Double Bass New Upton Bass Strings

[bassmanbrent]

I commend Upton for all the extracurricular endeavors they've been getting into lately regarding rosin, amps and strings... That's an ungodly investment of time, energy, and money, for something without a guaranteed return. All so we can have more options to realise our sound.

I agree. I won't be first in line to try these strings based on the video, but I sure respect his/their efforts. And the forthcoming variants may be right up my alley - we'll see. The guy's clearly got big plans and ideas in what's (i'm sure) a tiny little corner of the musical instrument retail business. It can't be easy. More power to him, I say

 

[Ed S]

I wonder about the business model. Are there other makers who build basses, AND make strings AND rosin? or string makers who build basses? They recently seem to have reworked themselves aiming at the higher end of the bass market. I'm curious about the expected payoff for those 100s and 100s of thousands invested. (At least I guess we know what they were doing with what some consider their excessive profits! )

I love my Upton bass. But these recent actions just seem a little all over the map. I often tend to be dubious about folk who claim to do ALL THINGS exceptionally well.

String buyers aren't exactly experiencing shortage of options. I'd think that a tough market to crack.

They are an important player WRT basses, so I wish them well. I just find their actions over the past couple of years confusing.

 

[evanrunyon]

I went to school (and later taught college) in CT, so I had a ton of classmates/students with Upton basses.

All roasting aside; while their basses are much better now than they were fifteen years ago, I’d (personally) prefer they continue to develop that side of their business and/or bring down their prices with some of those hundreds of thousands of dollars they seem to have available rather than introduce strings that seem at the very least a bit redundant in the market right now.

 

[james condino]

Bob Beerman's Bass Violin Shop (BVS) in Greensboro (I believe) North Carolina

Bob sold the shop a couple of years ago. It is now The Bas Violin Shop, run by Cody and Tony, in Greensboro.

Great place, great folks. If I lived in town, I'd probably be partners with them.

As for Gary's new strings: I wish him well. That's a whole lotta' speculation given that nobody has actually played a set. Maybe someone can get some time on them and report back. 90% of the time, my string choice is dictated mainly by my pickup and amplification needs on the job; completely different from folks who play only acoustic.

 

[Dave Hill]

OT I know, but, what happened to the planned Upton Kay model?

 

[jmpiwonka]

my string choice is dictated mainly by my pickup and amplification needs on the job; completely different from folks who play only acoustic.

Yep, i put some tempera hybrid on a few weeks ago because i wanted a bit more ring and higher end overtones.
Sounded great acoustic. Did an amplified rehearsal and decided to put my old darker strings back on. Should probably get the Tempera played in though. :-/
Might be just what I was looking for haha.

 

[PBandJazzBass]

OT I know, but, what happened to the planned Upton Kay model?

Last I heard, and it’s been a while, shortly after acquiring Englehardt’s bass making equipment (and presumably the brand name as well?) Upton announced they would no longer be making plywood basses.

If I had to guess, over seas competition is making mass production of domestic plywood basses impractical.

 

[sean_on_bass]

so a bass maker moving into other bass accessories/gear is now somewhat dubious? some folks here are making a mountain out of a mole hill. somehow i don't think Upton is trying to scale up to be a Daddario or Thomastik. They are creating products that synergize with their bass offerings. Now if i buy an Upton bass i can also get the rosin, strings, pickup, and amp at the same time. It makes perfect sense.

 

[sean_on_bass]

Playing Devils Advocate here, as someone who likes Spirocores.

What about players who don’t like Spiros?

Some of us think that those who don't like Spiros probably should and dislike them for the wrong reasons. I think some bass players are afraid to be heard. i'll go hide in my hole now.

 

[sean_on_bass]

Try Ernie Ball Slinky's. You'll need to adjust your setup. First get a shoulder strap, remove your endpin, then get out your shrink ray....

Seriously, some of the comments about Spirocores on TB lately would have you thinking you're not even playing bass if you don't use Spirocores. Christian McBride, Helicores? Nope, total hack.

McBride has definitely used and expressed delight in Spiros. Also in some ways the Helicore is just Daddarios repsonse to a Spirocore but they are better with endorsements.

 

[Ed S]

They are creating products that synergize with their bass offerings. Now if i buy an Upton bass i can also get the rosin, strings, pickup, and amp at the same time. It makes perfect sense.

I'm not saying it has never been done successfully before, but I'm trying to think of other manufacturers who have successfully diversified in this manner. I guess Fender and Gibson make amps and strings. But I'd imagine they are significantly larger companies than Upton.

And a banjo company like Deering makes straps, strings, bridges and picks. I wonder how many such makers who diversify manufacture their goods in-house. As opposed to contracting with other makers.

And I'm not sure how much examples from other businesses - even other musical instriment makers - translates to the somewhat small world of upright basses.

I hope the folk at Upton all the success in the world. And I readily acknowledge I'm even more ignorant about business than I am about playing upright!

 

[Dave Hill]

I'm not saying it has never been done successfully before, but I'm trying to think of other manufacturers who have successfully diversified in this manner. I guess Fender and Gibson make amps and strings. But I'd imagine they are significantly larger companies than Upton.

And a banjo company like Deering makes straps, strings, bridges and picks. I wonder how many such makers who diversify manufacture their goods in-house. As opposed to contracting with other makers.

And I'm not sure how much examples from other businesses - even other musical instriment makers - translates to the somewhat small world of upright basses.

I hope the folk at Upton all the success in the world. And I readily acknowledge I'm even more ignorant about business than I am about playing upright!

On the E-side, Sadowsky has been pretty successful. Granted, he’s not manufacturing in-house, but he has a full line of strings, pickups, hardware, etc.

I see no problem with Upton trying to make something better. If they can…more power to them, if not…then whoops. It’s a no-lose for the consumer. Take it or leave it.

 

[Dave Hill]

May be driving up the prices of the basses, though (?)

 

[Jeff Kissell]

Maybe Gary always just wanted to make strings, he’s said as much. The whole bass making thing is just his day job.

 

[AGCurry]

so a bass maker moving into other bass accessories/gear is now somewhat dubious? some folks here are making a mountain out of a mole hill. somehow i don't think Upton is trying to scale up to be a Daddario or Thomastik. They are creating products that synergize with their bass offerings. Now if i buy an Upton bass i can also get the rosin, strings, pickup, and amp at the same time. It makes perfect sense.

It only seems dubious to me from a business viewpoint. If Upton DON'T "scale up" successfully and sell a lot of strings, I don't see it as a profitable endeavor. It's pretty costly to design and manufacture a bass string unless you're in India and the strings are made from animal guts. AFAIK Upton is not planning to make strings for other instruments. How high can their sales volume be for bass strings alone, given the fairly-small universe of bassists and the plentitude of other choices?

 

[AGCurry]

I guess Fender and Gibson make amps and strings. But I'd imagine they are significantly larger companies than Upton.

If you buy Fender or Gibson guitar strings, you can be pretty sure that the only thing Fender or Gibson about them is the package they come in. That's a successful business model.

 

[Sam Reese]

The Upton strings kind of have attributes like Corelli Tungstens(370 series), thinner and zingy...Upton making strings? Well, my Upton SuperSwing Laminate wasn't even made by Upton. It was made in Europe and they put their name on it. It struck me "odd" that they don't have an E string and he said the E in the video was a placeholder. I suppose if they offered a complete set for $79 or so, it might work, but the string market is saturated with great choices...I'm a little put off by this when they really should spend more time perfecting their luthier craft. But then again, I know nothing.

 

[Lee Moses]

If you buy Fender or Gibson guitar strings, you can be pretty sure that the only thing Fender or Gibson about them is the package they come in. That's a successful business model.

Fender does indeed make their own strings. No idea about Gibson; I don't think I've even heard of Gibson strings before.

 

[bassically_eli]

so a bass maker moving into other bass accessories/gear is now somewhat dubious? some folks here are making a mountain out of a mole hill. somehow i don't think Upton is trying to scale up to be a Daddario or Thomastik. They are creating products that synergize with their bass offerings. Now if i buy an Upton bass i can also get the rosin, strings, pickup, and amp at the same time. It makes perfect sense.

It's not that the pursuit is inherently dubious. It's just that the marketing is extremely lacking in info. Tell us about the r&d process or where you acquired the tech and expertise, and post some sound samples that are decent. Seems like they're bouncing between projects and not posting any real info yet.

--Dang, I'm not trying to sound negative. I like that Upton is trying new things and want to support that. Just can't get excited about what they've shared so far. Well, I hear the rosin is good

 

[bassically_eli]

Are there other makers who build basses, AND make strings AND rosin?

Kolstein is the only one I can think of. They offer just the one kind of synthetic core string in one size/gauge. I've been wondering where they're actually manufactured.