Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup - Overview and Best Prices

Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup Review
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  • From Dean's 2020 Select series
  • Made in Indonesia
  • 6 strings
  • 24.75"'' scale
  • 12" Fretboard Radius
  • Eastern Mahogany body
  • 3 Piece Eastern Mahogany neck
  • Ebony fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: Seymour Duncan SH-5 (Humbucker/Passive)
  • Middle pickup: Seymour Duncan APH-1N (Humbucker/Passive)
  • Neck pickup: Seymour Duncan APH-1N (Humbucker/Passive)
  • 1 volume and 1 tone Speed knobs
  • 5-way Switch
  • Tune-O-Matic (With Cadi Tailpiece) bridge
  • V Set neck
  • 22 Jumbo frets
  • Grover tuners
  • Side-By-Side Comparison
Show Specs
Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup Specifications
Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup
General
Brand: Dean
Year: 2020
Configuration: HHH
Strings: 6
Made in: Indonesia
Series: Select
Colors: Black
Left-Handed Version: No
Body
Type: Solid Body
Body Material: Eastern Mahogany
Bridge: Tune-O-Matic (With Cadi Tailpiece)
Neck
Neck Joint: Set
Tuners: Grover
Fretboard: Ebony
Neck Material: 3 Piece Eastern Mahogany
Decoration: Pearloid Block
Scale Size: 24.75"
Shape: V
Frets: 22 Jumbo
Fretboard Radius: 12"
Nut: Plastic
Nut Width: 43mm (1.693'')
Electronics
Bridge Pickups: Seymour Duncan SH-5 (Humbucker / Passive)
Middle Pickup: Seymour Duncan APH-1N (Humbucker / Passive)
Neck Pickup: Seymour Duncan APH-1N (Humbucker / Passive)
Switch: 5
Knobs: Speed
Volume Controls: 1
Tone Controls: 1
Hardware
Strap Lock: No
Hardware Color: Black
Show Diagram
Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup pickups switch selector and push knobs diagram
Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup's switch options

Our Scores and Tone Evaluation

Playability 77
Sound 73
Build quality 57
Value for money 74
Overall Score 69
Tone Evaluation
  • Heavy Metal
  • Hard Rock
  • Jazz
  • Blues
  • Funk
  • Country
Strengths & Weaknesses
Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup
  • Expensive Wood
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in Indonesia
  • No High-Quality Nut
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
  • No Weight Relief
  • No Luminescent Inlay
  • No Tremolo
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Price Overview

Its average competitor's price is $850, which means that the Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup costs around 12% more than the competition. It might be due to it having additional features, but know that you can find cheaper similar alternatives. This takes into account all instruments of the same category in our database with 6 strings and Fixed bridge that are made in Indonesia.

User Reviews & Feedback

Not all instruments are created equally. That's why it's important to have different opinions. Here's what our users who have played this instrument say. If you've played it before, help others by voting below!

Weight

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Neck access to high frets

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Neck profile shape

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Fret edges

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Pickups noise

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Often Compared With

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Hand Size Comfortability

After taking into account the neck profile, scale size, fretboard radius, and nut width, we can conclude that the Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup's construction is balanced for most hand sizes.

Nevertheless, this comes down in the end to personal preference. Make sure you test this guitar—or another one with similar characteristics—before buying.

Big Hands
Small Hands

Beginner Friendliness

The Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup meets 3 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, which means that it's not recommended for complete beginners. 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 to get used to.

New Player Friendliness

Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable shape
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale
  • Locking tuners

Videos

Dean Cadillac Select 3 pup Classic Black
The Guitar I Thought I Would HATE... Is Actually Really Good?! || Dean Cadi Select
Dean Cadillac Select Classic Black
Dean Cadillac Select - Product Spotlight
DEAN CADILLAC SELECT DEMO BY ANDREA MARTONGELLI

Playability

Scale Length

Scale length is the distance the strings will span between the bridge and the nut. It can tell you a lot about the overall playability and tone of the instrument. A longer scale length means longer distance between frets, brighter tone and more string tension—which means lower action, but more difficult bending of the strings.

Here's the Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup's 24.75" scale length compared to other common sizes:

Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup Scale Length Comparison
Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup's scale length (at the top) compared to other popular sizes

This is the scale length used in most Gibson guitars. If you like the playability of a Gibson, this guitar will feel pretty similar. It's a lot shorter than the typical Stratocaster (25.5'')

As you can see from the picture above, a shorter scale length also means shorter separation between frets. If you got really small hands, you probably will feel more comfortable playing this guitar than a Fender Stratocaster.

This scale length also allows for easier bends and vibratos because the strings will have lower tension due to the shorter scale.

Finally, another thing affected by scale length is tone. A shorter scale will give less room for the harmonics, thus resulting in a warmer, more 'bassy' tone.

Still, remember that you string gauge plays an important part in all of this. A lighter gauge will make it easier to perform bends, vibratos and will also give you a brighter tone.

More with the same scale length:

Neck Profile

Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup Neck Profile
Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup's neck profile

The neck profile tells you the thickness (neck depth) and shape in cross section. Every difference will completely change the feeling and comfortability of the neck. This is a highly subjective thing, but most players indeed prefer certain types of necks (like Cs and Ds) because they feel nice in most hands.

It has a V type neck. This is a vintage type of neck that is not so common nowadays. Some people like it because they can rest their hand easily while letting their thumb hang over the edge of the fretboard. It's thicker than most modern necks, so it's great for playing chords but not so much for shredding.

More for different hand sizes

Fretboard Radius

When it comes to fingerboard radius, personal preference will dictate which one is better for you. However, most people seem to agree that a more curved (lower) radius will make it easier to play chords while a less curved (higher) radius is better for soloing and bending.

The Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup has a 12" fingerboard radius.

Here's an image comparing this fretboard radius to other popular choices:

Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup Fretboard Radius Comparison with Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul
Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup's fretboard radius compared to others

This is the same radius that Gibson uses in most of their guitars. When compare to the other popular radius of Fender Stratocasters, you can see that it's a lot flatter. Guitars with this radius are usually made to bring a good balance between single-note and chord playing.

Compound radius fingerboards give the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, the Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup has the same radius across the board.

More with the same fretboard radius:

Playability compared to main competitors

24.75'' Scale Length
V Neck Profile
1.693'' Nut Width
12'' Fretboard Radius
27'' Scale Length
D Neck Profile
1.688'' Nut Width
Compound Fretboard Radius
24.75'' Scale Length
U Neck Profile
1.654'' Nut Width
13.78'' Fretboard Radius
25.5'' Scale Length
D Neck Profile
1.65'' Nut Width
Compound Fretboard Radius
24.75'' Scale Length
D Neck Profile
1.688'' Nut Width
Compound Fretboard Radius

Nut Width

Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup Nut Width
Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup Nut Width

The Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup has a nut width of 43mm (1.693''). This is within the most common range of nut widths for a 6-string guitar. It offers a good balance of string separation at the nut. It's the size that most guitarists prefer as it gives them just enough space to play open chords without muting the strings, but without spreading the strings too wide and making bar chords difficult to perform.

Frets

The Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup has 22 frets. Even though 24 frets has become really popular, there's still a good reason to get fewer frets; the pickup at the neck position will be further away from the bridge. This makes the neck pickup achieve a warmer tone. You might want this if you're playing Jazz or similar genres.

However, if you don't care about the warmer neck pickup, more frets will always be better. It's always nice to have the option to play higher notes if you want to.

It comes with nickel silver frets, so they won't last as long as stainless steel frets. If you use your instrument a lot, you might need to replace the frets after a few years. But this is unlikely as most people change instruments before this happens.

More with the same amount of frets:

Fret Size

Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup Fret Size Comparison
Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup's fret size (in orange) compared to other popular sizes

Finally, let's talk about fret size. Some people prefer tall frets because it's easier to press the strings and perform bends since there's less friction against the fretboard. On the other hand, some people like shorter frets because they like to touch the fretboard when playing, or because they got heavy hands and tend to press too much on the string and alter the of the note pitch accidently.

The Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup's frets are Jumbo size. This is a tall fret size that is becoming increasingly popular because it makes it easier to press down the strings cleanly. With this fret size, you won't feel the fretboard when playing, so if you press down too hard, you will get the notes out of pitch. However, this is something you can overcome by getting used to the taller size.

More with the same type of frets:

Playability Score

Bending & Vibrato Ease 95
Chord Playability 65
Solo Playability 70
Playability 77

Tone

Wood will have little influence in the final tone of an electric guitar or bass. Instead, the hardware, especially the pickups, will be the most important thing to look at. Bur first, let's see the quality of the wood.

Wood

Mahogany wood pattern used for guitar building
Mahogany Body, Neck
Ebony wood pattern used for guitar building
Ebony Fretboard

Mahogany Body and Neck: This is the type of wood found in many top-of-the-line guitars, so that's a positive point for the build quality. This red-looking wood Mahogany is found in Africa and Central America and has great sustain and a warm tone due to its high density. The downside about this type of wood is that it's relatively heavy.

Ebony Fretboard: This is one of the most expensive woods there is, which is why it's mostly used for fretboards. It is dense, heavy, highly resistant and comes in a really dark color that gives any guitar a classy touch. Tone wise, it helps the high side of the spectrum and provides good sustain.

Pickups

This guitar comes with pickups from one of the top brands: Seymour Duncan. So you can expect well built pickups with great sound that shouldn't need an upgrade anytime soon.

These are passive pickups, so you can expect a rounder sound and a moderade level of output.

The Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup's configuration is HHH. If you like warm tones, three Humbuckers will give you all the warmness you want, but also tons of output power. The advantage of having three humbucking pickups instead of a combination of single-coils and humbuckers is that you won't hear volume differences when switching to other pickups. And since they're all humbucker pickups, you don't need to adjust the middle pickup so high that it will get in the way of your pick.

More with the same pickups

22 Frets
Fixed Bridge
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Seymour Duncan APH-1N Neck Pickup
24 Frets
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Middle Pickup
Seymour Duncan APH-1N Neck Pickup
22 Frets
Evertune Bridge
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Seymour Duncan APH-1N Neck Pickup
24 Frets
Tremolo Bridge
Seymour Duncan Full Shred SH-10B Bridge Pickup
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Seymour Duncan APH-1N Neck Pickup
24 Frets
Tremolo Bridge
Seymour Duncan Full Shred SH-10B Bridge Pickup
Middle Pickup
Seymour Duncan APH-1N Neck Pickup

Versatility

It gives you a good amount of tone options with its 5-way switch. You can use it to choose at least 5 different pickup combinations.

Unfortunately, it doesn't come with more options for coil split or coil tapping. This makes it less versatile than some competitors.

What music genre is it good for?

As a 6 strings, Solid Body guitar with HHH configuration and Passive pickups, we'd recommend it for genres like Hard Rock or similar. However, you can use almost any guitar for any genre. This is just the typical type of music for this particular one.

Sound Score

Pickups 90
Sustain 80
Versatility 55
Tuning Stability 65
Sound 73

Build Quality

Country of Origin

Knowing where the instrument is produced is a good way to know how well it's built. Some manufacturing countries are known for having higher quality standards. For example, most expensive instruments are made in the US or Japan, but there are some exceptionally great countries—like South Korea—that are building a good reputation.

The Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup is made in Indonesia. Many people prefer the quality of an Indonesian guitar over a Chinese. Respectable brands like Epiphone, Ibanez and Schecter are building in this country because of the great quality and lower price. Some people like to compare them to the ones built in Japan during the 80s, when Japanese guitar makers made a name for themselves.

Bridge

Tune-O-Matic (With Cadi Tailpiece): The advantage of fixed bridges is that they don't require any kind of set-up. This makes it extremely easy when changing strings because you don't need to adjust anything besides tuning the guitar. Also, the fact that the bridge is directly attached to the body will help to increase sustain. The disadvantage is the lack of versatility since you can't create the same vibrato effects as with tremolo bridges.

More with the same type of bridge:

Nut Material

Another important thing to analyze is the nut material, as it's one of the most important aspects that can affect the sound and playability of your guitar. A well-cut nut will make sure it stays in tune and will make it more comfortable to play.

In this case, the Dean Cadillac Select 3 Pickup has a Plastic nut. This is a low-quality nut that you might want to consider upgrading soon. Bone and TUSQ nuts are the best for guitars with a fixed or simple tremolo bridge.

Neck Joint

The neck joint is the part where the neck of the guitar meets the body. There are three main techniques to attach both parts together: Set-In, Bolt-On and Neck-Through. The latter two provide different advantages, although neck-throughs are the most expensive.

This guitar has a Set neck joint. This type of neck joint consists of using different pieces of wood for the neck and the body of the guitar. Both pieces are then glued together. This is more expensive to make than a bolt-on neck, but it's cheaper than a neck-through guitar. Some people believe that this gives more sustain than a bolt-on neck due to both pieces having a 'better connection' than with bolts. Still, it's something difficult to prove.

However, this type of neck joint does have the disadvantage of not allowing you to easily swap the neck for another. This makes this type of neck joint less mod-friendly.

More with the same build:

Build Quality Score

Quality of materials 51
Features 50
Quality Control 70
Build Quality 57