I'm a member now. Picked up a 2013 upton standard hybrid for a very good price. The size is very nice to me coming from my large juzek. I called upton Thursday and asked about the price of a 7/8ths bass, and thought I should check out the local one first. I'm glad I did because its perfect. large shoulders and a good thick neck. All I need to do is figure out strings for it (95% sure spiro mediums) put on a pickup and bridge height.
This is a good end to a long story:
June 2018 I found an upton hybrid (2010 maybe) for sale in new york for $2000 which included a deluxe gig bag, a bow, fresh spirocore mediums and a full circle. Awesome price for me since I don't have to add anything. Literally everything I wanted and at that point I only had one bass (since sold) which I didn't like bringing to my "bad" gigs (outside, rough bars etc). I was all set to pick it up while headed to Connecticut to teach at the jazz camp I work at each summer. 5 days before leaving I get an email from the guy saying he wants to keep it. i was crushed.
I call Upton to see if they have any basses I may be interested in, and they have a Brecker hybrid in stock I could pick up for a little more than I planned to pay for the upton (because I had to buy a fresh set of spiros and a pickup). I grabbed it and was "fine"...but not satisfied fully. It worked.
I then 4 weeks later buy my 1910 era juzek bass and end up selling the bass back in nola leaving me with the juzek and brecker.
A shen willow comes up for sale a few hours away and I decide to pick that up thinking I'll sell the brecker. Brecker Hybrid
Then I'm not fully satisfied with the shen. A little small in the upper bouts and the neck is slightly thin.
It seems like a perfect bass for a close friend of mine who has had the same Chinese no name plywood since high school. He's much shorter than me and buys it the day after playing it (I'm finding very good luck in selling basses btw. Maybe I should start a shop...)
I call upton and ask about wait time for a bass, prices on different models (7/8ths ply and hybrid, deluxe top, 3/4 bass etc) and get on Ebay real quick.
There is a 2013 upton hybrid standard bass 2011 with solo fingerboard for sale in Georgia. Doing the math with the price of the bass, air bnb to stay the night and to set it up my preferred way, the shen sale covers all that....
A 7 hour drive later, I now am part of the upton club. The helicore hybrids are super dead the the action is low but all of this can be fixed on Tuesday. I came full circle and am happy to have a good backup bass.
Sorry for the long post. And sorry to upton for not ordering a new bass...but you never know what will happen in the future...
This is a good end to a long story:
June 2018 I found an upton hybrid (2010 maybe) for sale in new york for $2000 which included a deluxe gig bag, a bow, fresh spirocore mediums and a full circle. Awesome price for me since I don't have to add anything. Literally everything I wanted and at that point I only had one bass (since sold) which I didn't like bringing to my "bad" gigs (outside, rough bars etc). I was all set to pick it up while headed to Connecticut to teach at the jazz camp I work at each summer. 5 days before leaving I get an email from the guy saying he wants to keep it. i was crushed.
I call Upton to see if they have any basses I may be interested in, and they have a Brecker hybrid in stock I could pick up for a little more than I planned to pay for the upton (because I had to buy a fresh set of spiros and a pickup). I grabbed it and was "fine"...but not satisfied fully. It worked.
I then 4 weeks later buy my 1910 era juzek bass and end up selling the bass back in nola leaving me with the juzek and brecker.
A shen willow comes up for sale a few hours away and I decide to pick that up thinking I'll sell the brecker. Brecker Hybrid
Then I'm not fully satisfied with the shen. A little small in the upper bouts and the neck is slightly thin.
It seems like a perfect bass for a close friend of mine who has had the same Chinese no name plywood since high school. He's much shorter than me and buys it the day after playing it (I'm finding very good luck in selling basses btw. Maybe I should start a shop...)
I call upton and ask about wait time for a bass, prices on different models (7/8ths ply and hybrid, deluxe top, 3/4 bass etc) and get on Ebay real quick.
There is a 2013 upton hybrid standard bass 2011 with solo fingerboard for sale in Georgia. Doing the math with the price of the bass, air bnb to stay the night and to set it up my preferred way, the shen sale covers all that....
A 7 hour drive later, I now am part of the upton club. The helicore hybrids are super dead the the action is low but all of this can be fixed on Tuesday. I came full circle and am happy to have a good backup bass.
Sorry for the long post. And sorry to upton for not ordering a new bass...but you never know what will happen in the future...
