Well, it would be optimal to have it in one piece, but the first bridge I made out of plexiglass was one piece, and it was too thin and would have fallen over if I had left it on very long. If I had a 3/4" - 1" thick sheet of plexiglass then I would have made it one piece (no ugly line where the sheets meet after sanding too). I have found that my bridge sounds best if you put rubber between the pickup and bass body, leaving out the rubber directly under the bridge. It has a nice, precise sound to it.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Double Bass Palatino Megathread part I
- Thread starter Nohandles
- Start date
- Status
Hi folks... I'm new to Basses & received a VE-500 from German dealer last Thursday... It looks lovely, played well, but on Friday found it on the floor with a broken neck.
The maple at the break is discoloured in patches & possibly under the gloss finish further up the neck and Luthier friends suggest this is bacteria type.. rot. The dealer is being unhelpful so far... Any advice would be appreciated
If you found it on the floor Friday, chances are the fall is what caused the fretboard to break.
But, seriously, if there is some type of defect on the instrument, and you bought it from a legitimate dealer of Palatino products, contact the dealer first. If that fails, contact palatino, and report the problem to them and report that dealer. They can enforce certain standards on their dealers, and if need be, intervene by offering alternatives (if your case has merit).
If it's an Ebay sale or something that is not a direct-sale from a legitimate dealer of the company, you're only hope is to get that dealer to help you out, or, worst case, take it to a luthier at your expense.
I bought my Palatino from an Ebay store, and because of that, I cannot get service from the Palatino company. Any further modifications I do to it will come out of my own pocket.
Thanks... Yes, looks like I might have been stuffed. It was an ebay purchase and the German dealer is not listed as an official Palatino dealer.
Myself I suspected the fall, from a secure corner when no one was in the room, could have been the neck breaking under the tension of the newly tuned strings.
So unless I can convince Palatino, who clearly used the poor quality piece of wood, it looks like I may have to pay myself to have it repaired. Wouldn't mind that if I was sure it wouldn't fail again.
Does anyone have the email of their "most friendly" Customer Services department please ??.
Myself I suspected the fall, from a secure corner when no one was in the room, could have been the neck breaking under the tension of the newly tuned strings.
So unless I can convince Palatino, who clearly used the poor quality piece of wood, it looks like I may have to pay myself to have it repaired. Wouldn't mind that if I was sure it wouldn't fail again.
Does anyone have the email of their "most friendly" Customer Services department please ??.
I went after the stock piezo strip that came with the bass and figured out why it wouldn't work. The small solder connection had broken and was just about impossible to fix. I didn't lose any sleepover this cuz I had put a rev solo on the bridge. ( this did sound okay after some tweaking. ) I went back today and tried another piezo strip pickup much smaller than the stock one it just fits under the treble foot of the bridge. I hooked this up to the stock preamp and the sound was pretty amazing. I may have found the answer to the Realist (tm) pickup at a drastically reduced price.
I should be able to pick up an Eminence bridge from
G. Edward Luthierie tomorrow so things are looking up for this bass.
Also, when I put the new piezo pickup under the bridge foot I used one very small piece of rubber mesh padding between the pickup and the bottom of the bridge foot. I think the use of all that padding with the stock pickup may help but a good pickup doesn't need all that padding to sound good.
I should be able to pick up an Eminence bridge from
G. Edward Luthierie tomorrow so things are looking up for this bass.
Also, when I put the new piezo pickup under the bridge foot I used one very small piece of rubber mesh padding between the pickup and the bottom of the bridge foot. I think the use of all that padding with the stock pickup may help but a good pickup doesn't need all that padding to sound good.
Tonite I tried to do some A vs B comparisons rev solo on either side of the bridge wings vs the home made " realist type" pickup I put together yesterday. I upped the ante and used my K and K golden trinity preamp vs the stock preamp that came with the VE500.
Long and short of the test. The response was more even with the rev solo in the treble wing of the bridge with the K and K preamp. The rev solo wins again. Now I need to figure out how to put the K and K on or in the bass. I really need to fill some of the holes on this bass now.
I also made it over to G Edward Lutherie and got one of the Eminence bridges. I'm looking forward to fitting this one asap. I'll post some pics later this week.
Long and short of the test. The response was more even with the rev solo in the treble wing of the bridge with the K and K preamp. The rev solo wins again. Now I need to figure out how to put the K and K on or in the bass. I really need to fill some of the holes on this bass now.
I also made it over to G Edward Lutherie and got one of the Eminence bridges. I'm looking forward to fitting this one asap. I'll post some pics later this week.
Bassbob,
Sounds really interesting what you're doing.
I'd like to know what model of piezo-strip pickup you said might be better than the stock one. The reason being that I'm interested in building myself a few bridges from different woods (and even plexiglass) based on the design provided by Yvarg earlier. Those designs have no place for the installation of a Fishman Full Circle or Rev Solo - style pickup (because it's a solid bridge). I figure, therefore, that the only one I can have is a piezo-strip that would go under the bridge in the pickup slot. The stock pickup is not that bad, but if I can find another piezo-strip that's better, I'd love to try it. Take care
Sounds really interesting what you're doing.
I'd like to know what model of piezo-strip pickup you said might be better than the stock one. The reason being that I'm interested in building myself a few bridges from different woods (and even plexiglass) based on the design provided by Yvarg earlier. Those designs have no place for the installation of a Fishman Full Circle or Rev Solo - style pickup (because it's a solid bridge). I figure, therefore, that the only one I can have is a piezo-strip that would go under the bridge in the pickup slot. The stock pickup is not that bad, but if I can find another piezo-strip that's better, I'd love to try it. Take care
I got the piezo material from Trout Cove Lutherie in a sample pack. It's simple enough to solder on a shielded cord and plug it in. I know you could experiment with different kinds of copper shieliding and padding like the stock pickup on the VE500. I had another EUB with a piezo pickup that was a solid rod type that fit under both feet of the bridge. That was okay and did sound somewhat better with padding underneath. That hleped reduce the string and fingerboard noise. You could probably notch out the bottom of the bridge feet on the stock pickup to see how that would work.
I'm going to stay with the rev solo with the K and K preamp for now. I did order another piezo preamp/pickup combo from Ebay that I think is similar to what I had on my old EUB. I'll let you know how that works out.
On the "non wood " bridges I wonder if you could cut in the heart section and make bridge wings so you could mount pickups that way. It should work somehow I'd think.
I'm going to stay with the rev solo with the K and K preamp for now. I did order another piezo preamp/pickup combo from Ebay that I think is similar to what I had on my old EUB. I'll let you know how that works out.
On the "non wood " bridges I wonder if you could cut in the heart section and make bridge wings so you could mount pickups that way. It should work somehow I'd think.
Very Cool! I have an Eminance now with a Realists style pickup on it. I wonder how just buying one would sound on the Palatino. For mine it is really nice. I have tweeked it to the point where I will leave it alone unless you guys come up with something new I just have to try out.
I read over 10 pages of this thread and didn't see the link I am posting. If it's here I'm sorry, but these are some great pics of the Palatino.
Invalid Link Removed
Invalid Link Removed
Tonite I put the Eminence bridge on the VE500 and mounted the Rev Solo pickup in the treble wing.
I modified the enclosure the bridge sits in to accommodate the Eminence bridge feet which are a tad wider than the stock bridge.
I did this by cutting out the ends and sanding out any imperfections. I mounted the Rev Solo upside down in the treble wing and the sound is pretty good.
I will continue to work on my homemade "realist" style pickup and try that again soon.
I modified the enclosure the bridge sits in to accommodate the Eminence bridge feet which are a tad wider than the stock bridge.
I did this by cutting out the ends and sanding out any imperfections. I mounted the Rev Solo upside down in the treble wing and the sound is pretty good.
I will continue to work on my homemade "realist" style pickup and try that again soon.
I had planned to order the VE500 tonight, but I caught wind that there is one at a music store about an hour away. I think I will wait and go play it before I do.
Hey just a heads up on page 19 post # 363 I compiled a summery of every modification done to the Palatinos. Just thought you might like to know. -Doug
The page number depends on the way the user sorts the forum.
Since I use reverse order, for me it's page 12.
But the post number is always true!
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showpost.php?p=3792095&postcount=363
I know this is a very old quote but i've just come across this thread and have been enjoying reading it for hours- if in the wrong chronological order for the first hour...
... anyway, i wanted to know what you meant (you'll have to excuse my ignorance) by the 'bouts' that you made... are they those contact points on arms that come off some ueb's body to make contact with your body so you feel like you're holding a regular ub? If yes, then I've carved one but I haven't been able to decide on the best way of fixing it to the body of the bass... if this is NOT what you were talking about then you might have no idea what i'm talking about so ignore.... can you tell me how you did this? Cheers.
He is talking about the bent bar that rests against. Sounds like he made a piece wide enough that it was like a full size upright against this body. That way there would be less stress on his hands and wrists. Hope this helps!
Thanks, i thought that was probably what he meant by bouts.
I'm new to upright bass and to the palatino and have had no guidance in playing this beast as yet ..
apart from the fact that my bass arrived battered, bruised and completely detached at the neck - partly i reckon due to bad handling/packaging, and partly bad luck in that i got one of the dodgy ones - the problem i'm experiencing is that the bass tries to rock away from me as i reach to pluck the g string... i suspect this is due to my lack of skills rather than a problem with the bass, or maybe my hands are just not strong enough yet... I'm finding that this problem is leading to me involuntarily holding and pulling on the e string with my third finger of my plucking hand (sorry, i don't know the terminology!) to keep the bass from twisting away from me while i play the d and g strings with the first two fingers of the same hand...
I'm sure this must be bad practice... can anyone suggest either a mod to my technique or a mod to the bass? Maybe an additional bout somewhere? Or someone could tell me this is a perfectly acceptable way to play the upright. That would solve all my problems.
P.S. I was unbeleeeeeevably thrilled to find this forum! It was like discovering fellow sane people in an insane asylum.
I'm new to upright bass and to the palatino and have had no guidance in playing this beast as yet ..
apart from the fact that my bass arrived battered, bruised and completely detached at the neck - partly i reckon due to bad handling/packaging, and partly bad luck in that i got one of the dodgy ones - the problem i'm experiencing is that the bass tries to rock away from me as i reach to pluck the g string... i suspect this is due to my lack of skills rather than a problem with the bass, or maybe my hands are just not strong enough yet... I'm finding that this problem is leading to me involuntarily holding and pulling on the e string with my third finger of my plucking hand (sorry, i don't know the terminology!) to keep the bass from twisting away from me while i play the d and g strings with the first two fingers of the same hand...
I'm sure this must be bad practice... can anyone suggest either a mod to my technique or a mod to the bass? Maybe an additional bout somewhere? Or someone could tell me this is a perfectly acceptable way to play the upright. That would solve all my problems.
P.S. I was unbeleeeeeevably thrilled to find this forum! It was like discovering fellow sane people in an insane asylum.
Yes this is a great place to discover. As for balance of the Palatino it takes a little time to learn how to leave you left hand free and only to lightly support to the bass. Find a point as the bass leans into you that requires the least amount of pressure on your left. Yes it is like learn to ride a bicycle! I'm thinking of making a bar that will go on the end of the end pin. It will be about 6 inches long and pivot. It will also have 2rubber feet. One on each end. This will give the bass some front to back stability. I have an Eminance and it has this on the end. You can lean the bass against you and it will stand up on it's own. Hey maybe I'll just buy one for an Eminance and add it to the end pin on my Palatino. I hope this helps a little.
Well, I tried out the Palatino at the music store today and bought one. Trouble is the one I brought home in a box has the D and A strings buzzing bad. So, I called the guy and told him I was bringing it back tomorrow for the one on the floor I played. By the way, he has the best price I have seen on the VE500.........$599.00. It's at Conncert Music in Bluefield, WV.
picked up mine for 550,but I guess that was a Blem on Musicians friend, and it had a broke preamp when it came but Palatino was nice enough to send a new one.
- Status
