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Dean V Metalman Bass

 

Review of the Dean V Metalman by The Man in the Jar

This Dean looks Mean...

Features of the Dean V Metalman

Tuners - Black sealed tuners with large wingnut knobs make for easy and accurate tuning.

Headstock - Classic Dean split-V headstock bears the winged Dean logo.

Nut - Black plastic nut abuts the fretboard and is nicely cut.

Neck - The bolt-on maple neck, at first grasp, feels a bit chunky. There's a good width across the fretboard, but this isn't teamed with an ultra-slim depth profile as you might expect from a modern production run. Instead Dean have given the neck a vintage-style chunkiness. This actually fits perfectly with the character of the instrument, making it feel like a substantial weapon that needs to be brandished. Once you settle in with this feel it actually enhances the metal-playing experience, but it will be an obstacle if you have very small hands.  

Fretboard - The rosewood fretboard has an attractive stripey grain complemented with traditional pearloid dot markers.

Frets - The large rounded profile frets are well polished and feel very positive under fast runs.

Action - Very good from the box, no need to tinker!

Body - The flying V body is made from basswood for economy. This won't add much in terms of tone but does mean the body is less weighty on the strap than it would be if made from mahogany. The V shape is one of the best shapes in terms of string access and heavy-metal-posing. It sits really well on the strap and feels well-hard to play. It will however present a bit of a problem if you want to play seated.

Bridge - Bog standard rectangular plate bridge with four grooved barrel saddles. Each saddle is fully adjustable for string height and intonation. The whole thing is finished in black.

Pickups - Single humbucking pickup in a heavy black plastic housing with eight big, solid pole-pieces.

Controls - Single Volume and single Tone control

Strap-buttons - Two large strap buttons, one on the back at the top of the heel and one on the underside of the upper V tail.

Output Jack - On the front of the body on the lower V tail set in a round black plate.

Finish - Really good throughout. The black lacquer finish has a deep lustre.

 

Sound of the Dean V Metalman

The Dean Metalman is a simple tool, pared down to do one job and one job only. And it does this job very well. The humbucker a full ranging sound that descends into a satisfying bottom end growl that just begs to be drop-tuned.  

 

Overall Impressions of the Dean V Metalman

I really liked the Metalman for its completely unpretentious, full-on metal persona. The guitar itself is great fun to play and you almost automatically fall into the most outrageous posing. The neck has a satisfying, battleaxe kind of solidity but retains excellent playability for medium to large-handed players. At well under £200 the Dean represents stunning value for money. If you're looking for an instrument to put the bottom-end into a metal band, the Dean V Metalman is your baby! 

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