Dean EAB FL Acoustic-Electric Bass Fretless Guitar with Satin Finish, Right Handed

This Bass plays beautifully! Holds tune well. Fret lines are cosmetic only, and do not affect play. You must learn to hear the not, and not rely on the lines. I recommend Rotosound RS88LD Flatwound nylon strings if you after an upright sound. I'm very pleased with the sound. Shipping was fast (within the week) and there was no damage to the double boxed instrument. For the price, you can't beat it. My only wish is that they still made the black one I've seen online (fretless).

Piece of!@#$

The quality was acceptable for the price. The bass guitar looks good. The bass is fretless, but it has fake plastic fret lines, which I do not like.If you are an electric fretless bass player, you may be disappointed by the low volume and sound quality of this guitar when used without an amp. The volume is somewhat less than a conventional acoustic guitar -- just to set expectations. Of course, strong bass requires a much larger box (like a standup bass). That said, I found it to be adequate, if marginal, when playing with several other people (guitar, mandolin, banjo). If you are playing with other acoustic folks who hate electric instruments, this is a viable choice; but probably not adequate for a stage performance when un-amplified.The built-in electronic tuner works and is probably accurate enough, but I do not think it is as accurate as other tuners I have used.I gave it 4 stars because it did not fully meet my expectations, yet the price was attractive.

I've been playing bass since the sixties and grabbed this to explore fretless a little deeper while staying on a budget. The Dean A-EBF has been a genuine treat, right out of the box. The tone is rich everywhere on the neck and I'm pleased with the volume I can get without amplification (it arrives with round wound strings). I was also surprised at the variety of voice available through mid to high positions, especially from the middle strings where the fretboard delivers ripe, Pastorious like swells. If you're into slap beware as the accoustic body tends to capture and resonate both sides of the strings almost equally.Obviously, transitioning away from frets requires a lot of concentration but also anticipate the extra travel distance to drive a string that doesn't stop on a bar. Its not about extra muscle, its about releasing the left fingers to jump a little higher, a little faster to find a neighboring open string. And don't look for any sympathy from this instrument's non-adjustable bridge.The aesthetics are clean and honest, elegant actually, and the fit is easy though you may find yourself sitting with the body a little off your leg so you can play the elongated neck.I wanted a lot from the Dean and I got more. While I purchased it for an introduction to accoustic/fretless I believe I have something that will last much, much longer.

Whenever you order a musical instrument that is 1/3rd or 1/4th the price of other similar instruments, you're taking a gamble. With this gamble, I lost.I shop for musical instruments a little different than other people. The first thing I'm looking for is good sound and play-ability. While that may sound obvious, there is a lot of musical gear being made today that is all about the looks. From kids wanting to buy cheap crappy guitars endorsed by their favorite bands or artists, to extremely expensive custom acoustic guitars purchased for bragging rights and to compensate for male inadequacy. The Dean acoustic bass has good tone. I will give it that. But the play-ability is hampered a bit by the very large body and lack of a cutaway. To some extent, they can't get rid of the large body because that's where you get those deep and rich tones. But it could probably be contoured better. Also, as another reviewer stated, the fret board should be blank and not have fret markers. The markers are not flush/smooth and you can feel them poking out a bit.The second thing I look at with instruments is where and how they were made. This is where the Dean falls flat. The guitar is make in China of materials that were in no way sustainably harvested. This may not bother 99% of the musicians out there, but it bothers me. I'd be willing to pay double for a guitar if I knew someone, somewhere, was replanting the trees used to make the instruments I'm buying. Aside from the wood, the dean has some tell-tale signs that it was made in China. Very thick and milky lacquer, some cracking at a few joints, a 9-volt battery that came dead from the factory, and some blemishes in the wood under the finish. The guitar also comes strung with round-wound strings that will immediately start cutting up the rosewood fingerboard. This means the factory strings are useless and need to be replaced immediately with Elixir strings or flat-wounds.The last thing I look for-- or ask for-- is that my guitar be shipped to me without damage. This is where Dean and Amazon fall flat. The guitar comes from the factory in a triangle-shaped box with very minimal padding. No gig bag. Amazon ships it just this way. No big surprise: Mine came with the box partially torn and crushed, and the guitar inside was damaged. I'm shipping it back.To sum it up, if you are buying this fretless-- as I was-- to fool around a little on a fretless without spending a lot of money, this is probably a good buy if you gamble and get a decent one. If, on the other hand, you are a serious bassist or you're buying this for someone as a gift and you know it's important to get a quality instrument, I'd recommend the Breedlove or the Michael Kelly versions of acoustic basses. I'm going to order the Breedlove. It's hundreds more, but at least I know I'm getting something I'll be proud to own for 20+ years.

This was a great price for a full-scale fretless bass. It plays fine and has a tuner built-in (make sure to turn it off when you're not using it or you'll kill the 9 volt battery). The sound is much much too much treble when playing this through an amplifier and every scratch and squeak is audible. For a cheap way to add a bass to an acoustic band or to practice playing fretless bass I would recommend this.