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Double Bass Upton Bass Club
- Thread starter kamakiriad7
- Start date
I have an Upton. Here's the photo-proof.
Gamba body, dark chocolate matte finish (all I need now are Scotty's ears and Ray's groove).
My first pro gig on upright. Subbing for Bellevue Cadillac. Great band. Fun tunes. All original, two sets. Yikes! Wrote out my charts for like thirty tunes and arranged them in the order of the set lists. Nothing better than feeling prepared, right?....Then first song he calls something old they haven't done in years. I know I didn't have it, but it was fun watching the 3 horn players flail through all their charts looking....then we played it, I felt my way through (thank God it was simple form) and it killed! ...great feeling.
Overall the night was a success for me and my Betsy. At the end the alto player couldn't believe that the sound coming from this axe was from a low-cost laminate... I still can't!
=JR=
Gamba body, dark chocolate matte finish (all I need now are Scotty's ears and Ray's groove).
My first pro gig on upright. Subbing for Bellevue Cadillac. Great band. Fun tunes. All original, two sets. Yikes! Wrote out my charts for like thirty tunes and arranged them in the order of the set lists. Nothing better than feeling prepared, right?....Then first song he calls something old they haven't done in years. I know I didn't have it, but it was fun watching the 3 horn players flail through all their charts looking....then we played it, I felt my way through (thank God it was simple form) and it killed! ...great feeling.
Overall the night was a success for me and my Betsy. At the end the alto player couldn't believe that the sound coming from this axe was from a low-cost laminate... I still can't!
=JR=
Attachments
Guess I should join this club....I'm on my third Upton, Gary told me this one was the proto-type for their Standard, even has #1 on the label! Love it, love it, love it. ...
Wow!!! So many incredible double basses here. Sorry about slacking off on the member numbers... I've been far too busy learning Bach and Grieg at school and practicing on my UB too much!
Here is the updated list of club members:
01 - kamakiriad7 (Hybrid)
02 - drurb (Concert)
03 - Ghost Note (Standard Gamba)
04 - jmpfretless (Professor Deluxe)
05 - ZENBASSGUY (Standard)
06 - dbmike (Standard)
07 - brijonrob (Standard)
08 - Bass (Standard)
09 - BPeder (Hybrid Deluxe)
10 - lofreek (Hybrid Five string)
11 - olivieraleman (Hybrid)
12 - Don Sovil (Professor Deluxe)
13 - swmmojo (Standard)
14 - Gary Lynch (Standard)
15 - jhillman (Hybrid)
16 - chuck3 (Hybrid)
17 - DrBassie (Poplar Deluxe Flatback)
18 - PaperbackRyder (Standard Gamba)
19 - joinercape
20 - Krispy (Standard)
Here is the updated list of club members:
01 - kamakiriad7 (Hybrid)
02 - drurb (Concert)
03 - Ghost Note (Standard Gamba)
04 - jmpfretless (Professor Deluxe)
05 - ZENBASSGUY (Standard)
06 - dbmike (Standard)
07 - brijonrob (Standard)
08 - Bass (Standard)
09 - BPeder (Hybrid Deluxe)
10 - lofreek (Hybrid Five string)
11 - olivieraleman (Hybrid)
12 - Don Sovil (Professor Deluxe)
13 - swmmojo (Standard)
14 - Gary Lynch (Standard)
15 - jhillman (Hybrid)
16 - chuck3 (Hybrid)
17 - DrBassie (Poplar Deluxe Flatback)
18 - PaperbackRyder (Standard Gamba)
19 - joinercape
20 - Krispy (Standard)
Wow, joinercape... which three do you have? I'd absolutely love to see some pictures sometime.
I just put a set of Evah Pirazzi solo strings on my Hybrid for a recital coming up in August, and MAN do they sing! I'm sure anything will sounds good on it, but they work really well for the Bach Gamba sonata I'm doing - very light and Baroque-y. Also, the principal bassist for the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (Meredith Johnson) was in doing a few private lessons last month. At one point he was playing my bass to demonstrate a bowing technique, and stopped mid-sentence to say "...MAN! I just LOVE your bass!!" This makes me happy.
Might as well add me now. I Should be driving to Stonington in the next couple of weeks to pick up my standard.
I am in the market for a carved bass and have heard great things about Upton. Would like to find one to touch before heading out east. Anyone in the Twin Cities area who I could speak to?
Thanks.
J
Thanks.
J
Might as well add me now. I Should be driving to Stonington in the next couple of weeks to pick up my standard.
Congratulations!! There's nothing quite like a new bass day.
If you haven't been, it's really a beautiful drive. Make sure to snap some pictures for us when you get it home!
I thought I'd post some photos from "The Double Bass", the play I just did in LA by PAtrick Suskind. Gary & Eric built a custom "Gary Karr model" hybrid deluxe, that would look fairly antique under the stage lights and sound huge, yet still be fairly lightweight. They more than exceeded my requirements and expectations and built a great bass ().
Louis
Louis
Attachments
That play sounds awesome, I've got to look it up. Nice bass! I love how Uptons nail that "antique" vibe, yet are totally indestructible.
Patrick Suskind, the playwright, is a bit like Samuel Beckett was when he was alive. Suskind's a total recluse and has forbidden any broadcasts of the play (I did do a radio version of it for NPR when I first did the play 20 years ago). So there's nothing on Youtube etc (at least there shouldn't be or his agent will kill me).
Having said that, I'm happy to email the script to anyone who wants to read it (and even happier to bring the play to a local theatre near you).
I'm trying to get ISB to slot it in for SF in 2011.
Eric did a fabulous job on the look of the bass. The only thing I changed were the strings (from Gary's mix of an Obligato G and DAE Evahs to Original Flatchromes - which seems to cut clearer in the curtain-laden theatre) and the tailpiece. It came with one of those Witner composite tp's and I happened to have an ebony one with ornate carving (of a lyre etc), so when Lisa Gass swopped the strings for me, we changed the tp. I also took out the metal endpin and used one of Johnny Atomics carved wooden pins - which helped with the antique look of the bass and (possibly) opened the sound up a bit more.
I think on the video about making my bass, Eric talks about the 'near competition level' sound - especially from the low end. I have to say that was one of the reasons I finally came to the conclusion to sell my Swanson bass (see ads). This bass simply out-guns it and is infinitely easier and more comfortable to play.
Louis
Having said that, I'm happy to email the script to anyone who wants to read it (and even happier to bring the play to a local theatre near you).
I'm trying to get ISB to slot it in for SF in 2011.
Eric did a fabulous job on the look of the bass. The only thing I changed were the strings (from Gary's mix of an Obligato G and DAE Evahs to Original Flatchromes - which seems to cut clearer in the curtain-laden theatre) and the tailpiece. It came with one of those Witner composite tp's and I happened to have an ebony one with ornate carving (of a lyre etc), so when Lisa Gass swopped the strings for me, we changed the tp. I also took out the metal endpin and used one of Johnny Atomics carved wooden pins - which helped with the antique look of the bass and (possibly) opened the sound up a bit more.
I think on the video about making my bass, Eric talks about the 'near competition level' sound - especially from the low end. I have to say that was one of the reasons I finally came to the conclusion to sell my Swanson bass (see ads). This bass simply out-guns it and is infinitely easier and more comfortable to play.
Louis
I love the finish! Looks very classy. Mine is going to be antique amber, but this is making me think about my choice.
Well, I finally pulled the trigger and placed an order for a Concert Bostonian, gamba corners, chocolate finish with figured maple neck! Expect it around Thanksgiving. Will post pics when it arrives. Now for the wait (sigh). Eric and Kate have been great to work with. In the meantime, I can figure out how to sell my Juzek.
Nice choice. Congratulations! Now the wait. While waiting I focused on household repair,fitness,friends and loved ones. That kept my mind off the calendar.
