Johnson and Johnson/Sterling are the same. Mine has Sterling on the headstock. The other one i had that broke had Johnson. Regal and Dean are identical in looks, sound, and construction. Both nickel plated steel, not brass. I've played a couple of both in local music store. They sound pretty good out of box but adding a quarterman cone and maple/ebony bridge makes them come alive and mellows out the sound. You get much more sustain and it still has quite a bit of attack. Costs about $50 for cone and another $20 for new maple/ebony bridge biscuit which has to be custom fitted cause quarterman is a bit lower than stock cone. Resophonic Outfitters has both. I looked on ebay today and the regals are going incredibly cheap, around $339 US, i think. I paid $550 for the Dean and they are virtually identical(both made in Samick factory). THAT JUST MAKES ME SICK. I am a pretty loud vocalist(i holler a lot) and sometimes without any amplification the guitar overpowers my voice. They are damned LOUD and feel like a cement block strapped around your neck. As far as i can figure you'd have to spend a whole bunch more money to find something better for slide type blues than the Regal. I just wish i had saw the Regals before i bought the Dean.