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-   -   Paesold - what's the deal? (http://www.smithbassforums.com//showthread.php?t=1335)

Tomas Bouda 12-11-2009 02:08 AM

Paesold - what's the deal?
 
i have a paesold bass that i bought as my first instrument before entering university. i have never met another player who has one, and i can't find much information about them (in terms of reliability, sound etc) anywhere on the internet. i'm basically wondering...what's their deal? has anyone else played/owned one of these instruments?

thanks a lot everyone!

Eric Hochberg 12-11-2009 10:02 AM

A bass instructor around here sells them to students in the area. The couple I've seen/heard seem fine although I haven't really taken a close look or played one. I know he had a big problem a few years ago with a number of them he sold to the local high school, cracking in the winter, I think the school expected him to repair them gratis, but I figure that was due to low school humidity and not the basic quality of the basses, although who knows?

EDIT- Now that I think of it, one of my former students got a "master" grade Paesold which he brought in for a few lessons. Beautiful wood and sounded nice, too. Pricey, I think his parents paid over 15k for it.

Tomas Bouda 12-14-2009 01:51 AM

alright, thanks for the info. mine's great! anyone else got something to add/offer?

thanks again!

Ken Smith 12-14-2009 08:00 AM

well..
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Tomas Bouda (Post 16933)
alright, thanks for the info. mine's great! anyone else got something to add/offer?

thanks again!

Did you try Google?
http://www.paesold.com/

That head on the home page is beautiful. I hope the basses sound as good as that head looks. The ones I have seen were typical German factory type Basses. Stanley Clarke has one as an Endorsement that he takes on the road sometimes. Makers like Wilfer and other brands similar or associated with that family of shops are along the same line.

Read their history on their webpage. "In 1981, the Paesold company was integrated into the Boosey & Hawkes group."

I have read on one dealers website that they are made in the Hofner factory. I am in contact with them as I am posting here as I am interested to find out as well. They seem to be a quality company from what I can see.

Ken Smith 12-15-2009 08:51 AM

ok..
 
I emailed back and forth and received some very good and helpful information which I will be glad to share here and now to settle any confusion about this company or other similar brands..

"Hofner and Paesold are two independent companies but they had been under one roof in the time (1994 – 2004) where both companies were under the umbrella of Boosey&Hawkes or later The Music Group.. To a certain extent the range of products is different and marketing is completely different. Of course both companies use the same or similar suppliers and in some markets the distribution is done by the same company, e.g. in Europe Hofner is the distributor for the Paesold range as well.

The back design (we call that purfling work “Blume” – flower ) is traditional Frankonian (Northern Bavarian) and is not only used by makers in this region, but pretty much 100% of the basses coming from Bubenreuth and vicinity have a Blume. Our German made basses are 100% made in Germany and the Chinese line is labeled Andrew Schroetter in order to make things very clear"

I must say it was very nice of them to share this information. This coming directly from Mr. Friedemann Pods, Sales & Marketing of Paesold.

Tomas Bouda 12-18-2009 01:25 AM

thanks for the info ken - the part about the purfling design was an added bonus. thanks again.

Tomas Bouda 12-25-2009 12:07 PM

although...i have noticed that purfling design on countless other basses! i guess its a nice throwback to the vintage ones.

i love the bass. sounds great, and since i've been tuning it in fifths, its had the resonant and singing voice of a cello. there are a few things that i would change though: first of all, its a big bass (4/4) and the depth at upper bout is 8-7/8", which i think is pretty darn thick. also, it came stock with a wittner composite tailpiece (i don't like how it sounds or how it looks compared to the wood) , and the figure of the wood is pretty plain. however, the neck has recently begun to get a lot of noticeable flaming in it. does anyone have any ideas why the flame is coming out 7 years after i've bought this instrument?

a saddle crack developed the first winter here, but it hasn't spread so its stable (but buzzes occasionally). i wonder what the quality on their master grade instruments is - it must be exceptional!

Calvin Marks 01-11-2010 07:24 PM

Tomas, 8 7/8 is large for sure for upper bouts, if you're not having trouble solo'ing then don't worry about it, you're 6'6" right?

Ken Smith 01-11-2010 11:40 PM

Crack?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Tomas Bouda (Post 17111)
although...i have noticed that purfling design on countless other basses! i guess its a nice throwback to the vintage ones.

i love the bass. sounds great, and since i've been tuning it in fifths, its had the resonant and singing voice of a cello. there are a few things that i would change though: first of all, its a big bass (4/4) and the depth at upper bout is 8-7/8", which i think is pretty darn thick. also, it came stock with a wittner composite tailpiece (i don't like how it sounds or how it looks compared to the wood) , and the figure of the wood is pretty plain. however, the neck has recently begun to get a lot of noticeable flaming in it. does anyone have any ideas why the flame is coming out 7 years after i've bought this instrument?

a saddle crack developed the first winter here, but it hasn't spread so its stable (but buzzes occasionally). i wonder what the quality on their master grade instruments is - it must be exceptional!

Fix the Crack NOW before it spreads into a SP or 'bar crack. Have a small space cut around the Saddle on each side for expansion. Drop some Hide glue in the Crack in the mean time. The Bottled type mixed in hot water will be fine as a Temp. precaution for now.

As the wood shrinks, the flames will come thru as the varnish from UV exposure is also fading letting the wood grain show a bit more.

As wood shrinks, things crack and open too. Get a humidifier near the bass and get it close to 40% of you can.

Stephen Candib 06-28-2010 06:08 PM

Hofner makes Hofner and Paesold at its facility in Hagenau, Germany.
Hofner went back to private family ownership in 2004.
Since then, Hofner has been distributed in the USA by CMI, out of the Chicago area.
From then until recently, Paesold was distributed in the USA by Eastman.
Paesold is now distributed in the USA by CMI.

Johannes Felscher 10-03-2010 03:31 PM

That sounds about right, I recently send a request to Paesold - and got a reply from a Hofner email address... :)


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