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Dean Bass Phobia?

#21
I have the Dean Stylist. This is a full bodied archtop that technically is semi-hollow due to the soundboard down the middle. But even with that sound board, because of that deep body cavity, it has a real nice resonance. It is also a rarity just for the simple fact that it is also a medium scale.

I love this bass. The pick ups are not the greatest, but it has fantastic tone unplugged. You pluck a string and you are rewarded with a nice, smooth, deep and bassy tone. Plus it's got that hollow body thump. All this, and it is still strung with the factory round wounds. With an upgrade on the electronics, it would be a real show stopper.

By the way, as noted in my sig, I am Dean Club member #47. ;)
 
#25
Avalon said:
I have the Dean Stylist. This is a full bodied archtop that technically is semi-hollow due to the soundboard down the middle. But even with that sound board, because of that deep body cavity, it has a real nice resonance. It is also a rarity just for the simple fact that it is also a medium scale.

I love this bass. The pick ups are not the greatest, but it has fantastic tone unplugged. You pluck and strinng and you are rewarded with a nice, smooth, deep and bass tone. Plus it's got that hollow body thump. All this, and it is still strung with the factory round wounds. With an upgrade on the electronics, it would be a real show stopper.

By the way, as noted in my sig, I am Dean Club member #47. ;)
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That's what stumps me about the Q4 Avalon, the Bartolinis alone are worth 200!!!
 
#27
Last week I scored a used Dean Edge 5 cheap on Ebay. UPS brought it this morning. I spent an hour checking it over and cleaning it up. I'm guessing that the former owner didn't play it much, for there isn't a mark on it. The finish is a pretty transparent purple. The hardware is sturdy, pickups are quiet, and action is fantastic. I expected to be thrown off by the extra inch in scale length (I didn't realize that all Edge series basses are 35" until a few hours after I'd won the auction and I ran across a thread here about it), but so far I haven't really noticed it. The neck profile feels similar to Ibanez Soundgears and the sound is somewhat like my SR305. Overall, it seems like a well-built bass and as someone noted above, it's surprising that these things don't seem to hold their value well.
 
#28
BBox Bass said:
Last week I scored a used Dean Edge 5 cheap on Ebay. UPS brought it this morning. I spent an hour checking it over and cleaning it up. I'm guessing that the former owner didn't play it much, for there isn't a mark on it. The finish is a pretty transparent purple. The hardware is sturdy, pickups are quiet, and action is fantastic. I expected to be thrown off by the extra inch in scale length (I didn't realize that all Edge series basses are 35" until a few hours after I'd won the auction and I ran across a thread here about it), but so far I haven't really noticed it. The neck profile feels similar to Ibanez Soundgears and the sound is somewhat like my SR305. Overall, it seems like a well-built bass and as someone noted above, it's surprising that these things don't seem to hold their value well.
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Congrats BBox! Another satisfied customer!! BTW the possible only exception to the Dean Edge length is the Dean Edge Q4 Bartolinis which is 34" scale.
Jack
 
#30
MNAirHead said:
they're not on the shelf around here.
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They are here, but not every model of course.

Excuse my inexperience, but from what I can gather in my short 2+ years of learning about bass guitars, it seems to me that the basses that have the inconsistency, are the ones made outside the US. Except for Rickenbacker, and I'm sure few others, most every company has outsourced some of their manufacturing overseas, so the inconsistency would be across the board with ANY bass made outside the US. No?
 
#31
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#32
I have one on sale here in classified. I replaced the preamp with Bartolini 4.5 A/P. Fast thin neck, action can be crazy low with no buzz. So, if someone is asking why I am selling it, the answer is because my wife told me to. As you can see, I am not bumping anymore cause I made an effort and if it does not sell, I can tell my wife that I tried but no sale :) and so I must keep it.
 
#33
hyoshim said:
I have one on sale here in classified. I replaced the preamp with Bartolini 4.5 A/P. Fast thin neck, action can be crazy low with no buzz. So, if someone is asking why I am selling it, the answer is because my wife told me to. As you can see, I am not bumping anymore cause I made an effort and if it does not sell, I can tell my wife that I tried but no sale :) and so I must keep it.
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You have the same axe I do, but I've got 5 total!! Bartolini pickups as well, correct? Great bass guitars for the money. Cost $519.00 new and a real bargain for 300 dollars!
Jack
 
#34
Why a bad reputation? Theyre inconsistent. It's threads like this that have folks mail ordering then bashing. Not bad. Not legendary. Not consistant
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I totally agree. My guitar center (Brooklyn, NY) offered a few of the Metalman basses when they first came out (2007ish). Some worked pretty well. The Z/Explorer, which has always been a favorite body style of mine, had some issues with the rice-crispies inpsired pot/knob design, and hummed quite a bit. They all had a single humbucking pickup.

I also owned a Dean EABC5 Acoustic Electric bass. It was a lot of fun to play, and it had a bigger sound than most ABGs, and commonly heard through this thread, minimal fretbuzz and low action. However, the pickup (not essential, but still) was terrible. Also, the plastic tailpiece bent forward after the 2nd string change.

You really do tend to get a mixed bag with some of these basses. Still think the old "Vintage Z" bass they used to have looked pretty cool - I think that was of some higher quality, but I cannot say for sure.

Not debating your point Tim, but if anyone has a local GC, Dean is one bass you don't have to mail order.
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Not necessarily. When I tried those Metalman basses, it was several years ago, and the only one of a few brief periods I remember my Guitar Center having Deans. Another was when the Hillsboro bass came out last year or something. I think this one had the J-bass config. I plugged it in, and I hated it. To me, it's just another cheap bass that relies on Active EQ to do all the work.

Funnily enough, one of those times, they had a Zone XM single pickup bass, and that one actually wasn't too bad. Hey, different strokes for different folks, eh?
 
#35
jackajesusfreak said:
You have the same axe I do, but I've got 5 total!! Bartolini pickups as well, correct? Great bass guitars for the money. Cost $519.00 new and a real bargain for 300 dollars!
Jack
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Correct, mine also have Bartolini pickups. Only difference here is that Amazon once had a crazy sales and I paid only 134$. I had to wait for like three months to get it though. I did not like the stock preamp (EMG) so I bought the Bartolini preamp. Much better in my opinion.
 
#37
hyoshim, can you articulate on the differences between the stock EMG and your new Bart pre? I have the Q4 Bart as well, and I'm quite satisfied with it. The only thing I'd change would be the pre-amp, if no other reason than to be all Bart. Was the upgrade worth the money in your opinion?
 
#38
Bullitt5135 said:
hyoshim, can you articulate on the differences between the stock EMG and your new Bart pre? I have the Q4 Bart as well, and I'm quite satisfied with it. The only thing I'd change would be the pre-amp, if no other reason than to be all Bart. Was the upgrade worth the money in your opinion?
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To me it is totally worth it. The EMG preamp was not too bad but I am very sensitive to any noise on all of my instruments and it had some hissing noise that couldn't be tamed. Now it is dead quite and Bart/Bart combination made the bass smoother (still has more bite than Tobias Killer B4 that I have) and a bit darker.

Hope this helps.
 
#39
jackajesusfreak said:
They are here, but not every model of course.

Excuse my inexperience, but from what I can gather in my short 2+ years of learning about bass guitars, it seems to me that the basses that have the inconsistency, are the ones made outside the US. Except for Rickenbacker, and I'm sure few others, most every company has outsourced some of their manufacturing overseas, so the inconsistency would be across the board with ANY bass made outside the US. No?
Click to expand...

There are some inconsistent USA basses... and some very consistant imports.

My opinion/observation is that if the manufacturer has quality control overseas and other customers than the major manufacturers, they're a better bet.

Selling on price will commonly create good, bad and average bases.

Not bad stuff.. just one you have to hold to judge.
 
#40
JimmyM said:
Jack, I'll admit that that's a nice looking bass, and I probably have owned a couple that were way uglier. And overall, Dean's bass line has gotten better looking. But they still have plenty of basses that are ugly. What's up with that pickguard on the Hillsboros? And they still do that horrible lime green bass, also available in Pepto pink.
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Gotta say I NEVER thought I would own a Dean bass. I own 13 bass's no among which I have Sadowsky's,multiples Fenders,G&L,Modulus,Spector,Boulder Creek,Ibanez's,etc... and due to the $199 price and a need for a I don't give a crap about this bass I picked up a Hillsboro at GC in Nashville. It plays awesome! I had to radius the frets on each edge of the fretboard but other than that haven't turned the truss rod or a screw on the bridge and it rocks. I personally dig the unique pickguard. Mine is the transparent black. Couldn't be happier for $199.
 

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