It turns out that Dean, of all companies, is really getting into the dual and triple course bass market (which use to be a marketshare largely controlled by Hamer) with a number of offerings. They put out a 10 string called the Edge 10X. I did some research, looked at some prices, and ended up buying one from a cat off of Talkbass. As a bit of a birthday present to myself, I knabbed it.
First impressions - I've used it for about a half of set on the gig Friday night. This thing sounds massive through the FOH. It has a two band EQ. The preamp is very utilitarian. It's whisper quiet and is musical enough. I'm thinking it's going to get replaced by an Aguilar. It's a solid sounding preamp, but it doesn't have the depth one would get from a higher end offering. I really dig the pickups on the other hand. Each one is musical, whether soloed or blended together. Aesthetically, this thing looks great, especially in person! It's a mahagony body in an oil finish. It's kind of Warwick-esque in person. The Dean "D" inlay at the 12th fret is very tasteful and looks cool. The body's very ergonomic. They put some high quality Grover tuning machines on this, which is nice. I wouldn't have to retune this in the middle of a set. All in all, it's a pretty solid bass, and I think an after-market preamp would really take it over the top.
It's a little bit of an adjustment to play, but it doesn't feel overtly foreign. Fretting technique is comfortable and doesn't feel overwhelming when you look down at the fretboard. I have to adjust pizzicato technique a little bit to play cleanly and sweep both strings. I normally have more of a staccato attack, which really isn't conducive to the dual course design. It requires a little more of the finger pads to reproduce the sounds of both strings. It's going to take a wee bit of work, but it's not too hard to play it while staying clean. Speed does got down a little bit with this technique. Slapping is a breeze. Picking is also pretty easy, though if you want to sound consistent, it's better to stick with all downstrokes rather than alternatve picking.
The 10 string is a pretty cool change of pace. I don't think it will become my main player, but there is a myriad of things that can be done with it, especially in an original music context. I had to dig out my Cheap Trick record yesterday to get some inspiration. Most importantly of all, Bushy will be happy that I'm playing a Dean.
Some pics...
