| I've played a Dean briefly.
In general, these and all the other EUBs derive from the orchestral bass.
This defines the string spacing and the neck radius and the bridge. (Also to some extent the string length, though there are many EUBs with shorter scales, the Dean being one.)
The orchestral bass was designed, in the first place, to be bowed. So the strings must be out there where they can be individually accessed.
The Fender bass and its descendants are not made to be bowed. Designing for pizzicato (from the Italian, meaning to "pluck, pick or twang") playing means strings can be closer together and the fingerboard can be of a greater radius (hence flatter). All this translates into much friendlier real estate for both hands of the bass player.
All that and I didn't get to use the word "mwah," which I learned from Andy Pfaff!
Kindly,
Lee |