2011 Dean Metalman ML Bass

A few months ago I got a tip that the Dean Metalman series basses were $99 at Amazon, with free shipping. I had always wanted to pick up a 4 string bass that I could tune down to drop C#, to match my guitars when I write death metal.

I ordered the ML shaped bass, but Amazon mistakenly sent me a Z shape. It seemed to be a return, and it had a big chip in the horn that would have sliced my arm open if I played it the wrong way. Also, when I play it sitting down, the shape of the body pushes the neck farther outward so that my left hand has to extend way out. I sent it back to Amazon. Here's the wrong bass that was sent:


A few days later, I received the correct bass, the ML shape. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of this bass, but it is not without flaws.

The black paint job is really well applied, but there are some slight indentations in the body and headstock that look like the wood underneath wasn't properly prepped. The black hardware is pretty nice.

The MusicMan styled soapbar pickup is punchy and sounds fine. The pots seem very cheap and turn without much resistance.

The bolt on neck is fitted well and the neck joint is nice and tight.
The neck has a nice satin feel, but there is a slight weird finishing or wood flaw at around the back of the 12th fret.
There are tooling marks on the headstock. The Chinese factory could have done a better job finishing the neck.
The tuners are okay, turn fine, and seem to hold the strings in tune.
There were also some black rings that look like tooling marks from the drill press used to drill the tuner holes.

Though there are some finish flaws, the function of the bass in fine. I set it up with a fresh set of Elixir strings, and it sounds good, stays in tune and plays well. I really can't complain for the $97 I paid for it.