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Double Bass NBD: Upton Standard

G

glocke1

Supporting Member
Apr 30, 2002
3,473
5,021
PA
#1
After 6 months of waiting I picked up my new Upton Standard from their barn yesterday. They are only 3.5 hours from me so it was a no brained to pick it up in person.

beautiful looking instrument, a pleasure to play and sounds great.

I’ve had a shen SB 80 on rent the past 9 months that’s not a terrible bass but just isn’t all that great to play. Setup poorly and has no adjusters. I made some progress on DB as a result of that instrument but it really wasn’t a pleasant experience to play.

looking forward to spending hours with the Upton!

Can anyone recommend a room humidifier? I have a roughly 400 sq ft room this is in and a humidifier in there thats rate for that size room but it just can't keep up.



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#2
Congrats on the Sandard, beautiful instrument!!!

I have no definite answer about the humidifier, but wow, the pictured room is a dream room for us DB'ers!

If you're in cold country, maybe a pot-belly stove with a pot of water on it (it's what we used to do)???
 
#3
Don Hergert said:
Congrats on the Sandard, beautiful instrument!!!

I have no definite answer about the humidifier, but wow, the pictured room is a dream room for us DB'ers!

If you're in cold country, maybe a pot-belly stove with a pot of water on it (it's what we used to do)???
Click to expand...


funny you mention a pot belly stove. when i was up there i did a quick tour of Mystic Seaport...In the woodcavers shop the guy had pot belly stove fired up...Wood heat is just simply glorious.

Not an option for me though.

The Upton Shop was a really not place. Well worth the drive.
 
#4
glocke1 said:
funny you mention a pot belly stove. when i was up there i did a quick tour of Mystic Seaport...In the woodcavers shop the guy had pot belly stove fired up...Wood heat is just simply glorious.

Not an option for me though.

The Upton Shop was a really not place. Well worth the drive.
Click to expand...
Congrats on the new bass.

Frankly, having used wood stoves in cold climates, I can’t imagine anything worse for instruments. Extremely dry and uneven heat source. And the CI pot with water - a real pain. Get a whole house humidifier.
 
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#5
BobKay said:
Congrats on the new bass.

Frankly, having used wood stoves in cold climates, I can’t imagine anything worse for instruments. Extremely dry and uneven heat source. And the CI pot with water - a real pain. Get a whole house humidifier.
Click to expand...

i have one on my furnace. it doesnt work well.

i need a standalone unit for that room
 
#6
Nice looking bass - congrats!

Regarding the humidifier, remember that it's only the extremes that are harmful to instruments. I used to go to a lot of trouble to keep the music room between 40-60% humidity, but I've been told by a number of great luthiers that anywhere between 30-70% should be fine for instruments. On the extremes too dry can cause cracks and too humid causes swelling and popped seams.

At our house we have a humidifier on the entire downstairs furnace that keeps it in that range in the winter, and in the summer the AC covers the other end of things. At the university where I teach, it's a different story. For whatever reason, when they designed the building the HVAC system mixes inside and outside air; and in Louisville our extremes go from 100 degrees in the summer with 436% humidity to 0 degrees in the winter and drier than @Ed Fuqua 's sense of humor. There, I use a dehumidifier in the summer and a humidifier in the winter.

In my experience, the console models are best. Make sure your unit has a thermostat to keep the humidity in the range you want, and also a large tank so you don't have to fill it every couple of hours. Something like this if you can afford it: Invalid Link Removed My office unit has the thermostat, but only a tiny tank and in the winter I have to set it to 40% and fill the tank last thing each day and first thing every morning. It's a PITA, but better than nothing.
 
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#8
And about the bass: play the snot out of it and get to know it like a spouse. The bonding process with any instrument is a wonderful thing. I remember Nnick Lloyd telling me years ago that once you get to a certain level of instrument everything is about the strings and setup and once you find your sweet spot the rest is in the hands of the player. I took that advice to heart and life has been good on the bass front ever since. Congrats again, and commence your honeymoon!
 
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#9
I ordered this one last winter and it has worked well: https://www.amazon.com/AirCare-H12-...&rnid=2528832011&sprefix=humi,aps,182&sr=8-18. I was mainly worried about the few times a year I travel for work, where I couldn't refill water for a week or two; this model had the largest water reservoir I could find. It has a 5 gallon tank, but the console and filter (with absorbed water) hold another 7 gallons. Unless we get very strong cold fronts (which is not often here in Austin, TX) I usually refill water every week or so. I use it for the whole house and set it next to the air intake of the heating furnace. As a side benefit, winter respiratory ailments seem to go away with the humidification of the living space.

Congrats on the bass.
 
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#14
glocke1 said:
After 6 months of waiting I picked up my new Upton Standard from their barn yesterday. They are only 3.5 hours from me so it was a no brained to pick it up in person.

beautiful looking instrument, a pleasure to play and sounds great.

I’ve had a shen SB 80 on rent the past 9 months that’s not a terrible bass but just isn’t all that great to play. Setup poorly and has no adjusters. I made some progress on DB as a result of that instrument but it really wasn’t a pleasant experience to play.

looking forward to spending hours with the Upton!

Can anyone recommend a room humidifier? I have a roughly 400 sq ft room this is in and a humidifier in there thats rate for that size room but it just can't keep up.



View attachment 3590664
Click to expand...
I think I’d literally die in a room full of beautiful Basses like that; although I get excited just finding a music store with at least one DB in it!
 
#15
glocke1 said:
...

Can anyone recommend a room humidifier? I have a roughly 400 sq ft room this is in and a humidifier in there thats rate for that size room but it just can't keep up.

View attachment 3590664
Click to expand...
This is working well in a open first floor of our house :
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00O0WOO74?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_product_details
Vornado Evap40 4-Gallon Evaporative Humidifier
by Vornado

Last couple weeks, as the air dried out , it's been placed in a temporary test location, has kept humidity at a rock-solid 41% running on lowest fan setting, silent operation, only need to fill one of the two tanks every couple days :
humidifier-practice-rm.jpg
 
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#16
Congratulations on the new bass, and ptsnooi ! Aren't the new sounds, the new voice, fun ? I'd imagine the Upton barn, a larger reverberant with a lot of instruments has a great sound. Did you play any other instruments while there ?
 
#17
oldNewbie said:
Congratulations on the new bass, and ptsnooi ! Aren't the new sounds, the new voice, fun ? I'd imagine the Upton barn, a larger reverberant with a lot of instruments has a great sound. Did you play any other instruments while there ?
Click to expand...

ptsnooi! ? Is that secret double bass lingo for all something?

yeah, the bass sounded great in the barn.

sadly I didn’t play any other instruments there. I wish I would have but I was feeling a little overwhelmed after the 3.5 hour drive.

I’ll see how things go over the next year with my progress and studies and progress on the instrument. If things go well than I’ll take another drive up there and check some of the carved or at least hybrid instruments.
 
#18
I’ve picked up two new basses at the Upton barn. In each case I carried the bass down stairs and outside (actually they carried for me) to listen to the sound. Put strings on a shipping crate and it would sound great in that room. So many great instruments all resonating as you play. Both of mine sounded great then and now. Congrats again on your new bass.
 

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