Side by Side Comparison of: Ibanez vs Dean Guitars

This is such a great instrument for the price. I play it all the time! It's great that it has the built in tuner and I love having the option to plug in to an amp.There's something about an acoustic bass that makes the notes feel so much richer. It's a great playing experience and I've been really pleased with the quality.

Wow! Bass came with an onboard tuner, D'addario strings, and sounds amazing! A must buy!

I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of this instrument given the price. I am a guitar player and have only played a few electric bass's in the past, I purchased this to use for adding bass tracks on recordings, it works well through a DI box into my mixer and recorded cleanly with a nice full bottom using Audacity.Acoustically it is rather quiet but fine for playing at home, I'm not sure if it would keep up with a dreadnought acoustic guitar in a jamming situation without an amp. The sound is woody similar to a stand up bass but does not quite have the depth you get from an upright.All things considered it's a nice instrument at this price point. Mine came pretty well setup in terms of action. The open pore mahogany is not something I have even seen on a guitar before but it has a nice look and feel. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a practice or learning instrument, or when amplified for group sessions.

I wanted a cheap acoustic electric bass that I could leave sitting about the house for easy reach to increase the likelihood I would practice. I figured if it didn't work out I could sell it and try something else. I was amazed at the acoustic tonal quality and found I could get pretty good amplified tonal quality. The playability took a little while to get used to but my main bass is an Alembic that plays whatever you're feeling without much human intervention. I really like this bass and for $199.00 it seems to be a steal. I bought the hard shell case for another $150.00 and recommend it as well. I will be keeping my Ibanez PCBE12MH Grand Concert and have found myself using it on stage occasionally in addition to being my main practice axe. A cut away version would be nice...

I got this bass guitar for my boyfriend for Christmas. It showed up in perfect condition, sounds amazing and he loves it.

I wasn't sure how much I would like this bass. I've played acoustic basses in the past and was not impressed with volume or tone. I've always been a fan of Ibanez guitars, so I figured for $200 why not try it? I was more than happy with the purchase. It works great, because we needed bass in our band, and we weren't going to be playing amplified. The tone and playability are great for both slapping and picking. Finger style is still a little quiet, but there is no way to get around that on these styles of guitar.One thing though, if you plan on recording this guitar, the onboard pick ups are not very good at all. A very dull and bland tone, but for $200 what were you expecting. I don't hold this against the guitar, because that's not what I was looking for.

This is an excellent starter Bass for my son who is starting a band. He says it feels comfortable to hold and use.

Still own it! Had some guys at a guitar shop do some reconstruction on the whole thing cause the top two strings got really buzzy, now it plays near perfectly. First bass I ever bought and I love it. Not much of a musician though.

It definitely required some action adjusting for me to play it, but otherwise it's pretty good! It sounds fine, it has a pretty decent pickup (no hum), really good finish on all surfaces, and really simple. My only complaint is that the strap I used made a squeaking noise as it rubbed on the studs for the first few uses, but that has since gone away completely.

The price changes on Amazon, but at less than $160, it is a tremendous bargain. It requires a few adjustments, but it plays and sounds terrific, and it comes with very solid hardware. I especially appreciate its narrow neck.

I've played bass for almost 30 years and during all this time I've played on some of the best and some of the worst. For the money, this is great. I wanted something cheap that I wouldn't have to worry about, and this bass works just fine. It's fun to play, it sounds like a bass, and it's nice to hold.Here's the thing: this is an instrument in the beginner's range, and most beginners don't know much about instruments. That's sort of implied in being a beginner. That also means that if something is wrong it can be hard to pinpoint what it is, and what to do about it. Wood moves. It changes with the weather, with the seasons, and it can settle during transport. That means that you might have to set the instrument up, and this is a process that must be repeated every now and then. This goes for most instruments - I used to have a Gibson Thunderbird where I had to adjust the trussrod each season, because everything moved with the change in humidity. It's just the way it is, and it doesn't make an instrument good or bad. (This paragraph is of course meant as an answer to all the negative reviews complaining about fret buzz and similar. Those things are rarely manufacturing errors or due to a problem with the instrument - it is almost always a matter of setup.)I adjusted the trussrod on mine just a little, and it plays fine. If you're serious about playing bass or guitar, learn about the instruments and learn to set them up to your liking. If you're not interested in that at all, find an expert to help you. (Not everyone who works in a music store is an expert at setting up instruments - it takes practice, and it's worth putting in some time and effort to find someone who is actually good at it.) A piece of advice: if you've never adjusted an instrument before and decide to try, take it just a little at the time. You rarely need to do large adjustments.I saw some reviews say, "Why not spend more money and get active electronics." If you think that will make you a better bass player you need to think again. If you think a passive bass won't give... I don't know... enough output level I guess, you need to look over the rest of your equipment. Sure, there are big differences between pickups on expensive and cheap basses, but come on, those who have the pleasure to play an arena are likely to bring something completely different, and the sound quality in the end will depend on the PA and the sound technician. If you start with something good you have a better chance to get a good end result, but it's no guarantee. (Active basses are cool and can have a really crisp and nice sound, but trust me - being on stage when the battery in the bass runs out is moderately amusing. If that happens, you're happy to have brought a backup, lol.)My advice: whether you're just starting out or you've played for a while, this is a fun instrument. If you're looking at basses in this price range you're probably just starting out. Practice a lot. Find people to play with who are better than you are - it forces you to become better too. Find a great drummer - few things are so much fun as playing bass together with a good drummer. Also learn about the whole chain of gadgets and how each influence your sound; you might want to invest in a good compressor pedal. And have fun!

I just received this bass, I have only one problem, the packaging is just its own box, no good protection, causing the back of the guitar to get a small tip of finger size dent, but other than that its in perfect condition surprisingly, the guitar looks amazing, its well constructed, it just looks beautiful, and the sound is just great, amazing bass guitar, and it comes with a free guitar cord and a cool dean sticker, I'm very happy with this bass guitar, I recommend it to anyone looking for a low budget bass or to start learning bass.

Nice bass but you have to treat it gently. If you play aggressively it will buzz. It's set up nicely and tone is variable (good thing) so it can be used in many settings. Ok for practicing by yourself unamplified but you will need an amp in any other setting. Not overly heavy. Built in tuner is a little insensitive to low E string. Not crazy about this finish but I bought it for my wife to try and learn to play bass. she tried it twice and I will use it myself for pick-up bass gigs.

This is a great little AGB, for me at least. I knew that AGBs don't get very loud, so I wanted one that was amped. I removed the phosphor bronze strings that came on it and put on some nylon-coated ones, which gave it a darker, more mellow tone -- just what I was looking for. The only negative about it is that it had very sharp fret ends. An hour with a fret file took care of that. All in all, a nice AGB for practice or for getting some old-school thump.

I'm enjoying this instrument a lot. I play standup string bass and have been looking for a smaller instrument to take to bluegrass jams and other events in small spaces. The sound was a bit twangy so I substituted a set of flat wound strings and like it better now. Picked up a small battery powered amp and it works great.

No major problems had to adjust the bridge slightly due to string buzz and quality is ok for an inexpensive guitar.

Great solid bass guitar, could use better pick ups but I would recommend it to anyone in need of a bass guitar beginner or not.

Plays a lot better than the Squire P Bass Special I sold years ago. I do miss the extra pickups, but the tone control is MUCH better on the Dean.

I like the sound, and it's a great look/feel for the price. Would definitely recommend for beginner bassists.

I like this bass but it gets shipped in a cardboard box with little protection.

This bass is nice. Not perfect, but nice. It stays in tune and and the neck is very straight for what it costs. Finish is a nice matte, the knobs are nice, and the turning heads aren't going to break.My only complaints are that the pickup is pretty low output but that's not the end of the world, and the tone knob is not very linear. You turn it half way and have very little change but after the 2/3 it gets noticeable and then the last 1/8 is where is really changes.

This is a great starter guitar. It does not do a great job of staying in tune and the on-board tuner is inaccurate. The sound is great, it looks nice, and generally can be played at a moderate volume acoustically. I have another friend that bought this exact model after playing around with mine. That is a pretty good recommendation.There is a world of better quality out there, but I doubt you could do much better at this price.

The guitar plays very well and shipped quickly with good packaging. But, the finished is not natural wood it looks more like plastic!(thus the 3 stars) I will return it and try another one hoping this one was a mistake from the factory. I will gladly put 5 stars if the next is as it should be.

No alan wrench is provided for the bridge height adjusters, and they are not standard size. The bass needed a LOT of setup adjustments. Other than that, it plays and sounds okay for the price.

There nice if you can get one that isn't damaged

Although I got a great deal around black Friday the bass needed some serious setup work before it could be played. I've never ordered an instrument online, so maybe they are all like this, but the condition it arrived in made it impossible to play.

liked the mohagony color feels good but not heavy enough as other bases I've had. But for the price its ok

Received it yesterday via UPS. First thing I noticed was the slick neck. The strings could be better, I assume this is why I'm getting fret buzz on middle frets right out of the box. Speaking of the box, it came in a HUGE box that was not taped well and had nothing but paper padding so it rattled around inside...NOT good shipping practices! Anyway, plugged it in and right away I notice my $40 standard 1/4" guitar cord won't go in all the way...it keeps wanting to pop out. The bass came with a thin generic-looking cord so I gave it a try...IT fit tight in the jack and also into my Scarlett 2i4 with hybrid jacks.Overall the bass plays very nicely for it's price. I was expecting something cheaper but the physical construction is solid and doesn't feel cheap like if it were a "First Act" guitar. I need new strings, these are just nasty (but they are new).One last gripe is there's too much play in the tuning knobs. I know it's a cheapy but c'mon, if I turn the knob slightly it shouldn't go an inch with loose play. Easily fixable with new keys, which I plan to do some day.

The bass guitar turned out be not what I was looking for. Wanted a mini bass.

I just purchased this and the pick up only picks up three strings at time and produces a LOT of humming (it's definitely a grounding issue). It's currently unplayable plugged in. I would rather it have had no onboard sound at all than the way it is currently as it a beautiful little acoustic bass with a nice sound.

Does not look like picture at all. 😐

Packaging was deplorable, thin foam wrap around the guitar, with the cardboard case. Cool if your walking out the music shop, not a warm and fuzzy when it's traveling cross country before it gets to you. Mine came with the Allen keys to adjust the struss rod and the bridge, no cables or literature. Had to adjust to illuminate buzzing which was easy enough. Will be bringing it into a guitar shop, as it makes a lot of noise without turning the tone nob extreme left, which makes it impossible to record with. It's light weight, has a thin neck. Not a good first bass guitar, for $50-100 more you can get something way more playable out the box. If the bill for fixing the noise issue is up there, I'll be returning this and looking elsewhere.

Cord does not seem to fit right and pops out constantly. Something wrong with receiver on guitar.

OK quality beginner bass with cool looking just for practice and hobby at home, E string started to buzz in couple weeks after received, its annoying also I didn't like the sound of this bass, its just plain low level bass sound.UPDATE:(12/03/2014) It literally stopped playing, no sound from strings through amp at all (I tested the amp with other bass guitar and works fine) just statics sound and wont play, it has been just two month and its dead already!!!!!

well for the price the product its really good, the finish its a lil lighter than the one in the image but its still looks beautiful, it camed with a broken tuner and a defectous volume nob, i had to fix the tuner and put the tension higher because at low tension of the bridge the strings make a buzzy unwanted sound.

It's a beautiful bass, but the pickups don't work

It arrived completely cracked on the front due to poor packaging, possibly made out of poor materials as well. Returned. Requested extra packaging on my second order attempt, it came with less and was cracked on the back. The sound was obviously terrible and completely unplayable. There's also no truss rod. I returned both. I wouldn't even attempt to order this. Buyer beware!

The neck is to far out & the strings touched the fretboard almost always

I ordered this as a birthday gift for my fiance. The first bass was delivered with holes in the box, and gouges in the body of the instrument. I returned it, but the replacement was also damaged. Its box was fine, but there were gouges/ damaged finish around the tone and volume knobs. It looked someone took a hammer to the knobs. I returned it and the THIRD bass was also damaged in the same area. I am giving up on it and getting a refund. Don't waste your time with this bass.

Ok.. for beginners only

If you want a really crapy guitar with so much fret buz get this and its not even the right color. GET ANY OTHER GUITAR!!! Good for scrap parts