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Dean....any love for their basses?

#22
I had a Hillsborough for a short time (to no fault of the bass) and thought it was pretty decent for the price- much better than the "skwyer" stuff. good action, good tone and pretty decent hardware.
 
#23
About 10 years ago, I pulled up to a local pawn shop and saw a guy walk in with and immediately walk back out with a nice 4 string Dean acoustic/electric bass. It had Abalone inlays and a cutaway. I asked him what happened and he said the guy in the shop said that they had too many guitars as it was and didn't even look at it. I asked how much he wanted, he said $40, I said sold! It did have a bent fret toward the upper register and needed a new tuning machine, but that stuff was easy to fix. It was a really nice bass and I was honestly surprised by it. That's the only one I've ever owned, but I'd buy another if I could find a Sledgehammer 5 string for a decent price.
 
#25
mark beem said:
The only Dean I have had was one of their EAB acoustic basses. Nice bass, well made and sounded good but for all intents and purposes it was useless in an ensemble setting without some kind of amplification. I eventually sold it.
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Isn't that pretty much the story with almost all acoustic basses (needs amplification)?
 
#26
jeff berlin would log in and tell you how great they are if he could, as long as you follow his teachings and theories to a T. Back on subject, i've played a couple and was surprised how well they felt..i didnt dig the tone that much but the neck was fast.
 
#27
I've been looking for one of those JJ Hillsboro basses for a while myself, all the have now is the P/J and the slightly more expensive ones with the MM and the preamp

jd56hawk said:
If I ever saw this one for sale I'd buy it on the spot.
2lmnbjp.jpg
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#29
Nah he's too busy plugging his Cort Signature bass now, seems like the guy will put his name anywhere if the check clears.
jeffbassguy said:
jeff berlin would log in and tell you how great they are if he could, as long as you follow his teachings and theories to a T. Back on subject, i've played a couple and was surprised how well they felt..i didnt dig the tone that much but the neck was fast.
Click to expand...
 
#30
spectorfreak said:
I've been looking for one of those JJ Hillsboro basses for a while myself, all the have now is the P/J and the slightly more expensive ones with the MM and the preamp
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I bought a Dean Motto for a girl I know, but she just couldn't handle a full-scale bass so I returned it. Now, I just found out it's still hanging up at Guitar Center for the same price...$276!
The damned thing sounded really good...those DMT J-Hot pickups are great. When I first plugged it in I thought it was active!
I should take a ride Saturday and see if they'll let it go for $200 or $225.
 
#31
eastcoasteddie said:
I have a Dean Sledgehammer 5. I think they were only produced for a year or two, 35" scale and either ash/maple or mahogany/mahogany with ebony fb for body/neck choices.
They came with a single bridge MM style pickup, but I added a 2nd one to mine and added coil tapping switches which allow for north or south coil choices independent of each other.
DSC_1998.jpg


I had a 2nd one for a few months and added a J-neck pickup, but sold that one here on TB in 2011.
(The two of them on left and right of photo)
DSC_2064.jpg
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Wow. I love those 5 string Sledgehammers. And now that I know that they're 35" scale, I'm on am mission to find one. Do you know the nut width and string spacing at the bridge?
 
#33
T
DVJENS said:
Well, I am completely happy with my stable of basses at the moment which, of course, means it is time to get started researching my next purchase. It is gonna happen...why deny it. I just accept it for what it is by this point!

I was watching a video on Youtube of a well-known shredder and his bass player caught my eye. Seems like he is the CEO of Dean guitars. Really excellent player as well. I really liked his tone. So I got to researching his company. Honestly, I have always known Dean makes basses, but always thought they were sort've on the lower end of the quality and performance spectrum. So, sort've overlooked them. But man, started going through their website and there were some really, really awesome looking selections on their catolog. The Juggernaut and Paramount (J and P bass styles) really caught my eye....as did the Eric Bass sig model. Really nice looking instruments. Priced in the mid-range category but with some really nice specs and just looked top-notch. I noticed that most of the players that endorse Dean are metal guys it seems, but like Eric Bass and Shinedown and just kind've caught my attention. His sig model looks incredible.

Not a lot of info on here about Dean. Doesn't get much notice. Any particular love and/or hate for their stuff? In general what is the consensus of their bass selections. I honestly have never seen one...except one time a cheap one hanging in the used section of a GC store. Just curious what everyone thought about them.
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I've seen a couple bands come through that were on tour using the Eric bass sig. Seems like an amazing value. Haven't played one myself but they are surprisingly good sounding for the price.
 
#36
my very bass that I learned to play on was a dean! a cheap starter bass that came with a crumby amp for a hundred bucks. Still, thats what got me started and I played it for the first few years. Still have it actually, I'm never letting that one get away.

Right now I even have a dean acoustic/electric that i take with me so I can play while I travel, and also a dean medium scale bass thats basically just a throw around I can leave at rehearsals. Sure their stuff isnt as good as my musicman, but I think that their basses are definitely usable and I really do like the feel of them (probably because it was my first bass).

I would honestly be very interested if dean made a high end bass made in the usa! I would be all over that actually. Dean, if you're listening, get on it!
 
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#39
I've never played one of their basses (other than the beater $100 ones on the shelves at GC) but I picked up an import Dean Strat copy at a tag sale for $125, and with some new pickups I put in I'd pit it against any modern Mexi or American Standard Fender. Great neck on that thing.
 

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