans is if: 1) Dean was passing off their own "counterfeits" as O.E.M. Duncans, or 2) Duncan licensed Dean to use the trademarked model names JB and '59, and to represent the pickups as Duncans, even though they were not built at the Duncan factory.

The thing that really gets my goat here is that I think they probably know very well that these pickups were OEM ordered by Dean, and are indeed Duncans, and they just don't want to honor OEM pickups as "Duncans" when it comes to discounting a rewind. If they would just straight up tell me that, and add it to the Website as policy, then I would be less bothered by it. But telling me they "are not Duncan pickups," and that they did a "google search" and discovered that they might be Dean pickups is just plain B.S. to me.

But bottom line, I need to get this done, so I'm sending them their darned 40 extra bux to get the ball rolling. We can fight about the details later maybe, but for now, I want to play the damned guitar more than I want to argue about 40 measly bux. They say the option is they send the pickups back to me, and I can't have that after waiting this long to get this project up and running. Let's just say I will likely be avoiding the C.S. whenever possible in the future. Dealing with them has been nothing but trouble, through this whole process.
 
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Re: Dean Professional Series

I only have the info I have given. My only expertise is as a guitar buyer like you. I do not nor have I ever worked for Dean Guitars. My guitar has the original pickups in it also and I think you may be correct that they might be a batch order or O.E.M. as you put it. I do not see how Dean could have sold and advertised them as Duncans if they were not.
 
Re: Dean Professional Series

I am certainly no expert when it comes to OEM pickups. I know Dean has been making their own pickups for years, and I doubt they would bother making copies of verifiable pickups. I don't know what the solution is here. I am sorry about this sort of confusion.
 
Re: Dean Professional Series

E-mail to customer service at Dean:

Hello, Scott.

I was wondering if you can help me by telling me exactly what make and model of pickups came in my 2004 Dean Z Professional. I pulled them out, and they are marked just like Duncans on the bottom, '59 and JB. I would assume those trademarked model names could not be used if they were not made by Duncan. I have also read online many times that these are actually Duncan pickups, but that was from unofficial sources.

If they are Duncans, were they actually made in the Duncan factory, or were they made by Dean under license to use the names JB and '59?

This series of guitars was short lived, and was ghost built by U.S. Masters for Dean. They have matte finishes (mine is purple) and satin hardware.

Thank you very much. The guitar itself kicks butt, but I am trying to get the pickups rewound lighter in output, and I want to find out exactly what the originals are first.

Thank you.

Their response:

Seymour JB's and 59's were standard in a lot of our USA'S, including that model. we later made our own version, but those are not licensed by Seymour to us, they are the real deal. Great guitar by the way!

Thank You,

[name redacted]
QUALITY CONTROL MANAGER
CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER
PARTS AND REPAIR for
DEAN and LUNA GUITARS
 
Re: Dean Professional Series

Shame on Duncan is all I can say. So much for loyalty
 
Re: Dean Professional Series

...and a second response from a different person at Dean:

"If they are marked as a JB & 59 - then they are Seymour Duncan pickups.
As for where they were actually made, sorry, no clue."
 
Re: Dean Professional Series

I’m assuming that you have forwarded the Dean email to Duncan?
Have they responded?
 
Re: Dean Professional Series

This line REALLY gets me too:

"After a google search, it appears that these may be Dean pickups. What guitar did they come out of?"

I am curious what "google search" they did that told them these may be "Dean pickups." What were the search terms? What were the supposed sites that were viewed. And why was a Web search made to figure out what they are, when they have DUNCAN CODES on them that presumably tell them exactly what they are, based on the name and number?

The whole thing just reeks of b.s. to me. What I imagine happened is that they got the pickups, looked up the Duncan label codes, saw they were originally made for O.E.M. use by Dean, and didn't want to give a discount for non-aftermarket Duncans. Then concocted the line that they aren't Duncan pickups, but that they used a "google search" to determine they might be "Dean pickups" – probably thinking that I wouldn't know any better.

Imaginative only, and impossible to prove. But my cynical views of humanity, and my consistently bad customer service experiences with Duncan lead me down this road of thought.
 
Re: Dean Professional Series

The most loyal and rabid fans of Seymour Duncan are on this forum. In years past we were treated like royalty, not so much now.
 
Re: Dean Professional Series

Dean could definitely be mistaken too, though. They also seem confused by some of the specs of the pickups that Derek pointed out (no Duncan stamps, weird poly insulation on the '59n, white labels unlike Duncan labels). But if they aren't Duncans, then Dean used Duncan TMs on them, which "ain't right."
 
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