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Rockbass or dean
- Thread starter Crystalman85
- Start date
I just got a used German Corvette FNA on here for $825 shipped. Seriously, watch the classifieds here on Talkbass, local Craigslist, eBay, Reverb, etc.
You can get a ridiculously good used German Warwick for the same price or less than a new Rockbass.
You can get a ridiculously good used German Warwick for the same price or less than a new Rockbass.
Ever tried an Ibanez Iceman bass? Has that quasi explorer style but also an Ibanez bass. I always wanted one of these myself.
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Deans are really good if your couch is uneven and you need to prop up a leg. For that price range ibby wins.
If you find a USA Dean (used) at that price point, they are pretty nice.
I'm jk anyway. USA deans are ok. I just can't get over how bad their entry level basses play imho.
I've had quite a few budget Deans and they're most decidedly....budget.
I often use them as trade throw-ins. I've never found a keeper amongst them unless you really have to have a neon pink bass.
USA and higher priced Deans are better though.
for $700 you could find a used Ibby SR755 - 855 ish range model ... and there are a few new Ibbys around that price .. the newer Black Ice color might be very cool for metal/rock ..
Ibanez has built a good value for the dollar product for a long time .. ! get your monies worth ...
I would never Care about what's 'popular' ... !!! leave that crap for Jr highschool girls buying their clothes ...
Ibanez has built a good value for the dollar product for a long time .. ! get your monies worth ...
I would never Care about what's 'popular' ... !!! leave that crap for Jr highschool girls buying their clothes ...
I love being unique with my Deans. I've gotten nothing but compliments from fellow musicians on their playability, feel, quality of build, style, and tone. I strive to put my Deans into the hands of as many of my peers as I can. I want their feedback.
This story happened just a few weeks ago. I go to a weekly jam session most weeks. Been going for many years. The older bass player in the host band has some monstrous seven string that he plays and nothing else. Never seen him play another bass. Uses an Ampeg head and a no name 810 cab. The amp alone has incredible tone.
Well, I get up to play and always bring my own bass. That particular night was the first time I brought my new goldtop Dean Hillsboro out. I did a few tunes and the band took a break. Set the bass on a stand and I went to sit down at a table with my drummer and some of the other musicians. Table was in front of the "stage" area and I had my back to it. Suddenly it dawned on me that I was hearing bass noodling. I listened for a few minutes and then turned around to see who was up there. It was this host bassist, who I have the utmost respect for, and he had grabbed my new Dean and was crouched down in front of his cab. I have brought countless basses to this jam over the years. He has seen everything I have and have ever had. NEVER has he been impressed enough with anything I have to do anything like this. I have begged him to play my basses and he has always declined. For him to do this, unprompted, speaks volumes to me about what he saw and heard while I was playing it.
I got up and went to him and kind of laughingly asked him, "what cha got there?" He was smiling ear to ear and said that he had in his hands one of the best basses he had ever played.
I'm a rebel. Always have been. You'll never see me do something because everybody else is doing it. That's not how I have ever rolled. Choose what speaks to you. What works for you. Because if I listened to everyone else, I'd be playing a Fender or an Ibanez. And I just can't see that!
This story happened just a few weeks ago. I go to a weekly jam session most weeks. Been going for many years. The older bass player in the host band has some monstrous seven string that he plays and nothing else. Never seen him play another bass. Uses an Ampeg head and a no name 810 cab. The amp alone has incredible tone.
Well, I get up to play and always bring my own bass. That particular night was the first time I brought my new goldtop Dean Hillsboro out. I did a few tunes and the band took a break. Set the bass on a stand and I went to sit down at a table with my drummer and some of the other musicians. Table was in front of the "stage" area and I had my back to it. Suddenly it dawned on me that I was hearing bass noodling. I listened for a few minutes and then turned around to see who was up there. It was this host bassist, who I have the utmost respect for, and he had grabbed my new Dean and was crouched down in front of his cab. I have brought countless basses to this jam over the years. He has seen everything I have and have ever had. NEVER has he been impressed enough with anything I have to do anything like this. I have begged him to play my basses and he has always declined. For him to do this, unprompted, speaks volumes to me about what he saw and heard while I was playing it.
I got up and went to him and kind of laughingly asked him, "what cha got there?" He was smiling ear to ear and said that he had in his hands one of the best basses he had ever played.
I'm a rebel. Always have been. You'll never see me do something because everybody else is doing it. That's not how I have ever rolled. Choose what speaks to you. What works for you. Because if I listened to everyone else, I'd be playing a Fender or an Ibanez. And I just can't see that!
I've played one of the new Warwick rockbasses it felt good was very smooth had a good tone (it was passive, not sure how the ones with the pre sound) and it was comfortable also add to this it was left-handed so I was playing it upside down waiting for a band mate to get off from his shift. I've only ever played a handful of Dean's but I'll say it beat them hands-down
Lol interesting analogy. Would you say that comparing warwick to an Ibanez would like comparing to a porsche to a camero?
Groovy...I would like to try them if I get a chance to go to a guitar center.
I haven't played an Iceman bass, but If I happen to see one in a music store, I would like to try it out.
That's one reason why I would choose rockbass over an actual warwick. they're too heavy. they rockbasses from warwick are lighter, since their corvette basic has an alder body. I do like basses with alder bodies. I was informed that the rockbass corvette basic has a smooth punchy sound. if I go to a guitar center and I happen to find a warwick corvette and a rockbass corvette basic, I will test them both out and decide which of these basses I like most.
I love being unique with my Deans. I've gotten nothing but compliments from fellow musicians on their playability, feel, quality of build, style, and tone. I strive to put my Deans into the hands of as many of my peers as I can. I want their feedback.
This story happened just a few weeks ago. I go to a weekly jam session most weeks. Been going for many years. The older bass player in the host band has some monstrous seven string that he plays and nothing else. Never seen him play another bass. Uses an Ampeg head and a no name 810 cab. The amp alone has incredible tone.
Well, I get up to play and always bring my own bass. That particular night was the first time I brought my new goldtop Dean Hillsboro out. I did a few tunes and the band took a break. Set the bass on a stand and I went to sit down at a table with my drummer and some of the other musicians. Table was in front of the "stage" area and I had my back to it. Suddenly it dawned on me that I was hearing bass noodling. I listened for a few minutes and then turned around to see who was up there. It was this host bassist, who I have the utmost respect for, and he had grabbed my new Dean and was crouched down in front of his cab. I have brought countless basses to this jam over the years. He has seen everything I have and have ever had. NEVER has he been impressed enough with anything I have to do anything like this. I have begged him to play my basses and he has always declined. For him to do this, unprompted, speaks volumes to me about what he saw and heard while I was playing it.
I got up and went to him and kind of laughingly asked him, "what cha got there?" He was smiling ear to ear and said that he had in his hands one of the best basses he had ever played.
I'm a rebel. Always have been. You'll never see me do something because everybody else is doing it. That's not how I have ever rolled. Choose what speaks to you. What works for you. Because if I listened to everyone else, I'd be playing a Fender or an Ibanez. And I just can't see that!
That's cool. I once owned a dean ml metalman bass and I thought it was a pretty radical bass. I originally wanted a dean z metalman bass mainly because I was a fan of explorer styled basses, but my brother insisted on the ml bass instead. I tried it out at a sam ash and I dig the sound quality. I've gigged with that bass for a while and I was given compliments on the bass. this is exactly what I meant on the first post of this thread when I've mentioned should I be more unique by owning a dean bass. at the time I've had the dean ml bass, I kinda was being unique. and also I use effects on bass too. but that's cool that you were being unique by playing dean basses. especially since dean basses are kinda underrated for their radical basses that has decent sound quality. honestly, If I own a dean bass once again, I would have it modified to improve the sound. buying emg or bartolini pick-ups would be one of the things I would do the modify the dean bass. other than that, it's nice to know someone who is being unique by playing dean basses.
I bought a Rockbass Corvette to use while my RIC was being repaired. I liked it so much the RIC stayed in the case. The Rockbass is the older style, a 2006 with alder body and maple neck. I then bought a German Corvette Standard, 2002 Bubinga with Ovangkol neck. Both are actives. The Rockbass has more top end, otherwise they're pretty similar. With a 3" Levy's strap, I don't notice the weight of the Bubinga at all. I love the oil finish on the Standard. The neck doesn't get sticky in hot weather like a glossy finish does.
Okay I've recently when to a guitar center earlier today and tried out a warwick corvette. it was used and it sounded pretty cool. the bass was a little heavy, but it does have a nice punchy sound. and it handles distortion effects pretty well. I'm not quite sure how it compares to a rockbass corvette, but if I see one, I would like to try it out. I've also tried out an Ibanez sr505 and I really like the sound quality of this bass. even though I think the warwick corvette sounds pretty cool, but I like the Ibanez even more for it's warm punchy sounds. and considering that I am an Ibanez guy, I would most likely go with that bass.
See, I thought Warwicks were supposed to be better for the environment. Haha.
Watch out for the finish on the SR505- a lot of posts about the mahogany finish wearing, scratching and denting far too easily. Reason why I went with the SR700 instead.
+1 Warwick. People get their panties in a bunch about only buying the German ones. However, if I remember correctly they are no longer being made in Germany, anyway, the hardware and the pickups are the same from the rockbass line all the way up. So the major differences are woods/preamp/fit and finish. Is that that worth a much higher price tag? 4/5/6X higher? That's up to you...is a MEC preamp/rarer woods/guarantee of better fit&finish worth upwards of $3,000. That's not to knock the high end Wicks....there is something...special about them.
With that being said, I owned the Streamer Standard 5 and have played the most of the other Rockbasses. There seems to be almost 3 levels to that line that generally fall along the progressively increasing price points. The top end would be like the Streamer NT1, Fortress, and Corvette $$, middle would be the like the Corvette Classic/Premium and Streamer LX, low end would be more like the Basic Corvette and the Streamer Standard. The streamer being the low end of that particular subsection as well. I honestly don't generally lump the Streamer Standard in with the rest of the Rockbass line. It was certainly a decent bass for the money, but it just didn't seem NEARLY as nice as the rest of the line. Then again the Streamer NT1 is double the price of the Standard.
So in conclusion: Get a Warwick, just not the Streamer Standard (overally dark pups with lo output...not the best for metal.) I've not played any higher end Deans, but the low end stuff I've played was terrible.
With that being said, I owned the Streamer Standard 5 and have played the most of the other Rockbasses. There seems to be almost 3 levels to that line that generally fall along the progressively increasing price points. The top end would be like the Streamer NT1, Fortress, and Corvette $$, middle would be the like the Corvette Classic/Premium and Streamer LX, low end would be more like the Basic Corvette and the Streamer Standard. The streamer being the low end of that particular subsection as well. I honestly don't generally lump the Streamer Standard in with the rest of the Rockbass line. It was certainly a decent bass for the money, but it just didn't seem NEARLY as nice as the rest of the line. Then again the Streamer NT1 is double the price of the Standard.
So in conclusion: Get a Warwick, just not the Streamer Standard (overally dark pups with lo output...not the best for metal.) I've not played any higher end Deans, but the low end stuff I've played was terrible.
