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Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd
Dean Kerry King V
VS
Playability
75
Sound
82
Build
62
Value
73
Score
73
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Playability
82
Sound
84
Build
65
Value
77
Score
77
FIND IT ON:
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Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd vs Kerry King V

Reasons to Get
Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd over Kerry King V

Number of Frets
22 vs 24
Warmer neck pickup
Volume Knobs
2 vs 1
More volume control
Nut Width
1.693'' (43mm) vs 1.614'' (41mm)
Less likely to mute strings by accident and more space for fingerstyle
Bridge
Floyd Rose vs Kahler
Allows intense vibratos and techniques like Dive Bombs

Reasons to Get
Dean Kerry King V over Eric Peterson Z Floyd

Decorative Top
Maple vs None
Finished with beautiful natural wood patterns
Release Year
2020 vs 2019
From a more recent year
Pickup Mods
Boost vs None
Increases the output of the pickup
Number of Frets
24 vs 22
Allows to reach higher notes
Nut Width
1.614'' (41mm) vs 1.693'' (43mm)
Favors small hands, easier bar chords and other shapes
Bridge
Kahler vs Floyd Rose
Intense vibratos and can be locked to stop floating
Value Score
77 vs 73
Better price/quality relationship

Other Key Differences
Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd vs Kerry King V

No Key Differences Found

Shared Features
Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd vs Kerry King V

Bridge Pickup
EMG 81
Same Bridge Pickup
Neck Pickup
EMG 85
Same Neck Pickup
Body Wood
Mahogany
Same Body Wood
Neck Wood
Maple
Same Neck Wood
Fretboard Wood
Ebony
Same Fretboard Wood
Headstock
3-3
Same Headstock
Nut Material
Locking
Same Nut Material
Strings
6
Same playing style
Body Type
Solid Body
Feedback free
Switch Positions
3
Same pickups versatility
Tone Knobs
1
Same tone control
Pickups
HH
High output without hum
Paint Finish
Poly
Resistant paint that ages well
Scale Length
24.75'' (628.7mm)
Same string tension and fret separation
Fretboard Radius
12'' (304.8mm)
Same fretboard comfortability
Pickups Power
Active
More output
Neck Profile Type
C
Comfortable neck that works for most people
Neck Joint
Set
Neck is glued to the body
Type of Frets
Jumbo
You won't feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings

Common Strengths

  • High-Quality Nut
  • Top Pickup Brand
  • Expensive Wood

Common Weaknesses

  • Neck-Through Build
  • Weight Relief
  • Retainer Bar
  • Stays in Tune (Evertune)
  • High-Quality Frets
  • Compound Radius Fretboard
  • From a High-Quality-Standards Country
  • Luminescent Sidedots
  • Strap Lock
  • 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • Active/Passive Preamp

Table of Contents

Price History Comparison

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Which One is Better Overall?

After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that the Dean Kerry King V is probably the better product overall with its final score of 77 compared to the Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd's 73 score, although not by a lot.

The Dean Kerry King V wins when it comes to sound, playability, build quality, value for the money. This means that it wins over the Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd in every aspect.

If you got small hands, you'll probably feel more comfortable playing the Dean Kerry King V.

Which One is Better for Beginners?

Both meet 3 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players. If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, you can't go wrong with either of them.

New Player Friendliness

Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd
  • Comfortable shape
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale
  • Locking tuners
  • Easy-to-use bridge

New Player Friendliness

Dean Kerry King V
  • Tall frets
  • Narrow nut
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable shape
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Short scale
  • Locking tuners
  • Easy-to-use bridge

Nevertheless, when it comes to choosing an instrument, you should pick the one more compatible with your personal style. Still, below we'll try you to give you our results as objectively as it's possible to help you decide.

Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd Overview

  • From Dean's 2019 Artist series
  • Eric Peterson Signature
  • Made in South Korea
  • 6 strings
  • 24.75"'' scale
  • 12" Fretboard Radius
  • Eastern Mahogany body
  • 3 Piece Maple neck
  • Ebony fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: EMG 81 (Humbucker/Active)
  • Neck pickup: EMG 85 (Humbucker/Active)
  • 2 volume and 1 tone Speed knobs
  • 3-way Switch
  • Floyd Rose 1000 (Korean) bridge
  • Eric Peterson Spec. C Shaped Set neck
  • 22 Jumbo frets
  • Grover tuners
  • Compare Specs >

Dean Kerry King V Overview

  • From Dean's 2020 Artist series
  • Kerry King Signature
  • Made in Indonesia
  • 6 strings
  • 24.75"'' scale
  • 12" Fretboard Radius
  • Maple top
  • Eastern Mahogany body
  • 3 Piece Maple neck
  • Ebony fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: EMG 81 (Humbucker/Active)
  • Neck pickup: EMG 85 (Humbucker/Active)
  • 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
  • 3-way Switch
  • Kahler Hybrid bridge
  • Kerry King Spec. C Shaped Set neck
  • 24 Jumbo frets
  • Grover tuners
  • Compare Specs >

Sound Quality Comparison

The wood used in an electric guitar or bass is not as important to determine the final tone. However, some people prefer specific wood types, so we'll take a look at those first. Then, we'll take a look at the electronics to determine the versatility and sound quality of each instrument.

Woods Used in Both

Maple wood pattern used for guitar building
Maple
Ebony wood pattern used for guitar building
Ebony
Mahogany wood pattern used for guitar building
Mahogany

Maple is one of the most popular necks for good reasons. It is a strong wood that is relatively cheap to make and looks beautiful. The highest quality maple is the hardest that comes from North America. Find out more about Maple.

Ebony is a high-end wood, so it is not cheap. It's only used for fretboards because it's also very heavy. It does an excellent job as a durable material while looking elegant. Find out more about Ebony.

Mahogany is a fairly rare wood nowadays. It's used mostly for bodies due to its relatively lightweight. Gibson popularized it with their Les Paul guitars during their golden years, so this wood has a lot of good reputation behind it. The most expensive type comes from South America and it's still used by Gibson even today. Find out more about Mahogany.

Winner: Tie.

Pickup Configuration

Both pickup configurations are HH. Double Humbucker (HH) is the choice for people who want a fuller, more round sound with tons of mids and lows. Humbuckers also get rid of the hum noise that plague single-coil pickups. They can work out for almost any genre going from Djent to even Jazz.

Pickups Quality

Both come with very good pickups from at least one of the specialized brands in the market. With pickups like these, you probably won't need an upgrade anytime soon.

However, the Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd has a slight sound quality advantage when taking into account other factors like the type of pickups, magnet, position, etc.

You can purchase similar pickups to the Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd's and use them on any guitar:

We found the same or similar pickups to the Dean Kerry King V's online:

Both use Active pickups. These pickups use an additional 9v battery to be able to increase their output for high gain tones. This is why they're popular among heavy metal guitarists. Their disadvantage is that you need batteries for the pickups, so you'll need to spend money on batteries and time swapping them. Also, the clean tones aren't as clean as other pickups because they'll have really hot output.

Winner: Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd.

Versatility Comparison

Some instruments offer you more ways to explore your creativity than others. Below you'll find how both compare when it comes to versatility.

Switch Options

Both are equal when it comes to the pickup switching option.

Only the Dean Kerry King V comes with some kind of pickup modification: Boost.

A Boost will give your pickups more output, similar to an active pickup. It's great if you like to use a lot of output for heavy genres, but also like to use a cleaner tone often.

Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd pickups switch and push knobs diagram
Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd's switch options
Dean Kerry King V pickups switch and push knobs diagram
Dean Kerry King V's switch options

When evaluating versatility, we also take into consideration bridge and neck joint type, number of frets, switch options, amount of pickups and more.

Winner: Dean Kerry King V.

Final Sound Quality Scores

Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd
Pickups 100
Sustain 85
Versatility 56
Tuning Stability 85
Sound 82
Dean Kerry King V
Pickups 95
Sustain 85
Versatility 69
Tuning Stability 85
Sound 84

Build Quality Comparison

When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd compares to the Dean Kerry King V.

Country of Origin

The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd is built in South Korea while the Dean Kerry King V is made in Indonesia.

South Korea was for many years the number one choice for mass-producing semi-premium guitars. They can build excellent guitars for a cheap price. Now, it's less common to find Korean guitars because Indonesia has proved capable of building guitars just as well, but likely for cheaper.

Indonesia is becoming the most popular country for guitar building because they can make good instruments for a low price. Some people think that they're 'the new China' when it comes to build quality. But the truth is that Indonesian guitars are more consistent, although Chinese quality has improved a lot in the last few years.

Winner: Tie

Nut Material

If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.

In this case, both have Locking nuts. Instead of a regular nut, this guitar has a locking system that will lock down the strings at the nut, preventing it from getting out of tune. It removes one of the disadvantages of tremolo bridges, tune stability.

Unfortunately, neither of them have a retainer bar for the nut, which would be a helpful addition. Without it, the strings will change pitch once you lock down the nut, so you'll have to make more micro-adjustments at the bridge to tune it correctly.

Winner: Tie.

Fret Material

Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.

Unfortunately, none of them come with stainless steel frets.

Winner: Tie.

Bridge

The perfect bridge for you will depend on your playstyle because they all have advantages and disadvantages. However, some bridges are more expensive—like Floyd Roses and Evertunes—and thus add more value to a guitar.

The Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd's brige is a Floyd Rose. This is a double-locking bridge system that allows you to perform techniques like dive bombs and pinch harmonics. The locking nut allows your guitar to stay in tune even after the most intense tremolo usage. The disadvantage is that it takes more work to change the strings and set up everything correctly.

On the other hand, the Dean Kerry King V's is a Kahler. It's a floating tremolo very similar to Floyd Rose but less popular. The main difference is that you can lock it to the body, which essentially turns it into a fixed bridge. Some heavy metal players prefer this bridge over Floyd Rose because it won't move and get out of pitch when they palm mute.

Since we need to be objective, the most expensive type of bridge will be the winner of this section. In the end, this doesn't matter if you're not going to use the bridge for its original purpose, so choose the bridge that fits your playing style better.

Winner: Tie.

Tuners

Both come with regular tuners. Both come with Grover.

Winner: Tie.

Neck Joint

Contrary to popular belief, the difference in sustain and tone that some neck joints give to a guitar is simply unperceivable—if they're all well built. However, some of them do have advantages over the others.

Both have a Set neck joint. This neck is tightly glued to the body. They give you the least versatility because you can't swap them for a neck that fits your hand better if you want to, unlike bolt-on necks. Some people think this gives more resonance and sustain, but there's no real difference if the bolt-on joint is well built.

Winner: Tie.

Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:

Strengths & Weaknesses
Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd
  • Expensive Wood
  • Locking Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Tremolo
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in South Korea
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
  • No Weight Relief
  • No Luminescent Inlay
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Retainer Bar
  • No Strap Lock
Strengths & Weaknesses
Dean Kerry King V
  • Expensive Wood
  • Locking Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Boost Pickups
  • Tremolo
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in Indonesia
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Weight Relief
  • No Luminescent Inlay
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Retainer Bar
  • No Strap Lock

Final Build Quality Scores

Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd
Quality of materials 51
Features 60
Quality Control 75
Build Quality 62
Dean Kerry King V
Quality of materials 55
Features 65
Quality Control 75
Build Quality 65

Playability Comparison

Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.

Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.

Nut Width

Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd Nut Width
Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd Nut Width
Dean Kerry King V Nut Width
Dean Kerry King V Nut Width

The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, the Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd has the wider nut with 43mm (1.693'') vs 41mm (1.614''). This is a 2mm (0.079'') difference

This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd, especially closer to the nut. However, it's also easier to play without muting strings accidently. This favors people with big hands.

Scale Length

Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd and Dean Kerry King V's Scale Length
Both have the same scale length

The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.

In this case, both have a scale length of 24.75".

This is the scale length that Gibson uses for most of its Les Paul guitars. It's a smaller scale than the typical Stratocaster's 25.5''. Short scale lengths like this make it easier to bend the strings, which is pretty important if you have a fixed bridge. They also have a shorter fret separation, which makes it easier to change position fast at the fretboard.

On the other hand, a shorter scale like this one will make fret buzz more likely, which can affect you if you want to use thicker string gauges.

Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.

Neck Profile

Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd Neck Profile
Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd's neck profile
Dean Kerry King V Neck Profile
Dean Kerry King V's neck profile

No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.

Both the Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd and the Dean Kerry King V have a C-shaped neck. This is what you'll find in most modern guitars. Most people feel like the thickness of a C neck is simply the less intrusive one for playing fast, while at the same time allowing you to grab the neck easily for resting if you want to.

Fretboard Radius

Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd Fingerboard Radius
Both Guitars Have The Same Fretboard Radius

Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.

Both the Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd and the Dean Kerry King V have the same fretboard radius of 12". This is the radius used in most Gibson guitars. It gives you a good balance for playing chords without muting, but also good comfortability for playing single notes and bending.

Hand Size Comfortability

Everyone has a different hand size, and that's why it's recommended to try a guitar before buying, even if others tell you that it's comfortable to play. However, we can know whether a guitar favors small or large hands just by knowing its exact measurements.

And after taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that the Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd favors large hands more than the Dean Kerry King V. But it's still more comfortable for people with small hands, as you can see in the score meter below.

Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd:
Big Hands
Small Hands
Dean Kerry King V:
Big Hands
Small Hands

Fret Size

Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd and Dean Kerry King V Frets Size
Both have a similar Jumbo fret size

Both have a Jumbo fret size. This is one of the tallest frets you can get. You won't feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings. It will give you the best sustain and all types of chords will be easier to play. However, you can end up changing the pitch of your notes if you press too hard, which is something people used to feeling the fretboard do when trying Jumbo frets for the first time.

Final Playability Scores

Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd
Bending & Vibrato Ease 90
Chord Playability 55
Solo Playability 80
Playability 75
Dean Kerry King V
Bending & Vibrato Ease 90
Chord Playability 65
Solo Playability 90
Playability 82

Specs Side-by-Side

Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd vs Kerry King V
General Dean Eric Peterson Z Floyd Kerry King V
Brand: Dean Dean
Year: 2019 2020
Configuration: HH HH
Strings: 6 6
Made in: South Korea Indonesia
Series: Artist Artist
Colors: Black Black Satin
Left-Handed Version: No No
Body
Type: Solid Body Solid Body
Body Material: Eastern Mahogany Eastern Mahogany
Bridge: Floyd Rose 1000 (Korean) Kahler Hybrid
Neck
Neck Joint: Set Set
Tuners: Grover Grover
Fretboard: Ebony Ebony
Neck Material: 3 Piece Maple 3 Piece Maple
Decoration: Pearl Diamond KK Nails
Scale Size: 24.75" 24.75"
Shape: Eric Peterson Spec. C Shaped Kerry King Spec. C Shaped
Frets: 22 Jumbo Nickel Silver 24 Jumbo Nickel Silver
Fretboard Radius: 12" 12"
Nut: Locking Locking
Nut Width: 43mm (1.693'') 41mm (1.614'')
Electronics
Bridge Pickup: EMG 81 (Humbucker / Active) EMG 81 (Humbucker / Active)
Middle Pickup:
Neck Pickup: EMG 85 (Humbucker / Active) EMG 85 (Humbucker / Active)
Switch: 3 Way 3 Way
Knobs: Speed Dome
Pickup Mods: None Boost
Volume Controls: 2 1
Tone Controls: 1 1