Dean Zelinsky, founder of Dean Guitars and Dean Zelinsky of Private Label Guitars

Tom and Mark are excited to have Dean Zelinsky on the show. While still in his teens, Dean founded his first guitar company, Dean Guitars, starting it from scratch. He talks to us about how a couple of trips to the Gibson factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan inspired his dream. After setting up his first factory in Evanston, Illinois, Dean went on to build iconic guitars for musicians like Dimebag Darrel, Billy Gibbons, Michael Schenker, Leslie West and Brad Paisley. Dean later moved on and currently builds guitars as Dean Zelinsky Private Label Guitars. He shares with us some of the innovations he’s incorporated into his latest designs. They also talk about a few crazy stories and some of his favorite things about Chicago. Dean also has his own podcast, The Dean Zelinsky Show and you can hear even more stories about his guitar journey at his website.