Dean Dave Mustaine Mako Glory Review (2023)

Build Quality:
Hardware:
Sound:
Value:
Average:

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Pros:

• Affordable
• Good tonewood
• Comfortable

Cons:

• Sound might be “tiny”
• Strings

Dean Makoglory or Mako for short is an acoustic-electric guitar in a mid-price range. If you are a beginner looking into your first guitar but do not want to get one of those “bargain” guitars that screams “AFFORDABLE” as its main asset than maybe looking into something like this might be a great idea.

Build

This is a classic dreadnought style guitar with a single cutaway. The top is made of solid spruce while the back and sides are a standard choice of mahogany. This is a well-tested combination that creates warm, rich sound. The neck is also mahogany with ebony fingerboard and gloss finish. The construction of this model allows for great projection and overall great tonality (after all, it is one of our favorite beginner acoustic-electric guitars).

Hardware

Just like with the build, Dean Guitars offers standard and well-rounded hardware for beginners. The ebony headstock overlay, ebony bridge, and dual-action truss rod are of decent quality and fitting of the overall functionality of the model. The Grover tuning machines are pretty great not only because they do their job well but because they are easy for beginners. And of course, with guitars at this price range, you cannot really get the top-notch material all around so the nut and saddle are NuBone. I do not have anything against this material but at the same time, I do not think it adds to the sound.  That being said, as a beginner guitar, I think spending a lot more on the real bone and upping the price would not be that smart. The main reason is that a beginner’s ear is probably not that used to identify the subtle difference in sound.     

Dean Mako Glory Sound

The overall sound on the “Mako” is pretty good with balanced tone and great projection. BUT there is always going to be a bit of a problem with affordable guitars for beginners and in the case of this guitar, it is not so big of a sound. It definitely is not bad but if you are looking for a bursting, booming sound you might look somewhere else. One way to improve the tiny sound is obviously to change the strings (the original ones are not that good). This is the simplest and cheapest way but strings can only do so much.

Electronics

The Makoglory is equipped with a Fishman Isys+ system that is a good starting electronic system for this model. It has very intuitive volume, tone shaping, phase controls. The low-profile control knobs are a great touch for more discrete and simple design. The 7-segment LED tuner is very easy to read which is a huge advantage in beginner guitars. Overall, this system does a great job of reproducing the sound as authentically as possible. I think electronics is one of my favorite parts of this guitar.

Conclusion

This is definitely more of a beginner guitar than an intermediate or professional one. Overall, the sound and construction are pretty decent. Most importantly the Makoglory is comfortable in beginner’s hand and that for me is the main criteria with beginner guitars. Of course, there are issues with this model but nothing extremely big or non-fixable. All in all, this is a good, well-rounded acoustic-electric guitar that will serve well in the first years to any beginner.

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