Dean Razor 1

Year: 1998
Finish: Metallic Charcoal, Cranberry
Origin: Korea
Acquired: 2001 (Cranberry) and 2003 (Charcoal)
Mods: New nut, Schaller straplocks, Q-Parts knobs
Still owned: No

The Story:
Kat found her pink bass in a consignment shop down in Redwood City and instantly fell for its comfort and light strings. I liked it but she wouldn’t let me “improve” it, so I picked up matching one in manly gray from eBay and that I hotrodded to my heart’s content. Both were fun to play with really light strings. The Razor 1 was an entry-level bass, so I had Greg install Bill Lawrence pickups and flatwound strings on mine, so it would sound different. He also pried off the cheap-feeling bullet knobs, which drove me nuts, and I got some Q-Parts.

I played my one and only public gig as a bassist with the Razor. When I sold the bass as part of a purge, I wound up keeping the Q-Parts knobs and put three orphan chrome knobs on it instead. They all looked similar but felt different to the touch, so I called it a special feature for the bassist who needed to know which knob was which on a dark stage. Meanwhile, the cranberry/pink one was sold to a friend, who gave it to a family member as a gift.

Dead Razor 1