Heard of Dimebag Darrell? Of course you have. The late Pantera guitarist is one of the best-known guitarists of the last 30 years. Heard of Buddy Blaze? Probably not, unless you’re a guitar geek. Buddy Webster, who goes by Buddy Blaze, has been a custom guitar designer since the ’80s. He’s designed axes for bands including Yngwie Malmsteen, Twisted Sister, Def Leppard and Great White. He also designed and modified Dimebag Darrell’s signature ‘Dean From Hell,’ and according to a lawsuit filed last Friday, never got a penny from the design, which Dean continues to use to this day.

Back in the ’80s, Blaze befriended Dimebag Darrell Abbott when he lived in Arlington, TX. Dime had owned a Dean ML that he won in a local contest, and eventually decided he didn’t want it any more. He offered it to Blaze, who said he should keep it. He eventually sold it to Blaze’s singer. Blaze secretly bought it back, modified the neck, and put more hardware in the guitar, also stripping the paint and making the signature blue lightning design. He then gifted it back to Dimebag, who made it his signature guitar. The lawsuit alleges that since Abbottt’s death in 2004, Dean Guitars and their parent comopany Armadillo Distribution Enterprises, Inc. have reissued the Dean From Hell guitar several times.  Webster even worked with Dean in 2008 and 2009 on a Buddy Blaze Signature Model, but it wasn’t the Dean From Hell. He’s seeking money for lost sales, and asking that Dean stop profiting off his design. You can read the entire lawsuit below.

Buddy Webster v Dean Guitars by Digital Music News on Scribd

[via Digital Music News]