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Dean Club!!!

#3,001
mellowgerman said:
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 :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
Yours is a 2012
Here is a page from 2012 catalog.
DeanGuitars2012p 69.jpg
 
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#3,002
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#3,003
Wicked G said:
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.
Click to expand...
GC advertised as 5 String
Pix look like 4 string Rhapsody Q. Missing 2 knobs
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000000117089929-01-500x500.jpg
 
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#3,004
JimmyM said:
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.
Click to expand...
I have 2 Rhapsody Q4's. One in trans black and the other in purple, and the amber burst is the one I have had trouble finding.

I used to have an Edge Q4 in Amber Burst and that bass would pop big time on stage. Like an idiot I sold it. :rollno:

2many said:
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.

View attachment 4318286

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.

View attachment 4318287

View attachment 4318288

Had a couple fenders, then dean took over!
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I don't know when you sold it, but I would have given you $250 easily for it.
 
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#3,006
The Dean Tennessee mandolin has arrived!

So first impressions are of a well-made but obviously budget Chinese instrument... very similar to others in the price bracket and maybe they all come out of the same factory. Bound fretboard which is nice, no sharp fret ends. Neck rather deep and clubby, not sure about that. But a good-looking instrument.

Everything looks ok so I took the protective strip out from under the floating bridge, set the intonation and tuned up.
Tuners work smoothly and accurately.
Plays quite nicely but feeling that clubby neck.
Intonation is good across the strings and up the fretboard with minimal adjustment.
Action is low, just as well as it's down as far as it will go on the A side and not far off on the G.

Plugged into my PJB Acoustic Cub with the two controls maxed and there is a nice mandolin sound. The controls are both volume, one for mag and the other for piezo. So no tone control but blending the darker mag pickup and the brighter piezo gives a decent range of tones. Output from the mag is a little low but I haven't adjusted it yet.

I bought this with a 30-day return option so have a while to decide on keeping it... the clubby neck is an issue as is the lack of any available action adjustment except up. Amplified sound is fine, acoustic sound is fine, I will have a play this evening and see. The endpin / jack socket is at a slightly odd angle, don't think that's a major issue though. There is a cable irritatingly flapping around inside but maybe I could get some tape through the f-holes. We'll see... I must keep reminding myself this is a budget instrument and not to be too fussy!
 
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#3,008
ficelles said:
The Dean Tennessee mandolin has arrived!

So first impressions are of a well-made but obviously budget Chinese instrument... very similar to others in the price bracket and maybe they all come out of the same factory. Bound fretboard which is nice, no sharp fret ends. Neck rather deep and clubby, not sure about that. But a good-looking instrument.

Everything looks ok so I took the protective strip out from under the floating bridge, set the intonation and tuned up.
Tuners work smoothly and accurately.
Plays quite nicely but feeling that clubby neck.
Intonation is good across the strings and up the fretboard with minimal adjustment.
Action is low, just as well as it's down as far as it will go on the A side and not far off on the G.

Plugged into my PJB Acoustic Cub with the two controls maxed and there is a nice mandolin sound. The controls are both volume, one for mag and the other for piezo. So no tone control but blending the darker mag pickup and the brighter piezo gives a decent range of tones. Output from the mag is a little low but I haven't adjusted it yet.

I bought this with a 30-day return option so have a while to decide on keeping it... the clubby neck is an issue as is the lack of any available action adjustment except up. Amplified sound is fine, acoustic sound is fine, I will have a play this evening and see. The endpin / jack socket is at a slightly odd angle, don't think that's a major issue though. There is a cable irritatingly flapping around inside but maybe I could get some tape through the f-holes. We'll see... I must keep reminding myself this is a budget instrument and not to be too fussy!
Click to expand...
Wow! That was quick.
I have no idea how clubby mandolin necks are/aren’t usually budget or high end.
Do you play mandolin on a regular basis?
 
#3,009
B-Mac said:
I have no idea how clubby mandolin necks are/aren’t usually budget or high end.
Do you play mandolin on a regular basis?
Click to expand...

Not as much as I used to, but I've been a mandolin player for many years... the neck on the Dean deeper than my current electric mandolin or any other electro-acoustic mandolins I've owned but maybe it's the profile more than the depth, I'm used to a flatter profile and this is more of a V.
 
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#3,010
ficelles said:
The Dean Tennessee mandolin has arrived!

So first impressions are of a well-made but obviously budget Chinese instrument... very similar to others in the price bracket and maybe they all come out of the same factory. Bound fretboard which is nice, no sharp fret ends. Neck rather deep and clubby, not sure about that. But a good-looking instrument.

Everything looks ok so I took the protective strip out from under the floating bridge, set the intonation and tuned up.
Tuners work smoothly and accurately.
Plays quite nicely but feeling that clubby neck.
Intonation is good across the strings and up the fretboard with minimal adjustment.
Action is low, just as well as it's down as far as it will go on the A side and not far off on the G.

Plugged into my PJB Acoustic Cub with the two controls maxed and there is a nice mandolin sound. The controls are both volume, one for mag and the other for piezo. So no tone control but blending the darker mag pickup and the brighter piezo gives a decent range of tones. Output from the mag is a little low but I haven't adjusted it yet.

I bought this with a 30-day return option so have a while to decide on keeping it... the clubby neck is an issue as is the lack of any available action adjustment except up. Amplified sound is fine, acoustic sound is fine, I will have a play this evening and see. The endpin / jack socket is at a slightly odd angle, don't think that's a major issue though. There is a cable irritatingly flapping around inside but maybe I could get some tape through the f-holes. We'll see... I must keep reminding myself this is a budget instrument and not to be too fussy!
Click to expand...
Rather surprised your neck is so clubby when the neck on my 6 string banjo is anything but. I think it could use a little more club on it. But your mandolin does look good, they used a good choice of colors IMHO, and at least you got the action low enough. My banjo is cheap too, but it can be beaten into good shape with a lot of work, so I'm taking that as a victory :D

Mandolin is so cool, and yet I never even tried to take it up. Hmmm...
 
#3,011
ficelles said:
Not as much as I used to, but I've been a mandolin player for many years... the neck on the Dean deeper than my current electric mandolin or any other electro-acoustic mandolins I've owned but maybe it's the profile more than the depth, I'm used to a flatter profile and this is more of a V.
Click to expand...
It’ll be a full week day after tomorrow…what’s the verdict so far?
 
#3,013
B-Mac said:
It’ll be a full week day after tomorrow…what’s the verdict so far?
Click to expand...

I'm afraid I decided to return it as I had the 30-day option... no criticism of the instrument just that the narrow string spacing and the neck profile didn't suit my hands. But a well-made instrument which sounded good both acoustically and plugged in, if the neck profile suits then it's a good buy :) The mix of mag and piezo was very interesting.
 
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#3,014
ficelles said:
I'm afraid I decided to return it as I had the 30-day option... no criticism of the instrument just that the narrow string spacing and the neck profile didn't suit my hands. But a well-made instrument which sounded good both acoustically and plugged in, if the neck profile suits then it's a good buy :) The mix of mag and piezo was very interesting.
Click to expand...
As I don’t know anything about mandolins does the width and thickness of the neck vary among manufacturers like they do with basses?
 
#3,015
JimmyM said:
Looks like I'm back in the Dean Club, although some of you may not feel so altruistic about it when you see what I'm back with.

My only Dean was a Rhapsody 8 that I really enjoyed, but it was too hard to integrate on a gig that might happen a couple times a year on a couple songs, so I traded it for the neck that's on my 76 P body, and replaced it with an EHX Micro Pog and later a Pitchfork (pfft on the purists...works just as well for all intents and purposes).

But then I got a whole bunch of work reward points a month ago, and I decided I had to have this for the punk rock studio project I'm going to do once my life settles down a bit:

View attachment 4312078

Dean Backwoods 6 string banjo that's ready to lay down the heavy punk, as you can see by the Devo energy dome. Got a KNA piezo for it because it was cheap and super easy to install. I'm not a banjo player but I can play guitar, so I figured a cheap beginner's banjo like this one would be suitable for recording some banjo power chords. And it is. But banjos are way more of a PITA to set up than basses and guitars, and cheap ones are especially hard. And when you buy cheapos, you absolutely have to learn to set them up or you'll have to pay someone to do it. And the hardware kind of sucks. Still don't have the action as low as I'd like, but it's getting there.

Tonally I've heard better, but it does sound like a banjo. But the one thing I didn't count on is that the gulf between beginner and pro model banjos is much much wider than it is with basses and guitars, apparently. On the other hand, it's super light, and I'm having a blast playing it and re-learning the fingerstyle techniques I used to know when I was a teenager. I'll use it to get in the swing of playing banjo, but I can already see a better one in my future when I finally get good enough at fingerstyle again where I could take on a 5-string. I can't recommend it highly but it's usable.

Anyway, there aren't many opportunities on here for me to show off my new banjo, so I'm hijacking this thread temporarily. But I highly recommend getting yourself one because they are super fun...just spend more money on one than I did :D
Click to expand...
Would you like a Numbah?
 
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#3,016
BassikBrad said:
At the behest of @B-Mac, I have reproduced a post I did last week & have added further comments.




Well, I got lucky again. Saw a video of a bass that caught my fancy & GAS.
Turns out to be punching way above its weight.

Couldn't decide which finish I preferred, so went for the Walnut version.
Five piece neck, Ebony fret board, ash with thick walnut top for body, smooth Grover
tuners & a 3 way preamp that actually sounds good with sensible & usable
center frequencies. The fit & finish is second to none, equalling that of my Marleaux Consat.
It came well set up & only required my personal taste for adjustments & sounds superb,
plus the neck is fast. Low B is excellent. And to put the icing on the cake, it comes at a very very affordable price, which may embarrass many bass companies.

After a week or so, I thought to myself, I thought, at that price, why not get the other
version with the Mahogany & Poplar Burl top & Rosewood fret board, so I did.
What a gem that turned out to be.
Am I loving life or what ?

For transparency I have no affiliation with Dean.

***********************************************************************************************

Just a bit of background info. I joined my first proper band in 1961, so I have been around the block a few times,
& since then have owned lots of fabulous & some not so fabulous basses.

My benchmark bass is a $3000+ Marleaux Consat Custom, fit & finish is top notch superb, my dream bass.

Until the new Edge Selects arrived, I can't stop looking at them, playing them & strangely, actually running my hand
over them, they feel so silky smooth. No other bass has had that effect on me before.
The woods used are of boutique grade, IMO gorgeous.
The pre amp is the most useful I have come across, however, I have installed a passive switch for that
extra tonal option. Dean would be well advised to add a switch at minimal cost.
The Grover tuners are a great choice, very precise & smooth, as is the double acting truss rod, extra credit there.
The frets are excellent & dressed properly.
At first I wasn't too sure about the pickups, but after some height & balance adjustments they turned out
to sound excellent.
At band rehearsal & an open air gig , the band members surprised me by saying they preferred the Dean basses.

All in all, there is nothing I can nit pick about, they are truly beyond value for money & I would not
hesitate to recommend them for beginners or experts. Contact me if you have questions.
Some quick pics.

View attachment 4306090 View attachment 4306091 View attachment 4306092
Click to expand...
Dean Introduces the Edge Pro Select Series Bass Guitars
Dean Guitars Reveals the Edge Select Burled Poplar Satin Natural Bass
 
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