Dean Pace Bass

I have always been intrigued by the upright string bass.  Even before becoming a bass player (for lack of better description), I have thought I would like to have one.  The sheer size of them however, was a deterrent.  I couldn't see myself lugging one around and, all in all, it didn't seem practical.

Marcia had a conference in Albany a day or so after Miranda's graduation from ACP, so we stayed down there.  Having some time to kill, we did some shopping at a couple of malls.  On Monday, May 11, 2009, I happened to go into the Hilton Music Store in the Latham Circle Mall.  They had two relatively inexpensive, probably Asian electronic upright string basses on display.  I played them both.

I don't remember the brand of the first, but it was basically an upright string bass without a body.  It had a curved neck board and, without a body, it was somewhat uncomfortable to balance and play.  I'm sure I would have gotten used to it after a while.

The second was a Dean bass which I later discovered was called a Pace Bass.  Because it sat on a tripod and has a flatter neck board, I found it a lot easier to play.  My initial reaction was that this isn't all that different from a standard bass guitar.  You play it upright rather than horizontally and it lacks frets.  I'll get used to it.

After just over two years of ownership, I stumbled into a situation where I traded this for a Cremona half-size upright bass.