Seraphial
New member
Have been a longtime fan of Dean's Soltero model (which is kinda like a chiselled out LP) and went to a local music store to check out a black Korean model which I had played a couple of weeks ago . To my surprise I saw an amazing looking trans wine red Soltero sitting next to it. Looking more closely, it was a DBZ (Dean's new company) Bolero model which is surprising coz apparently these are hard to find in the US, let alone the UK.
So plugging into the only available amp (a crappy Vibro Champ or something) here's first thoughts -
Fit & finish - fantastic flame on the veneer (I'm assuming that for a low end model) in beautiful wine red, love the sculpted outlines, hardware seemed quite solid, frets had been polished but around the 22nd fret a few rough edges. Very flat radius, no fret out in the upper registers, ebonized rosewood was very smooth. Very light and was amazed how thin it is compared to say, an LP. It may have been the low light but couldn't find a seam anywhere on the body to see how many pieces it was, which means it was either one piece or they did a very good match-up job on the wood. It's from the Chinese factory which apparently Dean handpicked, and for their low-end models there's some very good QC going on here.
Sound - Med output pickups, bridge a touch too much on the treble side sound wise for me, and the neck vintage not as round and vintage as my preferred pickups (Seths). Very decent sounds though, and the sustain was fantastic. Just kept ringing and ringing. I could see this ripping it up with a Custom or some EMGs. Very impressed.
In comparison, tried a Vigier bolt-on singlecut which was about 4 times the price. Obviously certain appointments are higher specced, but soundwise they werevery comparable, with the Vigier coming 2nd in the sustain department. Pickups were definitely more articulate though (think they were SDs or Dimarzios) and clear.
Overall - very impressed. I don't think its exactly worth the European / UK prices they're asking (£650) but would be a serious contender in the £500 department.
So plugging into the only available amp (a crappy Vibro Champ or something) here's first thoughts -
Fit & finish - fantastic flame on the veneer (I'm assuming that for a low end model) in beautiful wine red, love the sculpted outlines, hardware seemed quite solid, frets had been polished but around the 22nd fret a few rough edges. Very flat radius, no fret out in the upper registers, ebonized rosewood was very smooth. Very light and was amazed how thin it is compared to say, an LP. It may have been the low light but couldn't find a seam anywhere on the body to see how many pieces it was, which means it was either one piece or they did a very good match-up job on the wood. It's from the Chinese factory which apparently Dean handpicked, and for their low-end models there's some very good QC going on here.
Sound - Med output pickups, bridge a touch too much on the treble side sound wise for me, and the neck vintage not as round and vintage as my preferred pickups (Seths). Very decent sounds though, and the sustain was fantastic. Just kept ringing and ringing. I could see this ripping it up with a Custom or some EMGs. Very impressed.
In comparison, tried a Vigier bolt-on singlecut which was about 4 times the price. Obviously certain appointments are higher specced, but soundwise they werevery comparable, with the Vigier coming 2nd in the sustain department. Pickups were definitely more articulate though (think they were SDs or Dimarzios) and clear.
Overall - very impressed. I don't think its exactly worth the European / UK prices they're asking (£650) but would be a serious contender in the £500 department.
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