Dean Guitars Edge 1

Basic 4-string features. 2 J-Style pickups, black finish, 2 volume knobs, 1 tone knob, 24 frets, sealed tuners, baswood body, maple neck, rosewood fretboard.

This is my idea of a pure bass. Not a lot of frills, just solid construction. Nothing all that special about the features though.

Warm, punchy sound. Good for fingerstyle rock. It's not really made for "poppin' and slappin'". Keep that in mind if you buy one of these. I give it an 8 because it sounds good, but it's not terribly versatile. I bought it as a practice bass for my bedroom, and it suits quite well.

Setup was horrendous. The two people who had it before me abused it. The strings were wrapped around the posts the WRONG way, the action was about 1/4 of an inch or more at the 24'th fret, the neck had WAY too much relief, and the tuner tension screws were coming out. Setup when I got it was about a 3.

I'm going to rate this bass on how well it CAN be set up. I consider this an intermediate/pro bass for the simple fact that you have to set it up yourself.

After I but a shim in the neck pocket, tightened the truss rod, re-strung it, tightened the tuner screws, and intonated it, the setup was quite good. The truss rod worked very well and I didn't have any bizarre issues setting it up. After my setup it has an 8, it's a very nice playing bass. Clean sound, and ABSOLUTELY NO fret buzz. If you have buzz issues, learn to set up your instrument.

This bass is a tank. The nut didn't break even when the string were on backwards causing a lot of outward strain. Like I said, it was abused, but after a good cleaning, you wouldn't know it. The finish is VERY strong, no deep nicks or anything. The strap buttons are in solidly. Structurally this bass is up there with the best of them. I wish it had a 5 or 6 bolt neck joint.

Never dealt with them.

I have been playing bass for one week. I know what you are thinking. "oh he's just a noob" However, I have been playing GUITAR for 6 years. I realize they are NOT the same instrument, but a lot of knowledge does carry over. I originally joined my band as a rhythm guitarist, but I tried bass and discovered I was better at it than guitar. The guys in my band say I'm a natural. Your opinion is your own however. These few things are certain though: I DO know how to set up an instrument, I DO know quality when I see it, and I DO know what sounds good. I've played used Squier *gag* basses that made this thing seem like a Tobias. I gig with a $400+ Ibanez SoundGear bass, and I'd have to say the sound on this is comparable. The Iby has more highs, and is more versatile, but it also was about $300 dollars more and has active electronics. After being setup this bass is quite usable. I might attempt a pickup replacement in the future. I don't intend to replace this bass for quite a while.

1998-1999 Korean Dean Edge 1 (Passive, Basswood); Jet Black, 24 fret, Cheap Grover Tuners, Heavy and Solid Badass II (like) Bridge. all the rest of the descriptions apply (except that my Edge has a Pre-Jeff Berlin Headstock which leads me to belive it was crafted in 1998 or 1999).

Modifications: Neck PU Replaced in favor of DiMarzio Alchemy 101 wired for Parallel. All Parts Concentric Pot added to Tone for .064mf on the Bridge PU and .022mf on the Neck PU(all Pots at 500k).

I play mostly METAL; with an empasis on PROG Stuff, ya know Heavy Blues, Jazz, Classical, and African/Mesoamerican Tribal influences(ala Cliff Burton, Jerry Only, Steve Harris, Getty Lee, ect).

This may sound counter productive, but I play on a Crate G600XL (60 Watt SS)Guitar Half Stack with Matching 4x12! I have Various Multi-effects that I use in the studio; but Live I stick with an ADA MP-1 for Guitar and Bass = Simplicity of design.

This Bass Performs emaculate, and while I improved upon the Neck Pick Up for toning down the distortion--simply roll on the Neck PU and it Hushes the Brige PU, no need to change any settings for a Jazzy Brown Sound. As for the Bridge sound (Distortion or Harmonically Focused), I really enjoy the tightness of the Bass coming from a 4x12 and this really fills in the MIDS when Competing with noisy "Scooped-MID" Guitarists.

I don't quite know of the Factory set-up as I purchased this from an aquaintance; but I do know that I have NEVER ran into problems with Action...Some Luthiers are simply INCOMPETENT and should attend a national luthier school.

Anyways No Buzzz! Except 2 things: (1.) that the Sh!tty Grover Tuners cracked their nilon seals and I had to Jerry-Rig-It with small 0-rings that have to be constantly tended to (otherwise they crack and split open) and (2.) I seem to Slap so hard that I break the THICKEST string...E @ .1 I was told that this is caused by a string sattle burr but I took care of this and it tends to still happen...even when I change brands or step up to a E @ .105

Oh Man This Baby has seen it all, Beer, Smoke, Drops, Bangin's, you Name it! Well I'm Not Cheezee enough to smack stickers all over her, but I can say that the Basswood is very Nice and the Black Paint covers dents well (Sharpie!). I do require a Back-up thou...a Steve Harris Ed. P-Bass for those times my Slappin' gets too hard for my B!otch for handle...and I change the Strings, Adjust the Neck, Itonate on the Dean every year (Usually in Summer).

Never Needed It. But If some Mo-Fo Tries to Steal it I will Cut off His/Her Hand! If they succeed in Stealing it because of my Absence or some Passed out episode...I'll Mourn for a week and then Buy another Dean Passive Basswood Body to comfort me.

Overall Excellet Buy from an era in which the Korean Manufactuers were trying to Impress American Markets. It's always been my understanding that the first few years of a forign market will be Top Work; and only after they secure American interests, will such companies slack on the labor or component categories (It's usually parts that get Weak...but That's OK if you're a DYI)...Do you like to Do - It - Yourself? If so then this Baby is for you to shape.

ok this is obviously a cheep bass. but for the price it simply is the best. i have to be honest, it has some tones i cant get on any other bass.
Basswood Body
Crome Hardware
Dean Soapbar Pickups
Maple Neck/ Rosewood Fingerboard
Tuners..not sure what they are, but they work.
2 Volume 1 Tone

Its a generally good bass. It was my first bass and i origianally wnated an Ibanez. Im honestly glad i didnt get one, the Ibanezes in this price range have no tone. Im rating by price by the way, in case you thought i was high.

For 250 bucks, its the best. PERIOD. I listen to alot of System of a Down stuff and i found the "shavo sound" on this thing. Thats sayin alot when you concider he uses a Thunderbird. Its tones are very useful. No matter how good of basses i get, i cant seem to stop admiring the tone of this bass.

I havnt had it set up and i love it. i gues this means it was done purdy good right?! finish is great...cant put a ding all the way through it and its the shiniest black ive ever seen. only gripe is the nut on jack for the cord that can come loose and force wires loose if it woobles or twists. put some kinda lock tite or glue thats meant for that and that fixes that, not a huge problem...i wont take off a point but you know its there right?

i call it the tank bass. 'nuff said

only emaild dean a couple times. they replied quick. i gues thats perfect

I havnt played all too long. but i played long enough to know how much i like this thing. ive played everything. warwick and spector are the best ive played other than deans (there is just something about them,you know? im sure you feel it for your brand) ibanez are great, they just dont fit my style and gibson...right...no comment. I love this thing. Ill never part with it. EVER. it i was rich and famous and lost it id get a new one. im thinking of gettin a new one so i dont kill THIS one. yeah im stupid i know. its my way, dont dis it, it seems to work.

Made in 2000, I think, in Korea. 24 frets, 4 strings, 2 passive soapbars. 2 volume, 1 tone knob. Body is basswood; neck is maple with a roseword fretboard. Transparent wine-colored finish. 34" scale. I'm no bass historian, but to me the body style is "typical." You wouldn't buy this bass for the features anyway.

For a starter bass, it sounds very good. It puts out a solid, well-rounded tone. You can get a few different tones by playing around with the pickup volume knobs, but it's at its best when it's played fingerstyle in a rock setting. One thing you can do to help the sound is to raise the pickups a little closer to the strings using a screwdriver.

For a cheap bass, it was set up pretty well right out of the box. The action is a little high, particularly well up the fretboard, but it's VERY playable with a few quick adjustments by a guitar tech. I've had no trouble with fret buzz, and I am surprised to read the other reviews stating this to be a huge problem. Take it to a tech to set it up properly for you if needed. The only real flaw (after owning it for four-plus years) is that the input got a little loose, but that's easy to fix, too.

I've used this bass onstage a number of times. My plan for it in the future is to have it as a backup because you always need a backup, though I've flown solo with this plenty of times. The finish is bulletproof, the neck has not warped in over four years living in pretty damn humid environments. It doesn't go out of tune very easily and other then my input getting a little loose, I've experienced no trouble with the hardware.

Never dealt with Dean; haven't had to. The bass came with a warranty, I think 5 years, limited, but I can't remember.

I've been playing since I bought this one, 4-5 years, I guess. I bought it without doing too much research, and without knowing what I know now. For all that, I am lucky I chose this Dean because it has served its purpose well. I still play it and I plan to use it as a backup once I purchase a higher-end bass. If I lost it somehow, I would consider another if the price was right. Naturally, I wish it had some better pickups, but it's very inexpensive and a great value as a beginner model. I'd recommend it highly as a first bass.

purchased in 2002, 24 fret, 4-string, 2 soapbar pick-ups passive, bolt-on neck, yadda yadda yadda......
Dean's low end bass model. you get the idea...

Ive actually played this bass live and done recording with it, its always been reliable, and ive never been "embarrased" to play it. Other musicians have always complimented the body shape and the headstock shape too, as well as the color.

This was my second bass, and when i bought it i was playing in a reggae/surf band, and the tone of this bass was very fitting for along those lines. The sound is very rounded and warm. I recently started getting into more slap and funk styles and its not really suited for that, but a decent rock bass. Im now playing in a hard rock band and its still versatile enough to get the job done.

the action is rather high at about the tenth fret on down, i also removed the set screws from the bridge under my E string. Someone else also mentioned the pick-ups being too low under the strings, which i also noticed and raised up higher, which made a huge improvement in volume produced.

If there is one thing i absolutly love on this bass its the finish. The transparent amber has held up beautifully over the past two years of abuse. Ive beat the hell out of this thing by smacking it into shit, accidently dropping it, and it even endured the wrath of an angry drummer's hurled beer bottle, only getting a small ding in the finish.
So after literally dragging this thing around for two years, the finish still looks great despite a few sratches and i havent had any hardware problems so far.

ive never had to deal with any tech support from Dean, but it did come with a warranty card......a warranty card i was too lazy to fill out and send in, but it came with one none the less..

This bass is good for who its made for, and thats the beginner to intermediate player. So as I feel like I am advancing and am buying my next bass very shorty, I definatly want to take a step up or two from this model, most likey from Dean all together, but it served it purpose and I will keep it around cause its still a decent sounding instrument and looks cool.

I purchased my Dean Edge 1 bass in 2002 in Virginia for my son (don't remember exact cost because I bought other stuff with it, case, etc). We knew that this was a beginners bass, but was immediately blown away by the finish. Although made in Korea, this is a beautiful bass. The Dean website calls this amberburst, but that has to be a mistake. It is in fact simply a transparent amber finish over basswood, but incredibly done for the price. The hardware is all chrome including the three, knurled control knobs. The pots under those knobs, unfortunately, all needed replaced because they were poorly soldered and failed my son completely at his very first band concert. Everything about this bass is basic, including the wide, all-to-standard neck. It's thin, but still tough if you have small carney hands and fingers like me. Pickups are standard soapbar. Headstock will remind you of PRS (a nice feature IMO). Tuners are standard 2 on each side "grover style". It came with no accesories e.g. case, strap, etc.

My son gave up on the bass so I (the drummer of the family) decided to give it a whirl. It has been sufficient in peaking my interest enough want to be a much better bass player (less irritating to others to practice than drums). I'm playing it through a 200W Peavey combo keyboard amp w/ a cone and one 15" woofer (perfect for bass, very clean sound and was cheap too). This bass produces a fairly clean sound and the no-name soapbars provide a decent sustain. Bottom line, this works great for rock and metal. It provides a dark sound, with warm mids but the string buzz is forever an issue as you will also read throughout other's reviews of this model. If you're looking for a precision R&B sound, than go spend your ducks on the '51 Fender Precision Reissue (It's only $300 more). You may find my rating surprisingly high, but that's because if I can get this thing to sound good for rock with an effect or two after six months of true playing, than so can anyone else. Plus, the price for the looks...you can't beat it. It's easy to gripe, but this actually blows away most other beginner basses under $200.

Okay, here's the dingers. Action: Awful, just awful. So awful that various techs have told me to just sell it because they don't want to even bother with it (I may just be running into some pompous techs). The string buzz is like an incessant prick on the back of your neck that haunts you for all eternity...it sucks okay, but adjustments can probably be made. This is a tough rating, because I knew what I was buying...the buzz makes it a 5.

If I can get good enough to comfortably play live with this bass, I'll spring for the extra dollars and buy a real nice, well-known bass. It's like practicing drums with heavy drum sticks to lighten the feeling with your normal sticks while playing live. I replaced the strap buttons with schaller strap locks and they've been tight ever since. The chrome on the "grover style" tuners is starting to pit already. The finish is still beautiful. Very clever of Dean to put a nice, high gloss finish on such a cheap guitar. It sold me! The body is solid and nice, and withstands my misdemeanors, but I wouldn't gig with it for so many other reasons. I have to give it a 6 for road use, but a solid 8 for at-home use.

Never called when I should have. That's my fault. They get a ten.

I've been playing for six months. I'm currently playing my deceptive Dean Edge 1 through the following items in order: Boss TU-12 Chromatic Tuner, Vintage Boss Bass Chorus CE-2B, Boss Bass BE-5B Multiple Effects Unit, Peavey KB100 combo amp (all with George L's). If it were lost or stolen I'd be on the phone with my insurance agent telling him about how my $1500 custom bass got stolen and that I want it replace. Stupid question. It would be a great opportunity for me to justify buying a much nicer one. This is a beginner's bass folks. Would you replace your first toaster with another shitty one? Anything I wish it had? Sure, a blowjob machine attached to the headstock. I'm a hetereosexual leo in my mid-thirties.

2000 Dean Edge 1 (no clue on where it was made, who cares anyhow)
4-string, 24 frets
solid black top
volume, tone, and pickup selector
don't know the make of these crappy passive soap boxes
no clue on materials
body is a solid black

ok, let's get this straight. this was the first bass i had ever bought. and i got ripped for it. i won't even embarass my self in that subject. but it did suprisingly have a decent sound to it. despite having bland controls. other than that, the sound is pretty solid.

HOLY CRAP! the action on these basses suck! it's just unacceptable! i had mine as low as it could go and it still just pissed me off. you can barely play down on the neck. the pickups were way too deep in the body. making it slightly quiet. nothing to complain about other than the action. did i mention the action is the worst ever!?!?

if you're going to be playing live, you must have more balls then sense. if anyone even knew what the hell this was, they'd laugh you off stage. the hardware!?!?!? what a frickin joke. i was walking around my house at night and accidently put my barefoot into one of the control pots. it bent! wtf is that!?!?!? yeah sure it hurt my foot, but wtf!?!?!? the strap buttons come lose easily. tighten them when you notice they're loose. which is often. i wouldn't depend on it for live playing(you shouldn't be there anyway with this bass).

N/A

I've been playing for a couple years now and i'm happy i'm getting rid of it now. some poor unfortunate soul will have to deal with it now!! hahahaha!!! but hey, you get what you pay for, am i right? i wouldn't buy it again if it were lost or stolen. i just don't like it. i saved my money and bought a K-5. i feel bad for being ignorant when i first started playing. kids, save your money and buy the best bass you can when you first start playing. God save this bass from it's own impurity!

My Dean Edge 1 was made in 2001 and made in KOREA. Its basically a 4 string with 24 frets. It has 2 soap bar pickups and it has a very thin neck. It has a black finish and medium sized frets.

This is my first bass ever and it plays really well. I'm only a begginer so i don't play really hard stuff but all the easy stuff it plays very well. Its a very aggresive bass so it can play stuff like metal,rock,grunge,alternative,punk, whatever you name. I play this through a Peavey Basic 112 it has lot of fret buzz but you get use to it.

The action and the finish is great no mistakes at all.

THIS IS THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS BASS. This bass can take a hell of a beating. I've threw this on the ground before, hit it against the wall, dropped it couple of times and it have only has couple of dents and the dents are so small there not noticable.

I've been playing for 5 months now all I have to say is this is the best begginer bass ever. I either had to pick a Squier P Bass (pure garbage) or a Ibanez GSR200 (cheap Ibanez sucks) or the Dead Edge 1 these are basically the begginer basses. I chose to pick the Dean Edge 1 because its the best out of thsoe 3. Its also good for the price.

This is the bass I received as a warranty replacement for a severely flawed "Edge 5", so I got screwed either by the dealer or the manufacturer.

35" scale, 5-string... it is not an "Edge 5". Transparent blue on basswood with blend, volume, treble and tone, a 9v preamp, dual soapbar pickups.

It was probably made in 2001. It has black hardware, and I think the 2002 Edge 1's all have chrome hardware.

These are features that look good in a description, but in reality they lack functionality, so I'm giving this category a 4. Read on for details...

The stock equipment sounded basic and utilitarian with noisy pots. Every pot crackled and hissed during blend, volume or tone adjustments (while amp'ed). Far too much noise even when plugged directly into a breakout box or a mixer.

These parts have all been replaced, which is why I'm talking in past tense, regarding the sound.

Just like the "Edge 5" before this one, the neck pocket was routed too deep, meaning the bridge was holding the strings way too high off the fretboard even with the saddle height screws completely removed. I played it with no height screws until I just couldn't stand it anymore. This one's neck pocket also had the hack job sandpaper shim and a plastic strip in there too.

Reason #1 (out of 3) that I still play this is because I made a slight ramp/shim out of a thin piece of basswood that evenly covers the neck mounting surface inside the pot. The idea is to put some basswood where they shouldn't have removed basswood. The ramp had to create a slight tilt back from the body. It works great now, but that's because of me, not the manufacturer.

I have the action at 1/16" (g) to 3/32" (low b) and it isn't buzzing much. At least they built a good neck. I don't mean a great neck; it's only a good neck. That's the only good thing about the whole bass in its stock configuration. That's reason #2 (out of 3) I still play this one.

My point is... does it cost more to not route a neck pocket too deep? I'm positive that the answer to that would be NO. Just because it's a cheap bass does not make it ok to route neck pockets too deep. 2 out of 2 Dean basses I have tried out where like this.

The preamp in it fried after 2 months of frequent playing of the bass... remember, I got this bass brand new, supposedly straight from the manufacturer as a warranty replacement. I did not put it through any abnormal or abusive use. It never even made it to a practice or a live show.

I've installed an Aguilar 18v preamp now and all new control pots. This is reason #3 (of 3) I still play this bass. I guess the stock pickups will die next?

This was a bass Dean supposedly sent me as a replacement for a severely flawed "Edge 5". I don't know if Dean sent this inferior model or if the dealer did a switcharound and kept my "Edge 5". I got the RA# and sent the bad bass to Dean directly along with a letter explaining its problems. It was a congenial letter, not a bitchy one. I asked them to send either the repaired bass or a new one to my address, not the dealer. They sent it to the dealer.

In the end, I paid $370 for the "Edge 5" and got an Edge with 5 strings, which usually only cost $250.

I've been playing since I was 12, in 1985. I've also owned a Carvin LB75, a Washburn MB 5, a Fender P/J, an Ibanez SR805 and that Dean "Edge 5" that got sent back. This one is not superior to the Washburn or the Carvin, but it does beat the Ibanez and that terrible Edge 5 that I sent back. The Fender doesn't count 'cuz it was a 4 string that I hated.

I like this one's neck. I plan to keep it since my ramp shim worked on the neck/action and it has a world class onboard preamp in it.

The whole reason I bought a $350-$450 bass was to have one to haul around. This one will do for that purpose now that I have repaired all of its flaws myself. It is not my pick for recording or doing a large show.

Purchased new from an online dealer for $189 in 2001.
The other reviews give the details as far as the number of frets and such, so I'll just tell you that mine is a beautiful "transparent amber" color and is a classy looking instrument.
It is the third bass I have owned, my first being a Squier p-bass special.
I was browsing a local retailer one day and saw a couple of Dean basses. I'd never played one so I picked it up and gave it a whirl. Man, was I smitten! The neck and the action was smooth as silk. It played liked an old friend. I went home and found one on the net. I really like the soap-bar pick-ups and the simple electronics. The tuners are great and it really stays in tune.

I play mostly C&W, bluegrass and Praise & Worship stuff. This bass is perfect for me. I'm not a great player. I've only been playing bass for a couple of years, but I've played music all my life and I know when a bass sounds good and when it sound like mush, and this bass sounds GOOD. I play through a 60 watt Electar amp (see musicyo.com) at home and I can shake the house pretty good. I put a new set of Ernie Ball strings on this baby recently and the sound is so rich and fat! I know that some guys prefer active electronics to satisfy their "funk" needs, but I have no "funk" needs and like the plain passive pick-ups. I would play this bass proudly anywhere.

The bass is very attractive. (Am I being repetitive?) It makes you want to pick it up and play it. The finish is flawless as far as I can tell. The neck and the action are both fantastic. I did have to raise the action a tad to avoid fret buzz, but it's still low and fast.

This bass will last me the rest of my natural life if my son does not swipe it. It seems to be sturdily built and durable. I've never had the slightest problem with it, and don't anticipate any.

Haven't had to use them.

If this bass were lost, destroyed or stolen, I would immediately purchase another Dean bass. I have come to the conclusion the Dean makes absolutely FANTASTIC guitars for the money, and they probably represent the best value on the market today. I currently own 7 guitars, including a Dean "exotiglass" acoustic / electric bowl-back 6 string that rivals anything Ovation has ever made.
This is one sweet bass for less than $200 bucks.