Sadly, because the Caprice was a truly great instrument.
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What's wrong with the Fender Dimension Basses?
- Thread starter tlite
- Start date
Sadly, because the Caprice was a truly great instrument.
I bought my MIMs because I liked them better than the MIA. The necks feel better to me.
That said I do think the preamps are a bit different. The MIA is a little less harsh on the hi end frequencies.
Anyway, these are great basses. It’s too bad Fender stopped making them.
That said I do think the preamps are a bit different. The MIA is a little less harsh on the hi end frequencies.
Anyway, these are great basses. It’s too bad Fender stopped making them.
I’ve been on the market for a more modern sounding bass I own a American deluxe p bass and a American deluxe jazz they sound great but I’ve been looking for more of a modern sound I hate music mans I’ve owned two and both sounded not so good to me I played the squire version of this and loved it it was a great answer to the modern sound didn’t really sound to much of a mm bass but was different in a good way almost reminds me of a soapbar mix mm pickup in a weird way but anyway I decided to add one more American deluxe to my list I got the double pickup in red for under a grand! I’m excited for this and really hope this plays better than the squire did. This bass is really cool I wish fender push harder on this and made it for like able instead of abandon it. Who knows this bass could end up like a Gibson grabber did in a few years.
I really think that Fender erred in discontinuing the Dimension. It takes a long time to establish a fundamentally new product line, and Fender already stretches their product line to an absurd extent.
Fender has gone to ridiculous lengths in recent years with the Alternate Reality/Parallel Universe models, a dozen different lines for each model of Strat/Tele/P/J/Jag/JM/Mustang/etc/etc/etc. It's a terrible business strategy. They need to pare things back. The Dimension Bass was a great line.
Fender has gone to ridiculous lengths in recent years with the Alternate Reality/Parallel Universe models, a dozen different lines for each model of Strat/Tele/P/J/Jag/JM/Mustang/etc/etc/etc. It's a terrible business strategy. They need to pare things back. The Dimension Bass was a great line.
I just bought a 2014 Fender American Deluxe Dimension V HH and it seems to meet my needs quite well. It’s pretty lightweight (9.1 lbs.) and provides a wide range of nifty tones. The asymmetrical neck is fantastic. I think it looks cool. It will replaces two older StingRays I have that are too heavy for me.
I’ll tell ya what’s wrong with ‘em. Short term thinking from the Accounting Department. No immediate payoff so they killed it. It was actually a Fender I was thinking of adding to the collection. Seriously....the only P-Bass I ever cared for was a ‘63 Pre CBS that I let slip through my fingers in the late 70’s. The only Jazz I ever cared for was an English Copy called a Hayman 40/40. That one slipped rough my greedy little paws in the early 80’s. Stolen after a gig, and basically irreplaceable. I really liked the Dimension, and thought Fender was on to something. But what do I know? Guess I’ll stick to my Partscasters. At least those can be made to my specs.
Well the US dimension IV was supposed to be compound radius. But look for one in the store. I find the offshore in dont like it 9.5 radius. I think they really created their own market confusion on this one.
I bought a used Fender Am. Dlx. Dimension V HH black/maple a couple of weeks ago and apart from some nasty fret sprout it was just what I was looking for and weighs about 9lbs. on the dot. I am thrilled!
It was, though, made by Fender, the Stingray.... more literally than by company name.
ok, I'll stop now ;-)
Now that I own a 2014 Fender American Deluxe Dimension V HH, I can actually verify what I have long suspected—the Dimension is more like a StingRay than a Precision or a Jazz, but it is definitely its own thing.
While I’m sure Fender would have been only too happy to take some of Ernie Ball Music Man’s market share based on the Dimension’s superficial resemblance to the StingRay, it’s clear from the discontinuation of the Dimension that they were not entirely successful if that was their goal.
Regardless, the Dimension is really cool. I find all five positions on the switch to be musically useful (unlike my 1998 StingRay and 2001 StingRay) and I love the feel of the asymmetrical neck profile and compound radius. I find the slap tone is richer and less harsh than the StingRays, too. So for now at least, the Dimension is my #1 five-string in the arsenal.
Mine had quite a bit of fret sprout when I got it earlier this year, but I was willing to pay a skilled tech to take care of that rather than doing it myself.
Until the advent of the StingRay Special, finding a StingRay weighing around 9lbs. was a bit challenging. My Dimension weighs a very manageable and maneuverable 9lbs., 1oz.
While I’m sure Fender would have been only too happy to take some of Ernie Ball Music Man’s market share based on the Dimension’s superficial resemblance to the StingRay, it’s clear from the discontinuation of the Dimension that they were not entirely successful if that was their goal.
Regardless, the Dimension is really cool. I find all five positions on the switch to be musically useful (unlike my 1998 StingRay and 2001 StingRay) and I love the feel of the asymmetrical neck profile and compound radius. I find the slap tone is richer and less harsh than the StingRays, too. So for now at least, the Dimension is my #1 five-string in the arsenal.
Mine had quite a bit of fret sprout when I got it earlier this year, but I was willing to pay a skilled tech to take care of that rather than doing it myself.
Until the advent of the StingRay Special, finding a StingRay weighing around 9lbs. was a bit challenging. My Dimension weighs a very manageable and maneuverable 9lbs., 1oz.
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I just bought a MIM deluxe dimension V H- super good deal and nearly mint. I owned an MIA identical to this one a few years back (new), I took it back because it wasn’t built correctly. This one is better in every way and plays bloody excellent. It’s everything I hoped an SR5 H would be. The nicest 5 string neck out there IMO. The preamp is a little on the bright side, but if you twiddle the knobs, it gets you where you need to be. They aren’t the prettiest girl in the room but it makes up for it in other ways.
The value I got in this bass was unbelievable; makes me wonder why I paid the premium for all my other USA fenders.
The value I got in this bass was unbelievable; makes me wonder why I paid the premium for all my other USA fenders.
Some folks actually prefer the MIM version because of the lighter tuners and perhaps a slightly different preamp. I think the neck is symmetrical too, if I’m not mistaken. Anyway, really nice basses. The Squier one is well-regarded too.
I love my MIM Dlx H V. It's as good as my US Dlx J & P Vs in terms of build quality, playability and tone. Compared to my US SUB 'Stingrays,' the Dimension is not quite as bright and scooped sounding. I can get a pretty close approximation of my usual Stingray tone by turning up the treble to around 8, scooping the mids to around 2 and boosting the bass to around 6. FWIW, I run my US SUBs with the 2EQ with the bass at about 2 and the treble at 4--this is about as close to 'flat' as you can get on that circuit. However, I usually run my Dimension with the controls flat and make small adjustments based on the song, using a pick vs fingers, etc...
I did have to replace the preamp in my Dimension, though, since the volume pot was on it's last leg and the the bass pot was shot. I tried to refurbish them, but to no avail. The proper replacement pots were nowhere to be found, but a NOS replacement board was found for $40. It's an easy swap-just bolt it in and attach the quick connects.
In my searches for that replacement preamp, I only found one model # for the preamp for both the MIA and MIM versions. Same with the pickups, it's a shared part. The Squier Dimension uses a different preamp and pickup.
I did have to replace the preamp in my Dimension, though, since the volume pot was on it's last leg and the the bass pot was shot. I tried to refurbish them, but to no avail. The proper replacement pots were nowhere to be found, but a NOS replacement board was found for $40. It's an easy swap-just bolt it in and attach the quick connects.
In my searches for that replacement preamp, I only found one model # for the preamp for both the MIA and MIM versions. Same with the pickups, it's a shared part. The Squier Dimension uses a different preamp and pickup.
I'm going to go against the popular opinion and say the Dimension is beautiful. I really like the pickguard shape too, and with a good vinyl wrap it can be cheaply and reversibly changed to whatever you want/can find.
I also think it sounds like a more natural Stingray with a bit less clank. At least the single H version. The HH is much more like your common HH bass; essentially a Super Jazz. It does play and feel differently though, and as I don't own my EBMM 'Ray anymore and I do own a Dimension I think it's safe to assume which one I prefer. (I do love me an EBMM though. If funds allowed I'd have a glittery Special with a maple FB. Of course if I had those funds I'd need an EBMM Cutlass and a Fender AmDlx P V as well.
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I also think it sounds like a more natural Stingray with a bit less clank. At least the single H version. The HH is much more like your common HH bass; essentially a Super Jazz. It does play and feel differently though, and as I don't own my EBMM 'Ray anymore and I do own a Dimension I think it's safe to assume which one I prefer. (I do love me an EBMM though. If funds allowed I'd have a glittery Special with a maple FB. Of course if I had those funds I'd need an EBMM Cutlass and a Fender AmDlx P V as well.
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Late to this thread tho it don't really matter. In a word...everything, looks like some sort of frankenmonster. The old adage if it looks right it prob is right...and that don't look right at all. When Leo designed the P bass body he hit it outta the park, didn't do a bad job on the Stingray either.
I don't think theres anything wrong with the dimension bass. I thought it was pretty cool that Fender decided to put these out there. Too bad they were discontinued.
I had one for a bit. I didn't hate it. I didn't love it. I sold it for not much less than I paid for it.
From my searches and experiences, yes, pickups too. Makes sense. It's an imported circuit with the pots and everything all mounted to the board and has all the quick connects for hooking up the bridge pickup, jack and the switch. Nothing fancy and fully modular. The switch for the HH Dimension is an additional part that has the connector for the neck pickup on it with a quick connect wire harness for the switch to connect to the main board.
