Hi folks,

I know this should be in the Palatino Megathread (I also posted it there), but I thought more people might see it here today. I'm new to this thread, and wanted some quick, general opinions about the Palatino VE-500. I played upright bass back in high school, but have only played bass guitar for the last 30 years. I've got a chance to buy a new VE-500 for about $600 shipped, but I only have a couple days to decide. Is it worth the investment? I'd use it for an occassional jazz-lounge gig. The price seems great, but is it a waste of money & time, should I go for a better bass?

Thanks!!

Factor in the cost of upgrading strings, bridge & tailpiece straight away. You might also decide to upgrade preamp & pickup and get the fingerboard dressed. If it still looks like a good deal, go for it. At the price they sell for in Australia, I decided it wasn't cost-effective, especially now that the WAV4 is available at a great price.

I have had my Palatino for a year and a half. The only things I did to make it playable was to change out the bridge, new strings and set it up for good playing.
I think it is the most bang for the buck and if you improve it wisly you may not have to change everything but the body and hardware. Set it up first for good playability. Strings will make a world of difference, start there and wait until you play it a while then decide it it needs other improvements. Although the factory preamp isn't the best you can add an inexpensive preamp and use it to control the bass. I simply turn the bass side of the factory preamp all the way toward the bass side and the volume control way down. I then turn the amp way up and control tone and volume with the external preamp.
Personally I don't think you will go wrong with the Palatino and there is a wealth of information here to help you get out of it what you want.