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Double Bass Upton Bass Club

#341
jefff100 said:
curious about your comment. Is 2008 the first year of that model or is it the first year that Uptons were made in the US?

Is there a directory of the history of Upton basses floating somewhere? I'm looking to buy my first upright soon, and am very interested in Uptons. Were they not always made in the US at the shop in Stonington?

thanks

Jeff
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Yes, 2008 was the first year of USA manufacture. Prior to that, they imported basses of their own design built in Europe. Prior to that, they imported instruments that were not of their own design. As for depreciation, etc., I'm not sure that my Upton Concert could be built again for the 2008 prices. I sure wouldn't sell it for that but it's academic because it's simply not for sale. Gary asked that he have first dibs on it, should I ever want to sell it. He'd like to have it back. :) In any case, if Gary and Eric ever build a Concert that bests it in terms of the sound that I personally favor, then I want to play it!

So, IMO, if you that hybrid is in very good shape and you can grab it at a reasonable price (considering the market), it just may be your ticket.
 
#342
Well... Officially we started in 2008...but we were making some in 2007. Some customers at the tail end of 07 actually got US made ones. We couldn't make enough to fulfill orders so most basses were still European ones. As we worked out the process that enabled us to make what we needed we went public with the fact that all basses were made in the USA. That happened in 2008. When we get calls at the shop asking if a bass in the used market is USA or EU made, we ask for a picture of the scroll. Not a single EU bass has our trademark scroll.
 
#345
I went & looked at the hybrid that is locally advertised. Seems to be in good shape with minor marks on the edges as would be expected from a players instrument. over all in v.good shape from what I can tell. Seller is an amenable guy and he just isnt playing out with it that much lately.

nice feel and tone. Of course, me being the realitive noob at this, I'm not much of a judge, but definitly much nicer than the chinese plywood thing I have as a rental. I wasnt overwhelmed with the burning desire to buy just yet however.

I have plenty of time to make up my mind on what I want to buy before my rental term is up, and there is no credit back if I return it early, so there's no point in rushing anything.
 
#346
hi all - today was my day to visit Upton in Stonington and get a couple of minor things done to my 2009 vintage Hybrid, plus a string change. Always nice to get back there.

Uptonsignashx.jpg


bass heaven -

uptonbassesashx.jpg


everyone was friendly and helpful as always. It was going to take a couple of hours to do the work, so I hung around "downtown" Stonington a little - a beautiful place -

stoningtonashx.jpg


then, back to Upton to pick up my bass - it's playing great!

chuckuptonashx.jpg
 
#348
I am really enjoying both of my uptons, I have a standard ply with violin corners from 2009 that I love and I just had a upton Brescian Hybrid built.

Both are great basses, the Brescian is really fun to play even though it is a fairly big bass.

Here are some photos

ub_brescian_top.jpg



ub_brescian_3-4b.jpg


here is a comparison of the two basses side by side

photo.jpg
 
#349
neal davis said:
I just had a upton Brescian Hybrid built.

Both are great basses, the Brescian is really fun to play even though it is a fairly big bass.
Click to expand...

V. Nice ! Love the color on the Brescian, esp. the way the neck finish is done.

Give us a tonal report please? I have been thinking I want to buy a Hybrid Standard, but the Brescian is interesting. Is it easier to play due to the sharply tapered upper bout where the back is angled in toward the neckblock?

I have seen some other basses built like this but I don't understand enough about uprights to know why this is done or what the signficance of it is.

enjoy> I hope to be able to place a deposit to comission an upton of my own this summer and be able to return my rental bass.

Jeff
 
#350
Jeff the brescian is really easy to play, it is a big bass but it us really easy to get past the break and way up into thumb position. As for the tone it really doesn't sound like a hybrid. I've used it on a large variety of gigs so far, from acoustic jazz trios and duos, pop music, bowed section work and very loud amplified music. It works really well in all situations but when pushed really loud I had to put some bass cut on my amp because the already has plenty of low end.

Compared to the upton ply they are completely different basses, they both sound fantastic but are quite different. After playing the basses one after the other I also really appreciate how good the upton plys are, I think I'll be using the ply bass for really loud amped gigs because it seems to handle being pushed really hard by an amp better.

I'd be really interested to see what a brescian with a round back sounds like and am thinking about maybe getting a carved one made to see how it sounds.
 
#352
Nice bass! I have an 2010 Upton standard ply too, and was thinking of getting a Brescian hybrid, but it looks like a very large bass so I'm not sure if it's what I want. I may go with a bohemian hybrid with a deluxe top instead. Would you describe tonal difference between the two basses in more detail please?
 
#353
Rocky said:
Nice bass! I have an 2010 Upton standard ply too, and was thinking of getting a Brescian hybrid, but it looks like a very large bass so I'm not sure if it's what I want. I may go with a bohemian hybrid with a deluxe top instead. Would you describe tonal difference between the two basses in more detail please?
Click to expand...

They are really two different beast. They are also both set up for different things. The ply is set up for more of a pop rock setting but I would say the main difference is that the brescian cuts a lot more through the sound.

I had a multiple nighter at a club recently, the first set is acoustic then the second is amplified. The first night I had the ply out. It seemed like I had to dig in alot more to fill the room acoustically, amplified it was great since the ply is the easiest bass I have ever amplified in my life.

The second night I brought out the brescian. The acoustic set was great, I didn't have to push the bass at all to be heard, it was very easy to play and fill the room. On the amped set I didn't really need much support from the amp at all to be heard, I did have to put a low cut on the amp because the bass really pumps out the lows. I ended up turning off the amp and just ran a mic in front of the bass so the club had some sound to run outside.

As for bowed tone the brescian is a very beautiful full pipe organ type of sound. It worked great in a pit gig I was doing as well as some section work. It is a full great sound

The ply actually has a very good atco sound but more of a solo tone, since it is a smaller bass it is easier to get around but not much mote than the brescian .
 
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#355
I have to agree with the statement: "As for the tone it really doesn't sound like a hybrid". I got my hybrid 5 months ago, and it's a really beautiful and powerful sounding instrument. It actually sounds SO good that I want them to build me a fancy bass, because if this thing sounds as good as it does, a deluxe carved bass will burn down buildings.
 
#356
MaxJohnson said:
I have to agree with the statement: "As for the tone it really doesn't sound like a hybrid". I got my hybrid 5 months ago, and it's a really beautiful and powerful sounding instrument. It actually sounds SO good that I want them to build me a fancy bass, because if this thing sounds as good as it does, a deluxe carved bass will burn down buildings.
Click to expand...

Yup, I've been living that dream since late 2008, although I think they'd call my carved roundback Concert a semi-deluxe.
 
#360
Hahaha... I do tend to become very attached to my basses, so I understand. The carved bass I had before my current one was a sweet instrument. Once I laid hands on my current one, the love affair pretty much ended because the comparison was night and day. (Okay, don't even think it-- I'm happy to say that this is not what occurs with women. :))
 

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