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Dean Electric Upright

Dr. Cheese

Dr. Cheese

Supporting Member
Mar 3, 2004
57,347
120,756
Metro St. Louis
#1
Yesterday I played one seriously for the first time, and I was impressed with just how much it sounded like a real double but it was very easy to play. Heck, a jazz guitarist came up and jammed with me on "All Blues" after he heard me play it, and I am nowhere near a jazz bassist! At only $500, it is a temptation, but I can't actually see me using one on at church, my only "gig."
 
#5
I have one. IMO, it sounds like a fretless electric bass. With a foam mute and a fishman preamp, it gets a little more like an upright - in the same way a fretless bass sounds like an upright.

On the other hand, it is A LOT of fun to play. I really like mine.
 
#6
There's a megathread on these on the DB side on the front page of the EUB category. It is a couple of consolidated threads so it seems a little schizophrenic.

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f101/dean-pace-eub-megathread-437469/

You cannot bow them - the radius is flat like an electric bass. They are uprightified fretless electric basses, not electrified double basses, so they're not much use for transitioning to double bass nor do they sound extremely like a double bass.

Their highest and best use is in a situation where you'd be playing fretless or rock/pop but want the cool factor. Run it through a sansamp and you'll get a very nice rock/pop sound out of it. I used one for a while in an "acoustic" trio that covered rock tunes and was amplified and it was a great fit.

So, with a sansamp it would actually suit your needs pretty well: people in church would love it and you'd no longer be bored playing the simpler bass lines. You can pick them up used from time to time for about $250-$300.

This is a good post to remind people on the electric side about this, because it is really more of an electric than anything else. Consider posting any specific questions in the megathread to keep all the information in the same place. It gets bashed pretty hard in the megathread because people are comparing it to EUBs, which it's really not. It's its own animal, at a much lesser price. People who need something that sounds more like a double bass and that can be bowed get different EUBs starting at around $1,500. There's a ton of info on those on the EUB page too.
 
#7
jamiroquai said:
There's a megathread on these on the DB side on the front page of the EUB category. It is a couple of consolidated threads so it seems a little schizophrenic.

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f101/dean-pace-eub-megathread-437469/

You cannot bow them - the radius is flat like an electric bass. They are uprightified fretless electric basses, not electrified double basses, so they're not much use for transitioning to double bass nor do they sound extremely like a double bass.

Their highest and best use is in a situation where you'd be playing fretless or rock/pop but want the cool factor. Run it through a sansamp and you'll get a very nice rock/pop sound out of it. I used one for a while in an "acoustic" trio that covered rock tunes and was amplified and it was a great fit.

So, with a sansamp it would actually suit your needs pretty well: people in church would love it and you'd no longer be bored playing the simpler bass lines. You can pick them up used from time to time for about $250-$300.

This is a good post to remind people on the electric side about this, because it is really more of an electric than anything else. Consider posting any specific questions in the megathread to keep all the information in the same place. It gets bashed pretty hard in the megathread because people are comparing it to EUBs, which it's really not. It's its own animal, at a much lesser price. People who need something that sounds more like a double bass and that can be bowed get different EUBs starting at around $1,500. There's a ton of info on those on the EUB page too.
Click to expand...

Ummm...can't he post wherever he wants? If it is in the wrong spot, a mod will move it. And, if it is more of an electric bass, shouldn't it be over here in "basses," anyway. No offense intended. I just don't understand the bulk of your last paragraph.
 
#8
I think the bottom line with these is that electric bassist love em and think they sound a little like DBs, DB players hate em and think they sound like electric basses. I've got a 5 string and love it. Lots of fun to play and draws a lot of attention at gigs.
 
#9
my store has just started carrying a stagg EUB that's full-scale (or "3/4 scale", i guess? it's like 41" or so, a "real" upright scale) and is actually a well-playing instrument, and it sells for no more than the dean!

i think you can bow it, the bridge is plenty curved; the thing with that is apparently you want a different kind of pickup to sound good bowed, as it drives the strings in a different direction.

it's obviously a "budget" instrument, but it sounds good and is a hoot to play for a rudimentary (at best) upright player like me; it's astonishing for the price.
 
#11
If you want a MIA EUB in the same price range you could consider the Ergo. There is a megathread for it here. There is a megathread for it here. The Ergo basses are full scale double basses but he will make a cello version too and I am trying to contact him to see if he could make me a bowable, 34 inch scale electric cello that could use bass guitar strings, and at what price. I guess for me if it isn't bowable it really is no better than a fretless bass guitar and on the whole I would rather have the latter than the Dean.

BTW, there is no harm in posting these questions here as long as the moderators don't object. However, once you get to the point where you really want to get some opinions and answers it makes a lot more sense to go over to the threads where the owners actually hang out....

Ken
 
#12
khutch said:
If you want a MIA EUB in the same price range you could consider the Ergo. There is a megathread for it here. There is a megathread for it here.
Click to expand...
wow yeah, that's hard to beat!

i actually saw one of these a few months back, and while the neck seemed skinnier than a "real" upright, it was a very nice piece of craftsmanship. it didn't have any kind of electronics, so you'd need a dedicated piezo preamp to get the most out of it, but that's not too spendy.

+1 to dr cheese's point, you want to play an upright like an upright to get the right tone and note choices out of it. the stagg (while not up to the quality level of the ergo) has a fat neck that's much like the real thing.
 
#13
Just a follow up comment. Jesse Blue of Ergo has responded to my questions about a 34 inch scale "cello" or "EUB" or whatever you prefer to call it with bass guitar strings. He did not quite say he could not or would not do it, he did say that I would not be happy with the result. The advantage of an Ergo built this way over a Dean is that it could be bowed. But apparently cello and double bass strings that are obviously intended to be bowed are built differently than bass guitar strings which are not. He tried building EUBs with BG strings at first and while you can bow BG strings, they just don't sound right. He clearly does not want to build you an EUB this way, I don't know if he would if you begged him. Anyway, I just wanted to put this information in this thread for people who tune in later on and wonder what the story on that was. Jesse has convinced me that if I want to bow (and that is really the only reason why I would consider one of these) then I should just get either his double bass or cello model and use double bass or cello strings.

BTW, I tune my bass guitar in fifths, an octave below a cello. The Ergo cello is tuned in fifths, naturally. If you wanted to get an Ergo double bass model tuned in fifths his string supplier sells fifths tuned string sets and he would supply those with your Ergo for the extra cost of the fifths tuned set. Currently this is in the neighborhood of $60, but in the future it could be less -- or more -- depends on if the popularity of this DB tuning continues to grow or peaks and fades away.

Ken
 
#15
Dr. Cheese said:
At only $500, it is a temptation, but I can't actually see me using one on at church, my only "gig."
Click to expand...

As I say the Dean is not that attractive to me but I am seriously considering the Ergo cello and bass. My only "gig" is church too. The only thing that would prevent me from playing one in church is the distinct possibility that I just won't be able to play it well enough. My church has a string section for special occasions and it lacks both a bass (though the bass guitarist can cover that) and a cello. So in fact my interest in the Ergo and especially the cello version is precisely so that I can play it in church. If I can become good enough with it ....

The trouble with this plan is that one of our church violinists is a 15 year old young lady who is almost certainly destined to become a well respected concert violinist. Playing in a string section with her would be humbling beyond words! :help:

Ken
 
#16
khutch said:
If you want a MIA EUB in the same price range you could consider the Ergo.
Click to expand...


+1 to Ergo. I have had one for a couple of years now (5 string) and it definitely lives closer to double bass land that electric land. In conversations with Jesse, he said it was basically a neck off a 3/4 scale upright with a piezo pickup instead of a body.

2 things make the Ergo great for me.
1.) It takes upright strings, not electric. Any 1/2 size set will fit. Jesse recommends 'soft-stepping' the strings, or stringing everything one positions lower (use an 'A' string for an 'E', a 'D' for and 'A' and so on. The lower tension adds alot.
2.) The pickup. Instead of just using a normal pickup from an electric bass, it uses a Piezo, so it's definitely resonationg through the big neck.

Everyone I play it with loves the tone and it is always requested on our little Jazz jams.

Highly, highly recommended.
 
#17
I think part of the appeal fo the DEAN is that it makes for easy transition from standard electric bass, to upright. It's actually more of a novelty IMO than something trying to emulate a DB. It's really easy and fun to play, and gives the upright vibe to gigs. Also, sticking a piece of insulating foam near the tailpiece actually does give it a little bit of the DB thump.

If anyone decides to go for DEAN check whether or not it has bass and treble controls on the back. I had 2 of them amd the first didn't (or they were underneath the plate that you had to unscrew), 2nd did. It made a lot of difference with tweaking the sound, and eliminated the neccessity of a preamp. My first was a 4 string, sold it and bought a 5.
 

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