Shen or Upton? Advice is needed...

[JimmyM]

You can definitely hear a difference, but it's not nearly as noticeable as between a Hawkes and an Engelhardt. I'd say it's between an Engelhardt and a Hawkes.

[philly]

i really can't say the exact difference betwen the two, but I do know that the larger upper bout has more sound closer to the players ear, thus maybe making it sound louder to him/her. Out front it might not be as pronounced. Also, as always strings make such a difference in volume. I've found that lower tension string on my medio fino make the bass speak to a much greater extent. That being said, if the the bigger bout is'nt a physical issue for you I'd personally go for it. I would have bought the hawkes at the time but they didnt have one set up, and I was impatient!

phil

[drurb]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

You can definitely hear a difference, but it's not nearly as noticeable as between a Hawkes and an Engelhardt. I'd say it's between an Engelhardt and a Hawkes.

Could you explain? Okay, you're saying that the difference between the Hawkes and the Medio Fino is not as great as the difference between the Hawkes and an Englehardt. So what is "between an Engelhardt and a Hawkes?" I missed something.

[JimmyM]

The Media Fino is between the Hawkes and the Engelhardt for amount of bass response it produces. That's what I meant to say. The Engelhardts I've played have less bass response than the Media Fino, and the MF has less than the Hawkes. But it's not nearly as drastic as between the Hawkes and the Engelhardt.

In mathematical terms of bass response:

Engelhardt < Media Fino < Hawkes

[drurb]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

The Media Fino is between the Hawkes and the Engelhardt for amount of bass response it produces. That's what I meant to say. The Engelhardts I've played have less bass response than the Media Fino, and the MF has less than the Hawkes. But it's not nearly as drastic as between the Hawkes and the Engelhardt.

In mathematical terms of bass response:

Engelhardt < Media Fino < Hawkes

Got it-- and thank you. By the way, as you might gather from my other posts, I'd take either of those Uptons any day of the week over an Englehardt. To my ears, eyes, and hands, the Uptons sound, look, and feel far better and are just plain classier instruments-- as you know!

I can't wait to hop in the car and play them right next to the Shen's that Upton will be carrying.

[jmain]

Originally Posted by DRURB

I can't wait to hop in the car and play them right next to the Shen's that Upton will be carrying.

Any word (Hey, eroy!) on when Upton will have some Shen's setup and ready to play?
(DRURB, I'm trying to help you schedule that trip so we can get your side x side on the Hawkes, Medio Fino and SB100 )

[Eric Rene Roy]

They arrived yesterday...but we have a ton of previously scheduled setups to clear before we get them on the bench. Hopefully very soon though....

[jmain]

Cool. Thanks eroy.

[Bofee]

My 2 cents. I recently purchased an Upton Hawkes laminate (Which they upgraded to a Superswing at no extra charge!) and I get comments all the time about how good the bass sounds. (And looks.) In my opinion, you can't go wrong with one of the Uptons.