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Double Bass Palatino Megathread part I

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#681
hello to all
i was following this thread for long time but this is my first post here.
i decided to buy the Palatino after reading this thread and still following its progression.
after a long research, i ordered the Palatino from BASS NORTH WEST - and i can happily recommend them as the best music store i ever dealt with. they were very nice and fair and efficient. it was super fast shipping. i got the bass at my home door at Israel 4 days after i ordered it and they shipped it from Seattle!! around the world at 4 days!
i did some of the modes that the members here suggested and i am happy with the results.
first thing i did is the rubber pad above and underneath the piezo pickup and its made a great improvement.
i changed the string to Thomastik spirocores weich and those are very good strings and they made big change to the sound.
a professional luthier - who is good friend of mine made a pro setup the improve it too.
he also changed the bad input jack to good locking Nutrik jack.
and also made nice padding to the metal extension bout
like lot of members, i am a long time EBG player and i decided to take the upright and study it. this is my first upright bass.
i am takking lessons with good local experienced and professional player and teacher.
maybe sometime at the near future i will buy an acoustic full body UB , even a chip one for amateurs - but meanwhile - i am happy with the Palatino and will keep it anyway.
the gig bag is sh**t but i replaced the plastic parts with stronger metal parts and padded the shoulder straps. the thing is pretty heavy!
and the last thing - i made a nice stand from Mapex cymbal stand and guitar stand. its hold the Palatino perfectly into playing position that is very comfortable when bowing and generally playing, but i can take the bass out from the stand whenever i wish to do so, without screwing anything.

here some pics of my Palatino.

P6250014.jpg


P6250016.jpg


P6250002-1.jpg


P6250016-1.jpg
 
#682
Be very careful with the S@$@@%@t bag. IT WILL break! AND YOUR BASS MIGHT GET BROKEN! Don't trust the straps or anything else. Just use it to protect the bass. There is a pattern at Colarado Case Co. You can get one for 250 plus shipping and it is really nice. I have one and it is realy secure and protected.
 
#683
kallien grueger said:
I was having a scan for a Palantino through UK eBay and stumbled on this bass - A&F Electric Upright Bass - which appears to be a Palatino with a black paint job and different branding. I quite like the black colour, but I think it looks a bit too hi-tech for my needs
Click to expand...

Ha! I like how the description of the bass is exactly the same as the description on the Palatino website, except they exchanged the word "palatino" for "east and franklin". I love people's creativity these days. ;)
 
#684
Hey I ordered my Palatino bass a few days ago, should be here soon. I was thinking of lowering my bridge for lower action and possibly doing the "famed" rubber thing. I was curious though, if i do keep the original stock bridge, could i spray paint it black to match more or would that possibly affect its sound?

-Reese
 
#685
Cokeman170 said:
Hey I ordered my Palatino bass a few days ago, should be here soon. I was thinking of lowering my bridge for lower action and possibly doing the "famed" rubber thing. I was curious though, if i do keep the original stock bridge, could i spray paint it black to match more or would that possibly affect its sound?

-Reese
Click to expand...

The stock bridge is a bit soft but will work unit you feel you need a new one. As for painting it, this won't affect the sound. Do the rubber it makes a huge improvement.
 
#690
Yeah, should be here monday. I wouldn't put my band name because there is a chance that we won't stay together forever then I'm stuck with "Army Of Urchins" on my bass. :]

Ok, i know it is on here somewhere, but 35 is a lot of pages to read. When my bass gets here Monday, what are the absolute best things i should do to it to make it play better?
 
#692
Cokeman170 said:
Yeah, should be here monday. I wouldn't put my band name because there is a chance that we won't stay together forever then I'm stuck with "Army Of Urchins" on my bass. :]

Ok, i know it is on here somewhere, but 35 is a lot of pages to read. When my bass gets here Monday, what are the absolute best things i should do to it to make it play better?
Click to expand...

I received mine in trade on Thursday... I've heard that new strings are a must. Thankfully, the previous owner swapped the originals out for some D'Addario Helicore Pizz. lights which are pretty sweet, and I'm sure improved the tone dramatically!

He also put a piece of 'shelf' paper under the piezo pickup, as noted in this thread. I tried it with and without the paper, and then replaced the paper with pieces of inner-tube from a bicycle both above and below the pickup... Without any buffering, (no shim of any kind), the sound was a bit harsh, very 'upright' like... With the original shelf paper, it was much better... warmer and woodier. With the inner-tube above and below, (as also stated elsewhere in this thread), it is very nice sounding and much more organic...

The final thing, (this one I did after noticing the ringing), was to shape a piece of foam to fit snugly between the body and the tailpiece... The stinkin' tailpice 'rings' like a mofo!! I used a piece of heavy, dense foam from a canoe mounting kit, shaped it to match the profile of the tailpiece, loosened the strings, placed it and tuned up. Dead quiet, and again, a huge improvement in tone...

There are also some amp settings on the first page that you should definitely read. I am running the Palatino through a Fishman Platinum Pro before my amp, but I tried the amp suggestions on the first page before that, and they were definitely on the mark...

Like countless others throughout this thread, I am totally enjoying my Palatino. You should take the time to read through the whole thread, but hopefully, this will get you underway until you can...

-robert
 
#694
"The tail gut mod on my bass keeps getting better and better. At first I couldn't hear THAT much of a difference, but the string tension was much better. Now after only a day and a half, the string holder has begun to correct itself angle wise and I can hear a big difference in my pizzicato sound. Now before I had done this I always disliked playing with a bow because the sound was always very thin and the notes just did not speak easily (and I'm using d'addario orchestrals), but I picked up my bow for the heck of it and tried it out just now. WOW, what a difference! The notes feel so much easier to play and they sound pretty good for an EUB too! The arco treble I had particularly been disgusted with beforehand but now I can play up around the octave G with a clear, flowing sound and the low C even has a nice rumble to it. I thought that all the hype I'd been hearing about this mod was overdone, but now I see that it really was not. I seriously think that this is the best for the Palatino yet."

-Hey Yvarg, I noticed on your pictures on this mod that you kept the same string holder, but you have something different than the metal "swoops" that it came with. What is the black thread like thing you are using to hold the string holder and how long is the pieceof it you are using? Also, how far down on the bottom side of the palatino did you add to screw? Thanks.
 
#695
That black cord that is holding the string holder is just a normal double bass tail gut. I got mine here: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] at the bottom of the page. The string length is how it came. I put the screw just about in the middle of the rectangle the rubber pieces on the bottom form. I hope that helps. :)
 
#696
On the "NAMING" on MY unbranded Palatino- No it WON'T be the band name- U never know -band MAY end next yr, but the EUB will go ON!!! She'll stay nameless 4 now.
Remember I put 'thick brushcutter cord' as my string retainer-after a cello one broke & a uprite one I bought was SO cr*ppily made it didn't even work ONCE!!! Well- the cord is hanging in there & sounds as good as the "real" nylon/gut ones. It took about a week B4 I didn't have to tune it every 1/2 hr, but now is fine! &, like above post, sounds smooth on the upper registers now, & far more organic sounding all over !! Far nicer than the WIRE original. Didn't know whether it'd work at all.... so I guess yellow is NOT the best colour!! :-) I'll probly end up buying a DBL bass nylon one sometime(at least they're brown) But as far as I can tell-this is doing the SAME job-just yellow & with two knots instead of two brass nuts!
 
#698
I have a little bit of extra acrylite sitting around here, so I might be able to do something about a bridge. As long as you understand that the finish is not perfectly clear, there will more than likely be a few small scratches in it (not anything you can see from a little ways back). In fact, here is a picture that shows what mine looks like up close pretty well (there IS some dirt there that isn't normally around) : [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] PM me and we'll discuss all the details if you're still interested.
 
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