After setting up the Edge Pro 5 correctly (new strings, truss rod, bridge height and intonation), the bass plays and sounds about as good as good as any other I've played. As with all basses, it has its own distinct character which I would describe as warm in the low mid-range, flat in the upper midrange (1 - 2 kHz) and slightly bright in its high end (> 6 kHz).

Construction of the instrument is very good. There were no rattles and the finish is excellent. The strings had a bit of corrosion on them, suggesting age and/or humidity.

The initial set of strings were too small in diameter to sit correctly in the nut, allowing buzz even on open string notes. I also suspect that they were not from a common guage set of strings. Putting a full 5-string set of medium guage strings allowed the strings to sit properly in the nut and added just enough tension to allow the neck its natural ramp.

Despite my extra work in the setup, I still give this instrument 4.5 overall stars. Setup of an instrument is not really a fault of the product. Moreover, no bass I've ever owned had "my setup" on the first day, whether store bought or mail ordered. That sort of thing takes weeks or even months to achieve.

-HB

Ok, so I bought this bass this week. First of all, sound aside, it is gorgeous. The pictures here and anywhere else on the web do not do it justice. I got the tiger eye finish and it is stunning. Great craftsmanship from the unique monolithic bridge to the neck-thru design, to the Grover tuners. It was set up pretty decently right out of the box. Action was nice and low(if you're into that), comes with great strings, the paint was flawless, the inlays looked good, the hardware is beautiful. It was packaged very well from the factory, which is a big plus.

I have to admit, I wasn't sure that I liked the sound when I first started using it, but I soon learned that I had the knobs mixed. I own another dean and the knobs are set up different, so check out the specs first. Once I figured out which knobs were which, I was able to dial in the exact tone I wanted, which I am a tone freak, so that was nice. At the gig, with crappy acoustics and a not so great soundman, my family said they could hear every note I played loud and VERY clear. I could tell a huge difference in tone from my fender p-bass. Every high note sparkled, every mid-range note growled, and every low note absolutely shook the stage. I got "those looks" from my bandmates that just said "wow."

Very pleased with this bass. Met and exceeded every expectation.

The only category I even hesitated giving a five was value, however, I went ahead and gave it five stars because I have been to the music store and played basses three and four times the price and couldn't dial in the tone I wanted.

Buy...this...bass.

played one of these at a local shop. it immediately stood out from about 50 other basses so i picked it up. sound was awesome, string spacing is perfect, no fret buzz eq was awesome. neck is also very smooth, had EMG's in it also which is always a plus. definately buying this one in few weeks.

This is an exceptionally comfortable instrument to play and sounds great. The frets are dressed perfectly and after tweaking it a bit had it set up really well. My particular bass is flame top and has EMG Hi Z pickups. The sounds are perfect for walking a jazz line to funkier stuff. My only complaint is the bridge saddles are suseptable to moving during string changes. Setting the intonation is a breeze though.

I have performed long gigs with this bass and have expereinced no fatigue at all.