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Dean Club!!!
- Thread starter tom once dead
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Yes sir. Usually pretty happy during the season and then miserable during the playoffs.
Try being an Eagles fan....Yes sir. Usually pretty happy during the season and then miserable during the playoffs.
Hey they got a Superbowl and got there by kicking out the Vikings. So sorry bro, no pity from me.Try being an Eagles fan....
About 6 years ago, my wife was playing bass in her church band. She didn't own a bass at the time so she was borrowing the band-leader's 5-string Squier Jazz. Nothing wrong with that bass, however she is 4'11" and only weighs ~100 lbs. so that giant neck with wide string spacing, 34" scale, and a ~10.5 lbs bass was far from ideal for her!
So I got her this Dean EVO bass, as a comfortable short-scale alternative. My first impression was that the stock pickups and electronics were pretty lifeless and noisy, plus it desperately needed a set-up. No big surprise with a relatively cheap price tag and these were all things I could remedy myself. The neck profile felt pretty nice though, the body was light, tuners were totally fine, so it had definite potential.
Since then I've cleaned up the frets, swapped out the bridge for narrower spacing, strung it up with some D'Addario Chrome flatwounds, and most recently added a set of vintage-style Thunderbird pickups. I'm totally impressed by this bass now! Sounds and plays absolutely killer, it's lightweight, and I think the chrome pickups and bridge on there look fantastic with the satin black finish. I've seriously debated using it on a gig or two myself. Definitely an under-the-radar kind of bass, if you're looking for a nice short scale as a mod-platform. Hats off to Dean on this one!
So I got her this Dean EVO bass, as a comfortable short-scale alternative. My first impression was that the stock pickups and electronics were pretty lifeless and noisy, plus it desperately needed a set-up. No big surprise with a relatively cheap price tag and these were all things I could remedy myself. The neck profile felt pretty nice though, the body was light, tuners were totally fine, so it had definite potential.
Since then I've cleaned up the frets, swapped out the bridge for narrower spacing, strung it up with some D'Addario Chrome flatwounds, and most recently added a set of vintage-style Thunderbird pickups. I'm totally impressed by this bass now! Sounds and plays absolutely killer, it's lightweight, and I think the chrome pickups and bridge on there look fantastic with the satin black finish. I've seriously debated using it on a gig or two myself. Definitely an under-the-radar kind of bass, if you're looking for a nice short scale as a mod-platform. Hats off to Dean on this one!
Nice mod job…jr. les paul.
Really surprised to hear you had noisy pups on this bass.
I never ever had noisy humbucker pups on any Dean.
The only Dean pups I had that were somewhat noisy were single coil Jazz style pups and that went away if volume was balanced.
Bought a Bridge with narrower string spacing? Wow! Deans string spacing is typically 15mm to 15.5mm which is tight for many players. However, I never played a Dean short scale. The only other Dean short scale I recall made by Dean is the Hillsboro Jr. They did used to make 32” scale ABG’s but not any more. What was the string spacing originally?
Never played one though I almost bought a really rad mod version.
the modded EVO that got away!
I love Dean necks. Usually thin, narrow and satin finish with a comfortable profile, but I never played a short scale Dean. How is the neck?
How much body modding did you need to do for the pups if any?
@JACink had a whiskey crate one and plays it as a Piccolo bass.
@Avalon and @kodiakblair also had EVO XM basses. Not sure who else here has one.
Apparently the EVO XM was introduced in the fall of 2004 per this Ad page
And here is some info from the 2005 catalog
Here's a page from the 2021 catalog for comparison
Thanks for dropping in and showing off your modded EVO.
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Nice!
That really ‘lights’ up from the stage lighting.
Recent gig?
Just wondering if gig work is picking back up for those who do gig.
Nice mod job…jr. les paul.
Really surprised to hear you had noisy pups on this bass.
I never ever had noisy humbucker pups on any Dean.
The only Dean pups I had that were somewhat noisy were single coil Jazz style pups and that went away if volume was balanced.
Bought a Bridge with narrower string spacing? Wow! Deans string spacing is typically 15mm to 15.5mm which is tight for many players. However, I never played a Dean short scale. What was the string spacing originally?
Never played one though I almost bought a really rad mod version.
the modded EVO that got away!
I love Dean necks. Usually thin, narrow and satin finish with a comfortable profile, but I never played a short scale Dean. How is the neck?
How much body modding did you need to do for the pups if any?
@JACink had a whiskey crate one and plays it as a Piccolo bass. Not sure who else here has one.
Thanks for dropping in and showing off your modded EVO.
Yeah, it wasn't 60 cycle single coil hum but seemed to be more of a shielding buzz issue of some sort. Did the same thing with different amps, in different buildings and giving it new pots didn't seem to help, so I imagine it had to have been the pickups.
These vintage style Thunderbird pickups required the cavities to be enlarged by about 1mm all the way around, though not the full depth as these pickups are actually quite flat and can be top-mounted on some basses. In this case a little bit of routing was necessary though.
The original bridge was a normal mass-produced Fender style bridge with 19mm spacing if I recall correctly. This one brings it down to 17mm. Being a short-scale player myself, I found it to be a lot more comfortable but of course it all comes down to preference.
The neck pretty much fits what you described relatively thin, narrow, and satin natural finish on back. Fret edges were fine, but they did need a little bit of crowning and polishing to achieve a nice low action setup.
It's cool to see that others have experimented with this model as well! I had only ever seen them stock prior to this thread.
Do you have the first few numbers of the S/N handy? I could nail down the year for you and specs better.
Early ones were Mahogany top and Basswood Body. Later ones were Mahogany top and Mahogany body. Painted ones may have been all Basswood.
Man I looked for one of those for such a long time and could never find one in mint condition. Heck I have not seen one at all in years. Beautiful bass.
I had an 8. It was a sharp bass. I believe it had an oil finish, which possibly contributes to not being able to find one mint. Mine had a few choice dings in it here and there.
Recent, no... Show age? Two of my best mates have passed away. Just telling my brother yesterday how I'm too old to make the commitment anymore. But he's older than me!Nice!
That really ‘lights’ up from the stage lighting.
Recent gig?
Just wondering if gig work is picking back up for those who do gig.
The convertibles...
My brother's the bassist. Only one with a mask!
Promo video
A big horn band like that was not getting any work because they only do large venues and corporate gigs. But picking back up? Yes, they are scheduled for one mid july and 3 more are on the books for the following months.
Second gig this year with the Dean Edge Select, the gigs are coming back slowly.
Not a great shot but there I am.
That would be cool, thanks! 01208 are the first 5 digits of the serial on this EvoBird.
As for the member number, I wouldn't want you to waste a perfectly good one on me... I've been on this board for almost 14 years and, though I've posted in quite a few different group threads, I never end up keeping track of the numbers I get. Certainly nothing against the Dean group! I will definitely be around and revisiting. Always happy to be a part of the on-going convo
Thanks, I used it for gigs and many rehearsals. I sold it because I got this pair. Plus I already had a rhapsody 4, trans black, (which is now fretless) and a 5, 8, and twelve. The razors trumped the Q4. Sold it for 250.
They pop under the light of the stage just as well and are way cooler! The shape was what I really liked as I bopped around on stage. Kind of like slinging a fancy gun.
Had a couple fenders, then dean took over!
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Adding J pup to P bass, should I go 60’s or 70’s spacing?- Latest: secondbestcody
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