another upton hybrid report ...

jrlynch · #1 06-26-2007, 10:34 PM

Ok, here we go, another Upton Hybrid report ...

after a whole bunch of obsessing and what-not about what to buy, what's the best thing for me, blah blah blah, i ordered an upton hybrid, despite having the wonderful mike shank 15 minutes away ... i love mike's shop basses and much of his higher end stuff, but for a schlub like me who's looking to spend 3ish grand for a bass, Upton seemed to be the winner ... i'll be taking the baby to mike for treatment, tho, as required.

some background: fretless ebg player, stumbled into an eub, which challanged yet frustrated me, yet created this insane jonesin' for a "real" db.

mine was ordered on may 5. promised toward end of july and by some fortune, delivered on june 20. still waiting on the mooradian bag, but that should be in this week. got the bridge adjusters and the silly wimpy position markers (what can i tell you, i'm used the the warm glow of the LED markers on my warwick thumb). also ordered a rev II pickup.

first of all, the rep for personalized service these guys have is right on the money. my lovely lady and i were speculating how they can possibly make a crafted product of such quality, offer it at such a fair price, at provide the degree of personized service that they do ... and still make money. dunno, but i'm glad they do.

the lovely kristin called telling me that the beast was shipping and gave me all the appropriate info ... it shipped fedex freight ... went to pick it up in the cute little volvo (hey, at least i didn't bring the miata!), filled out all the requisite forms and the wonderful fedexy woman pointed out the window to the tow motor with a crate the size of a sub-zero fridge on it. ruh roh.

mooched a screw driver from the fedex man and unscrewed a zillion drywall screws which held the crate together. it was a tad frustrating. (note to all buyers: bring a screw gun with you). the beast was virtually floated within the crate ... a rather amazing packing job.

toted it to the car in the cheesy temp case they sent along and squeezed it into the wolwo.

it is beautiful. i actually sent the upton folks links to mike shank's monzino shop bass and asked for eric, gary and company to match the finish ... considering the shank bass is around three times the money, they did a decent job.

fit and finish overall is quite amazing for the price, the design of the bass is quite brilliant, it just fits your body, not unlike my adored warwick ... the set up was very well done (though the string height a bit high for my taste) and the tuners are of surprisingly top quality ... the position markers are deep brown stained inlaid wood against the ebony ... so subtle i actually thought at first they'd forgotten them.

they didn't score the kolstein heritage strings i requested, but shipped it with spirocore mediums ... i gotta say, i really should have stuck to my guns and waited the few days for the kolstein strings, 'cause i just plain don't like spirocores ... in any case, kolstein's are on it now and it sounds fabulous. did i say it sounds fabulous? it sounds fabulous ... deep, rich and beautiful, as advertised. if my playing can get to a point where it matches the beauty of this instrument, i'll be a happy camper.

the rev II pickup is a bit too hyper detailed for my taste, but i'm experiementing and it's sounding good, with some of the highs eq'd out ... i'm playing the beast through a gk150 head into a rich raezer bass 12.

i do wish these guys were down the street and, yeah, i probably should've hauled up to mystic to deal with everyone personally, but, you know, for what they're doing, they're doing a great job, with care and consideration ...

i'll post some pix shortly, but meanwhile the avatar will have to do.

jeff.

brooklynbassed · #2 06-26-2007, 11:55 PM

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"Ok, here we go, another Upton Hybrid report ...

after a whole bunch of obsessing and what-not about what to buy, what's the best thing for me, blah blah blah, i ordered an upton hybrid, despite having the wonderful mike shank 15 minutes away ... i love mike's shop basses and much of his higher end stuff, but for a schlub like me who's looking to spend 3ish grand for a bass, Upton seemed to be the winner ... i'll be taking the baby to mike for treatment, tho, as required."

Would you please tell me more about Mike Shank and his shop basses, his work. etc. Would you be so kind as to provide a link or contact as well. This might be help those of us who don't know his work. Presently, I see the Upton link in the banner.

Thanks. E.B.

jrlynch · #3 06-27-2007, 05:58 AM

http://shankstrings.com/

mike shank has a small shop in elizabethtown, pennsylvania.

good guy, beautiful work.

jeff.

drurb · #4 06-27-2007, 07:23 AM

Congrats on the new bass! Yep, they are amazing for the $$$. As for the Rev Solo sounding too detailed, have you tried flipping it over?

drurb · #5 06-27-2007, 07:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrlynch

http://shankstrings.com/

mike shank has a small shop in elizabethtown, pennsylvania.

good guy, beautiful work.

jeff.

Those Shank shop basses are sure pretty. They look VERY closely related to the "Calin Wultur" basses. I suspect they come from those shops.

brooklynbassed · #6 06-27-2007, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrlynch

http://shankstrings.com/

mike shank has a small shop in elizabethtown, pennsylvania.

good guy, beautiful work.

jeff.

Thanks, Jeff.

BEEF · #7 06-27-2007, 09:37 AM

Quote:

toted it to the car in the cheesy temp case they sent along and squeezed it into the wolwo.

Was there a charge for the cheesy temp case?

I told Gary I didn't need a case, and his reply was "We have to put it in something". So, I'm paying for an 'extra' case I don't really want/need.

Eric Rene Roy · #8 06-27-2007, 12:33 PM

Hey Beef, our crate/packaging system requires a case for some bump and minor thermal protection. Customers are given the option of sending us a bag if they already have one to ship it in...or you can have a bag drop shipped to us if you want to buy something else from someone else.

Bottom line, it does need a bag to ship...but If you already have one, I hope you were given the option to send us yours. Call the shop and talk to Kristin, our bass coordinator, if you need some options.

Thanks!

P.S. - Oh, and Jeff...enjoy your bass!!!

jrlynch · #9 06-27-2007, 02:17 PM

it does need a bag to ship. i imagine putting a recently varnished instrument in, say, a plastic bag, then putting it on a hot semi would not be the best idea.

jeff.

uptonbass · #10 06-27-2007, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BEEF

I told Gary I didn't need a case, and his reply was "We have to put it in something". So, I'm paying for an 'extra' case I don't really want/need.

and Ill stick to that

if you have a good case send it to me. Usually my next words are something along the lines of "if you don't want the case or don't like it for ANY reason just ship it back for a full refund"

no beef here

sorry I had to

BEEF · #11 06-27-2007, 08:47 PM

No problem.

I didn't realize it was shipped in a case that was provided by the buyer.
I saw '..that they sent along...' and assumed it was some sort of shipping bag.

My bad.

Thanks for the reply, Gary.

p.s. I sent you an email via 'sales@uptonbass.com' with an ATTN: Gary in regards to my order yesterday. Get back to me when you get a chance.