Dean Guitars Edge Q4

Not sure when made but bought new in 2004; transparent red finish. Specs as per all other Q4's reviewed on this page: 2 band active EQ, passive EMG-HZ pickups - nothing out-of-the-ordinary, but good for the price..

Awesome funky sound, loved by me and everyone else in the band I play with. Plenty of electric high-end twang, great for Flea or Mark King style slap with equal pickup mix. Play fingerstyle through the neck pickup for a booming low end. I use it with RotoSound Swing Bass 35's.

Usually play funk/fusion but have tried this with many styles and the EQ will handle anything. Not played ANYTHING that sounds quite like this guitar, would love to buy myself an expensive bass but I'm genuinely frightened of spending a lot of money on something that doesn't sound as good as this.

I went into the shop for no reason in particular, and came out with this guitar as an impulse buy since it sounded so good.

Light as a feather, feels soild, flawless even finish. My only gripe is the guitar looks very "metal" - it doesn't suit its sound. Still looks awesome though, with the maple under the transparent red finish looking very deep under spotlights.

Nice high action over the pickups and decent string spacing (19") for playing slap. Neck is a little roughly finished comparing it to my Fender Mex Jazz.

Little "mistake" on the stripe as the back of the neck, doesn't effect feel or performance though.

Has a few dings on the back but this was at the fault of the shop - got me some money off for that!

Played this solid for a year and can't fault it.

Never had to use support.

Great guitar for the price - my only regret is that I didn't buy the 5-string version, or better still, one of Dean's higher priced Edges.

Not exactly sure what year it was made. I returned it within a couple days after it was given to me as a present. I would guess 2004, made in Korea. It had the same stats as the other reviews.

I also own the 6-string equivelant. I bought the 6-string because it was cheap and to see if I would enjoy playing 6-strings (I found out that I don't...I'll be selling the Q6 shortly.) Other than having 4 instead of 6 strings, the Q4 is exactly the same as the Q6.

I gave it a 5 because this bass is roll-your-eyes average....meaning, boring, but it'll get the job done if you just need something to make sound with.

This is mostly the main gripe I had with the bass:

Most (if not all) of the reviews I've read about the EMG-HZ pickups have been glowing - people seem to generally be into them.

I do not care for the sound of the HZs. They are quite cold and dead-sounding. Their sound reminds me of what the bass is usually like in Korn or maybe the random hip-hop song. In other words, the EMG-HZs sound modern and not very unique or interesting. There doesn't appear to be a whole lot of dynamic response in terms of finger-use either...you're pretty much stuck with one sound regardless whether you pick lightly or aggressively. Other pickups I've played with will typically start to introduce a mild bit of overdrive if you dig in.

To put it bluntly, these basses, along with a lot of the cheap China/Korean stuff, lack the ever-elusive 'MOJO'. This is kind of a double-edged sword. You want cheap stuff? Its got to be mass produced, and it can't be too complicated or difficult to make.

If you feel like spending more than a couple hours at the local 7-11 guitar store to find yourself an axe, then you'll already know that you can do better than these while staying in the same price range if you take the time to search around (like, erm....*coughebaycough*).

My one last gripe about EMG HZs is that since they are so common, if you buy one of these, don't expect to be revered for having 'your own sound' or anything ridiculous like that.

The action on the dean Edge series is usually ok-ish. Both of the versions I've played were setup professionally. The necks are thin and fast. The frets are rather large and stick up obtrusively; I prefer flatter frets.

The rosewood fretboard is very blah. Once again, I refer to the 'MOJO' rating. I think the basses would be cooler if they had a maple fretboard or something different to set it apart from the masses. The abalone fret dots are a nice (albiet subtle) touch.

The paint job is nice. However, as with the rosewood fretboard, its very blah and common-looking. Yes, with the Q-series, the tops are quilted. Do they look much different from the usual quilted tops? Nope. Are they particularly impressive looking? Not really. Is it a step up from a regular flat paint job? Well, technically yes. However if you prefer to not have such a delicate type of finish, its not really a practical (read ---> useful) upgrade.

I used the 6-string version as my main (and only) axe on a 4-5 month tour. It held up well and, as I said before, it got the job done. I had the bass setup professionally at the start with crappy (but free) fender strings. The truss rod required a little bit of tweaking as the tour went into the winter months and the temperature/humidity changed. I would say this catagory is probably the Edge's strongest.

I've never had to deal with Dean.

I could go through and answer all these questions listed but I've pretty much said it all already. I wrote the review because its a little annoying that all of the other reviews seem to be overly praising. Raise your standards, people!

5 for very average. Good for a cheap bass and if your only option is buying a new instrument.

If you haven't figured it out by now, do yourself a favor, and try out some quality used basses. This doesn't mean go try out used Ibanez soundgears. You can usually snag a much higher quality instrument for about the same amount of money that these Deans typically go for new. If you find one of these used, they should be quite cheap (around $100-$200). In that case, I'd give it maybe a 6 (or 7 if you switch the pickups) as they can be obviously a better value provided that the condition of the bass is good.

Made in Korea 2000 i think. 24 frets, active electronics, 2 passive Dean humbuckers. Bass, treble, volume and pickup choosing tuners. Very thin and nice neck. Black finish and very attractive.

I play insane death metal, and this bass does the job great. I'm currently using it with a 15" Trace Elliot combo and a Warwick 4x10" cabinet. Thanks to the active electronics I can get many different sounds. Sounds very well for the price.

I bought it new, and it was in a very good condition.

I have played this bass live many times, and it has never let me down. The hardware seems solid and i have never had any problems with it. The finish seems a little thin, because it can easily get some scratches if you hit it into something, but who cares?

Never needed any.

I've been playing in 5 years, and when i bought this bass i was looking for a good bass for a low price. No basses I have tried sounds or looks better than this for the price. I will not let anyone steal this bass.

Made in korea, basswood body, quilted top see thru red on this one,
maple/walnut neck, rosewood board, EMG-HZ pickups.black hardware.
Grover hardware.

Great for Heavy Rock or Jazz, depends a lot on your amp..i use a Peavey MK VI stack, have to mess with EQ but well worth it!!

To get the action right, and because i tune down, i shimmed the neck
also to get a better "break angle" off the bridge, finish is reasonably bullet proof,one fault, the nut..its crap!!! but with some sanpaper and a bit of patience, no problem!

This is my second Q4, and like the first,its taken a while for the truss rod to settle, be patient with it!! i have gigged reguarly
with it, no problem there, use a Q4 as a backup!!!!!

They should give a manual, (for the electronics) most players will find their way around quickly, a beginner will not.
warranty is the usual one year

its a great bass, if you gig with it there are some flaws, but for this price range you would expect that, mainly getting the neck to settle (But it will..eventually!!) which can make it a bit rattly around the 8th fret.
compared to others in this price range,its the pickups that make it a winner!

2002 not sure where it was made, 24 frets on all 4 strings, laminated top. vloume, bass, mid, treble controles. it has 2 emg-hz active pckups. has a wood neck, has a quilted black(changes colors). grover tuners.
the only problem i have is i cant tell when my bass mid and treble are out of tune

sound is great. did have a problem with the plug port but that is fix able cost me 50. the action was little high but they send u all the tools to fix it. i get some buzz on the 8th fret some times

nothing was wrong with the bass when i got it like i said the actionwas high but they send u every tool to fix it

like i said after about 6 months the plug port started clicking alot and i got that replaced. but other than that ive bumped this thing so many times yet not one scratch or dent

they play it before they ship it so they know its perfect comes tuned and everythin. have had a problem with them yet

Awsome bass not too many problems with it great deal i almost got it @ half price

The Dean Edge Q4 is a wonderful bass for the money. It is 2001 with 24 frets and a 4-string, it has 2 active EMG-HZ hb pick-ups. It has a quilt maple top over basswood body. The neck is very thin which gives great reach. It came with a gig bag and sued strap.

I play punk, grunge, rock, jazz, and praise and worship. This bass is great it gives you everything from screaming highs to deep lows. The active pick-ups give the bass lots of options. One thing I don't like is that I should have gotten a 5 string model, but otherwise great.

The finish was pretty, but I took it to the shop to get strings proffesionally put on it, and got it back all scratched up. And it came with a nick in the finish. I have bumped it against a couple things(I am a very wild player)and it was very easily dented. The gauge strings it came with were way to heavy for the bass and it started to warp the neck. Luckily the people at the shop knew how to fix that problem, and completed it with light gauge Ernie Ball Super Slinkys. I would also recomend schaller strap locks because the stock ones are trash.

I play live for my church band, and with my wild playing style I often worry about it. And its just stupid to play without a back-up. You never know if you'll break a string or if a battery will die. Thats another thing I don't like is how quickly the nine volt dies. I don't know if thats how it is with all active basses because this is my first active one.

So far I haven't had to deal with them, but have heard many good things about the Dean company

This bass is really nice, I like it alot I've been for almost 2 years. The finish is a little thin for my liking, but for the money this bass is great. All the sounds you can get out of it are amazing. If your getting a new bass this is the thing, I have spent time looking a alot of "high end" basses and this one suits me just fine.

Madein korea, 24 frets, 4 strings. Volume for each humbucker, bass and treble. pickups are emg-hzs and the bass has active electronics. FInish is a beatiful quilted amberburst (kinda like fire). Body made of basswood with a maple cap, the neck is made of mapleand walnut with a rosewood fretboard with shiny inlays (mother of pearl?). The bridge is pretty similar to a badass 2 which of course is good. The tuners are Grovers and really smooth. They hold the tuning well. Neck is about the same as a jazz. The battery compartment has this cool little flick thing so that you don't need screws to change. Managed to get a free strap with it.

Thegenre i play mostly is jazzy/funkystuff but sometimes I'll play rock or punk. This bass does it all and could suit reggae easily. I use it through a marshall 25 watt amp mostly but have tried it on 120 watt laneys in different shops and it beats anything I've heard in the price range. It can give off a nasty buzz if you crank the treble right up but you can easily just turn it down on the bass and up on the amp. It can have a bright flea-esque growl and add a bit more bottom end response and can reach down to a full on thump you in the chest low-end without sounding muddy. Its always very rich which will be down to the emg pickups. I haven't used it in either stage or studio yet but it would definitely suit stage better. It would get a 10 if it wasnt for the buzz

Perfect straight from the shop. Well... perhaps the action was a bit low but thats easily fixed in 5 minutes. The pickups are at just the right height. The finish has no blemishes but inside at the jack socket and the bolts in the back of the neck it is just wood so it might end up flaking away.

Im sure this bass could withstand live playing but you might want to take a few spae batteries etc as usual. Personally i would take a backup just because I'm over-cautious. All the hardware is solid and the finish definitely won't flake away. The strap buttons are really sturdy but plastic.

never needed it but the warranty is 5 years.

Other gear I own is a vintage (as in owned by encore not old)bass and a marshall amp. I use a zoom 506ii sometimes and it sounds good through all of the pathches. If it were stolen or lost i would try and get another. The best things about it are the little battery compartment that you flick open, the slim neck and the available tones aswell as the amazingly sweet finish. I compared it to an epiphone thunderbird 4, and peavey fury 4 and dynabass and fenders and it beat them all although if you are into more heavy music then get a thunderbird or something close to it.

Volume control and three control knobs. EMG soapbar active pickups. 24 frets, bolt on neck, 4 string, emaculant transparent orange/yellow.

I play meatal and rock. This is one solid rock hard kickin' ass bass. Sounds great, feels bulletproof. Not heavy either. Sounds vary for pretty much everything you want. I'm not a slapper but I've had friends slap it around and they agree it's one sweet fellin' bass. If it had a long blonde pony tail I'd marry it.

Action was set almost perfect. A little rattle on the first fret second string but that's it. The pickups sound and feel solid. Very pleasant smooth sounding. You could play for grama with the right setting, but just turn the knob and you're sending her to prayer. There are virtually no flaws that I can see. Allthough the coord jack was loos when I first got it and it just needed to be re-tightened. No biggie. Tip: take the back plate off to tighten jack. Screwing the outside of it will only tighten the wires inside and it'll eventually break them off. That's a tip for any bass or guitar. Happened to a buddy's Les Paul.

This bass was made for live playing. It is so tough yet so smooth at the same time. The neck is surprisingly thin and is easy to slide up and down. Everything on this bass was made to last a life time. Just make sure you pack an extra 9v battery just incase. Remember 'active' pickups require the battery. It just slips right an the back. Careful with the wires though. They're kinda short. I would feel very confident and proud without a backup in a gig. No doubt.

Havn't needed to get ahold of them yet. But they do have a web site I know about.

I've only been playing for about 2 years and this is only my second bass. My first was a fender squire P-bass. This Dean is definatly a step above the rest. Don't let the price be decieving. I've played american fenders that play the same as this. And this one looks a ton better than any fender. If I had this bass stolen you can bet your lunch money I'd go and buy this one again. Only, I think i'd get the classy looking transparent golden/brown color. It loos sharp as does any Q4. I compared this to a lot of fenders, ibenez, & ESP's and with the price tag on the Dean, it was no contest. The dean played just as good as any of the higher priced basses. If you're strapped for cash, don't hesitate with this one. Sure thing. You can't beat the quality with that price.

2000 version,24 fret, quilt maple top, rosewood body, maple/walnut neck. Volume, blend, active high and low tone controls. Active bass with custom EMG pickups. Grover tuners. Very thin neck and low action. Looks absolutely beautiful. I got a great deal on it because the people at the store I bought it from had the wrong price on it. I tried to tell them that they made a mistake, but they didn't believe me, and they offered it to me at the price they had it listed for, which was about $200 less than the going rate elsewhere.

I have the 2000 version with the new pickups/preamp. The old ones say EMG-HZ on them. They were having a slight problem with the old setup so they redesigned the pickups and preamp. The new pickups say Dean on them, but they're the same EMG pickups, only beefed up for an even better tone. I play just about every style of music except country. This bass has a wide variety of great tones. The pickups are the best you'll find on a bass under $600. They're made in the USA at the main EMG factory (no cheap made-in-Taiwan crap!) The active EQ is great. With both EQ knobs turned up full, you'll get a little noise, but that's to be expected with active tone controls. The neck pickup gets a rich sound that ranges from dark and boomy with almost no attack to medium dark with less boom and more attack, depending on the tone controls. The bridge pickup is brighter with a more pronounced attack. Blending the two pickups together gives you various combination of dark/bright and boom/attack. You can get any tone, including jazz, funk, metal, punk, reggae, ska, and any other tone you might need.

The finish is beautiful (so beautiful in fact that I sometimes find myself simply staring at it instead of playing it...I need to get a girlfriend, don't I?) The pickups are perfectly adjusted. The action could use some adjusting, but that's only because the morons at the store I went to set it up wrong. The neck is the thinnest I've ever seen, and combined with the low action makes it a real speed-demon for flying riffs and leads. Despite the thin neck and low action, this bass is also great for slapping, although if all I did was slap I would probably get the action raised.

This bass seems fairly durable, although with my history of denting instruments, it probably won't be too long before the gorgeous finish is ruined. I've already smashed it a few times, and there isn't even a mark on it, so it can take a beating.

I e-mailed the company about the new pickups, and they replied to me the next day. No problem here.

I play several instruments, including piano, keyboard, organ, guitar, bass, saxophone, harmonica, and percussion. I also play just about every style of music. I was looking for a high quality bass with a wide variety of tones, a great feel, and a medium-range price (because I play so many instruments, I really have to watch my budget to afford all the stuff I need). IMHO,this bass is worth over $1000. It will never be lost, because I love it too much too lose it. If it were stolen, I would understand the thief wanting such a great instrument, and then I would beat him to death with whatever pitiful piece of equipment he has. I would recommend this bass to anyone. The only reason I would even consider getting a more expensive bass is if I wanted to show off the price of my bass to other people. I haven't played on a Stingray (because it costs so much that I'm afraid to play it in a store for fear of denting it and having to buy it...I told you I have a bad habit of destroying stuff), but I have compared this bass to several $1000 basses and this bass holds its own with all of them. Unless you want to brag about owning a $1000+ bass, get this one.

24 frets, made in Korea, quilt maple top, controls for vol. pickup blend, bass and treble boost and cut. active EMG-HZ soapbar pickups, grover tuners, comfortable body, and medium-thin bolt on neck. Overall a nice solid feel, great looks, and plenty of goodies for the price.

i play mainly jazz, funk, rock, reggae, and sometimes punk. the right mix of pickup blend and two band EQ on this bass will give you almost every sound you need from plunky slap to smooth bassy grooves. I usually keep the Bass all the way up and the treble at half boost, this gives a great funk sound when slapped and warm room-filling tone when plucked. I plug mine into a SWR Workingman 10 amp and hook my Zoom BFX 708 into the effects loop for compression, OD, wah, phaser and some funky synths that i never use in songs. This bass is quiet as a mouse if you keep the control knobs cleen and lubricated, they scratch and crack after tuning them a while, but this is not really a problem, more of a nusiance. A rather bright sounding axe but it can be dialed to a nice fat setting. I love the control and versitility, the screwless battery compartment is also a nice touch. on a few settings it can however sound muddy.

There were no flaws when i got this bass, and the action is right where i like it.

i cant really say whether its durable or not, it feels like its built like a tank, but ive never dropped it to find out, i love it to much. i would gig without a back up, though i do put a new 9v in before preforming, just in case.the finnish on the pickup screws and around the jack is starting to show signs of ware, but nothing big.

Never needed it.

Ive only been playing electric for 8 months, ive played upright for 4 or 5 years. this is the bass ive learned everything on.I've tried out a lot of basses, and no others in my price range have had the sound and versitility that this one has. It's quick, funky, stays in tune for weeks, has killer looks {the top arm is 6 inches long, sweetness.}, and sounds incredible. A great affordable insturment.