In 2020, Dean Guitars presented the USA made Kerry King V Signature Guitar, an eye-catching and sonically captivating electric guitar that honors one of the most respected players to walk the planet. As founding guitarist of the band Slayer, Kerry King has written some of the most brutal and revolutionary music ever created. With the Kerry King V, Dean celebrates the culmination of King’s career with the pinnacle of craftsmanship in an all-new guitar handmade in the Dean USA Custom Shop. Limited to only 50 pieces, this signature guitar arrived with a custom leather-bound Certificate of Authenticity signed by the man himself, along with a customized hardshell case. From every edge and angle, the Kerry King V Signature Guitar is a legacy instrument worthy of the artist, the dedicated player, and the serious fan.

“I’m super stoked to be part of the Dean Guitars family. This has been an insane long time coming!” said Kerry King celebrating the official launch of his model, the latest addition to Dean’s renowned Artist Series. “Together we’re going to create some amazing guitars that Dean, Slayer, and Kerry King fans will be as excited as I am to play them. It’s gonna be a wild ride for years to come!”

Guitar World is reporting that a cut-price version of the limited-edition Kerry King model is now available. 

"Back in April 2020, Dean guitars teased a more affordable version of its USA Kerry King V Limited Edition model, which came with a whopping $8,666 US price tag. Now that new electric guitar, the Dean Kerry King Signature V, is here. Like its older, more expensive brother, the V model boasts a mahogany body and maple top, but in place of neck-through construction the new KK sports a three-piece maple set neck.

It’s still, of course, a more-than-impressive metal beast of a guitar, and it now comes with a much-less aggressive price tag: just $1,399 US."

Read the complete article, offering the specs for this cut-price version of the guitar, here. Check out the guitar via the official Dean website here.

Designed with a unique V-shape cut with remarkable precision, the Kerry King V Signature Guitar pairs an instrument-grade mahogany body with a beveled North American maple flat top. The guitar is painted in a stunning satin black finish with a powerful gloss red Kerry King sigil. The contoured heel allows for easy neck access during blistering solos, while the 3-piece maple neck-thru design with dual-action truss rod provides added stability. The C-shape neck (12-inch radius) at 24 5/8-inch scale length has been sculpted to King’s specifications. The ebony, 24 jumbo-fret fingerboard is detailed with handcrafted pearl, stone, and ebony custom inlays, accompanied with ultra-vibrant LED fret markers along the side.

Electronically, Dean takes the already amped-up design of the Kerry King V to the next level with an intense Sustainiac neck pickup and an EMG 81 with PA2 preamp booster bridge pickup that’s ideal for volume-boosted solos and overdrive. This powerful combination has excellent articulation that’s further enhanced by King’s own signature Kahler KFK Tremolo System with vibrato arm. This one-of-a-kind bridge is paired with the Floyd Rose R2 nut at 1 5/8-inch width for added tuning stability reinforced by Grover tuners.

Whether maniacally shredding or passively riffing, players have all the control they need, including on/off switches for each respective pickup, a 3-way toggle switch, and a Sustainiac mode switch, along with volume and tone. Dome black knobs and black hardware polish off the edgy esthetic, complete with Dean’s distinct logo on the V-shaped headstock.

The 50-piece limited edition Kerry King V Signature Guitar is now shipping and available at MSRP $8666. Learn more and behold the beast at DeanGuitars.com.

(Photo - Chad Lee Photography)