Upton owner in DC area, your help needed

[HotRoded]

Hello,

I'm on the market for an upright bass, and I am still in the educational/beginner phase.

Would there be someone located a reasonable distance of Maryland DC metro area who would let me try his/her bass ?

Plz reply here, or PM me.
Thx!

[Eric Swanson]

Have you tried asking Upton for references in the area? They may be able to hook you up with some folks around the Beltway.

I believe that they have a database of their customers. While the contact information may be confidential, Upton may be able to help you by contacting the customer on your behalf.

A relevant thought is that Upton has recently changed/upgraded their production methods and product line pretty significantly, I hear. In other words, you may be comparing apples to oranges if you find/play an older instrument that is not representative of the current product.

Unless you can find an owner who has received their instrument in the last couple of months, it is less likely to be a made-in-USA-model. Perhaps, if you are serious about an Upton, a pilgrimage to Mystic may be in your future. I personally would not buy a bass sight unseen (IMO)...

[Low8va]

You should contact Bob Kurz at Bob's House of Basses. He is located outside of DC, in Maryland. He is a great guy and usually has an assortment of inexpensive basses for young players/students. Good Luck.

[BRIDGE]

The new American Uptons look WAY different from all the pictures I've seen of the old ones. A lot of the European-made Uptons (hybrids) looked very "peachy" with a strong reddish tone to the wood and what looked to my eyes like sort of a heavy varnish. (Granted, I only saw them in photographs.)

I was worried about this so I talked to Josh at Upton and he told me that their varnish for the US basses was changed to a more brownish color and that some refinements were made to it.

When I finally got my Hybrid I could not have been happier with the way it looked - a beautiful, medium-brown satin finish with the grain of the wood showing through wonderfully. It has a HUGE tone too and plays really easily - the (free) setup was great. For an entry level instrument I think it is really tremendous.

[HotRoded]

I am still looking at all possibilities, and don't know what I will end up with.

I have been at Bob's, very nice guy indeed.

I had contacted Upton and they advised me to try to contact someone in my area via talkbass. Of course they would welcome me in their shop.

Interesting to see differences between Upton basses made in Europe and USA are significant. What country in Europe were they made in ?

I hate the idea of buying sight unseen too, that's why I shop around and try to meet people. Upton would just be one of my options, but they are talked a lot here, so I'm curious.

[BassAxe]

HotRoded,

I'm in Culpeper, VA. It's a lot closer than Connecticut. I have an Upton 5-string hybrid with the preserve saddle, Upton Blacks nylon strings (except the low B which is a Pirastro Obligato).

Mine was among the last of the Europe-Origins put out by Upton. It was supposed to be one of their first production U.S. instruments. They were making the transition to making them in-house and had a few setbacks. I'm confident that if they feel the Europe-Origin instruments meet their standards, one of their U.S.-made ones will be comparable.

They've added a few more varieties of models and changed the names around. They would better be able to tell you about the differences.

If you are still interested and want to give mine a try, you can PM me here or e-mail me directly at BrooksN777@hotmail.com and we can make arrangements.

[Blake Bass]

Check the UB classified forum. There was an Upton listed in Baltimore a few months ago. I'm not sure if it is still there but worth a look.

[jrlynch]

harrisburg, pa usa ... upton hybrid, if you feel like taking a road trip. two hours from dc. and shank's strings is a short drive from here.

jeff.

[BassAxe]

Originally Posted by Blake Bass

Check the UB classified forum. There was an Upton listed in Baltimore a few months ago. I'm not sure if it is still there but worth a look.

Where is this UB forum???

[HotRoded]

BassAxe, Thx for your kind offer.

Guys, thx very much for your help. And yes I saw the ad from the guy located in Baltimore, we talked a bit, but hadn't had a chance to meet.

Meanwhile, I bought a Kay, so my search is over.

[Jake deVilliers]

I think he means the TalkBass Double Bass Classifieds - the TBDB Classifieds.

[Keyser Soze]

Originally Posted by Jake deVilliers

I think he means the TalkBass Double Bass Classifieds - the TBDB Classifieds.

TB Forum, UB Forum: It can get somewhat confusing.

It says both at the top of every page here.

[drurb]

He was suggesting that he check the UB (upright bass) classifieds but we call it DB (double bass) around here.

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Yes, that would be "DB" forums, as in "Double Bass". Some people use "UB", as in "Upright Bass", or "Uncle Bill". Some even try to use "AB" as in "Acoustic Bass", but then it can get confused with those overgrown guitar things they play upstairs. But the official acronym would be "DB" around these parts. Don't let anyone tell ya differnt.

[Jake deVilliers]

That's absolutely right Durrl. Its called 'Double Bass' because its twice as good!