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Double Bass Dean Pace EUB megathread

#162
Stubs said:
Just picked one up at a local pawn shop for $450.00. Had factory strings on (E was totaly dead) and replaced with
D'Addario Chromes. Sounds nice at low volume but when cranked up it has a ground hum when the strings are touched.
This is my first EUB and am well pleased ('cept for the hum).
Click to expand...

The hum is not supposed to be there. There are a few faulty basses out there. When I was researching mine before buying it, I remember emailing Dean in regards to it (I read a review or 2 from people who had ones that hummed) and they assured me the bass wouldn't hum. I would check in with them as I believe it's a simple wiring thing that's easily fixed.

I like my basses dead silent, and my Pace is.
 
#165
Joe Nerve said:
Don't know if ya caught my post in the other thread about it - but the hum ain't supposed to be there. Mine is dead silent, there were a few PACE basses though that there were some problems with. I'd contact DEAN.
Click to expand...

I was just about to link to your post.

I'm sure its a simple fix for Pace.. if you know someone who knows electronics I'm sure they could find the problem just by looking at the guts.

Good luck with it.
 
#169
Hello Guys.

I can speak on both of these issues. I've played both and I own one of them.

Dean Pace EUB...
I had Long and McQuades bring in a Dean Pace for me to try out when I was looking for an EUB to add to my collection.

Frankly, for almost $900 CA, I was very unimpressed with the tone, volume, playablity of the Dean Pace.

First off, it has all the design, hardware and scale length of a standard 34" plank bass stuck on a drum stand. The only nod to an UB is the thickness of the neck (top to back). Yes there is an arch to the neck but I do not think you could bow the Pace properly.

My over all impression was that it sounded like a rather mediocre, underpowered, frettless, with a baseball bat for a neck. Not worth the cost, IMHO.

The Ergo EUB...
I purchased an Ergo based on the look (I was planning on building one in a simular design, if I built one), written reviews and first hand emails from current owners. In other words, I took a well considered flyer on it. At about $900.00 CA, I figured at the very least I could learn some UB technique and sell it for an acoustic UB later.

First off, the neck feels like a 3/4 DB neck, I was told it was based on an Englehart neck. Now that I have some chops on the UB neck, I can flip back and forth from the Ergo to my buddy's 3/4 accoustic UB and play it comfortably. The lay out and arch is very simular and I'm working on my arco technique on it. My buddy has taken my Ergo for a ride every time I bring it over and with a few tweeks I've made, he's said he'd be happy playing it now.

Sound is pretty good out of the box. I did just finish upgrading the piezo's with K&K Sound pickups.

Plucking is very close to an acoustic bass, but with a little more of the higher frequency string and mechanical noises, not enough to be annoying but noticible (it is a piezo pickup after all).

Arco, is very close to an upright, with it missing just a little of the body echo sound on the lower strings. The upper strings are dead on to my uneducated ear.

I purchased a 5 string with the lower B. I have a 6 string slab and I wouldn't give up that B string without a fight now. However, if I was going to buy an EUB I'd stick with either a four string or opt for the high C 5 string. I think you need magnetic pickups to really rumble that B. I also had to drop the B a bit on the bridge to get bite on the E string when bowing, I attribute this to a picky owner and normal setup tweeks.

I'm sure that there are other EUB that sound closer and feel better, but for me at the price, I don't think I could get something at was closer suited to my requirements.

BTW, I own and play...
  • Self built 4 string EB (25 years old now)
  • Tacoma 4 string Thunderchief AEB, modded with K&K's
  • Brice 6 string EB (Korean cheapo, but great value)
  • Ergo 5 string EUB

Mark Collis
[email protected]
 
#170
I had to get an EUB cuz im in mexico right now and I looked at this one, but its obviously not out from everythign i hear I'm a classically trained bassist and jazz enthusiast so i was looking for an EUB that would feel like a real upright. I ended up getting the Palantino VE500 cuz it was the only thing in my price range and its ok pizz and the arco could be worse but the fingerboard and bridge arent too bad. Though think the bridge seems kind of slim and flimsy, but it definitely wouldnt be a bad bass to start the change from electric to upright.
 
#172
If anybody else here who owns a Dean Pace could help me it would be greatly appreciated.

I recently picked up a Dean Pace 4, and (like the general opinions that I've read) the stock flats on there were pretty horrible. I bought a set of D'Addario Chromes, and set off on replacing them.

Here's where I ran into problems...

As you may know, the way the tuning pegs are situated (facing in to the center of the headstock) I'm finding it nearly impossible to get the end of the string in the hole in the middle of the peg. I tried bending the string at a 90 degree angle & poking it in, as well as using the 'classical guitar' method (looping the string), but the string kept slipping of both the peg AND the bridge saddles (too much slack, I'm guessing).

Now the bass came with the strings nicely wound (as you'd find on a bass guitar), so there has to be a way to get this right, correct?

BTW - I e-mailed Dean a few weeks ago & have yet to hear back from them...

Please - somebody :help: !!!

Thanks in advance,
Chris
 
#173
I play electric fretted bass and would like to get something a little different to work in a couple songs during my gig. Right now I dont want to spend a lot and I am considering the Dean Pace or the Palatino ve-500. I think these are like the bottom on this type of bass. Thanks for any comments or advice. I will also do some searches.
 
#178
The Palatino is an okay entry level instrument at a good price, but as such, it has flaws. There are loads of threads about the Palatino on here, so do some searching around. I had one, but eventually sold it because of these flaws and the extra money I was spending correcting them. I bought mine new at the time for £650 approx, probably an additional £250 modifying it to be 'better'. I could of bought a really good second hand EUB or even a new WAV4 for that money. A lesson well learned, if frustrating. Palatino's now retail on eBay new for £399. There is even a company in Germany selling them under a different name at £333! But as the saying so often goes here on TB, you get what you pay for. The Dean Pace I think isn't very good quality for the money, it feels cheap. Others may beg to differ. The concept is great, but really is nothing more than a fretless bass turned vertical. You'd be as well getting a fretless, buying a stand that allows you to hold it vertically, and playing that instead. My advice would be to maybe look at a WAV4 or Ergo, try out playing an EUB, and if you don't like it, you'll still have good second hand retail value if you decide to sell. The Palatino and Dean will not hold value IMHO.
 
#179
I have a Dean Pace bass but it's a 5 and I know the tuners are different on the 5 so I may not be much help.

You might try cutting off the string about 2.5" past the tuner, doubling over about 1/4" of the string and then bending the doubled part 90 degrees before inserting it into the hole in the tuner. Put enough tension on the string with your hand to control the direction of the feed and see if that works.
I have D'Addario Chromes on my 5 and have been very happy with the sound.
 
#180
I do too. If I had been here earlier, I could have told him to check the bridge ground. Sometimes you can make the hum on these things go away simply by tightening down the bridge screws so that the ground wire is more firmly pinched between the bridge and the body.
 

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