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Double Bass Upton Bass

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Cmoon1

Cmoon1

Jun 15, 2006
20
7
Chicago, IL
#1
I've been drooling over the Upton Bass site-- in search of my first new upright in 15 years (just a poor hack). What is the general opinion of 1) their own basses (hybrid especially), and 2) their value and service in general. Thanks.

Chris
 
#2
On THIS site, it's an absolute love-fest for Upton basses, especially since they now made in the USA. Since any negative reviews or experiences are quickly quelched, it's hard to say how objective the information is.
 
#3
No member of this site has the power to squelch negative reviews and it is certainly not the case that the mods and/or the administrator censor such opinions. The only negative opinions I have seen removed were those that violated the rules of Talkbass. Those were almost always expressed by individuals or competitors with some axe to grind. It is true that the vast majority of the opinions expressed about Upton basses and the business itself are extremely positive. A small minority have expressed that they have found the basses to be nothing special in terms of value. That Upton bass has garnered loyal and enthusiastic customers, such as myself, is information in and of itself. There is no conspiracy here. TB is an open forum that is administered and run by individuals who have no conflict of interest. That's very important to keep in mind. Read what folks have to say and decide for yourself. Better yet, go visit Upton's shop if you can.
 
#4
1. There's a ton about Upton on here, the search function is your friend.

2. I'm bored, so I'll give you my summary/take on them. They're fine. Their shop maintains a presence (both in advertising and posting)on this board and that can make folks suspicious. There've been a number of dust-ups on TB where people have jumped all over negative reviewers. The Upton website and buzz about the shop is a little over the top, but not in a scammy-rip off sense-- they're just good at marketing themselves, and I think that style fits the market that they're after. Many DB luthiers seem to take a more quiet modest stance, and Upton's promotional vibe puts some in the community off.

If you do searches on TB, you'll see some of the action.

I've had two different basses in for minor repairs, and have been happy with everything about the shop. Their basses play nicely, and their price points are good. The hybrid in the shop had a more complex tone than the laminate, and seemed to go deeper frequency-wise as well.

Their basses were in the running as I searched this year, but I jumped on a Juzek that fit my personality and playing style.
 
#5
I've never purchased a DB from Upton, but I have bought strings, pre-amp, etc, and I can't help but wonder...who do they think they are giving fair prices and great customer service?!
 
#7
I started a thread over at http://www.bluegrassbassplace.com/ recently about Upton basses and it quickly turned into a discussion about how Upton String Instrument Company–as a commercial user and supporter here at TB, gets preferential treatment. I don't think that's the case. I have seen some, (precious few), negative posts about Upton and Upton basses here at TB and these posts don't just disappear as if someone was trying to censor in Uptons favor. Someone posting to my thread said that Ken Smith was banned here at TB for posting an anti Upton rant, and another person told a story of how she and her husband were PMed by the TB administrators and told to register as commecial users because of a post they submitted about their hobby shop in their home where they re-furb basses. She was convinced that Gary Upton had released the TB hounds on her. It sure would be nice if the powers that do exist here and at other forums could put this issue to rest somehow. If I truly felt that these forums were overseen in a manner any more controlling than simply keeping posts decent and keeping commercial users from slipping in un-paid advertisments I would just bag it and stop visiting. I would hate that. It's fun to lurk and check out the talk. I frequently pick up really useful stuff here and at BGBP and Rockabilly Bass. Can anyone elaborate on this topic and offer more reassurance that we are not in fact being fed only what corporate site sponsors want us to hear?
 
#8
Upton certainly seems to have a good lock on their market. They do almost everything right and don't have many complaint of their service.

Here are some of my observations:
- They have massive amounts of advertising PLUS the enthusiastic presence of their owner on this forum.
- Their website gives loads of information that is extremely accessible to the ordinary bassist, beginner and otherwise. I have yet to come across another bass website as accessible as theirs.
- They charge reasonable prices for what can be construed as sort of custom instruments (they use a template, but give the setup that you want and even the varnish that you want).
- They charge reasonable rates for their services.
- Their customer service has been unanimously claimed to be the best.
- This is key: they will "custom" make your bass and ship it for FREE. And now, their instruments are made in the good ol' US of A.

What's not to like about them? IMO, if a beginner had the option of buying unknown bass that is possibly a crappy Palantino from his/her local music store where the owner barely knew much about basses to begin with, or had the option of buying from a nice bass from Upton, where you got expert advice with a patient owner and staff, I would absolutely go with Upton.

But there are more than two sides to every story. I am pleased with how many beginners have gotten Upton basses and have loved them, rather than loathing their Palantinos. But it seems that Upton has become too much of an absolute in that it has drowned out other good basses in the beginner's range.

My concluding thoughts on this are as follow. As long as you're happy with the bass, everything's swell. And when buying the bass, know what you're buying. For me, buying a bass and bow are akin to buying a car: both are expensive investments. You wouldn't buy a car without researching it and giving it a test-drive, so why would you buy a bass without even knowing how it plays?

My problem is that too many people automatically get an Upton bass without looking at their other options. For those who don't live anywhere near a luthier or string shop, this is understandable. But for those who live close enough to such shops, this is inexcusable. Buying blind is something that I don't condone for anyone who can help it. So while I am pleased with Upton and their commitment to educating people on good basses, I would strongly recommend them to spread their wings by putting representatives in other areas of the country with some of the same services rather than, in my view, indirectly encouraging people to buy blind.
 
#10
BPeder said:
I started a thread over at [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] about Upton basses and it quickly turned into a discussion about how Upton String Instrument Company–as a commercial user and supporter here at TB, gets preferential treatment. I don't think that's the case. . . . It sure would be nice if the powers that do exist here and at other forums could put this issue to rest somehow. . . . Can anyone elaborate on this topic and offer more reassurance that we are not in fact being fed only what corporate site sponsors want us to hear?
Click to expand...
Well, I'm nobody special, but I used to moderate on the DB Bulletin Board here. And I'm Upton's lawyer. Not long after Upton started to advertise here I dropped moderating, in part because I didn't want to be moderating any discussion of my client (and other reasons which are not germane to this discussion but have nothing to do with any individual poster, advertiser or moderator on this board). I hope that's a fact which undercuts the notion that we users of TB/DB are fed pablum.

The idea that anything that happens on this board is coerced, spoon-fed, spun or jammed-up by Chris FitzGerald, Paul Determan or any advertiser strikes this former moderator as silly at best. Moderating this board is like herding cats and that's the way it's supposed to be. We are very fortunate here to have a thoughtful host and decent, intelligent moderators.

I'm out.
 
#11
my feeling about anyone doing business with anything related to double bass, is that you pretty much have to love the instrument, music and players to set up a business that services them. what *rational* business person would want to pursue a specialist niche dealing with *musicians* playing oversized yet delicate instruments?

my take on upton, particularly having dealt with them, is that they're real. they're also human.

i think it's great that they're now crafting basses completely in the states, but imagine the combination of gaining quality control, and no longer having to struggle with the weak dollar had something to do with that move ... not that there's anything wrong with that.

i'm near mike shank's place and while he's a fabulous guy and a tremendously talented craftsman, the stuff he had for sale that moved the meter for me was beyond what i wanted to spend. i have every intent of taking my bass to mike when the time and need arrives ... and i absolutely agree that the first stop for *anyone* shopping for an urb should be their local luthier.

meanwhile, my beast keeps opening up and sounds better and better.

i think the fact that you don't see their instruments popping up for resale very often, and the fact that their reputation is pretty sterling, i believe upton remains a very viable option, particularly for folks like me, who love to play, yet play mostly for the joy of doing it, rather than paying the bills.

besides, having a community like this makes purchasing anything db related MUCH more informed. i doubt that i would have made the decision to go with an upton had talkbass not existed ... which is also why it makes perfectly good sense for them to invest their advertising dollars here.

jeff.
 
#12
BPeder said:
I started a thread over at http://www.bluegrassbassplace.com/ recently about Upton basses and it quickly turned into a discussion about how Upton String Instrument Company–as a commercial user and supporter here at TB, gets preferential treatment. I don't think that's the case.
Click to expand...

You're right, it's not the case. We have many registered commercial users and advertisers here on the board, and we do our best to keep all of them on a pretty short leash as far as the rules of the Commercial Users Policy are concerned. I think if you asked Gary Upton if Paul and the moderators give him special treatment, he would laugh at you and probably offer to send you a long list of PM's in which we moderators have suggested to him that his abundant exuberance has led him slightly beyond the limits of allowable comments by commercial users. The same is true of all of our advertisers, because all are valued members of the ongoing discussion here as well as being businessmen and women, and the strict rules of the Commercial Users Policy are easy to transgress in a simple discussion about basses.
It is true that Gary and Eroy participate in the threads with greater vigor than most commercial users, and it is also true that one of their customers, DRURB, is a loyal supporter of their products and services (as it his right to be) who can be counted on to chime in in defense of Upton if a negative opinion is expressed. There's nothing against the rules with that, and it has nothing to do with the administrators of TalkBass. (Besides, at least two of the DB mods play and enjoy Arnold Schnitzer's New Standard basses...:) and you won't catch us shoving them down people's throats.)

BPeder said:
Someone posting to my thread said that Ken Smith was banned here at TB for posting an anti Upton rant, and another person told a story of how she and her husband were PMed by the TB administrators and told to register as commecial users because of a post they submitted about their hobby shop in their home where they re-furb basses. She was convinced that Gary Upton had released the TB hounds on her.
Click to expand...

Remember, Mr. Smith is also subject to the CUP, and commercial users are specifically requested not to get into it about each other's products regardless of how valid the points made may be.
As for the husband-and-wife team: in the first place, Gary Upton has no TB hounds to release if he wanted to; in the second place, he had nothing to do with our noticing that situation; and in the third place, there is no shame in being asked to register as a Commercial User here if that is indeed what you are. We have many users who operate bass-related businesses who begin posting here without realizing the requirements made of commercial users, and when the moderators noticed the thread in question it looked like the posts were being made by someone with a shop who was restoring basses for possible resale. (It's an easy conclusion to come to when people are talking about how "we just got this one bass in that we're restoring" and so forth.)

A search for all threads about Upton basses will tell you one thing, but you won't be able to see all of the posts we have deleted from the altercations that have broken out. If everyone could see the missing pieces, you all would know that the idea of a pro-Upton slant by the TB administration is comical.
 
#13
Thanks to both Sam and Jeremy. I feel much better for having read their thoughts. I hope that my friends over at BGBP will read them too, and draw conclusions similar to mine. I sure don't want to hang at forums that are rigged. Thanks too to all the folks who express their opinions freely at all the bass forums out there whether I agree with them or not. It Is Good.
 
#14
Rut-Row…my bad…:o

I voiced my thoughts and opinions over at BBP in a moment of commiseration and I am going to get road out of town here at TB.

Shame-shame on me…next time I’ll keep my thoughts to myself. I should know better…this stuff travels so fast among our small bass community. My sincere apologies to the moderators here at TB and to Gary at Upton for my thoughts and unproven comments.

This is the spot where we should all loves the basses we have. I’m gonna go hug my Epi’s, Kay’s, King and AS’s basses right now…who would think owning and loving a bunch of old plywood could cause such a commotion! :eek:
 
#17
MollyKay said:
My sincere apologies to the moderators here at TB and to Gary at Upton for my thoughts and unproven comments.
Click to expand...

It's kind of you to apologize, but I think it's just bad luck that comments you may or may not have made in another place made it back here. I would like to think we didn't always have to look over our shoulders all the time, but as you say it's a small bass community!
Even when people go off and start their own new bass forums, it ends up being the same people lurking around...
 
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