Double Bass Stagg or Palatino or...

[gimmeagig]

I know, I don't mean to try your patience, I've been taking up space here quite a bit lately.
It's because I live in a little cowtown in northern Idaho and there are no music stores here that have EUBs.So all i got is e-bay Youtube and Youguys
I was going to buy a completely dialed in Palatino but when I was ready to pay the money, the seller changed his mind last minute and now I'm back to square one.
I read all the threads and did searches and all that and even though I'm leaning towards the Stagg I want to do a quick survey on cheap EUBs.
I know the Ergo has been suggested but I can't get past the look and the tripod mount.The sound is also too much like my fretless.So that one is out for me.
Choice 1
Palatino: has an ebony board the is not always even but can be planed and is kind of flimsy all around and it also comes with crappy strings.Seems to be loved by tinkerers ( no offense I like to tinker as well) who always end up selling it.Also, aside from the one I was going to buy I have not heard or read about an actual experienced player loving it.But it looks very very cool.
Choice 2
Stagg: is kind of OK looking , seems sturdier than the Palatino but might be less comfortable to play because it is a stick. It also has crappy strings but might sound better straight out of the box.At least there are better sound samples on youtube.There are actual guys who know how to play who are using it.Seems to be good for salsa,which I like.The fretboard is made of white wood that is painted so if it is not even, planing it might not be possible.I would kind of be stuck with what I get, I think.
Anything else might be over my budget at this point.I'd love to have an Azola but.....
I just want to see if I even like playing the EUB.I can get around on the electric pretty well in all styles and I know i'm going to be painful to listen to on the EUB for a long time.But I still want to try it.
Can you guys just real quick tell me which one you would go with?
Thanks

 

[MNAirHead]

when I was in your shoes.. someone suggested a NS WAV.. I'm not tickled with the preamp stuff -- still a pro class build

 

[gimmeagig]

I looked at it but I'm not so crazy about the tripod mount.I kind of want my EUB to look a little more beefy.

 

[dbassnut]

You could take a look at the Yamaha SLB-200 but I understand that their built in electronics need to be ripped out & replaced in order to get good sound. Another nice one would be the eminence which you can ask Bob G about.

 

[mje]

Problem with the Palatino is that you absolutely have to do a lot of mods to get it to sound good, at which point you have an inexpensive EUB that sounds decent. But we're talking $125-175 for new strings, a new bridge, and a new tailpiece, minimum. And you'll have to make the bridge and tailpiece yourself. If I'd kept mine my next step would have been to redo the electronics and replace the endpin.

 

[Francois Blais]

So, gimmeagig, did you buy an EUB yet?
Which one did you choose?

Best regards,
François

 

[gimmeagig]

No, Francois, I haven't gotten one yet.I went to bass Northwest in Seattle and tried out a Goldtone which had relatively low action but it did not sound very good, a Czech NS on a tripot which sounded nice but also kind of sounded a little too much like my fretless bass.The third one was a Palatino.The action was higher that on the other basses but it was not too hard to play and it had sustain, punch and sounded most upright like of the three.I know that some people talk about that Palatinos are cheap Chinese crap and that everything needs to be changed on them to make them playable. For me that bass would be perfectly acceptable to start out on.
But while I was able to hack my way through a few tunes like The Chicken,the Blues, Rhythm Changes, What's going on, etc.
I was not able to get the instrument steady enough in the thumb position to do anything. The instrument had nothing I could lean on to keep it steady once I took my thumb off the back of the neck and it would just flop around in my arms.The guys in the store were all electric players and could not give me any pointers on how to hold the bass.It just felt so strange that I got completely discouraged and bassically chickened out
I know how it looks when Traditional standup players go up there.They just lean into the body ,it seems, and that supports the instrument and frees up their left hand completely.For the life of me I didn't see how that could be done on a EUB. I tried to go to one of my favorite resources Youtube but I have not found any videos of EUB players in the thumb position.
I appreciate everyones help here and I did not want to waste anyones time, but in the end i just felt that I could not do it.

 

[mateybass]

The Stagg has a strap button on the heel of the neck near to the body which I've used to hook both ends of a guitar strap around my body, pushing against the hip brace... this allows me to let go of the bass without it falling away from me. I don't tend to use it very often but it works quite well.

 

[Francois Blais]

It indeed doesn't have a tummy rest.
However if you play seated on a stool (like I do), you may be able to have good stability for thumb positions.