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What to do with my 5-stringer

Discussion in 'Basses [BG]' started by dls59, Aug 1, 2002.

  1. Aug 1, 2002 #1
    dls59

    dls59

    Jun 24, 2002
    Ballwin (St. Louis), MO
    I've been trolling around this forum for a month or two, and have enjoyed it immensely. This is my first post, though. One of my basses is a Dean Edge-1, 5-stringer. Basswood body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard. The B feels OK, for a low-dollar bass, but I'm having some trouble getting decent tone. I typically run straight to the control console in my gig situations. The question is, to get a decent sounding bass, is it wise to either put somthing, like a Bass Pod upstream, rip the guts out of the bass and install either new pick-ups or new pick-ups and active electronics, or get rid of the thing and find another. In other words, is is wise to try to make something out of this bass?

    Any advice is appreciated.

    Dale
     
  2. Aug 1, 2002 #2
    jasonbraatz

    jasonbraatz Supporting Member

    Oct 18, 2000
    Milwaukee, WI
    i think your problem is the "running into the console" part.


    if you don't want to get an amp, get a SansAmp bass driver DI. that should help alot.

    and if that doesn't do it, probably the best thing to do is get a new bass.
     
  3. Aug 1, 2002 #3
    Michael Jewels

    Michael Jewels

    Nov 29, 2000
    Queens, N.Y.(Near JFK Airport)
    While it's nice to customize a bass to your own liking, maybe it would be better to check out as many different basses as possible to get an idea what you'd like your Dean to sound more like. Then, you can weigh the $ differences between what the upgrades would cost versus the cost of buying another bass, be it used or new.

    Mike J.
     
  4. Aug 1, 2002 #4
    dls59

    dls59

    Jun 24, 2002
    Ballwin (St. Louis), MO
    Thanks for the replies. I'll just need to give this some thought.

    Dale
     
  5. Aug 2, 2002 #5
    Johnny BoomBoom

    Johnny BoomBoom

    Jun 8, 2001
    Glasgow, Scotland

    I'd second this. Try to worout what it is with your tone you don't like. Try other basses, PODs (I had one but hated it, traded it in for a GT-6B!), and investigate upgrade possibilities.

    Take your time, as, after you have made your choice, you will need to stick with it a while (I'm guessing!)
     
  6. Aug 2, 2002 #6
    Philbiker

    Philbiker Pat's the best!

    Dec 28, 2000
    Northern Virginia, USA
    Lots of wisdom here.
    I agree. I have a Dean Edge myself, and I love the sound of it. Do you have the old one with EMG-HZ pickups and passive EQ or a newer active EQ "Dean" pickup version? I've tried the newer ones and I think that the old ones sound much better.

    Another thing to try, simple as it sounds, is new strings. Sometimes different strings can make a huge difference in the sound of an instrument. I use Fender Super Bass Nickels (with a 130 B that sounds great) on my Dean.
     
  7. Aug 3, 2002 #7
    dls59

    dls59

    Jun 24, 2002
    Ballwin (St. Louis), MO
    Thanks also to Johnnie and Phil. Good info. My Dean is an Edge-1. It is passive, and has the Dean pick-ups, not EMG. I did replace the strings shortly after I bought it. I bought the thing on eBay. Great price, and I thought it would be fine for a first 5 string bass, after 28 years on a 4. I suppose it's OK, but I'm not blown away. What do I expect?

    I'll try tweeking it a bit more before doing something drastic. I guess I'm used to a pretty bright bass ('79 Kramer DMZ-5000 w/ aluminum neck).

    Thanks again.
     
  8. Aug 5, 2002 #8
    Philbiker

    Philbiker Pat's the best!

    Dec 28, 2000
    Northern Virginia, USA
    Though I do like the sound of my Dean, I am a little undershwlmed by the EMG-HZ pickups. If your bass has "Dean" pickup, they're likely "mighty-mite". I'd start there. Also, try to adjust the pickups, you may be able to bring the pickup closer to the strings, and that might help. Replacement pickups may be a good way to go though. Most likely your bass has a pretty solid build quality and is worth keeping.


    I've played one of those old Kramers and yes, they are bright! In my experience you're not going to get a bright sound out of a passive Dean Edge. That's OK with me because I don't really like too much bite.
     
  9. Aug 5, 2002 #9
    Field Mouse

    Field Mouse Guest

    Jun 18, 2002
    GY - England
    Quote: What to do with my 5-stringer





    give it to mee...
    :D
     
  10. Aug 5, 2002 #10
    Brendan

    Brendan

    Jun 18, 2000
    Portland, OR
    I'd like to futher reccomend what the others have said. As well as saying that a (relatively :rolleyes: ) low cost alternative would be a better 5er. MTD makes a KILLER budget line bass, by name of the Kingston, and it has a better B string than a lot of 1000, and even 1500 basses. Simple passive electronics that kick, and a price tag of about $450 or less. Be not fooled, it's an MTD, believe me.

    Of course, that'd be a last resort kinda thing. I would go with Jason (Warwick5S) that a SansAmp BDDI would really help your sound if you're going direct.