Customer Reviews

Dean Acoustic-Electric Bass Fretless Satin Finish

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been playing bass since the sixties and grabbed this to explore fretless a little deeper while staying on a budget. The Dean A-EBF has been a genuine treat, right out of the box. The tone is rich everywhere on the neck and I'm pleased with the volume I can get without amplification (it arrives with round wound strings). I was also surprised at the variety of voice available through mid to high positions, especially from the middle strings where the fretboard delivers ripe, Pastorious like swells. If you're into slap beware as the accoustic body tends to capture and resonate both sides of the strings almost equally.
Obviously, transitioning away from frets requires a lot of concentration but also anticipate the extra travel distance to drive a string that doesn't stop on a bar. Its not about extra muscle, its about releasing the left fingers to jump a little higher, a little faster to find a neighboring open string. And don't look for any sympathy from this instrument's non-adjustable bridge.
The aesthetics are clean and honest, elegant actually, and the fit is easy though you may find yourself sitting with the body a little off your leg so you can play the elongated neck.
I wanted a lot from the Dean and I got more. While I purchased it for an introduction to accoustic/fretless I believe I have something that will last much, much longer.

I've been playing bass for 30 years. This Dean fretless bass guitar was beautiful looking in its construction (fit and finish) and it had a somewhat big, satisfying sound acoustically; certainly better than any Michael Kelly or Ibanez acoustic bass at twice the price or more. It also sounded good plugged in. The tuner worked fine. But if you can believe it, the strings on this fretless bass buzzed at the first and second fret positions on the A and E strings. Trussrod adjustments did not remedy the problem. This was because either the trussrod was not working/attached properly, or as I believe, the neck was warped in TWO places: one at the first and second fret area (improper planing of the neck) and the other where the neck/fretboard meets the guitar body. So I returned the product. What a shame - if the manufacturer had only spent a little more time on the quality of the neck this $250 instrument would be a steal! Incidently, the description of this guitar says the body has a "satin finish"; it is actually gloss. I returned the guitar.

This was a great price for a full-scale fretless bass. It plays fine and has a tuner built-in (make sure to turn it off when you're not using it or you'll kill the 9 volt battery). The sound is much much too much treble when playing this through an amplifier and every scratch and squeak is audible. For a cheap way to add a bass to an acoustic band or to practice playing fretless bass I would recommend this.

Weak points: a lot of light between the strings and the rosewood, which is very thick. Anticipating wear, I'd guess.
Economy finish, economy purfling, but I paid economy and for the price, it exceeds expectations. I have to throw in with the guy who beefed about his arriving with round wounds. Tough sledding on a fretless, sore fingers on slurs,
etc. Maybe Santa'll bring me a nice set of Rotosound round wounds for Christmas. Completes a suite: six string,. twelve string, and bass, all acoustic. Strong points: fairly good tone for the money, plays exactly as anticipated.
I even managed riffs and phrases from rock tunes on it out of the box. Good beginner's instrument. My love and respect for the bass players of this world just went way, way up. Tip: for sixer addicts, pick one up, play what you know on it, then go back to that thinner neck. You'll fly. End.

I've been playing bass off and on since the early 90's, and I have two electrics (one fretted, one fretless). I had been playing with acoustic guitarists in coffee shops and wanted an acoustic with a mellow tone that would work well for folk/country/soft rock.

This bass works well for that. The tone is good, the playability is good, and even the volume is decent. Most acoustic bass guitars are too quiet to play without amplification - the only one I've seen that's really loud is a Martin I tried out in a store. This isn't the Martin but it's not bad, and definitely louder than most others that I've tried out in stores. I still use an amp with it sometimes but for small groups it works well on its own. I use flatwound strings on mine so it's not as loud as it could be.

Part of the reason for the decent volume is the body - this acoustic bass guitar is very big. It's good for volume but it's lousy if you're trying to find a hard case for it.

Bottom line: If you're looking for an inexpensive fretless acoustic bass guitar, this is a good choice.

My Experience:
Off and on bass player over the last ~19 years. I've had this bass and been playing it almost every day for about month now; it's the only bass I own since my 5-string electric was stolen a few years ago.

The Pros:
From a perspective of price per quality it's an excellent buy. Resonates well, stays in tune, and it holds together while looking and sounding like a bass. It's a good keep around noodler instrument for solo or peer screw around times. I bought this bass for what it is and it hasn't let me down hence my five stars rating.

The Cons:
This bass isn't meant to be a pristine precision instrument of performance. I would avoid using it on stage and completely refuse to use it in a recording studio. Its lower and octave registers of the 'E' are quirky and prone to producing a nasty buzz which can be minimized if you pull at the string differently. The 'G' string sounds hollow and a little flat as you get closer to it's first octave. Adjusting the knut will vary these issues without resolving them. I figure I would wait until my guitar stops smelling of fresh glue before giving it another series of knut tweaks. As my previous paragraph suggests, it already suits my purpose perfectly so I'm in no rush.