Dean Performer Tribal Electro Acoustic Guitar

Top - Maple
Body - Maple
Neck - Mahogany, 24.75" scale
Binding - White
Fingerboard - Rosewood, Tribal Design Inlays
Machines - chrome, enclosed die-cast style
Pickup - Dean Elan 4TN with tuner

Metal acoustic guitars come along rarely, so the Dean Performer Tribal is a welcome addition to our range of guitars.
With a glossy black finish, Tribal neck inlays and a quality Dean pickup system with built in tuner, is of a high standard as well.
The headstock is large, gloss black to the front and back, with Deans signature logo and wings symbol in attractive Green Abolone. The back is plain, with 2 rows of 3-a-side chrome die cast tuners.
The Mahogany neck also has a gloss black finish, it's not overly fat, a shallow D profile, and the bright white nut width is 43mm.
The Rosewood fingerboard is fully bound on both sides in bright white plastic. Fretwork is all fine, and the wood itself is pretty good and smooth. Action height at the 12th fret is about 3mm on the bass side, 2mm on the treble.
This is where the guitars most noticable feature is of course, and it's been done very well. So, you loose any position markers on the board, although luckily they are on the fretboard edge, and we have the Tribal inlays going all the way down the middle of the fretboard.
It's done very neatly in white Abolone, all very smooth, although to us, it looks more like barbed wire, but whatever, it's well cool.
The neck joins the Maple body at the 14th fret on the bass side, 17th on the treble, the deep cutaway here giving good access to the upper frets.
The body is totally gloss black, with more bright white bindin to the front and back.
The soundhole rosette is also the barbed wire/tribal band motiff, again in white Abolone, again nicely done.
The Tribal Performer is fitted with a nice looking Dean pickup system. This has bass, middle, treble, presence and volume, all recessed, so you push them and they pop in or out - very nice. Also you get a built in chromatic tuner with a nice little LED display. All good stuff.
And it's not a bad player either with a bright chiming tone and plenty of character. The Dean pickup is very good giving a clear and clear representation of the guitars natural tone.
Really though, the Tribal Performer is all about the rock looks and they're great, the inlays on the fretboard and soundhole are noticable and very much the guitars talking point!

£249