Megadeth fans rejoice! On this latest edition of Find of the Week, we’ve come across this rare and wild Dave Mustaine-owned Dean USA Custom Shop Prototype V guitar! Coming in at a whopping $70,947.13 on Reverb.com, this one-of-a-kind axe is the prototype that started Mustaine’s entire signature line of guitars from Dean Guitars for the past 13 years. It’s been featured on numerous metal outlets around the world, including Metal Injection, Guitar World, and Blabbermouth, and even rocks Mustaine’s signature on the back of the headstock!
From the seller, Essex Recording Studios:
“This is the one that started it all! There can be only one, and you’re looking at it. This is the Dean prototype V that evolved from his original Jackson King V KV1 and ESP DV8 when Dave decided to leave ESP for a more permanent home to continue the Megadeth legacy. This guitar marks the beginning of 13 years of his signature guitar legacy that has seen thousands of guitarists around the world buy his Dean signature model. You can see the working name was DMV on the back of the headstock that was revised to become the VMNT! According to Backstage Auctions, this guitar was accidentally sent to them but was meant to be saved for Dave’s son as the most important item in Dave’s collection, so it was sent back to Dave at Dave’s request. It is amazing that he later decided to make this available to the general public!”
If this is your dream axe, you can get your hands on it here.
But maybe you’re not willing to drop this much on a new guitar, but what about a mere $35,472.86 for this Dave Mustaine-owned Signed Tour Dean USA Custom Shop VMNT Flying King V KV1 guitar? This one rocks the traditional Jackson King V-style body lines and a stunning Terinator “Vic Chick” custom graphic that just makes it pop! It was used in regular rotation as part of Mustaine’s live show, and was even marked “#1” by his guitar tech on the back of the headstock! Another wild piece of Megadeth history that could be yours.
Alright alright, fine, maybe those are both out of your budget but you still want that Mustaine guitar goodness. We’ve got you covered with this Dean V Dave Mustaine Angel of Deth guitar! For just $1350, this guitar might be the perfect weapon for the modern thrash metalhead. Featuring a custom blood-spattered “Angel of Deth” graphic, D-shaped set mahogany neck, 25.5″ scale, ebony fingerboard, and Mustaine Live Wire USA active humbuckers, it’s one hell of a guitar for not a whole lotta dough.
We’ve got one more for you if you’re still not satisfied: this Dean Dave Mustaine VMNT V Guitar with Terminated graphic for just $778! Another beast of a guitar for Megadeth fans that won’t break the bank, this guitar features a mahogany body/top/neck, set neck construction, Dave Mustaine spec. D-shape neck, Pearl Dave Mustaine custom inlays, a Seymour Duncan 59 neck pickup, and Seymour Duncan Mustaine Thrash Factor bridge pickup. And all of that comes loaded onto the classic VMNT-style body design with a custom Terminate graphic which only adds to how metal this thing is. If this sounds like the guitar for you, you can snag it on Reverb here.
