| Build Quality: |  |
| Hardware: |  |
| Electronics: | |
| Sound: | |
| Value: | |
| Average: | |
Pros:
- Affordable
- Decent Sound
- Vintage Tremolo Bar
Cons:
- Limited Flexibility
- Easy to Outgrow
When you are looking to cover all of the basics without exceeding a certain price point, you might have to be ready to sacrifice some quality. This is a general rule that you need to accept before you decide to go under the $200 mark. Though, this does not mean you need to pick up an electric guitar unable to perform for a beginner, or even early intermediate level players. The Dean Vendetta XMT is at the almost perfect equilibrium where it is able to provide you both with quality and an incredibly affordable price point.
Build Quality
The guitar is designed to cover all of the basics and as a result, the construction of the guitar is rather basic as well. It checks off all the boxes for what makes a good, affordable guitar, and allows beginners to gain access to everything they might need, but it does not try to exceed your expectations. The body of Dean Vendetta XMT is made with basswood, a popular tonewood for cheap guitars. It is sturdy and lightweight, while also having a nice and balanced effect on the sound of the electric guitar. A very nice choice by the manufacturers looking to keep the price low.
The maple neck of the guitar is bolt-on, as cheap guitars tend to have. This might give the guitar stability issues, if you don’t care for it properly. Though it will not be a problem for a long time, even if your maintenance of the guitar is not top-notch. The fretboard is rosewood and is very comfortable to slide along on.
Hardware
What you will have a problem with, if maintenance is not carried out regularly, is the entirety of the gear that comes with the guitar. Of course, everything is made of chrome, the hardware I mean, which means it should last for a long time. Still, regular maintenance will further prolong the life of the guitar and prevent any problems from arising in the future. The headstock, frets and especially bridge and the plug where the wire goes will need regular maintenance to ensure that the guitar sound does not change for the worse over a long period of time. All of this means that the hardware of the guitar is pretty average and something to be expected of electric guitars in this price range.
Electronics
With the electronics, again functionality wins over the delivery of something actually amazing. In all honesty, I have nothing against such terms since with cheap guitars like this, you are not looking for something out of the world most of the time. What you are looking for is a guitar you can use to practice and get better with so that eventually, you can move on to better things. Which is why I appreciate the Dean dual humbuckers that come with this guitar. They provide adequate support for anyone starting out and looking for a sound more full of sustain.
Dean Vendetta Sound
With the overall idea behind the guitar having functionality rather than being extremely good, it is surprising that this instrument sounds as good as it does. Usually when you get together a bunch of the basics for the fulfillment of a very basic purpose, what you get is a sub-par instrument. Here we got something of a strange occurrence, an outlier that has the ability to sound very good, in a very narrow range of genres. Hard rock, rock and roll, metal and other similar genre playing musicians will find the guitar to be very fitting and adequate for their demands. Don’t ask it to play amazing jazz for you though, as the guitar will have a hard time being flexible enough for the smoothness required for genres like it.
Conclusion
This is definitely an adequate guitar if you are a beginner and will serve you well in your journey to study the arts of heavier genres. While it might not be the best pick if you are looking to play something smoother, it will still be able to perform well enough to sound decent for practice. Eventually, you will want to pick up a new guitar as this one does not give you everything you will be needing once you reach a certain level.
Click here to view more from Best Beginners Electric Guitar.
