Creamer298 Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 I've been playing guitar for about 9 years now, but I have just recently started to get into it seriously. I'm still not that good, but I'm definitely making progress and the instrument is really starting to make sense. I have had a Dean Evo for probably 6 years now. I got it after my Squire, and I really haven't had any regrets. The tone isn't anything to write home about, but it feels really good to play. However, I also haven't done anything to maintain the guitar besides putting new strings on it every month or two. The output jack is really messed up and goes out on me monthly. So now that I'm dedicated to the guitar, I'm wondering if I should try and fix my Dean up, or if I should try and find a new, better quality guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caprae Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 If it feels really good to play it then why not fix it up? It's not hard to replace an output jack. You might also want to take it to a good tech and get a full set up. A local guy charges $25 for a complete setup. I've seen others charge $50 and more. There is a tech thread floating around here somewhere where we've listed techs we've had good luck with. Raise your children and spoil your grandchildren. Spoil your children and raise your grandchildren. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluesape Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 Welcome to the best forum in the universe! The Dean's not a bad guitar, but ya may be ready to upgrade. Tell us more about your musical tastes, and which other guitars you like. Caprae's advice is also very sound, but ya mentioned not being wild about the tone. If you're gonna go the route of gutting it, installing new pickups and output jack, you're gonna have a chunk of change tied up in the Dean, which could also be put toward a better guitar, and keeping the Dean as a backup axe, as long as ya eventually resolve the jack issue. Never a DUH! moment! Well, almost never. OK, OK! Sometimes never! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splitting hare Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 Welcome to the forum! Yes, by all means, tell us a little more about you and what type of stuff you play. Yeah, I would look at getting the jack on the Dean fixed AND maybe adding another guitar. Never hurts to have a 2nd...or a 3rd, or...well, you know where I'm headed with this! Reverbnation stuff More Reverbnation stuff I feel happy! I feel happy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miroslav Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 Not sure what kind of amp(s) you are using...but IMO, I would first raise the bar on the amp side (like a nice tube amp)...and you will find that your tone will instantly improve with the guitars you already have. So...what kind of amp(s) are you playing through? miroslav - miroslavmusic.com "Just because it happened to you, it doesn't mean it's important." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creamer298 Posted July 16, 2008 Author Share Posted July 16, 2008 I play a lot of rock, mainly zeppelin, moe, ween, stuff like that. What I usually do to "practice" i guess is just turn on a song and jam along with it. I just got a Peavey Classic 30 less than a year ago, and am very satisfied with it. I also use a Boss Me-50 multi fx. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miroslav Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 The Classic 30 is a nice working-man's amp. I use to have a Delta Blues 115. But you should take your Dean with you to a music store where they have a good variety of amps, and try some that are a couple steps above the Peavey stuffand I'm sure you will hear your Dean sound way better than it ever has. And of course...upgrading gear is always fun...amps, guitars, pedals... miroslav - miroslavmusic.com "Just because it happened to you, it doesn't mean it's important." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Red 67 Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 I play a lot of rock, mainly zeppelin, moe, ween, stuff like that. What I usually do to "practice" i guess is just turn on a song and jam along with it. I just got a Peavey Classic 30 less than a year ago, and am very satisfied with it. I also use a Boss Me-50 multi fx. If you have the means it is always fun to geek out on new gear. It is also fun to put in pickups and stuff too. Specially if you can do it your self. Big Red's Ride Blog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 I'd say, for starters, get all that you can get out of that Dean by having the best set-up you can and tweaking the height of the pickups and their polepieces; also, try different types of strings- not just brands, but types that are completely different- nickel-pated vs pure/solid nickel vs stainless-steel, etc., round-core vs hex-core... You can really tailor a guitar's overall feel and sound to your personal liking, with little or no real money involved. And, of course, fix or replace that damned output-jack! If it's just coming loose and not broken, snug it all up (but don't overtighten) with some blue Loc-Tite thread-locker on the threaded-hardware. Have a competent solderer/tech resolder any bad connections, and spritz a little (very little) tuner cleaner spray into the opening on the body of each control-pot, near where the wires connect (the type of tuner-cleaner that's for "black and white tuners" is perfectly fine, no need to spend more for the "color" tnr-clnr)and in any switches. Rotate each control back-&-forth a good forty times afterwards; ditto with the switches. Clean 'er up with some cleaner/polish that is free of any silicon or wax; put a light treatment of fretboard oil (lemon oil, boiled linseed oil, specific fretboard-oil or bore-oil for woodwinds) on the fretboard, rub 'n' wipe 'er all down, out some new strings on there- after a complete set-up... she'll be like a new guitar! Put a tinly little droplet of clear Teflon gel lube in each nut-slot, on each bridge-saddle's notch, on the underside of any string-retainers- anywhere that the strings contact hardware, except for the tuner-posts. Highly, highly recommended: either How To Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great or The Guitar Player Repair Guide, both books by Dan Erlewine. Excellent resources for guitar set-up adjustment, maintainence, modification, and repair! Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soggybomb Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 a well set-up guitar goes a long way. however, i would not make any electronic modifications (except for the output jack), because it doesn't make sense to upgrade a $200 guitar. it is easy to get guitars with much higher-grade materials for $400-600, such as instruments from PRS' SE line, some (but not all) of the Ibanez models, Carvin Bolt guitar, and MIM Strat. The PRS and Carvins especially are not in need of electronic upgrades. The Ibanez guitars in those ranges play easy (especially coming from a Dean), but the pickups in almost all are rather anemic, but a pickup upgrade could be a fun project that is immensely satisfying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Oh, yeah- by "tweaking" the pickups, I meant adjusting their height and that of their polepieces to fine-tune the tone somewhat, not to replace them. And resoldering iffy connections, and cleaning and lubing the pots and switches is a cheap but effective "upgrade"! Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caprae Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 To get your best tone turn all your amp's tone knobs completely CCW. While strumming bring up the Bass knob until it sounds good, then bring up the mid, now bring up the treble. You'll probably find that it is a bit different from your normal settings and you'll probably like it better. Yes, that guitar isn't the best in the world, but if I recall it gets some pretty good reviews. Raise your children and spoil your grandchildren. Spoil your children and raise your grandchildren. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picker Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 What you need to do is rid yourself of that horrible excuse for a guitar once and for all. For a nomimal fee, I'll let you send it to me. I'll deal with disposing of it... Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miroslav Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 To get your best tone turn all your amp's tone knobs completely CCW. While strumming bring up the Bass knob until it sounds good, then bring up the mid, now bring up the treble. You'll probably find that it is a bit different from your normal settings and you'll probably like it better. That's an interesting approach...I'll have to try it. I set all the tone controls at 12:00...as I view that to be the amp's neutral tone position....and then I listen to what I have, and adjust from there, usually cutting instead of boosting. Like if it sounds too bright at that neutral position...I'll cut the treble rather than raise the Mids and Bass...etc. miroslav - miroslavmusic.com "Just because it happened to you, it doesn't mean it's important." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caprae Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 I set all the tone controls at 12:00...as I view that to be the amp's neutral tone position....and then I listen to what I have, and adjust from there, usually cutting instead of boosting. Like if it sounds too bright at that neutral position...I'll cut the treble rather than raise the Mids and Bass...etc. Sounds like another good approach. I learned the one I mentioned from a video by Marc Seal. He was correct in that most people have a fair amount of treble dialed in to their amps. This helps correct that. Raise your children and spoil your grandchildren. Spoil your children and raise your grandchildren. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miroslav Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 Most of my settings...on most amps...the Treble is usually set lowest of the three tone controls. I just don't like a lot of the high-end bitethe squeaky, ice-pick tones! :grin: I think most of the guys that like lots of Treble do it 'cuz it really pushes their guitar out in front of the mix...but I prefer when the guitar sits IN the mix. I always hated those "level wars" on stage...where little by little everyone keeps notching up their volume or their tone so THEY can be out in front and on top of everyone else. miroslav - miroslavmusic.com "Just because it happened to you, it doesn't mean it's important." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soggybomb Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 Most of my settings...on most amps...the Treble is usually set lowest of the three tone controls. I just don't like a lot of the high-end bitethe squeaky, ice-pick tones! :grin: I think most of the guys that like lots of Treble do it 'cuz it really pushes their guitar out in front of the mix...but I prefer when the guitar sits IN the mix. I always hated those "level wars" on stage...where little by little everyone keeps notching up their volume or their tone so THEY can be out in front and on top of everyone else. I recently saw an interesting band (3), and they have one acoustic and one electric guitar. On their studio albums, the electric has a good, warm, classic tone. Live, his tone was shit-too much gain and too much trebble. It was a total ice pick. I wish he tried to dial in his studio tone for the stage. He had a decent amp too (Kustom Coupe 72), so there is no excuse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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