I searched for several months, via the Internet, for a high quality 5-string for under $1000 list--not exactly easy to find. At this price range, you can get a ho-hum Carvin LB75, an Ibanez BTB505 or SR885, a Spector NS2000/Q5, and the Dean Edge Custom or Select 5-strings. I picked the bolt-on Dean.

The bass is very attractive; the transparent black finish has a definite bluish-green tint to it, and the flame maple top has a well-defined (if not Paul Reed Smith-quality) grain. The construction is excellent for a bass in this price range, which indicates that Dean's Czech factory (which also makes Spector and MTD Grendel/Beast basses, among others) has good quality control. The hardware feels solid, the nut is cut well, and the neck joint is tight as a drum.

Playability is great. The bass came from the factory with very low action and a slight bow in the very stable neck--perfect. The neck is very thin and a bit on the narrow side for a 5, but I started on a Jazz Bass so neither of these bother me. Contrary to what many people say, it takes very little time to adjust to the 35" scale; the thin neck certainly helps, though. The neck heel is nicely sculpted such that even the 24th fret on the low B is quite accessible.

In sonic terms, the Dean is quite versatile. The neck pickup gives me a good Precision tone with lots of low midrange, while the bridge pickup sounds exactly like a bridge J pickup should. Blending both pickups equally produces a "hi-fi" tone that's great for slapping, but at a cost: the guts drop right out of the B. The 2-band EQ is very useful throughout its range, but the treble control is extremely hissy (especially if you use a cabinet with a tweeter like I do). I have found that I can have a 5150 for an appetizer, a Marshall TSL for the main course, and a Dual Rectifier for dessert if I solo the neck pickup, dime the bass and treble, and dime the low mids on my SVT-III. This feeds my Eden D-210T the exact frequency range to which it responds best, and I get a perfect combination of Ampeg "brown" and Eden "grunt."

The low B isn't going to keep Michael Tobias or Keith Roscoe up at night, but it blends in quite well with the other strings IF you solo a pickup. If you want to slap in E, you can get a little more "thump" by hitting the fifth fret on the B. The 35" scale is a big help, although I think that Dean could have put heavier strings on at the factory.

Customer service has been disappointing thus far--I e-mailed Dean to ask what size Allen wrenches were necessary to adjust the bridge and truss rod and they only told me about the truss rod. I seem to have misplaced my metric Allen keys, though, and I don't have money for new strings, so it's a moot point.

Overall, I think the Edge Custom 5 is the perfect bass for me. It's no wonder that the Czech-made Deans are flying off the racks at music stores. For the price, nothing can touch it.

Construction	90%
Playability	90%
Appearance	90%
Sound	90%
Value	100%
Cust. Service	70%
Overall	88%
(I use reasonable numbers.)