Now that I'm getting one after all ... thank you, Bongolation. Would you like a preamp?
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Dean Q4 w/Bartolinis, $132.99 84% Off
- Thread starter Bongolation
- Start date
Now that I'm getting one after all ... thank you, Bongolation. Would you like a preamp?
Seriously, it's a very nice bass. A bit on the geeky side, but that longish upper horn gives it exceptionally nice balance. Great ergonomics, nice production and finish.
My only beef is the choice of cheap and noisy OpAmp in that $75 EMG BTS pre...but the BTS an extremely popular one for some mysterious reason, and people here actually buy them.
I'll echo the positive comments from others. I just got mine yesterday, and so far I'm smitten. The Bart tone is plenty different from my P/J Fender and my active humbucker LTD, which is why I bought it in the first place. It's really comfortable to hold and to play -- great balance. And there was not a mark on it out of the box. I'll probably take it to the shop to be set-up properly with some Chromes just to come up with an even more unique tone than I'm used to (even thought the set up seems good from the get-go).
Ironically, I've always liked the look of Dean guitars & basses, and I've always wanted something with Barts. To get everything in one package for a complete steal is pretty ridiculous, not to mention it arrived on my birthday!
Ironically, I've always liked the look of Dean guitars & basses, and I've always wanted something with Barts. To get everything in one package for a complete steal is pretty ridiculous, not to mention it arrived on my birthday!
I guess the moral here is to keep the faith on backorders.
On that topic, my $441 H1 P is finally due to be delivered tomorrow, though the $429 H1 J is still in mystery land.
On that topic, my $441 H1 P is finally due to be delivered tomorrow, though the $429 H1 J is still in mystery land.
Wow!
A bit of set up work (lowering the strings a bit) and raising the pickups and this is a really nice bass...even at the regular amazon.com price. At the price we all got these for, this is a steal!
As opposed to some, I like the sound of the Barts with the EMG preamp on the bass. I was surprised to find an EMG preamp in it, as I was sort of expected a G&B (which I don't like) or something like that. The EMG pre isn't as warm (to my ears) as a Bart, but it seems to be a nice combination, nonetheless. The pre leads to a bit of a Spector sound, but the Bart pickups aren't as sterile as standard EMG's.
As already stated by some, the neck is fast...reallyl fast.
All in all, quite nice!!!
A bit of set up work (lowering the strings a bit) and raising the pickups and this is a really nice bass...even at the regular amazon.com price. At the price we all got these for, this is a steal!
As opposed to some, I like the sound of the Barts with the EMG preamp on the bass. I was surprised to find an EMG preamp in it, as I was sort of expected a G&B (which I don't like) or something like that. The EMG pre isn't as warm (to my ears) as a Bart, but it seems to be a nice combination, nonetheless. The pre leads to a bit of a Spector sound, but the Bart pickups aren't as sterile as standard EMG's.
As already stated by some, the neck is fast...reallyl fast.
All in all, quite nice!!!
Wow - a very nice bass. Easy to play. Two things though - after playing it for 10 minutes, my fingers were black. What's up with these strings? Also, I can't seem to get the latch on the battery compartment to slide. Anyone else have trouble with this? Is there a trick to it?
D(ean) Day has arrived. I only had time to take it out of the box and look it over. One big concern: where the fretboard extends over the body, there is a quite noticable gap between the bottom of the fb and the body, about 1-2 mm on the E side, progressing to 2-3mm on the treble side. However, the neck seems stable, and nothing noticeable in the way it played (I played it unplugged for about 2 minutes). Anyone else`s like this ?
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Yeah, it's way different than I am used to as well. First thing I thought of is, I don't like this neck. The next thing I thought was....wow, out of 12 instruments I own, this is the only one I can play YYZ via fingers.
This is a great bass, and something anyone could use professionally. It sounds aggressive; most like a musicman more than anything else I own. If that's your thing (it is mine), I think those waiting will be surprised.
Arrived today, haven't had time to plug it in, but so far so good. One small blemish (only I would see), otherwise all looks very nice. I was afraid of the blow torch looking top, but even that looked nice to me. Had my big brother lined up as backup (he decided too late to pull the trigger)... and sadly for him this one is staying at my house! Thanks Bongolation, seriously. I've made lots of deals I thought were killer, but this one is legit. $139 to my door? Really?
Yeah, mine's like that too. I've two other Deans to hand right now, one is the same, the other has an overhang but only about 1/2 as long. Wouldn't worry about it...
I looked at mine. It's due to the tapered compound contour of the top. It's perfectly OK. No defect.
Mine too (just opened the box). The build quality is very good though, and right out of the box, it is playable and it was only slightly out of tune. Action is low and the tone is very usable even with stock string (I am planning to put DR Sunbeam).
However, a big minus is in the electronics. It is very noisy (a loud hissing at any volume) even with treble rolled off completely. If I am going to keep the bass, I definately upgrade to Bart 4.5.
However, a big minus is in the electronics. It is very noisy (a loud hissing at any volume) even with treble rolled off completely. If I am going to keep the bass, I definately upgrade to Bart 4.5.
Just got an hour to sit down and play with it at last.
First observation, as everyone else has said ... the hiss is horrible. I wonder if this is why they're selling them off cheap? Bad batch of preamps?
Other than that, very playable and I like the tone a lot, even with everything set flat. Couple of deadish (limp?) spots, but nothing scary bad.
edit: I was considering passing this on as a classroom prize or something, but I'm keeping it. It's a keeper.
First observation, as everyone else has said ... the hiss is horrible. I wonder if this is why they're selling them off cheap? Bad batch of preamps?
Other than that, very playable and I like the tone a lot, even with everything set flat. Couple of deadish (limp?) spots, but nothing scary bad.
edit: I was considering passing this on as a classroom prize or something, but I'm keeping it. It's a keeper.
