Dean John Entwistle bass

[Flat Eric]

This is something I posted on another site.

Without bringing Alembic and Warwick into the equation . . . .

If we concentrate on the FenderBird. . . . .

Extract from my blog - Peter Cook feature - "words from the man himself"

"John said he liked the T’bird body & fittings but he preferred the
Precision neck – he gave me the hardware and I did the rest.
When the pickups & bridges ran out I made them as well.
I think there were about six Fenderbirds and 6 Explorerbirds . . ."

So, in theory. . . . . . . They are "Peter Cook" "Tributes"

A rare, perhaps unique picture of them together.

"Here's one he made earlier!"

Cheers.

 

[senmen]

Guys,
so to you that have seen the live stream. What do you think of the Spyders sound?

 

[senmen]

..and here are the retails:
Spyder USD 6555
USA Hybrid USD 3722
Import Hybrid USD 699
Well, for that amount of money I would rather go for a used Alembic Spyder if I had to choose...

 

[darthplagis]

yeah for those prices id say used alembic or status too.

is that peter cook pic a les paul with alembic guts in it?

 

[Ric5]

Another Peter cook bass ...

 

[pudgychef]

Here is the text from the email I got from Dean

Dean Guitars and the John Entwistle estate will be unveiling two models of the new John Entwistle bass line at the 2011 Winter Namm show in Anaheim, California January 13th through 16th.

According to John's son Chris Entwistle, the estate chose Dean because of their attention to detail plus their willingness and ability to bring the project to market swiftly without sacrificing quality.

Steve Luongo, John's drummer and personal friend of 15 years steered the estate to Dean Guitars as he knew company CEO Elliott "Dean" Rubinson is a touring bass player who grew up on John's playing. "Brand was not as important to John as the actual playability and John would let the instrument do the talking" said Luongo. "John has been a huge influence on me and I am proud to be on the front line in the development of these instruments, also being able to play and hear them live on stage when playing with the Michael Schenker Group and Cactus" Rubinson said.

The first two models in the new Entwistle line are 'The Spider' and 'The Hybrid', both made in Dean's legendary USA Custom Woodshop in Tampa, FL. Both of these USA models will incorporate the new Aphex Exciter/Big Bottom/Compression circuit on board, an industry first. There is also a Hybrid model that sells for under $1000. "I know that if John were here today he would love these basses" said company CEO Rubinson who will join Steve Luongo and Mark Hitt on stage at the Dean Guitars 2nd Annual NAMM JAM party, Fri. Jan 14th at The Grove of Anaheim, where the bass will be played in public for the first time

the creepiest part of this is referring to the CEO as Elliott "Dean" Rubinson did he assume that moniker after the actual 'Dean' who founded/built the company left?

That is like George and Leo becoming Guitars by Leo....without the good rep of Leo Fender or G&L.

Very Hendrix Estate-ish imho

 

[abngourmet]

..and here are the retails:
Spyder USD 6555
USA Hybrid USD 3722
Import Hybrid USD 699
Well, for that amount of money I would rather go for a used Alembic Spyder if I had to choose...

+1. That's a lot of cash for what one gets. Granted, the Spider is (for now) limited to 25 pieces, but it's not an instrument I think I'd buy.

To put this in perspective, When I bought my first Spyder, a limited edition Alembic of which there were 50 being made, I paid around $5K for it, with case. This was about 8 years ago - obviously it would cost more today - Bass Central has several listed around $9K or so. However, the Alembics have features this one doesn't have - LEDs, individual brass tailpieces, brass sustain block under the bridge, brass backplates, mother of pearl or abalone inlays, sterling silver logos, etc., etc. They are also much closer to the originals than the Dean is (body shape aside) IMHO. Whether one wants an instrument as close to JAE's is clearly a matter of choice and preference (as well as the size of one's pocketbook).

As to the assertion by Dean's CEO that JAE would like/love these instruments, we'll never know. Nor will he.

 

[Exploiter8]

So the Elliott "Dean" that was on the live stream on Friday isn't really a Dean? I'm not familiar with the story of the Dean company, but I figured there was an actual guy named Dean at one point that founded the company. That's close to false advertising to me.

Oh well, I'm gonna dig up my "The Who Sell Out" on vinyl and give it a spin.

X8

 

[senmen]

No,
Dean was originally founded by the originally owner Dean B. Zelinsky.
And he now owns DBZ Guitars.

 

[NecroticImbecil]

..and here are the retails:
Spyder USD 6555
USA Hybrid USD 3722
Import Hybrid USD 699

That's pretty funny.

If the spiderweb inlays don't mean that much to you, Alembic's online MSRP custom quote generator gave me this:

NECK FEATURES
4 string 6400.00
Right-handed 0.00
Long scale 34 inches 0.00
Maple neck w/walnut pinstripes 0.00
Ebony fingerboard 0.00
Fretted 0.00
Comfort fingerboard taper (wide bridge) 0.00
No inlays 0.00
No front LEDs 0.00
Aluminum side dots 0.00
Cone peghead 0.00
No peghead bevel 0.00
BODY FEATURES
Bubinga top 0.00
Bookmatched top 0.00
Mahogany body 0.00
No back laminate 0.00
Polyester clear gloss finish 0.00
Exploiter body shape 800.00
Tummy contour 0.00
HARDWARE FEATURES
Bronze logo and script 0.00
Bridge block 0.00
Half moon tailpiece 0.00
Brass truss rod cover 0.00
Plastic backplate(s) 0.00
Polished brass hardware 0.00
Gold Alembic Gotoh machine heads 0.00
Gold strap locks 0.00
ELECTRONICS FEATURES
Signature electronics 850.00
Total Price

Essence Quotation 8050.00

I've read that a dealer can get that price down, but never tried it. Ordering in the right month based on their monthly specials could help too. Currently still showing last year's; December's was "pick any one of these." Picking July would drop the price down to $6550. $5 cheaper than the Dean. I'm told the Signature electronics are fairly close to the Series electronics in Entwistle's but relatively affordable.

February: Any LED option no charge.
March: $1000 wood credit.
April: 15 of base price in freebie options.
May: 50% off LEDs and Wood Options.
June: $1500 in no charge custom options.
July: 50% off up to three custom options
August: No charge LEDs and 50% off one wood upgrade.
September: No charge LEDs and 60% off one option. Happy Birthday, Susan!
October: 35% off up to 4 custom options.
November: No charge LEDs and $1000 in wood options.

It seems pretty insane that a new Alembic could be made to look competitively priced, but there it is. OTOH, out of curiousity I checked Warwick's price list for the Stryker, but it's no longer listed. I did see an awful lot of $10K + regular production instruments. The artist editions went up to double that. Granted, those are MSRP prices, not retail, but still... made me wonder how they sell anything besides the Rockbass line. Did find a couple Strykers at online bass shops listed for around $6K so maybe that's just the magic number these days for a well made "custom shop" Explorer type bass.

If the price given above for the Dean was MSRP and not "street" that would give it an edge. It does look nice and probably sounds quite good, even if he wasn't known for using anything with electronics remotely similar.

I met Dean at a guitar clinic a number of years ago, he seemed like a pretty cool guy. At that time the Dean company was very good when I had problem with my bass, though the problem probably should have been noticed by QC at the factory in the first place. I didn't hold that against their CS department. They made it all good with a shiny new bass fresh off the boat, to replace my clearance priced ex demo bass. I was pretty happy.

 

[5string5fingers]

retail for 699 aint bad. So I figure street price is going to be around 350-400 bucks for the import hybrid.

 

[My name is Mudd]

Leave it to Dean to make an Alembic seem like a viable option.

 

[NecroticImbecil]

retail for 699 aint bad. So I figure street price is going to be around 350-400 bucks for the import hybrid.

That would be a great price point IMO. There are a couple small time guys building "Fenderbirds" available online in that price range, but the average music store shopper wouldn't know about them, and even if so the prices would be comparable. I'd be tempted if it seemed well built and the neck felt right.

Maybe there's some small hope that if they sell well, Dean will consider a cheaper Entwistle themed Explorer shaped bass. The Z is one of their classic shapes, currently they make the cheapo "Metalman" in that shape. Program the machines to spit out a 24 fret neck that fits, move the pickups and bridges as needed. I know if it ever happened, they'd just repaint the current 22 fret Metalman and rename it, but as long as I'm dreaming, I'll dream of 24 frets.

 

[Darkstrike]

Maybe there's some small hope that if they sell well, Dean will consider a cheaper Entwistle themed Explorer shaped bass. The Z is one of their classic shapes, currently they make the cheapo "Metalman" in that shape. Program the machines to spit out a 24 fret neck that fits, move the pickups and bridges as needed. I know if it ever happened, they'd just repaint the current 22 fret Metalman and rename it, but as long as I'm dreaming, I'll dream of 24 frets.

They used to make quite a few 24 fret Explorer basses.

This Z Tour bass, for example, was a sweet one.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[darthplagis]

i just checked the last status price list i have (from mid last year) and the B2 with side LED's comes in at about £2500 or direct covertion $3,967.

obviously you have the courier charge which is worked out when you order, but for that price you get a damn fine graphite/CF necked B2 with LED's on side markers in a super swish and dead weight flight case which is routed like a gun case to fit the bass exactly.

P.S if you are one of those concerned with this kind of thing John actually played them live too.

 

[Flat Eric]

is that peter cook pic a les paul with alembic guts in it?

Hi.

Not a Les Paul, at all.
It is a very rare Peter Cook Axis Bass.

Read all about it here.

http://flatericbassandguitar.blogspot.com/

Cheers.

 

[senmen]

Here are some more photos of Johns Explorerbirds. Only the white one is missing which he gave as a gift to Pete:

(Photo courtesy by GG)

(Photo courtesy by CA)

(Photo courtesy HRC)

(Photo courtesy HRC)

 

[Midas]

Only 25 to be made...it will be impossible to get one...first because of numbers, second because this 25 will cost several thousand dollars?

 

[darthplagis]

ooohhhh i've never seen the green one before....... GAS alert.

thanks flat eric, its good to know more i really like the look of those axis basses even though im generally not a TN fan

 

[Ric5]

Here are some more photos of Johns Explorerbirds. Only the white one is missing which he gave as a gift to Pete:

(Photo courtesy by GG)

(Photo courtesy by CA)

(Photo courtesy HRC)

(Photo courtesy HRC)

I really have to build a 5 string version of one of these. That body style is so much better than the traditional explorer body. Moving the lower horn really allows upper fret access and it makes the bass balance better. The Fender headstock looks a little wrong. I might do a pointy headstock.