An inside view of Upton Bass String Instrument Co.’s Instrument Repair & Restoration Workshop. Our sister website, www.StringRepair.com was originally created to communicate with our clients about the progress of their project, as well as to better display our double bass repair & restoration capabilities in conjunction with UptonBass.com. StringRepair.com was launched in 2005 and was one of the first active repair blogs on the web, opening the door to better transparency to the client from the back room of the workshop.
Today, Upton Bass String Instrument Co. continues to offer world-class repairs of all instruments in the violin family, and our active repairs are showcased below and on the following pages.
While StringRepair.com is not actively updated today, we keep it up as it’s become a great reference source for many workshops worldwide. We hope you enjoy the collection!
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, graciously agreed to help us honor those memories with a bittersweet ballad called "One More Angel." https://youtu.be/wDUgN8g-Oy8 With rememberance and love, wishing you music and joy in the New Year - UB
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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 by the new owner. We also love the straightforward build on this Brescian - a real player's bass. Just a maple upgrade on the neck, a shop-installed Rev Solo, player's preference dot markers and rib bumpers. A thoroughbred leaving the barn! When Upton Bass builds…
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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 its present extraordinary state. Have a project double bass you fear will never sing again? Give us a call at the shop +1 (860) 535-9399 We can help with any string instrument repairs, from common injuries to full forensic restoration. As Gary and Eric like…
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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 craft many violins, violas, and cellos (He is credited with more than 300 violins, 10 violas, 50 cellos, and 45 basses). While other pupils copied Scarampella's works, Martini adopted his own artistic flair. He received medals for his work in Cremona, Padua, and Paris and…
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