Fifteen signed by West; all distressed by legendary master builder John Cruz
TAMPA, Fla. (May 5, 2021) – Dean Guitars® is proud to honor friend and legend, Leslie West, by handcrafting 50 Dean USA Leslie West Tattered N Torn Thoroughbred TBZ limited edition signature guitars. Each guitar is masterfully distressed by legendary master builder John Cruz.
Dean worked directly with West throughout the project before his passing on Dec. 23, 2020. Fifteen guitars were hand-signed by West on the back of the headstock; the remaining 35 guitars have the “LW” insignia on the back of the headstock. West said of his new signature model, “If I can get excited about a guitar when I’m 75 years old, that’s sayin’ something!”
The Dean USA Leslie West Tattered N Torn Thoroughbred TBZ limited edition signature guitar features a two-piece mahogany body with a flame maple arched top, an aged Trans Brazilia nitrocellulose lacquer finish with aged brown mahogany back and sides, and a classic black headstock. The “C”- shape three-piece mahogany neck has an ebony fretboard with a 12” radius, 22 jumbo frets, a bone nut, pearl block fret markers and Grover 18:1 ratio tuning machines. The body and neck have single-ply cream binding. In addition, the signature model features a USA DMT Leslie West Signature Mountain of Tone Distressed Humbucker bridge pickup, a USA DMT Nostalgia Distressed neck pickup, master volume and tone controls with gold speed knobs, a three-way toggle switch, Tune-o-Matic bridge and hardtail tailpiece.
“I remember the first time he saw it,” said West’s widow, Jenni West. “I opened the box and pulled it out, (and) laid it on the island of the kitchen. He lit up like a fat kid at a chocolate factory. He laughed out loud in that big booming voice, ‘That’s fucking perfect! Looks torn and tattered like me!’ He plugged it into his practice amp, cranked up the volume and played a few bars of ‘Blood of the Sun’. That guitar made him smile! He said it made his balls rattle. That’s how he judged a guitar; if the bottom end didn’t boom, it just didn’t make the cut. He was so proud of this model. I am too!”
“We are honored and humbled to have called Leslie ‘friend’” said Dean Guitars Vice President of Products, Eric Stewart. “While ‘labor of love’ is overused, I can’t think of a better phrase to describe how everyone at Dean feels about this project.”
Hand-signed Dean USA Leslie West Tattered N Torn Thoroughbred TBZ guitars include a custom stenciled “Leslie West” hard shell case and Certificate of Authenticity (C.O.A.), and are available for $9,999.00; non hand-signed models also include the hard-shell case and C.O.A., and are available for $5,460.00 at authorized Dean Guitars dealers. For more information, go to www.deanguitars.com.
