Upton Bass String Instrument Company

“Bullet” Brescian Model Double Bass

Luthier’s notes from Eric: “Most amazing Brescian yet! Deep ribs (almost 9″!) spalted big leaf Maple that kept ruining blades as it had a bullet in it!” We imagined several stories – was the tree outside Elvis’s window? Was the lumber in the trunk of Steve McQueen’s Mustang? The depth in the wood and pathless…

“Hull” Brescian Model Double Bass

Upton Bass Brescian Model Double Bass, 2020, Opus 203 This new Brescian was particularly rewarding to make, it’s a state-of-the-art fully carved version with exceptional wood – figured Spruce top and rippling Big Leaf Maple back and sides cut from the same board. The new owner knew he wanted a premium bass from the start,…

“Watts” Mittenwald Model Double Bass

This beautiful Mittenwald model Upton double bass was built as a big flatback five-string hybrid. The Mittenwald is a great gamba pattern for the low B, with plenty of depth and air volume. A classic build kept the straight fingerboard and antiqued hat pegs, plus rib bumpers and a custom angled endpin block. What really…

Still Building at Upton Bass!

The Upton Bass team is safe and making basses! We will continue to do so as long as we are allowed to. Other than some power tools, not a lot separates our shop from an 18th Century version – there’s plenty of space and fresh air, just with a lot more Ramones coming from the…

“Corbett” Brescian Model Double Bass

A mighty, well-mannered Brescian Model, built with some mild outline adaptations as we continue our pursuit of the ultimate double bass! Opus#716 may look “ordinary” to most, but this Bresscian is very important as it was #1 in a model upgrade succession (V3) that began with Gary’s very own Brescian in 2010! The upper bouts…

“Kirchner” Bohemian Model Double Bass

This is a pretty glorious Bohemian Hybrid Deluxe round back double bass, built as a 7/8ths! This moderately priced new Upton (came in under $6K) was built with some great upgrades: Deluxe top, Solo Extension fingerboard, upgraded Rubner tuners, edge bumpers and mother of pearl fingerboard markers. A big full-throated jazz cannon – very fun…

The Upton Report v2.9

EB players always want to try URB…and Adam’s video, while open to critique from seasoned DB players, has some good meat in it for the BG players looking to add to their arsenal!

The Upton Report v2.8

Going “viral” for the double bass usually means a few thousand views, but as I write this, Davies video has 1,191,277 views and only dropped on Dec 11, 2019! This puts it currently at #30 on the trending video list on YouTube. That’s impressive!

The Upton Report v2.7

Serge Alexandrovich Koussevitzky was a Russian-born conductor, composer, and double-bassist, known for his long tenure as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1924 to 1949.

The Upton Report v2.6

I love the pace of old movies…I find them relaxing. We’ve become so accustomed to flashing images, point of view changes every 10 seconds, panning cameras, etc. that when the camera stays still and dialogue lingers, it’s calming.