Dean Leslie West Signature Model -

Dean Leslie West Signature Model

My Leslie West collection

Leslie West gained fame the world over during his 30-plus year career as one of the most innovative and influential musicians in the history of rock music. He is most noted for his role as leader of the explosive hard rock trio, Mountain, which was named by VH-1 as one of the Top 100 Hard Rock Groups of all time. With Mountain, he climbed the heights of rock stardom on the strength of a unique, signature guitar sound and classic songs such as “Mississippi Queen”, “Never In My Life” and “Theme From An Imaginary Western”,and Nantucket Sleighride which are still staples of rock radio to this day. Leslie has earned the admiration of a long list of famous peers. During his career, he has recorded or played with a litany of rock icons including Billy Joel, Van Halen, The Who, Mick Jagger and Jimi Hendrix, to name just a few. In fact, Eddie Van Halen, Michael Schenker and Richie Sambora have all cited Leslie as an important influence on their own music.

I’ve been playing guitar since 1973 and Leslie West was my lifelong guitar hero. The first time I heard “Mississippi Queen” I knew at that moment I had to learn to play guitar. And my obsession with guitars has been with me my whole life. I’ve followed Leslie’s career non stop. From Mountain, to West Bruce and Lang and every incarnation along the way like The Leslie West Band and Leslie Wests Wild West Show. Every solo album as well. His sound is unmistakeable. When you hear it you KNOW it’s Leslie. Many people credit him with being the “FATHER OF HEAVY METAL”. A lot of guitarists cite him as a huge influence on their playing. Eddie Van Halen, Michael Schenker, Zakk Wylde, Peter Frampton, and Joe Satriani to name just a few. So when Dean Guitars released the Leslie West Signature Series it was a no brainer for me as I was already a loyal Dean user.

Sadly these are out of production now. There were a few available on Reverb but when Leslie passed away in Dec. they got snapped up real quick. A handful have popped back up on there at slightly inflated prices. Dean Guitars just announced the release of a new USA Leslie West Signature model. Apparently they were working on this one with Leslie when he passed away. Looks like they brought it out as a limited run in tribute. Unfortunately for me it’s well beyond what I can afford. I hope they eventually release an import version. If they do I’ll be first in line.

Here’s a link to a great interview with Leslie talking about his amps, his early Les Paul Juniors, and his Dean Signature guitars. Leslie West Vintage Guitar Magazine