Just bought a professor bass

[lloccmttocs]

This isn't really a thread by any means but I figured I would spread the news of my new bass which Upton is starting making right now. I just put a down payment on a new Professor bass. Anyone had/have one? I tried the one he had in store and it was beautiful.

[clink]

Congrats! I love my Hybrid Hawkes and may well play it for many years but I have no doubt a fully carved version is much better.

[mikegmn]

I am about this close (pinches thumb and forefinger together) to ordering a Hawkes Hybrid. Bummer is the 8-10 weeks lead time to produce. I've been searching for the right one and I think that's the one. Congrats on the Professor! How long for you to get it? Lucky you - got to actually go there and try one out. I was thinking of flying there and check it out.

[PoorPlayer]

Originally Posted by mikegmn

I am about this close (pinches thumb and forefinger together) to ordering a Hawkes Hybrid. Bummer is the 8-10 weeks lead time to produce.

It is a real bummer. I ordered & made a down payment on a laminated Hawkes on January 3^rd and expect to get it in March.

[clink]

Originally Posted by mikegmn

I am about this close (pinches thumb and forefinger together) to ordering a Hawkes Hybrid. Bummer is the 8-10 weeks lead time to produce. I've been searching for the right one and I think that's the one. Congrats on the Professor! How long for you to get it? Lucky you - got to actually go there and try one out. I was thinking of flying there and check it out.

Believe me, it's worth the wait. At about 8 weeks I was working away when Jack called to tell me my bass was on the bench for set-up. The bass shipped the next day and I had it two days later.

What strings are you going with? Yes, I assume you will buy one. Mine came with Spiro Mittels. After a short time with Weich, I've settled on Obligatos. They feel great and get the bass vibrating better than the others. They also have a really organic, woody character I like, but with good sustain. Dominants are also reported to be good on the Hawkes.

[Silversorcerer]

Gee wizz guys, you want to give them some time to get it varnished at least! For a custom built order for a carved bass that is a very reasonable length of time to wait. I know Upton uses nicer varnishes on their basses and I definitely think if they can deliver it in 8-10 weeks from the day you order it that ain't bad at all. I ordered my carved bass from Bob G. in very late January of 2005 and got it in mid April 2005. Probably a couple of weeks of that was just the shipping and mine has the nitro cellulose finish that dries quick between coats. Upton is building that bass as fast as anyone can build one and do a decent job. Even on the plywood basses they put the good finish on there so those take some time too.

I think your enthusiam will be restored when you get your bass.

[clink]

Last I heard, the Hybrids and maybe the fully carved versions are all made in Europe (Poland or Romania) and shipped in the white to Upton. They do the finishing and set-up there. There was a thread on TB last year regarding Upton's desire to begin production here, but I don't know if it went anywhere.

What's the current story? Are they doing production here now?

[lloccmttocs]

Originally Posted by mikegmn

I am about this close (pinches thumb and forefinger together) to ordering a Hawkes Hybrid. Bummer is the 8-10 weeks lead time to produce. I've been searching for the right one and I think that's the one. Congrats on the Professor! How long for you to get it? Lucky you - got to actually go there and try one out. I was thinking of flying there and check it out.

I just ordered it and am still working out the lagistics such as strings and the final varnish tone. It might end up costing somewhere in the upper 5500 because I want a special varnish similar to the finish of Edgar meyers bass. They havn't actually started the bass, considering the one professor bass they had (that I tried out) was ready to be sold the next day. I just happened to walk in on the oportune day. Gary recommends that I get Pirastro Eudoxa strings but I'll have to play a good 250 dollars extra for them. Anyone know anything about them? I trust Gary's judgement but I really know nothing about different strings. It shouldn't be done for about 2 and a half months its best not to think about it.

[Silversorcerer]

Two and a half months is nothing! Quit whining. It takes the same amount of time to carve a bass no matter where the carver is. Coming from Eastern Europe you have to allow also for some shipment time. But hey, that's where the best ones at the best price come from, so it's worth the wait. Also, the Carpathian wood (usually from Romania) is regarded as possibly the best European spruce left. Thankfully we don't have to wait (yet) for the trees to grow!

On the Eudoxas, there's quite a few threads on those in the Strings forum (go figure) and definitely enough opinions on them to quench your curiosity.

[mikegmn]

You're right, Silversorcerer. Quality=Time. Cool. At this point I am just anxious to order. Got a few financial kinks to work out. But maybe as soon as tomorrow I can call.

As far as strings I was thinking of the Spiro Welches, but I am open to the Obligatos. I like what you said about them. Have to ask Gary when I call and order... I talked to Eric and he mentioned that the Spiros had the sound like that of the older jazz basses in the 40's bands. We'll have to see (or better hear).

[clink]

The Mittels sound better on my Hawkes than the Weich, but I like the Obligatos much better. They are easier to play than either and have the volume of the Mittels. I wasn't crazy about the way the Mittels felt, but maybe I'm just a wimp.

That's on MY bass; the fully carved may be quite a bit different, so YMMV.
I would put the Spirocores more in a modern than old school camp soundwise.

[mikegmn]

Originally Posted by clink

The Mittels sound better on my Hawkes than the Weich, but I like the Obligatos much better. They are easier to play than either and have the volume of the Mittels. I wasn't crazy about the way the Mittels felt, but maybe I'm just a wimp.

That's on MY bass; the fully carved may be quite a bit different, so YMMV.
I would put the Spirocores more in a modern than old school camp soundwise.

I'll definitely ask about those. OK, I'm ordering it. Probably going to fly out there too to look-see-hear. Going over to uptonbass.com right now.
Then I will patiently wait until whenever.

[lloccmttocs]

Ok here's an update for those of you listening. I placed the final order asking for a special varnish and look that is similar to Edgar Meyers bass (I'll post pictures once I hear from Gary that they have begun and take pictures of the bass in production) due to everyone's enthusiasm (and me realizing I won't have much money for the next month or two) I am sticking with the strings I can get without paying an extra charge, the Pirastro Flexicore Standards. The total bill comes to around 5500, So I'm simply selling a guitar to come up for the extra cash, but I have a few months before I'll have to pay the final bill.

[vier-personen]

Originally Posted by mikegmn

You're right, Silversorcerer. Quality=Time. Cool. At this point I am just anxious to order. Got a few financial kinks to work out. But maybe as soon as tomorrow I can call.

As far as strings I was thinking of the Spiro Welches, but I am open to the Obligatos. I like what you said about them. Have to ask Gary when I call and order... I talked to Eric and he mentioned that the Spiros had the sound like that of the older jazz basses in the 40's bands. We'll have to see (or better hear).

have a look at this thread: New bass- New strings

[DirtPoorRobins]

Alright, I guess its about time that I say something about this bass Gary. I've been lazy and haven't written a review for this bass yet and I've had it since the end of October. Anyways, I live about 30 minutes away from Gary's shop and I've been in there numerous times trying out all of his basses, but I was always playing the older basses, I didn't have any interest in his basses for whatever reason. I had my heart set on this old Juzek carved bass, it sounded great pizz., but it lacked depth arco, and I really needed something that I could use in orchestra as well. I decided to give Gary's bass a try and I fell in love with it. I tried to take it that day, but he said it wasn't for sale, so I ordered one instead. I have to say its the best bass I've ever played in this price range and I liked it more than some of the vintage basses he had there. It is a very dark BIG sounding bass. It swings great, and it has some great growl to it on the E string. The setup is great easy to play, and soooo much easier to play in tune (than compared to my old plywood juzek). To sum it up, great bass, the sound will knock you off your stool, the whole bass just resonates amazingly. Great bass, great people. Now enough of this computer crap I'm going to go practice now.

[drurb]

Originally Posted by clink

Last I heard, the Hybrids and maybe the fully carved versions are all made in Europe (Poland or Romania) and shipped in the white to Upton. They do the finishing and set-up there. There was a thread on TB last year regarding Upton's desire to begin production here, but I don't know if it went anywhere.

What's the current story? Are they doing production here now?

The basses you see on the Upton site are made in Europe to Gary's precise specifications. He has virtually full control over the process. AFAIK, Gary is in the process of gearing up for production of his own fully carved basses in Connecticut. Production will be from lumber to finished product right here in the USA.

[drurb]

Originally Posted by lloccmttocs

This isn't really a thread by any means but I figured I would spread the news of my new bass which Upton is starting making right now. I just put a down payment on a new Professor bass. Anyone had/have one? I tried the one he had in store and it was beautiful.

Last week I took my beloved Romanian fully carved down to Upton Bass. The idea was to play it along with a Professor that had just arrived in the shop. The idea was also to have Gary play the Professor and my bass from the same spot in the shop.

The "playoff" proceeded.

The result: The Professor won by a comfortable margin when I was the listener. When I was the player, it won by a bigger margin. That is, from the position of the player, the Professor was a real treat as it let me hear (and feel) a deep powerful sound that my own bass produces pretty well for the listener but not as much for the player. That makes the Professor a whole bunch more fun to play. It has "that bass sound" that I hear in my head.

Yes, I placed the order. What else could I do? I should have my Professor in 10-12 weeks. Okay, a week has passed, so I hope it's 9-11 weeks.

[Tritonis]

Excellent choice! My Hybrid is almost 6 months old now and it sounds absolutely amazing, way beyond my expectations.

[jasonheath]

I haven't hear the Professor model before. This may have been posted before, but what is the price range for a Professor bass?

[drurb]

Originally Posted by Tritonis

Excellent choice! My Hybrid is almost 6 months old now and it sounds absolutely amazing, way beyond my expectations.

Thanks! This was the first one of the new Uptons that surpassed the fully carved bass I have now. The Professor is, after all, almost twice the price of the hybrid. I find the new Upton pattern to be a substantial improvement over the previous one. I still think the hybrids are a great deal.