Dean Guitars Jeff Berlin Standard

Made in the Czech Republic, 2002 or so? This reads like a laundry list of features that I'd want if I were designing my own bass. Alder body, slab-sided with double cutaways, bolt-on slim maple neck with ebony fretboard and 21 frets, 34" scale, Schaller tuners, Badass II bridge, dual Bartolini humbuckers with vloume/volume/tone controls, and hooray - no active electronics. Mine has a sunburst finish, the back of the neck has a satin finish. All of the hardware is gold finish, which looks good with the sunburst finish, but I hate because it usually deteriorates faster than chrome. It would also help if the top of the bridge were slotted to facilitate string changes. One point off for those nit-picks.

During my formative playing years I grew to like the sound of the big passive humbuckers on Ibanez Roadstars. The Barts on this bass are a bit more powerful, but I'd say not quite as bright. It's a strong, full sound. If your amp does not have an input attenuator or a separate input jack for active pickups, you might overdrive your amp even though these are passive pickups. I'm a set-it-and-forget-it type of person, so it doesn't matter whether I'm playing punk with a pick or blues with my fingers, I run both pickups and the tone pot wide open all of the time. Due to the wide spacing between pickups there is certainly some potential for variety of sound but I don't need that feature. The bridge pickup by itself is a bit lacking in the low-end since it is so close to the bridge, but would probably make for a good solo sound, if that's your thing. Overall, plugging in with a new set of strings never fails to bring a smile to my face. That will give you a big, bright sound, or you can let the strings age, which will lead you to a fat, classic sound.

Even though the neck is very thin and narrow, there's no problem with neck relief. Just the opposite - I had to add some relief in the neck since mine was set too flat, but that's the fault of the tech at the store where I bought it. The headstock has a shallow angle relative to the fretboard. I found that if I don't leave sufficient length on the first (G) string to allow for multiple wraps around the tuning post (forcing the string down the post), the tension across the nut is too light and the open G string will give a half-muted buzz instead of a nice clean tone.

I really like the sunburst finish. The body on mine is comprised of two pieces of wood, but the lower half is much darker than the upper half, which results in a distinct horizontal break in the appearance. I'm not too hung up on cosmetics, but since this bass does not have a top veneer it would be nice if they had taken time to more closely match wood tone and grain between the body pieces.

What could go wrong? Hooray to Jeff Berlin and Dean for making a bass that doesn't have active electronics. Who really needs that junk anyway? I don't even use the one passive tone control as it is. I never bring a backup instrument to a gig and I can't see why I'd need one for this bass. I've had to add some relief to the neck a couple of times and adjust the bridge saddles accordingly. No big deal.

Never had to deal with them.

I've been playing 27 years. My primary instrument for most of that period was a 1983 Ibanez Roadstar II, though I've probably owned a dozen other basses with various combinations of pickups and electronics. The only one I wish I had kept was a Music Man Sterling.

The frets on the Ibanez were getting worn down and I was looking for something that might prove more suitable for a classic rock/cover band situation. I really like the way this bass feels and sounds. It seems very hard to find a bass these days that has the combination of narrow neck and passive humbuckers. I had considered the MTD Kingston but this is such a big step up in quality that I couldn't pass it up. It amazes me that these instruments were languishing in music stores while people were spending hundreds more for a lesser instrument, just to get a certain name on the headstock. Yes, I'd probably try to replace it if it were lost or stolen, but they're already getting harder to find.

Made in Chech Republic. Volume, tone and pan. Ebony board, Schaller tuners, BAII bridge. The necks of these basses DO have dual graphite reinforcement rods, I checked with the manufacturer about this. Two passive Bartolini Jeff Berlin custom pups. All gold hardware. Mine has an alder body with an Amberburst high gloss finish. I looked at all the available finishes, and this was by far the most beautiful. I got mine new, but sans any case or bag.

This bass sounds great and suits my finger picking style well. Bartolini makes superb pups, as everyone knows, and these are re-issues of the custom designed buckers that were specially wound for Jeff Berlin 20 years ago. Widely spaced, the barts can cover the full spectrum of tones just with the pan control. Best of all, they are very sensitive to touch dynamics, making this bass a good tool for players who've developed a distinctive, or "signature" sound. My JBS is very quiet at all settings. I use a series of tube driven preamp stages, QSC 1800 watt power amp, and two Avatar B212 cabs. The signal from the JBS Bartolinis is warm enough for me to just use a SansAmp Bass Driver as a preamp. I think I can give this bass a 10 rating here, cause it really does sound great.

Well, it came set up just the way I like it. Someone took their time and did a nice job building, finishing, and setting up this instrument. I can't find any flaws, and the gorgeous paint job is in a league with G&L, honestly.

This ia a pretty solid bass and will be durable, I'm sure. Let's face it, with graphite neck rods, Schaller machines, BadassII bridge, Bartolini pickups, ebony board and even gold hardware, the folks at Dean Guitars are not skimping on this model. For those who cant afford a backup bass(and I have been one of those at times), the JBS is trustworthy enough.

Yeah, I expect good support from Dean Guitars, because they promptly answered both of the e-mails I sent. That's my barometer for judging what cust. support will be like if I ever really need it. So although I've had no problems with the bass, I'm going to rate a 9 here, just cause of the freindly, prompt e-mails. I like this company already, it's just too bad that the JBS is the only thing they make that I am even remotely interested in.

Started in 1970. I currently own a few G&L's, a few Warwicks, a few Reverend basses. The Dean JBS is a nice addition to my already-too-big arsenal. The list of gear I've owned thru the years is huge. If lost, I could get another one for cheap money right now, but I think the price of these will be going up, or maybe they will be discontinued(more likely). The components alone make this bass a bargain. A sleekly carved body, not heavy, with excellent balance. Snug four bolt neck joint, jazz type neck which plays very well. What's not to like? A competent instrument for players of all levels. I think we have a winner here.

Made in the Czech republic, ebony fretboard, badass bridge, bart, three piece maple neck. The dean website says that it is graphite reinforced but when I called to confirm they said it wasnt???? Kinda of strange or a case of false advertising. Mine is a transparent green on an alder body. Passive

I really like the sound of this bass. The pickups are placed fairly far apart and it can be really dark on the neck pickup and bright on the bridge pickup. The pickups are fairly hot and the tone knob actually changes the sound significantly. Imagine that! I play at home on an Ampeg BA -112 bass amp. I have never had a bass that didnt make a little bit of noise at some setting but this one is very quiet.

I got this bass brand new shipped pretty much directly to me and out of the box, that action was great. I didint bother getting it set up because it was already where I wanted it, straight neck , nice low action, very easy to play, nice frets, My bass did have a small chip in the ebony fretboard between the nut and the first fret. nothing mature but a small ding. One of the volume knobs is on a little lopsided. Except for the ding in the fretboard and knob really well done

Cant say but the finish on it seems good and it looks like its built solid

Weel I called Dean and left a message and they called me back within a day or so. would be nice if you could speak with someone directly. Like I siad before seems like there is some confusion over whether this bass has graphite reinforcement or not and that seems pretty lame as I bought it under the assumption that there was as their website says.

I got this bass for pretty cheap and I dont want to say in case I decide to sell it. but I feel for the money there is no way you can go wrong for the price. I have owned many basses, Rickenbacker, Status, Tokai, Fender, Peavey,G&L, Attila Balough, and such and this thing really is a nice piece of work that sounds really good. It could be a little lighter though. I think mine is about 9 pounds. The neck is the best part about it. It is slim and narrow , plays like a jazz bass , fast , really a great bass for the money. For the price that I payed it whips the hell out of anything in its price range lets say the $400 to $700 range

My Dean Jeff Berlin Standard is the 2002(3?) model. It came standard with an Alder Body in a gorgeous dark red (almost burgundy) finish, 3-piece Maple neck w/ Ebony fretboard, 21 Medium Frets and gold tone knobs, Schaller tuners and Badass II bridge. The electronics are passive with a Volume/Balance/Tone setup and are run through Bartolini pickups. The pickups are custom designed pickups that were designed over 20 years ago specifically for Jeff Berlin.

I gave this section a 9 mainly because the bass is passive. I'm used to active electronics, but in the whole scheme of things, with the tone this bass gets (more below) and the simplicity I don't miss active electronics at all. Also, I'm used to playing 24 frets, but I don't usually go up that high, so I didn't take off anything for the bass only having 21.

I'm running the bass through a Fender BXR300C combo amp and a RavenLabs PHA-1 Pre-amp/Headphone amp. The bass is very simplistic in operation, being passive and only having a Volume/Balance/Tone controls. As I stated above, I'm used to dealing with active basses, but this bass makes me not even miss active EQ. I've only had the bass a few days, so I haven't gone into all the tonal possibilities yet. But so far, I've been able to get everything from a warm Jazzy tone to a really bridgy Jacoesque growl. Slapping sounds great on this bass also. Pops especially are nice and crisp, and tight.

Again, this doesn't get a perfect 10 because I haven't had time to really look into all the tones this bass has to offer. But for the styles of music I play, I know it will get the job done and then some.

I had to order the bass through Action Music, as they didn't have anymore in stock. There were only 3 of these left in the country, all in the Red finish. My music store actually recieved two of them. You might not be aware of it, but these basses are handmade in the Czech Republic, and the handmade factor is very much envident in the color alone. The bass I bought was a very deep red, almost burgundy color. The other bass was a much brighter red. Either way, both basses are absolutely gorgeous with the gold hardware.

Setup from the factory was good. I played both basses, and on both of them, the action was VERY low. I had to have the bass I bought adjusted because the neck was buzzing a bit. The other bass was like this too, and I can only attritbute it to the fact that, the bass was shipped from Florida, to Massachusetts during a week when all we had was snow for about 8 days straight. So due to the climate change, I can't take off any points for how the factory setup was. Something also important to note is that this bass plays with a VERY light touch (which I'm not used to) so I believe that was part of the reason why I was getting alot of buzz also. Before, I was playing an Ibanez SR400 which had pretty low action, which I love as far as my left hand is concerned, but it doesn't play that lightly. So, I've always used a harder right hand technique even with the low action because I could get away with it. It took me alittle time with the Dean to realize that I didn't have to play as hard to get the string to move, and adjust my right hand technique accordingly (which I'm still trying to get used too) All those things aside, this bass plays GREAT. I don't miss playing with a heavier touch at all.. I've already noticed my speed increasing and my hand fatique getting less.

Fretwork on the bass, was PERFECT..no high frets and the work looks gorgeous. I'm not an expert on fretwork and fret dressing, but its like night and day compared to alot of other basses I've played even in higher price ranges.

The pickups were almost perfect. I don't usually adjust my pickups much anyway, but I did raise the treble of both pickups EVER so slightly to get a bit more volume from my "G" string. But thats just personal preference.

I gave this section an 9 also because of having to adjust to the light touch of this bass. Not that its a bad thing, but I had to take off a point for having to readjust my playing to be able to play the bass with low action and no buzz. Again, its not a bad thing, it'll be great in the long run, but its just alittle strange right now :)

I don't gig or play out at all, so I don't need a backup bass for anything. But if I did, I know that even though its smart to bring a backup regardless of how good your bass is, I could trust this bass to hold its own.

Everything is solid on this bass (strap buttons, tuners, pickups), but maybe a bit TOO solid. I was going to possibly change the tone knobs to black instead of gold, only one problem: Out of the 3 knobs, I can only get one of them off. The other 2 seem like they are welded on almost (they all the pull-off type) Other than that, this bass seems to be built like a brickhouse (insert bassline here).

I don't believe I will have to get the neck adjusted very often. It was adjusted at the store, and then I left it alone for a few days and the neck never shifted after the initial adjustment. So it seems to me that once you make an adjustment, its made. But of course, only time will tell how well this holds up. The neck has 2 graphite rods in it, so I believe this adds to the stablility.

I'm giving this a 9 only because of those 2 stubborn tone knobs..

I've only dealt with customer support twice, via email. The first time I emailed them with a general question about a bass and I got a pretty quick response (within 24 hours) and they were very nice and helpful. However, the 2nd time I emailed about getting parts for a bass and it took them over a month to respond. They appologized for the delay, but I wasn't too satisfied in their response. It was was basically one line: "We don't offer nor do we know where you can get OEM parts. Sorry"

I do have a good feeling towards their customer service in general, and from other things people have said about them. However, that last email experience annoyed me enough where I have to give this a 7.

This bass is EXCELLENT.... Great construction, tone, playability and combined with the custom Bartolinis, Badass II and ebony fretboard, its well worth the price (It retails around $1,100..I only paid $100 + trade-in, but I've seen most places selling it for $800 or lower). But as mentioned above, fans of heavy technique should take into consideration the light touch of this bass. I think you would have to have the action set pretty high in order to play this bass with a heavy technique, as it does play so lightly. Also as I stated above, I haven't had time to mess with all the tonal possiblities, but the tone I've gotten so far is great. From what I can tell so far, this is a very versatile passive bass.

The really great thing about this bass is that if you buy a JBS, you are getting the EXACT bass that Jeff Berlin plays, right down to the setup. Jeff has said in interviews that he only plays stock instruments; That it wouldn't be honest to play a modified bass while hawking an instrument that he didn't play.

If this bass was lost I would definately replace it. I think I've finally found a bass for life. And if it was stolen, I'd track the thief down and beat him senseless with the Tobias Growler P.O.S. I traded for the Dean.. (look out for my review on that bass *rolls eyes*)

The first review was right on the money, but I wanted to reiterate how great this bass is. Made in Europe. This is a 4 string bass, 34" scale. 21 Fret, 3 piece graphite reinforced maple neck, ebony fingerboard. Solid 2 piece alder body, transparent red polyurethane finish. Two custom designed Bartolini humbucking pickups. Passive electronics - volume, pickup balance, and tone. Gold plated hardware - Badass II bridge, and Schaller tuners.

The bass has great sound. The pickups are very full and rich sounding, and can provide a nice range from warm to bright. Very quiet - no hum. I'm playing it through a Hartke 3500 and 4x10XL cabinet. The bridge pickup can really give a nice growly "farty" sound, and the neck can provide a real deep bass. Having the balance favor one or the other provides a lot of useful tones.

This bass was set up perfectly when new. The fretjob was/is perfect, and I can detect no flaws of any kind. The tight neck joint is very impressive. The thin neck profile is very comfortable. It's a pleasure to play, and it's hard to put down! It balances well, and really feels rock solid.

I haven't had this bass for very long, but everything seems too solid not to last. I have had to adjust the truss rod once so far due to some drastic temperature/humidity changes. Since the electronics are passive, it probably could be used without a backup - certainly from a reliability standpoint. (However, any bass can be damaged so...a backup is always a good idea.)

Haven't needed any repairs. The bass has a 5 year warranty. I have seen the Dean website, and the company seems pretty responsive to it's customers. I have a good feeling that they would stand behind their product.

I've been playing for about 10 years. I own a number of Status Graphite basses, and a Peavey Palaedium (also designed by Jeff Berlin). I bought this bass without trying it because none of the Dean dealers within about 75 miles carried this model. (Shame on them!) I was not let down by this bass! I love it - there's nothing about it that I hate. As a big Jeff Berlin fan I was drawn to this bass in particular. However, I don't think any bass in this price range can touch this one. This bass is an incredible value. It's not a real fancy "boutique" bass, but it has everything it needs. Quite simply, this bass sounds great, is very comfortable, is well made, and it's affordable. I know we're not supposed to give overly glowing reviews, but I really believe this bass deserves a perfect score. It's a top notch instrument at a bargain price!

2001 Hand made with precission in Deans European plant. It has a 21 fret maple neck with an ebony finger board that is slim and fast but solid as a rock! The body is made of alder and has a deep beautiful transparent finish. JB Standards come with factory Bartolini pickups that have an incredable full rich tone. The Jeff Berlin Standard comes with Schaller tuners and a Badass bridge so this bass stays in tune and has unbelievable sustain.

I have always been a Fender Jazz player. In a searh for a different sound, I came upon this fine DEAN bass. Its two volume and one tone controls give me great tonal range with a richness that I've been looking for. I play my bass using no effects so the true sound of the instrument is very important to me. Instead of finding a good second bass I now have a GREAT second bass. Its a 1999 Fender U.S. Jazz Deluxe. Sorry Leo, there's a new sherrif in town!

As a habitual "tweeker" I was looking for a screw to turn or a trus rod to crank. The bass was near perfect out of the box. (actually, I think it was perfect but I felt it nessicary to detune one saddle so I could feel like I did something) The fretwork was as though just paid to have them dressed. Listen... this bass is built like a brick $#!? house! The neck joint fits together like the pyrimids in Egypt and the bass is just as awesome!

Only time will tell for sure, but if I was a bettin man, (and I'm NOT!) I would say this bass will last a lifetime. I play 2-3 nights a week and I need a bass i can rely on. This seems to be the most solid, well built bass I've ever owned. Ive owned dozens of fine instruments but I've never gone on a gig without a backup. You NEVER know what can happen! (and most things have)

As far as this subject goes, I have no real first had experience BUT I do know that DEAN cares about its customers satisfaction like no other company I know. They have a forum on their website (deanguitars.com) for comments and even problems. The General Manager and President of the company monitor the sight daily and respond PERSONALY to comments and I've known the to take customer service into their own hands on occasion! I feel confident in the company standing behind my bass

I've been playing bass for 30 years. I own.. a lot of gear. If lost or stolen, I would probably but two more. That'll teach me! What I love?? Everything! Friends in the business are always trying to sell me stuff. Sometimes (more times than not) as soon as I hold the neckof the guitar in my hand, I know if its worth checking out. I've handed quite a few back without even holding them horisontal. I was thinking G&L or Musicman in my search but they just didn'y sing to me. This bass had it all.