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Double Bass Palatino and Gold Tone

Michael Vee

Michael Vee

Supporting Member
Feb 3, 2004
4,711
4,791
#1
There is an ongoing Palatino VE-500 thread, but I haven't seen much discussion on the Gold Tone Club Bass.

I have a chance to pick up a used Gold Tone for about the same price, shipped, as a Palatino.

There might be a few Talkbassers who have played both of these, and if so, how would you compare the two?

I'd like to get a sub-$1000 EUB, and am in the position of considering buying either the Palatino or the Gold Tone without benefit of trying them out in person. Not the most comfortable buying decision.. so any comparative thoughts on these basses would be welcome.

It does seem that the Gold Tone has better electronics and a better bridge, out of the box, than the Palatino.
 
#2
I tried a Palatino and decided not to buy it because I would have ended up changing strings, bridge, tailpiece, pickup and preamp - suddenly it's not such a bargain. Basically, the woodwork seemed OK but all the hardware was junk.

I haven't tried a Gold Tone but it doesn't seem to have the same design flaws as the Palatino.
 
#3
In a Music store in Sacramento catering to folk & bluegrass musicians. Hated it; had a double-bass silhouette, but was only a couple of inches thick. Felt strange- I think I'd prefer something that wasn't pretending to look like 'the real thing'. It also sounded awful(to me), but I think the preamp needed a new battery. They really wanted to sell it, too; I'm thinking it had sat there awhile.
 
#5
Thanks for the posts so far, guys.

I've called all the local Gold Tone dealers in east Tennessee, and not one of them has ever even seen a Club Bass!

So, I just now got off the phone with Wayne Rogers of Gold Tone. I thought I'd give them a call and get the inside info.

He said the Club Bass is a Chinese version of a design that a former employee of his was hand-building a number of years ago. This original design sold for several thousand dollars.

We talked at length about the new piezo pickup design, which has a separate element for each string, along with a trim pot for each. Wayne said this was redesigned for players who wanted to use a mixed set of strings. The preamp has a volume and a tone control and a 1/4" jack.

Additionally, the newer ones have improved Gotoh upright tuners. He also said the newer Club Basses are shipping with a tripod mount, similar to Kydd basses' stands.

I asked him about the gig bags that come with the basses. He said they are very heavily padded, and sell separately new for $295.

Not surprisingly, he said the Palatinos are "cheap junk" compared to the Clubs. He thought most players would be fine with all the hardware on the Club Basses and would not need to upgrade the parts, as on the Palatinos.

Of course, the Club Basses sell for around $1100, compared to $700 for the Palatinos. The out-of-box quality should be at least somewhat higher.

Haven't made a decision yet, but I did want to share this info with everyone here.

Leaning strongly toward the Club Bass. :cool:
 
#6
hey i have just recived my Palintinao and love it i am new to UB and i only paid 600.00 for it thats all i could get but this is the best thing you can get for 600.00 on the market, its better then a pice of crap e-bay 1000.00 UB. With some minor tweeking i got it to were it its great to learn on. dont get me wrong if i had 1200.00 i would have gone for the gold tone at twice the price you grt two times the features. if you are already a good UB player and need something to gig with i would also go with the gold tone. but for me i love my palintinao the only added expence was strings at 99.00 so my total to enter the world of UB from EB was 700.00. keep in mind you will always get what you pay for! this doesent mean that cheap is bad, just not as good as something twice the price! GOOD LUCK!
dave,
 
#7
A couple of years ago, I compared a Gold Tone to my BugBass. The GT owner had hacked the bridge way down to get decent action, the neck shape felt wrong, and overall, the bass seemed crude compared to the Bug. The Bug's tone was more full, too.

Basically, I was comparing a cheap import to a real pro instrument...the difference was obvious!
 
#8
Just heard back from the seller, and the Club Bass has sold.. a case of, if you can't jump on a purchase, then it probably wasn't the right thing for you anyway.

Maybe some of you saw this instrument on eBay last week. The reserve wasn't met, and the music shop owner (in Miami) was taking offers for the bass on consignment after the auction ended.

I have no idea whether or not I'll go for a Palatino now, or maybe for a bit more, an Ergo 4-string.

Maybe we can change this thread into Palatino VE-500's compared to Ergos...
 

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