Hi -
I just learned there was a Dean Club, and would like to join. I recently started playing 6 string basses, and since I have back issues and smaller than average hands, I did a LOT of research to find what the best lightest 6 string might cost. I didn't want to invest too much in case the weight or the neck was going to be an issue. From what I found, the Dean Edge 1 6 string ticked off the boxes. Fortunately for me, I found an almost new one for the amazing price of just $200!
The weight was great, and it looked like a great mod platform as almost all the parts looked like someone made a body and then sourced the cheapest parts they could find to finish the job.
At the moment, I don't think anything is left of the original bass other than the body. I have significantly upgraded everything else.
I started at the bottom and worked my way up. I happen to like black hardware, and I REALLY hated those mono bridges due to the fact I had to loosen the string and physically move the saddle to set intonation. I got lucky and found that Allparts was closing out a six string bridge that fit perfectly down to the holes and it was just $17! Black Straploks were $10.
I prefer having a preamp rather than passive controls, so I ordered an Audere Classic that was modified by Audere themselves to work with the Lace Aluma Stealth soapbars which were a drop-in replacement for the original Dean pickups.
I don't know if any of you have this bass and tried to remove the pickups, but they were in there so tightly that I literally had to use a pair of Channel Lock pliers to pull them out of their cavities. Whew! Another surprise was to learn how heavy they were. The two of them weighed OVER A POUND. Beats me why you would want to make a light bass and then use some of the heaviest pickups known to humanity. Anyway, the Lace pickups totaled just 7 oz together, so that was a real weight decrease. I did use my Dremel to increase the cavity size just a bit so I wouldn't need a hammer to get the pickups into the tight cavity. lol.
I got (obviously) the three-hole version of the Audere - three dual-concentric controls: Volume/Balance, High-mids/Low-mids, and stacked Bass and Treble.
The preamp cost around $190 and the pickups were $238.
Finally, I strung the bass with my absolute favorite rounds - a set of LaBella Super Steps exposed core strings. These stainless steel strings produce incredible clarity and the best sustain I have ever experienced. I used the light set which cost around $56.
Finally, while watching my home team (the Niners) squeak out a victory of the Bucs, I reamed out the holes in the headstock and mounted Guyker knockoffs of the Hipshot Ultralites. The Guyker's aren't as light, but they are reliable, single gear machines, and hold tune better than the stock ones ever did. I had used these on other basses before. I couldn't find a 3+3 set, but compared to any other set of 6 string machine heads, two sets of 2+2 were considerably less expensive, and leave me with two spares.
The only other thing I did while the bass was apart was to give it a finish sand as the body seemed pretty rough, and did the same for the neck, finishing it off with some linseed oil.
Altogether, my total investment is around $700, and I would defy anyone to find a 6 string bass that weighs as little as this one and sounds as impressive. This is now, at least in my opinion, one great playable bass. I have attached a few pics.
If the Club is giving out numbers, I would like to officially join, as this is one bass I plan on keeping.
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