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Double Bass The Patrick Charton suit-bass
- Thread starter robinunit
- Start date
I got to see and hear this bass at ISB and it sounds surprisingly good for the fact that it disassembles in the way it does. It sounded and felt better than any chadwick, but also its about triple the cost...
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It's the best sounding bass Samsonite ever made! (just kidding, but seriously, talk about HYBRID.)
Interesting. Very Gallic in design/engineering approach (made me think of Citroen DS).
Setup/takedown looks a bit more fiddly than a Chadwick, but not bad.
If the cost is about 3x a Chadwick, it is aimed at "special buyer", especially since there are many luthiers and bass shops offering removable neck basses (conversions or custom builds) for considerably less money.
Charton does do removable neck conversions, as well.
The killer feature might be that you can order yours with a 4 string and a 5 string neck.
One bass to rule them all! (though I'm not sure you could get a C extension neck)
Rentals available.
Worth a trip to the website for more photos and information: Patrick Charton Luthier
Setup/takedown looks a bit more fiddly than a Chadwick, but not bad.
If the cost is about 3x a Chadwick, it is aimed at "special buyer", especially since there are many luthiers and bass shops offering removable neck basses (conversions or custom builds) for considerably less money.
Charton does do removable neck conversions, as well.
The killer feature might be that you can order yours with a 4 string and a 5 string neck.
One bass to rule them all! (though I'm not sure you could get a C extension neck)
Rentals available.
Worth a trip to the website for more photos and information: Patrick Charton Luthier
Hello All,
I spoke with Patrick Charton at this years ISB convention and got a chance to play his Suit Bass. It sounded great.
Ric
I spoke with Patrick Charton at this years ISB convention and got a chance to play his Suit Bass. It sounded great.
Ric
Hi !
My Suit-bass is a real bass with a real sound. Same volume and vibrating surface as an average 3/4 double bass. I have not cut any crucial vibrating part and the dismantling is quite easy and traveling is safe.
The price of my Suit-bass today is 8353 USD, and with soft case and flight case it is 9975 USD (export prices without shipping)
I can custom make them, propose hybrid versions with 4 and 5 strings (same neck, different peg boxes), add C or D extension...
Waiting list is approximately 8 months.
See my web site charton-luthier.com
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On a related note, I tried his newest B21 bass this summer at his shop.
The bass both felt and looked great. I used to own a Hachez and I may very well prefer the B21 for Orchestra, although I have not tried it in a section.
For those who have not met Patrick, both he and those who work for him are very kind, patient and highly skilled.
I have both driven the 23 hour drive to St Etienne and the 20 hour drive to Paris to have work done rather than doing it locally.
The bass both felt and looked great. I used to own a Hachez and I may very well prefer the B21 for Orchestra, although I have not tried it in a section.
For those who have not met Patrick, both he and those who work for him are very kind, patient and highly skilled.
I have both driven the 23 hour drive to St Etienne and the 20 hour drive to Paris to have work done rather than doing it locally.
I have broken three necks flying and recently had my old English bass converted to a removable neck by Charton. Incidentally, Patrick was the one who repaired it expertly last time an airline decided to convert it to a removable neck without asking first.
Any damage can be repaired as Patrick proved, so I would not worry about the back any more than any other bass. I would much rather fly with the suit bass as it would be nearly impossible to damage unless the case itself is completely demolished.
While I had seen the suit bass at his shop a few times when I was visiting Patrick, I had never thought to try it. Fun concept, but no way I thought.
So yesterday while trying his Montagnana variants to decide on the final detailas on a bass he is making for me, I picked up a suit bass with helicore jazz strings and tried it for 15 minutes.
It sounds quite good as a jazz bass. It is very easy to play and get around. Even with very arco hostile strings, the D and G sounded and felt pretty good. A and E I would have to try with normal arco strings to judge fairly, but if I was looking for a small practisebass under 10k, this is surely what I would get. As a bass to bring on orchestra tours so you can practise at the hotel, or for a bass to bring on vacation to stay in shape, this is a real winner. For a touring jazz player, this is something you really need to go try one at his shop in Paris. These are actually selling really well and one owner is a very busy touring period instrument player who I believe has switched and is using this as his main touring instrument.
So yesterday while trying his Montagnana variants to decide on the final detailas on a bass he is making for me, I picked up a suit bass with helicore jazz strings and tried it for 15 minutes.
It sounds quite good as a jazz bass. It is very easy to play and get around. Even with very arco hostile strings, the D and G sounded and felt pretty good. A and E I would have to try with normal arco strings to judge fairly, but if I was looking for a small practisebass under 10k, this is surely what I would get. As a bass to bring on orchestra tours so you can practise at the hotel, or for a bass to bring on vacation to stay in shape, this is a real winner. For a touring jazz player, this is something you really need to go try one at his shop in Paris. These are actually selling really well and one owner is a very busy touring period instrument player who I believe has switched and is using this as his main touring instrument.
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It really should not work this well for period playing, but have a listen
