Dean Club!!!

[Jason Bonilla]

So the Edge Pro 5 came in yesterday along with a Laney Digbeth Pre Amp I ordered, and man I gotta say I am VERY pleased with the bass. Plays just and sounds as good as something like a Spector Ethos, I haven’t even set it up yet and I already enjoy playing it. The B string is nice and clear and the pre amp is very usable, the boosts and cuts aren’t too drastic. The neck profile is a little thicker then I thought it would be but it feels good. The bass as a whole honestly feels great, I’ve had basses that cost nearly 10 times as much as what I payed for it so I was kinda dreading what I’d think about it when it came in, but it honestly is a great instrument.

I had plugged into my interface last night along with the Digbeth Pre and they worked great in tandem. I’d recommend Both an Edge Pro 5 and Digbeth Preamp to anyone (I already knew I’d dig the Digbeth since I have the amp head version and love that thing).

 

[B-Mac]

So the Edge Pro 5 came in yesterday along with a Laney Digbeth Pre Amp I ordered, and man I gotta say I am VERY pleased with the bass. Plays just and sounds as good as something like a Spector Ethos, I haven’t even set it up yet and I already enjoy playing it. The B string is nice and clear and the pre amp is very usable, the boosts and cuts aren’t too drastic. The neck profile is a little thicker then I thought it would be but it feels good. The bass as a whole honestly feels great, I’ve had basses that cost nearly 10 times as much as what I payed for it so I was kinda dreading what I’d think about it when it came in, but it honestly is a great instrument.

I had plugged into my interface last night along with the Digbeth Pre and they worked great in tandem. I’d recommend Both an Edge Pro 5 and Digbeth Preamp to anyone (I already knew I’d dig the Digbeth since I have the amp head version and love that thing).

View attachment 5226076

Great to hear! They really are underrated and under the radar.

 

[RICHIERICH66]

I am joining the Dean Gang...
Bought a 2014 Dean Caddi Ashley Purdy Signature with OHSC over the weekend.
I've always dug the Caddilacs, but hadn't seen one of these before - I had to have it!
I have a set of Hipshot Ultralight tuners to put on it and a new set of EMG Geezer p/j pickups for it.
I also plan to swap the nut out, and swap out the bridge for a higher quality one, hopefully in a similar "smoke" finish to the new tuners, when I find one.
I plan to use this as a stage bass for cover band shows.

 

[B-Mac]

I am joining the Dean Gang...
Bought a 2014 Dean Caddi Ashley Purdy Signature with OHSC over the weekend.
I've always dug the Caddilacs, but hadn't seen one of these before - I had to have it!
I have a set of Hipshot Ultralight tuners to put on it and a new set of EMG Geezer p/j pickups for it.
I also plan to swap the nut out, and swap out the bridge for a higher quality one, hopefully in a similar "smoke" finish to the new tuners, when I find one.
I plan to use this as a stage bass for cover band shows.

Welcome! That’s sweet looking.

I believe there’s actually two different Ashley Purdy Cadillac Sig models of the Cadillac. The later model is more white.

Where’d you find this? It looks to be in great shape.

Incidentally, that existing bridge is a good quality bridge with two slots for both feet of each saddle and five screws.

I own an early 2003 Cadillac in Classic Black and love it. Mine also has Grover tuners. Been thinking about the GB pups myself.

I’ll post some catalog info in a bit for you.

Go rock that thing!

 

[RICHIERICH66]

Thanks B-Mac!
I'm not 100% on the date on this one.
I saw it on Reverb, and then did the ol' 'see if the seller has a website and buy direct for less' thing. Lol!
The Hipshot tuners I have for it are a 'smoke' finish, so I may want to swap the bridge to something that more closely matches these tuners. I could see this getting a Kahler trem down the road, even. (I have a custom Beardly bass on order with a Kahler trem atm)
Here's the listing I bought it from:
Invalid Link Removed

 

[B-Mac]

I am joining the Dean Gang...
Bought a 2014 Dean Caddi Ashley Purdy Signature with OHSC over the weekend.
I've always dug the Caddilacs, but hadn't seen one of these before - I had to have it!
I have a set of Hipshot Ultralight tuners to put on it and a new set of EMG Geezer p/j pickups for it.
I also plan to swap the nut out, and swap out the bridge for a higher quality one, hopefully in a similar "smoke" finish to the new tuners, when I find one.
I plan to use this as a stage bass for cover band shows.

These came out in this Flame Top version in 2014. However, yours is a bit different. Could you provide the first few letters and numbers of the S/N please?

 

[RICHIERICH66]

Serial #: WK140502xx

 

[B-Mac]

Serial #: WK140502xx

Your is from the World Factory in South Korea and is definitely a 2014 model. Originally came out in White War Paint in 2012. For some reason I thought the White War Paint model came out later, but I was mistaken. Ashley Purdy originally had a Dean Spire War Paint Sig. He's been with Dean, Ibanez, Spector and BC Rich

Specifications:

• Series: Cadillac Bass
• Paint :Trans Black
• Finish: Gloss Wood
• Top: Flame Maple
• Body: Mahogany
• Neck: Mahogany
• Binding: Single Ply White Body
• Hardware: Brushed Nickel
• Knobs: Dome
• Bridge/Trem: Tune-O-Matic
• Neck Type: Set Neck
• Scale Length: 34"
• Nut Width: 1.56"
• Number/Frets: 22
• Fretboard: Rosewood
• Inlays: Pearl OUTLAW
• Tuners: Sealed Die-Cast
• Pickup Bridge: DMT Design
• Middle: DMT Design
• Weight: approx. 7 pounds, 13 ounces

Original MSRP: $928.45
Street $599.00

Prototype of yours for NAMM 2014. Notice no binding on Prototype and exposed pole pups.


2012 catalog page

2014 catalog page:

It turns out they made both versions like the 2012 with the P/J set up and the same electronics and the same controls and the same hardware except on the Flame Maple Trans Black they made it all chrome and no P version. Notice one knob and an ABM High Mass Bridge on the original version of yours. This was obviously another prototype used in the catalog. Only one knob and no three way switch.

Just for comparison, here's a page from the 2005 catalog of the early Cadillac as well as a picture of my two. Early Cadillac actually had real Grover Tuners and later models had 'Sealed Die-Cast Tuners' (no name versions).

2002 Dean Cadillac

Custom GMW w/Dean Neck and Rio Grande Humbuckers

The guy I bought my Cadillacs from also had these Custom Cadillacs for sale:

 

[B-Mac]

Thanks B-Mac!
I'm not 100% on the date on this one.
I saw it on Reverb, and then did the ol' 'see if the seller has a website and buy direct for less' thing. Lol!
The Hipshot tuners I have for it are a 'smoke' finish, so I may want to swap the bridge to something that more closely matches these tuners. I could see this getting a Kahler trem down the road, even. (I have a custom Beardly bass on order with a Kahler trem atm)
Here's the listing I bought it from:
Invalid Link Removed

Invalid Link Removed

Indicates one is Black Chrome. Not sure if its a close enough match for you?

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

This is the chrome version:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[B-Mac]

So the Edge Pro 5 came in yesterday along with a Laney Digbeth Pre Amp I ordered, and man I gotta say I am VERY pleased with the bass. Plays just and sounds as good as something like a Spector Ethos, I haven’t even set it up yet and I already enjoy playing it. The B string is nice and clear and the pre amp is very usable, the boosts and cuts aren’t too drastic. The neck profile is a little thicker then I thought it would be but it feels good. The bass as a whole honestly feels great, I’ve had basses that cost nearly 10 times as much as what I payed for it so I was kinda dreading what I’d think about it when it came in, but it honestly is a great instrument.

I had plugged into my interface last night along with the Digbeth Pre and they worked great in tandem. I’d recommend Both an Edge Pro 5 and Digbeth Preamp to anyone (I already knew I’d dig the Digbeth since I have the amp head version and love that thing).

View attachment 5226076

So, is the honeymoon over or still smitten?

 

[Jason Bonilla]

So, is the honeymoon over or still smitten?

the thing is a metal machine and its pretty easy to get a ripping tone out of it. I'm not particularly a metal bassist though, so I've been using my Epiphone T-bird at church since its much easier to sit in the mix with that one. But I really want to stick a Haz Clone in this thing and maybe change out the monorail bridge to a hipshot. All in all I'm still really happy to have it, looks killer, balances great, sounds good.

I've just refrained from slamming the action the way I usually like with EMG equipped basses because of the nature of the bridge (adjustment screws stick out and are pretty sharp. I have a feeling that putting a little bit of money into it will make it that much better. Might leave it with a local tech for a while to get that work done it since I'll be picking up my custom Brubaker tomorrow, so I'll mainly be using that for the foreseeable future. with that being the case I can set the dean up to be a bass for predominantly heavy playing.

 

[B-Mac]

the thing is a metal machine and its pretty easy to get a ripping tone out of it. I'm not particularly a metal bassist though, so I've been using my Epiphone T-bird at church since its much easier to sit in the mix with that one. But I really want to stick a Haz Clone in this thing and maybe change out the monorail bridge to a hipshot. All in all I'm still really happy to have it, looks killer, balances great, sounds good.

I've just refrained from slamming the action the way I usually like with EMG equipped basses because of the nature of the bridge (adjustment screws stick out and are pretty sharp. I have a feeling that putting a little bit of money into it will make it that much better. Might leave it with a local tech for a while to get that work done it since I'll be picking up my custom Brubaker tomorrow, so I'll mainly be using that for the foreseeable future. with that being the case I can set the dean up to be a bass for predominantly heavy playing.

Mine are both earlier models and came stock with Badass II bridges (only on 4 stringers).
Glad you’re still digging it!!!

 

[B-Mac]

Picked this up from Sam Ash two weeks ago. Was watching for a while and price kept coming down. I stopped watching and then started watching it again and price came down again and then they sent me an offer on an even lower price...so I own it now. A 2008 Dean Edge 1Q.
Sellers pix

 

[B-Mac]

Nice looking five string Brian Bromberg Sig on eBay
Price is low because supposedly no sound.
I bet it is an easy solder job.

Headstock is also intact. The tips typically bet broken off from carelessness.
Some color as my 4 string.

Early DEAN 5 String Custom Electric Bass Guitar Grover. Fishman, Dean Light Case | eBay
Not connected in anyway to this sale

 

[B-Mac]

The nut on my Black n Maple Custom Zone always bothered me, especially the treble side.
Just cut way too close to the edge of the FB. Same with the bass side cut, but not quite as bad.

Old poorly cut nut replaced with a Tusq nut in black. I think it looks much better and the E and G strings aren’t as close to the edge of the FB as they were before.

 

[Jv-d]

B Mac
Was that a brass nut you replaced?
That was one of the reasons I bought my B2
Dean seems to use a lit of brass nut, I anecdotally noticed...
Good for them!
Wish I saw more of them on non-stop boutique basses!

 

[Jason Bonilla]

Nice looking five string Brian Bromberg Sig on eBay
Price is low because supposedly no sound.
I bet it is an easy solder job.

Headstock is also intact. The tips typically bet broken off from carelessness.
Some color as my 4 string.

Early DEAN 5 String Custom Electric Bass Guitar Grover. Fishman, Dean Light Case | eBay
Not connected in anyway to this sale

Theres a Bromberg Dean sig? what company has that man NOT made a signature with ?

 

[B-Mac]

B Mac
Was that a brass nut you replaced?
That was one of the reasons I bought my B2
Dean seems to use a lit of brass nut, I anecdotally noticed...
Good for them!
Wish I saw more of them on non-stop boutique basses!

Nope.

Plastic nut replaced with black tusq nut. The old nut was cut in a way that had the E string and G string too close to the edge of the FB. See previous post I replied to to see what I mean.

I’d never replace a brass nut especially if it was original unless it was defective and even then I’d replace it with brass to keep it looking original. The Custom Zone was just a bit over entry level. I only have it because they only made the black model one year (1st year of model introduction).

Aesthetically, I felt that a black nut also looked better.

 

[B-Mac]

B Mac
Was that a brass nut you replaced?
That was one of the reasons I bought my B2
Dean seems to use a lit of brass nut, I anecdotally noticed...
Good for them!
Wish I saw more of them on non-stop boutique basses!

They’re only on their higher tier bass models.

 

[B-Mac]

There's a Bromberg Dean sig? what company has that man NOT made a signature with ?

I believe Dean made it for 3 years? 2003 to 2005. It's a pretty cool bass as it has two J-style pickups and a piezo in each saddle and is active with a 3-way preamp.

2003 catalog

2003-2004 catalog

2005 catalog

He had sig basses made by Peavey, Dean and Carvin-Kiesel. There's also the Masters Design/US Masters prototype that never saw protduction.
He's also a member of TB. @Brian Bromberg

He also plays a Dean Radiant ABG, Dean Performer ABG, and a Dean Stylist Semi-Hollow. All three of these he plays as Piccolo Basses. All 3 of these are 32" scale. He's not 'just' a bassist; he's an awesome musician.
I think he was 19 when he started playing for Stan Getz on tour in late 70's or early 80's.

Radiant

Performer

Stylist


Of course I appreciate the fact that he plays Dean basses. Not sure if he still does.