Dean Guitars Established in 1976 in Chicago, IL, is currently owned by Armadillo Enterprises in Tampa, Florida. They have a 110,000 square foot facility that houses expanded warehousing, a quality control center, administrative offices, an assembly operation for U.S.A. made Dean guitars, and state-of-the-art woodshop.  They have a line of import models as well.

After nearly ten years of production, the previous owner decided that he no longer wanted to manufacture guitars and sold the company. Oscar Medeiros had ownership of the brand name and trademark until the mid 90s. The guitars Medeiros created under the Dean name were also considered quality instruments.

Medeiros stopped manufacturing Dean Guitars in the mid 1990s or so when Armadillo Enterprises purchased the company and began making them. New owner Elliott Rubinson was credited with resurrecting a left-for-dead Dean Guitars in 1997. Production of the uniquely shaped Dean electric guitars and other musical instruments accounts for the majority of Armadillo's sales each year.