Dean Launches Limited Run of Kerry King Signature Guitars and it Costs… $8,666??

Dean Guitars revealed last month that they’d lured Slayer axeman Kerry King away from his longtime endorsers, B.C. Rich, quite the coup considering King’s name and likeness have been synonymous with B.C. Rich for decades and that company just lost its most iconic artist. Impressive!

But now arrives the news that Dean’s first release featuring King, a limited run of 50 handcrafted, USA-made, signature guitars, will cost $8,666. And really the only way I can view that price point is as a massive blown opportunity. Not because it’s expensive — I get that, these handmade USA guitars are expensive, all good. But because why on earth does this thing not cost $6,666?

I can only imagine the board room conversation went something like this:

Luthier: [walks in] Behold! The new Kerry King V Limited Edition!

Owners: Splendid! Beautiful! [applause]

Accounting Guy: Hey guys this thing was expensive to make… we’re gonna hafta charge a lot for it.

Marketing Guy: Of course! It’s limited to 50 pieces. That’s to be expected. How about… $6,666?

Accounting Guy: Errrmm… no, that’s not gonna cut it. Barely covers material costs.

Marketing Guy: But dude… $6,666. Kerry King. Slayer. Obviously. Come on.

Accounting Guy: How about $7,666? This thing should probably cost $9,666, but “8” is a kind of evil sounding number, right?

Marketing Guy: Dude. No. [storms off]

More info on this bad boy, should you have $8,666 laying around, is available on Dean’s official website.

Remaining dates of Slayer’s final tour ever:

Nov. 14 – TaxSlayer Arena, Moline, IL [TICKETS]
Nov. 15 – Denny Sanford Center, Sioux Falls, SD [TICKETS]
Nov. 17 – Fargodome, Fargo, ND [TICKETS]
Nov. 18 – CHI Health Center, Omaha, NE [TICKETS]
Nov. 20 – Broadmore Arena, Colorado Springs, CO [TICKETS]
Nov. 22 – Rimrock Arena, Billings, MT [TICKETS]
Nov. 24 – Spokane Arena, Spokane, WA [TICKETS]
Nov. 26 – Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA [TICKETS]
Nov. 27 – MGM Arena, Las Vegas, NV [TICKETS]
Nov. 30 – The Forum, Los Angeles, CA [TICKETS]

[via Ultimate Guitar]