Dean Guitars Edge 4 Fretless

Affordable fretless bass with solid construction, a very nice feel, and some surprisingly rich tones.

The neck has some wonderful features. It's narrower than a Fender bass neck -- more like a Rickenbacker's -- and has a very flat radius. So it's surprisingly easy to play chords, even without frets. The 24-fret length is also nice, although to be honest, I got more squeak than sound above the 21st fret on the top string.

The neck has dot markers, but no lines, so you'll really need to learn your finger positions.

Offers some wonderfully rich string-bass tones on the neck pickup. (*Surprisingly* rich, given the instrument's construction: bolt-on neck, lightweight basswood body, and top-loading string tail.) Nice metallic tones on the bridge pickup.

What I couldn't find is the bassoony timbre that you get on a Fender Jazz Bass's bridge pickup with the tone potted down to full bass.

Everything felt good.

Feels durably assembled. But remember that basswood is an inherently soft wood, so the body is vulnerable to dents.

No experience contacting Dean.

This is a great bass. With the fine tone it gets out of basic construction, I only wish Dean offered a fretless bass with higher-end design: denser body (like alder or ash), strings-through-body tail, and neck-through or set-neck design.

Also, this bass's soapbar pickups don't offer quite the tonal range you can get out of a Fender Jazz Bass's single-coils. But they may be richer at the low end. Compare the two to decide for yourself.

And it would be nice if there were a lined-fingerboard option.

Some tone-tweaking tips you can use on any fretless bass:
* To get more of a woody, upright-bass sound, add very short (slapback) delay.

* To get more of a fretted-bass sound, add a compression circuit. This sharpens the attack and adds sustain.

4-string fretless, basswood body (I have the transparent black - exquisitely beautiful!), maple bolt-on neck with unlined rich-grained fretboard, small dot markers on the side lined up where the frets would be, not in-between (my favorite fretless look and function). Active electronics (Vol., pickup balance, bass boost/cut, treble boost/cut), basic but solid bridge, Grover tuners, all black hardware. Doesn't come with a case, but I got the dealer to throw a gig bag in for free!

I play through a couple of small Behringer combos and a DigiTech BP200 floor processor. I can get pretty much any tone I want from this bass, which is quite impressive considering I also own an Ibanez BTB which offers a sweepable mid and this Dean can hold its own in getting just as much variety in tone! The basswood body and maple/rosewood neck help make for a wide-range of frequencies from a bright openness to warm mids and even beefy lows. One thing I did was to replace the roundwound strings that came stock. LaBella Deep Talkin' Bass Black Nylon Tape Wounds were recommended and not only do they enhance the look (black strings on a trans-black bass) and feel (silky smooth), they sound like an upright fretless (because of the nylon outer wrap), but maintain that brighter piano tone due to their steel core and the bass' solid body construction. The only fretless in the store that had a more open tone was a hollow body Spector for a couple hundred more, but I prefer this Dean to even that.

I do see that the bridge is a degree off-center, but no harm, no foul. Everything else is tight, solid and quality. The neck is a pleasure to play and I'm a hard guy to please when it comes to a bass neck. I'm very used to my wide and thin BTB neck and most basses feel like a clumsy baseball bat, but this Dean neck is rare as it feels right at home! When I picked up this bass, I couldn't put it down until I had to give it over to the sales person to prep for purchase! The action was right for me, even after changing to the thicker nylon strings. Tunes up nicely and stays tuned. The only thing I don't like about the bridge, other than it being very slightly off-center with the neck, is that you have to pull the strings through it rather than just dropping the ball in from the top like I do with my Ibanez. I may eventually change out the bridge, but for now it's doing just fine. A better bridge, properly aligned would have made this a 10.

I see no reason why this would not hold up for many years. As for my situation, I ply in my church and a fretless won't fit into the situation. My trusty BTB goes on that gig and is still my favorite bass. But at home, I find myself reaching for the lighter weight (7.5 lbs) Dean and having fun getting to slither around on that dreamy fretless fingerboard! One day, I'll have a gig that will make use of the fretless and the Dean will be front and center. It's very solid and well-built, has a miles-deep finish, reliable Grover tuners and I added what I add to every bass no matter what - Straplock pins. The strap pins that come standard are tight and reliable, but I like the basses I buy too much to risk not having the strap locked to the body! Been there, done that before - no thanks!

N/A

5 year warranty

Bought it from Bass Place in Tempe, Arizona and they take care of their customers, even have some big names come through their doors, but all are treated equally well!

Just picked this one up last week and I LOVE it! I have an Ibanez BTB 6-string and was going to get a BTB 4-string, but when I left the store, a guy came in behind me and ended up buying the BTB! I came back the next day and was crushed, so I checked out some other basses and this one caught my eye. I've always wanted a fretless and now that I have this one, I am glad that guy who bought the BTB 4-string changed my options! I've messed around with several fretless basses before and this one is the only one to really grab me and at the price, I was able to grab it up! If it was ever lost or stolen, I would hope I could find another one as perfect looking and playing as this one - I would definitely buy it again!

Update to my review below - I'm on my 3rd Dean Edge 4 fretless (still trying to get one that's in decent condition). This one is much nicer in the wood department, but the bridge and neck are still offset by at least a degree and a half. I decided to keep it (and have been playing it for 5 weeks), but just this week the pickup pan pot developed bad scratchiness AND the electronics have started to hiss (same setup - I've recorded with this bass already - no hiss then (3 weeks ago) - all of sudden it's started). So....I'm beginning to be very frustrated while not understanding why this is so hard.

I've played with it live - no issues. In fact, the bass is very light (7.5 pounds) and I LOVE how nice it feels. Wish we could hammer out the electronics, and it would be a keeper.

Notice that I've UPGRADED this area. Scott has been very helpful about the scratchy pot (sending a new one pronto). Hope they can be equally as helpful about the hiss.

Good value in theory, but quality control, construction, and electronics need work. Customer service is great (and getting better)...the bass is beautiful....and it did play great for about a month. If we can sort out the electronics, it will be a keeper (and I'll upgrade the overall rating.

Nice feature set for it's price point. I'm on my second (more on that later) unlined fretless with a transparent amberburst finish. The body wood is laminate basswood, and the bass is very light (8ish pounds). The fingerboard is nice, dark rosewood (unlined). The tuners are enclosed (black hardware), and the pickups are Dean's brand (active preamp with bass/treble/pan controls). The bridge is excellent - simple and it actually works smoothly for all adjustments. What is lacks is a decent nut (more on that later) and consistency on the pickup mountings.

As a fretless, it can sound great. The stock strings are rubbish...some generic roundwounds that are put in place in Korea. Dean won't even tell you the brand name. The electronics are o.k. - my first one was noisy, this one is much quieter (but I'm sending it back as well). Sound palette is nice for a fretless with a nice spread depending on the pan control and the player's pickup choice. You can get a very warm, jazzy Jaco tone - or I like the killer thump with the bass gain turned up while playing over the neck pickup. Works fine for studio and stage.

Here's where we run into problem. My first "new" Dean had numerous finish markings and two gouges on the headstock. It also had a nut that had been chewed up, and the E-string slot was all the way down to the fretboard. The fretboard itself had small gouges near the nut as well. The finish itself was nice (and the basswood laminates were done well). The black hardware looks very nice with the bass. After two months of coordinating a swap for a new bass, the new one came in with the bridge/strings mounted unevenly from the neck; the finish chipped near the neck, the fingerboard gouged with string rounds the entire length of the E string, etc. etc. - three months after ordering this I still don't have the one I'll finish with. The nut on the second bass looked better until I played the guitar - the D string slot is way too deep and you have to put the action way up in the sky to avoid a double "wah"...this is getting tiring, and Dean's quality control needs work. Both basses had pickups mounted with extreme angles on the vertical plane, and the setups were terrible as far as intonation was concerned.

Reliable enough given the finish/setup issues. It's a light bass, so don't use it as a jackhammer. The neck is super - nice finish and radius.

O.K. Anthony at Dean Guitars is very nice on the phone and email - but he has a habit of disappearing once you get into negotiations. Bottom line is that between Music123 and Dean, it took two months to complete the return and exchange of my first bass. Clock is now ticking on the second.

Verdict is out...while I've had them awaiting return authorization, they've played well - I really enjoy the neck construction and the overall weight of the bass. I just wish the finish and details would be a bit more standard. The untrue string to neck angle is a serious construction flaw and my second bass should never have been shipped.

4 string, fretless, 2 full octaves, rosewood fingerboard with no lines, transparent black (or dark grey), passive electronics, 2 volume knobs, 1 tone knob. Not too much in the way of bells and whistles, but can't complain for the price.

Bass came strung with GHS Boomers, sounds beautiful. A surprisingly vast array of sound for passive electronics. Bridge pickup is nice and bright (I can easily get that Jaco sound), neck pickup is very warm, together the sound is rich and full. So far I haven't experienced any hum in the year and a half that I've owned this bass. No crackle in the pots.

This bass was flawless when I tried it out in the store, and it's still flawless now. Neck remains straight, fretless fingerboard has no dead spots, action is very close with no buzzing anywhere. Very easy to play, very similar to my Zon. Fingerboard has no fretlines (my preference), dots on topside are appropriately shifted to where fret rails would be (instead of in between fret rails). Loss of sustain is minimal when sliding up or down neck.

I've used this bass as my primary in only two gigs, the rest saw it there as a backup/alternative for such songs that require a fretless (such as Sting's "Walking On The Moon"). Haven't really beat on it yet, but it appears to be pretty durable. Strap buttons are tight. Neck has yet to need an adjustment.

Haven't had to repair it. Don't remember a warranty card (but then again for $300 I wasn't too worried about it)

The only reason I'm not giving this a perfect 10 is because it didn't come with a case. I've been playing bass for 4 years (and continue to ramp up very quickly), and drums for 23 years. The retail price on this bass was $450, B Music had it in a liquidation sale for $350, and I talked them down to $300 (while trying to hide my excitement that I was ready to buy it after trying it out for only 2 minutes!). I also have a Zon Sonus 5-string, an Ovation 4-string acoustic, and an upright 3/4 bass, all of which I play through an SWR SM400 with SWR Goliath II 4x10. I don't keep what I don't like, so if this bass (or anything else) were ever stolen, I'd hunt down the thief and hang him in public.