Fender or Dean?

[jacobmusal]

I'm in an alternative rock band and i own a dean edge 1 and an ampeg BA115 and am considering investing in a fender bass because when i went to guitar center and tried it out, it seemed more punchy and punk (as is my bands style). is it a good investment?

[Miskatonic]

Investment? Depends on how you define that. I'll assume you mean for tone and playability?

My personal preferences say, yes. I've tried some Dean's and was not very impressed. With most Fender's you kind of know what you're in for. Barring the lemons that get through what ever abysmal QA system they have in place.

I would say give some of the new Squier basses a shot as well as the Fender's and see if you can discern a couple hundred dollars in difference.

Really what this is going to come down to though is to go out and try some out and see what feels and sounds right to you for your style and music. Might even find that your Dean suits you just fine. Sometimes we just get a bug in our butts to change up our tone.

[Floyd Eye]

I'm not a fender guy myself, but the answer to your question is still yes.

[audiomitch]

IMHO, the Fender is a better investment in many ways.

[kb9wyz]

Fender is rarely a bad choice. I say go for the MIM instead of a Squier. Worst case scenario, you need shielding and new pots and cap. You can even get a new pup and still come in for less than a new one. But if you can find a used MIM P and put some love and elbow grease into it, you will have a nice bass indeed without breaking the bank.

I'm all about buying used and inexpensive and upgrading what I don't like until I have what I want. It worked for me and my MIM J.

[staindbass]

i think the fender is a good idea.

[kuuri]

I say fender In my opinion dean is not a good company

[39-Bassist]

Well 1st off, the Dean you play is Not really setup to give you the sounds for your style of music, (per your musical description), unless you are doing slap stuff and very mid/treble type sounds. The Fender tones are much more usable. If you want to stay with a Dean then I would suggest the Hillsboro J, it is actually a better choice than the Edge. I play both a Fender P and a Dean Hillsboro PJ and they both do the job well. If you buy the right Fender then it will be a good investment. If Fender price is issue, I would suggest the Squier CV P-bass, it sounds great and plays very well. Good luck.

[number11]

I have had MIM Fenders as well as an array of MIA Fenders and the classic vibe 60's P is the best bang-for-a -buck in Fenderland. the jump in price to MIM is just not worth it IMO. In fact, the MIM I just sold, I sold in preference to my Squier CV

This is TB, the answer is all too often "go for the Fender"

I say exhaust all other avenues, even just for comparisons sake before you become a Fender Moonie like all too many here