Dimebag Darrell’s guitar gear: everything you need to nail the game-changing Pantera guitarist’s sound

Dean USA Dime ML Far Beyond Driven Limited Edition - $3,299
Though easier to track down in its left-handed form than right-handed, this limited edition Dime ML made in the Tampa Custom Shop is still available. It features a set mahogany V neck shape, Ebony fingerboard, an Original Floyd Rose Top Mount tremolo system with mixed chrome and black hardware, and comes loaded with Seymour Duncan SH-6 neck pickup in the bridge (as Dime had on his original Far Beyond Driven ML) and a DiMarzio Super Distortion in the neck.

Dimebag ‘Dean From Hell’ - $749
As well as boasting the same lightning graphic as Dimebag’s no.1, this more affordable option doesn’t hold back on features. There’s a sleek, set mahogany neck with pau ferro fretboard, a Floyd Rose Special bridge for those dive-bombs, plus some high-powered pickups – a ceramic Seymour Duncan SH13 Dimebucker in the bridge and a Dean DMT Design in the neck.

Dean Razorback Lightning
The Dean USA-made Razorbacks are pretty hard to come by, so this version copying his infamous lightning graphic is definitely worth a look. You get a mahogany body, a set neck construction, a three-piece mahogany neck and a 22 Jumbo fret Pau Ferro fingerboard. It’s all topped off with Seymour Duncan Dimebucker in the bridge and a Seymour Duncan 59 in the neck, as well as a Floyd Rose 1000 series tremolo system.

Dean Dimebag Razorback - $349
At the more entry level of the market, there’s this Razorback finished in Classic Black. There’s no floating bridge, but you do get the stability of a tune-o-matic bridge and Grover tuners. Other welcome appointments include two high-output Dean-designed humbuckers and a pearl razor inlay on the 12th fret.

Diezel VH4 - $4,399
Granted, it’s not a solid-state amp, but the VH4’s versatility and overall musicality has made it virtually the best high-gain amp of all-time. The mids can be dialed back for a scooped sound a la Dimebag, even more so with a six-band EQ like the man himself used, but there’s also so much more it can do… Which explains why it’s been a main go-to for bands like Metallica, Tool and Muse.

Randall RG1003H - $329.99
This modern solid-state Randall stays true to the models used during Pantera’s glory years – offering three channels, copious amounts of gain, spring reverb, a headphone out and an effects loop for not much at all. Best of all, amps of this ilk tend to be much more sturdy than anything tube-powered, with less to go wrong. 

DigiTech Whammy - $329.95
If you’ve ever wondered how Dime made his guitar screech on the main riff in Becoming, he used a Whammy pedal to pitch-shift up two octaves. “I depress it on the third beat of every other measure to produce what Phil [Anselmo, singer] calls the ‘step on the cat’ effect,” he told Guitar World in 1994, praising the pedal’s ability to “produce a sound that was completely fucked up!”

Dunlop Dimebag Wah DB01 - $159.99
The original Dunlop Cry Baby is the best-selling wah pedal of all-time - but some might say it’s not the most exciting pedal to look at. Thankfully Dime’s signature Cry Baby From Hell comes with a CFH logo in a military camouflage finish. And there’s more – thanks to its extended sweep for more lows and highs, a fine-tune knob, a side-mounted 6-way frequency selector, and a switchable boost with LEDs to indicate wah and boost status.

MXR DD11 Dime Distortion - $75.99
Shortly before his death, Dime was working with MXR on his own distortion pedal. The idea was to recreate his solid-state Randall distortion in a pedal format, with a three-band EQ and scoop switch to cut mids. So, regardless of what amp you’re given, here’s a pedal purpose-built for The Art Of Shredding.

MXR Six Band EQ - $89.99
Before his signal hit any amplifiers, Dimebag would use a graphic equalizer to shape and boost his sound - sculpting a tight low-end and scooping the mids even further. This updated version from MXR has its six sliders ready to deliver 18 dBs of cut or boost wherever needed just like Dime’s old one.

Universal Audio MXR Flanger/Doubler Plug-In - $199
The long-discontinued MXR Flanger/Doubler analog processors are pretty hard to come by, but thankfully Universal Audio have created an officially Dunlop-licensed plug-in.
Dimebag only used the Doubler function and it was as his ‘always-on’ effect to deepen and thicken his sound while still retaining all the tightness. The TC Electronic Mimiq would be a good pedal alternative.