Oxblood Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 (edited) PRODUCT: [b]Dean 'Stylist' Archtop Bass[/b]. PRICE PAID: £450 from Macari's on Charing X Rd., but you can often see them for around £370 online. Even though I paid over the odds, I still think it was value for money. Bought in October 2006. I'd been on the lookout for an archtop or semi-acoustic for a while, but nearly all of the popular ones seem to be short scale, and with my long arms and big hands, that's a no-no. I walked into Macari's and, to quote the song, [i]saw her standing there[/i]. "That's a pretty looking thing," I thought, and after 20 minutes of noodling around, I knew we were meant for each other! FEATURE LIST: SCALE LENGTH: 32" but feels longer! PICKUPS: Two Gibson PAF-style humbuckers (see description below) BRIDGE: Floating Tune-O-Matic type Tailpiece: Open Trapeze Offset M.O.P. Fret-Markers BODY DIMENSIONS: 17" at widest point, 3" deep. ACTION, FIT & FINISH: 8/10 These basses come in a variety of colours, including a blinding yellow and checkerboard version called the New York Cabbie. Mine is much more subtle. I LOVE it: a smoky blue, so dark it could almost be black, misted with a million microscopic gold spangles. Off-white binding all round the body and up the neck. Nice! The general surface finish is very impressive: hard, clear and solid throughout, with no visible flaws. Very easy to maintain, too. Being hollow, of course, she doesn't weigh a lot, and yet there is a reassuring solidity of build that's very pleasing to hold. Nicely balanced, too: no neck-dive. Playing attributes: She was reasonably well set up to begin with (possibly done by the retailer? I didn't ask), although there was some fret buzz. Since then I've adjusted the truss rod, which has cured all problems. What really impressed me from the outset was finding that her intonation and tuning were PERFECT: tuning is dead on the nail, across all the strings and every fret on the board. Tone is very even across the fretboard, too - no obvious hot or dead spots. SOUND: 9/10 Even un-amplified, the hollow body gives out a surprising amount of sound: certainly enough for quiet practice at home. Acoustic tone is woody and warm, and it's great to feel the notes vibrating against your chest. Amplified, there's plenty of midrange bloom and twang to play with: great for country blues stuff. Being a proper deep-bodied archtop, she can be a bit of a feedback monster, especially with the stock pickups. With my replacement pickups (see below), feedback became a controllable creative tool rather than a wild, untamable beast. Strings as supplied were nickel roundwounds, gauges 45 - 100. Since then she's been re-strung with steels (nothing fancy), to add a bit more bite. PICKUPS: 5/10 These, in my opinion, are the only real let-down of this product. They are generic no-name Chinese humbuckers. I opened them up to see how they were constructed, and found to my disgust that, far from being dedicated bass units, they had SIX pole pieces. To give them their due, they had quite a sweet tone, and switching between them gave a really noticable choice of usable voices, but they were [b][i]terribly quiet[/i][/b]. I had to crank up my amp considerably to compensate ...and then remember to turn the amp DOWN again when I plugged in my Ric 4003! Consequently I went for seriously good quality replacements - a pair of [b]John Birch Magnum 2[/b]s. With the crappy pickups, she made a very nice noise. With the Magnums onboard, she really sings! RELIABILITY: 10/10 Never had a problem since I bought her. She's as solid as a rock and always stays in tune. CUSTOMER SUPPORT: 8/10 Bizarrely, this bass comes from the factory with only one strap button! I contacted Dean by email to ask what would be the best place for the other one, and got a swift reply (you drill/screw it into the base of the neck heel). So, if you want to experience a real fat-bodied archtop that is rewarding to play and has oodles of tone, but you can't afford the luxury price tag of a Gretsch, give this baby a whirl. I don't think you'll be disappointed. [b]OVERALL SCORE: 8/10[/b] Edited July 21, 2007 by Oxblood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodl2005 Posted June 7, 2007 Share Posted June 7, 2007 Good review OX!!!! & LOVELY BASS!!!! I'm Envious!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-basser Posted June 7, 2007 Share Posted June 7, 2007 I have been oh so tempted by the cabby version on occasion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxblood Posted June 7, 2007 Author Share Posted June 7, 2007 (edited) Here is a download link to an mp3 of sound samples, recorded into the soundcard of my laptop. The bass was played via an Ashdown ABM pre-amp with everything set flat. During recording, I was monitoring myself on the ABM's own speakers. At the end of the second sample, you can hear a bit of gradual feedback which I deliberately let ride. This was recorded with the nickel roundwounds. The steels I have on now sound brighter. [url="http://www.frozencloudmusic.com/~chrishiscocks/Bass%20guitar%20samples/Dean%20stylist+%20John%20Birch%20magnum2%20pickups.mp3"]http://www.frozencloudmusic.com/~chrishisc...2%20pickups.mp3[/url] Any member who is either in reach of London or who is visiting the city is welcome to come over to my gaff and give her a try. Just PM me to arrange things. Edited June 10, 2007 by Oxblood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted June 7, 2007 Share Posted June 7, 2007 Great review Oxblood! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxblood Posted June 15, 2007 Author Share Posted June 15, 2007 Although it makes me feel as sick as a parrot, for those who might be tempted I thought I'd better let y'all know I've just seen one brand new on eBay for a mere £275 !! [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dean-Stylist-Semi-acoustic-Bass-33-off-new-Rockabilly_W0QQitemZ270131592257QQihZ017QQcategoryZ4713QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dean-Stylist-Semi-ac...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freuds_Cat Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 Excellent review Oxblood, I recently bought an Epiphone Allen Woody signigture Rumblekat bass of similar ilk to your Stylist. I've only done one gig with it so far and will wait until it has a few more hours under its belt before I do a review. Do you know where the Dean Stylist was manufactured? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxblood Posted June 20, 2007 Author Share Posted June 20, 2007 (edited) [quote name='Freuds_Cat' post='20559' date='Jun 20 2007, 04:48 AM']Do you know where the Dean Stylist was manufactured?[/quote] Made in Korea, apparently. [color="#FF0000"][b]Late breaking news[/b]:[/color] Anyone after a mega-bargain should check out this from Thomann's own brand range: [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_hbb1960bl_semiakustikbass.htm"]Harley Benton HBB 1960[/url] I swear it's the same bass, re-badged at a fraction of the price. £165 ? Now I'm as sick as a whole rain forest full of parrots! ADDED LATER: Actually, there is one visible difference: it's got a wooden floating bridge. The Dean has a bolted on tune-o-matic type. Edited June 20, 2007 by Oxblood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul, the Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 [quote name='Oxblood' post='20593' date='Jun 20 2007, 09:20 AM']Made in Korea, apparently. [color="#FF0000"][b]Late breaking news[/b]:[/color] Anyone after a mega-bargain should check out this from Thomann's own brand range: [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_hbb1960bl_semiakustikbass.htm"]Harley Benton HBB 1960[/url] I swear it's the same bass, re-badged at a fraction of the price. £165 ? Now I'm as sick as a whole rain forest full of parrots! ADDED LATER: Actually, there is one visible difference: it's got a wooden floating bridge. The Dean has a bolted on tune-o-matic type.[/quote] Yours is much much better looking. Great review btw and great tone! paul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxblood Posted June 20, 2007 Author Share Posted June 20, 2007 [quote name='paul, the' post='20795' date='Jun 20 2007, 02:52 PM']Yours is much much better looking. Great review btw and great tone! paul.[/quote] Oh stop it! I've gone all shy now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freuds_Cat Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 (edited) [quote name='Oxblood' post='20824' date='Jun 21 2007, 12:38 AM']Oh stop it! I've gone all shy now...[/quote] Yep your Dean sure does sound nice. Its a lot more woody sounding than my um Woody Rumblekat. I would love to hear a comparison between your Dean Stylist, my Epi Rumblekat and the Harley Benton. [url="http://www.epiphone.com/news.asp?NewsID=501"]Epi Rumblekat pics here if interested[/url] Edited June 21, 2007 by Freuds_Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxblood Posted June 21, 2007 Author Share Posted June 21, 2007 (edited) Just heard the sound clip of the Rumblekat. See what you mean. The playing technique in that clip is interesting, too: there are moments when I could have sworn he was playing a fretless! Nice looking bass, too. Edited June 21, 2007 by Oxblood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgauction Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 I have the same one but in mint green. Quite a fun bass with a large semi-hollow thumping sound. Only negative - the tone knobs do nothing. Bought it for $375 with case here in the USA, which is about half in sterling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Nimrod Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Dean should be ashamed of putting *guitar* humbuckers on a cool bass like this one... what cheapskates!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxblood Posted August 11, 2007 Author Share Posted August 11, 2007 (edited) I have now added this review to the Basschat Wiki. [b][color="#FF0000"]STOP PRESS:[/color][/b] This bass is no longer listed on the Dean website. Looks like they may have stopped making it. Never mind, eh? Keep a look out for those "Discontinued stock" bargain deals! Edited August 11, 2007 by Oxblood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxblood Posted August 11, 2007 Author Share Posted August 11, 2007 (edited) [quote name='phatmonkey' post='44164' date='Aug 11 2007, 12:13 PM']Thanks for that. Hopefully more people will do the same![/quote] Hi Ben, Thanks for the tidying-up job! Didn't take me too long once I'd got a handle on the unfamiliar syntax of the Wiki. Obviously, it's more labour-intensive than simply posting to a forum, but after a few false starts, I got the hang of the basics. Edited August 11, 2007 by Oxblood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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