Dean Guitars Edge 5LH

I assume my new Dean Edge 5-LH is a 2001 model, as it was just shipped from the factory. It didn't come with any literature except a "generic" factory inspection card hung on the neck, but these are the specifics as recited on the card. Fretted 5 string model, Basswood body, bolt-on Maple & Walnut neck (4 bolts), Dean Soap Bar Pickups w/Dean Preamp, Rosewood Fingerboad, Grover Tuners, 5 year warranty. There was no description of the controls, but it seems to be the same configuration as the Custom 5 (described in a review I read here) -- master volume, pickup mix, bass & treble controls (with indent for center position). 24 frets and I think it is 35" scale. Finish is "Transparent Black" -- but actually it is a very deep purple.

Now, I should explain why I am so jazzed about this new bass, since I am not an actual bass player. (I've played guitar for a number of years.) I spent about a zillion hours deciding which bass to get & when I ordered the Dean Edge 5, I was only "so-so" with the decision. I'm lefthanded and there aren't a lot of choices for us at a price I can afford. But when the bass showed up, it really exceeded my expectations! I owe this website and the other reviewers an extreme debt of gratitude, because I read >alot< of reviews in deciding what to buy.

Since I'm not a bass player, my opinion probably won't help you too much, but I'll explain my criteria and selection process. For awhile I've been playing bass lines on my keyboard, but I decided it was time for the real thing. I wanted to have some control over the strings & the actual sound of the notes. My initial price range was "cheap but playable," but you know how that goes.

I headed over to the local Guitar Center where I usually buy stuff. Talk about selection! For lefties, the choice was "Fender Squier P/J." For the rest of you, there was a whole wall of basses. (Don't these people realize about 40% of us are lefthanded???) The P/J was probably precisely what I had in mind before I got to the store. But I play guitar both left and right handed, so I played a few other basses to compare the sound.

I latched on to an Ibanez 5 string with active electronics. It had a good range of sounds. I wanted to get that bright, trebly sound when you really snap the strings and also a deep growl for a more bluesy rolling kind of bass. Problem is -- Ibanez doesn't make it left.

So, I played the Squier again, but I just couldn't sell myself on it. It didn't feel right, didn't have the sound range of the Ibanez and I was worried about hum. Then -- this is silly -- I decided I didn't really want a sunburst Fender bass right next to my sunburst Strat. Not enough variety.

Now, at Guitar Center your designated salesman is also serving three other customers, so there is lots of time to browse through the entire selection of "lefthanded bass guitar" that they have available. In fairness, though, they searched the computer and could locate a lefthanded Yamaha.

I played a righthand version of the Yamaha, but the neck was too skinny. I did not go to the store seeking a 5 string, but one thing I really liked about the 5 string configuration is that it has a wider neck. Anyway, by this time the store was so noisy with 5th graders trying out guitars I couldn't hear the instrument I was testing, so I left.

I checked with some on-line music stores. Tried to get an Epiphone LH (LH=left hand) bass (out of stock) and an ESP 5-LH model that they were closing out (out of stock). The best response was from Northwest Bass, which offered me a great price on -- the LH Yamaha. But I checked their webpage and they also had a transparent red Dean Edge 5-LH. (Now, what I could not figure out was why the LH had only three knobs, but the transparent black RH model they were offering had four knobs, meaning "active electronics" ...)

I decided it was time to check ou

The bass sounds pretty much like what I was looking for in a bass. I've got a Digitech RP2000 that emulates a bunch of different amps and I really like the bass matched up with the "Tweedy Amp" selection, which is kind of a bluesy setup. There seems to be quite a range of sound, from the mellow Phil Lesh/Live Dead sort of sound to a fairly bright, metallic "popping" sound that stands out more. But -- since I'm not a bass player, my knowledge of bass sounds is limited, so you better test one for yourself.

The fit and finish seems pretty good to me. I haven't found anything that annoyed me. My guitars have always had a gloss finish on the back of the neck, but Dean has gone with a satin, or very light finish, so it's a different feel.

The bass seems really solid. I'm probably not a very good judge of durability though -- I don't put my instruments through much abuse. However, I was pretty disappointed by the Dean hardshell case.

Well, I haven't dealt with them, but the Dean Edge rep. was in the store when we placed the order and delivery from the Dean Edge factory in Florida to California was prompt, five or six days.