Upton Bass String Instrument Company

“Jazz Foundation of America” Concord Model Double Bass

The Jazz Foundation of America was created to bring assistance to musicians needing emergency medical, housing and disaster relief. Additionally, the organization creates dignified paid work opportunities for artists to perform with free concerts at schools, hospitals, and nursing homes. Each year they produce almost 1,000 concerts in 17 states and reach more than 80,000…

Travis Book – Basses Into the Fray!

Another update from bluegrass road warrior Travis Book – a new album with The Infamous Stringdusters drops midnight TONIGHT and another Grammy nomination are nice ways to get through the winter! “On behalf of the Dusters, I’m so excited to be releasing Toward the Fray Friday, Feb 18 on our record label, Americana Vibes –…

KayBass.com

Archives from the internet… There used to be a great Kay Double Bass Viol resource page created by Roger Stowers, and as we searched for it looking to reference a Kay model, it no longer exists after Rogers’s death. Steven Ayres has picked up the torch and now runs kaybass.us and we are sure he’ll…

Jazz Night in America Tribute 2021

John and Sachi Patitucci recorded this tribute in our bass loft last month for NPR’s Jazz Night in America. NPR notes: “As we took stock of our losses, we realized that the low end was hit hardest and felt compelled to feature a bassist in this year’s visual tribute. John Patitucci and his wife, cellist Sachi Patitucci,…

Double Bass and Beyond Podcast with Gary Upton

Entrepreneur Gary Upton of Upton Bass hosts a double bass and business-specific podcast for bass players, luthiers and enthusiasts alike. Learn about Upton Bass and upright bass history, repair & maintenance, building basses, and many valuable business and life lessons along the way. All with Gary and some amazing guests! Take a listen HERE!

Concord Model Double Bass, Opus 219

It’s getting chilly and leaves are turning, how about a nice New England-style Concord Upton Bass, made with our hats tipped to the luthier Abraham Prescott, and his school of double bass making…with maple?

Nicest left-handed Upton bass yet?

Standing back to admire this Brescian model, Eric remarked, “This has gotta be one of the nicest left-handed basses we’ve ever built!” This fully carved flatback will be our current benchmark for sure – not only for its lefty orientation, but as a varnish color reference. Chris amazes again with this beautiful warm amber requested…

Oreste Martini Double Bass, 1925 Gallery

Here’s a gallery of the fully restored Oreste Martini double bass – one of the most thorough projects to date! There are so many elegant and stylish details on this instrument, not a line out of place. Eric has a great post below on all the steps involved in getting this damaged historic instrument to…

Martini Oreste Mantova 1925

Oreste Martini (1893-1957) learned his craft from the great Mantuan maker Stefano Scarampella.  After his tutelage under master Stefano Scarampella, beginning at age 14, Martini was producing his own instruments by his early 20s. He began his career with a focus on double basses (reported to be a double bassist himself) but went on to…