As long as we work on double basses, we will regularly encounter the many amazing restorations of Lou DiLeone, the New Haven, Connecticut double bass luthier extraordinaire. Lou had a special touch bringing back many tired or injured basses back to life, often to a playing condition better than new – with modernized geometry, improved…
Double Bass Repair & Restoration
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!
Upton Double Bass Extensions
If you’re on Instagram, check out our luthier Jack Hanlon’s page: @jackhanlonbass – Jack keeps it updated with some of the many exquisite double bass C-Extensions that come off his bench! The Upton Bass C-Extension was conceived and designed to have no structural impact to your scroll. No cuts, no notches, no drill holes. Our…
Selmer Kay Bass Gallery, S-10 Thin Body, 1937
Here’s studio pictures of the restored Selmer Kay Bass Viol, the thin-ribbed deluxe S-10 model from the dawn of Kay Bass! We set out to not over-restore or “candy coat” this historic example, leaving its cool checked patina while returning structural health and playability to as-new. Learn more about this Selmer Kay bass restoration HERE…
Selmer Kay Bass Restoration, S-10 Thin Body, 1937
This Selmer Kay restoration began with some fact finding: Selmer Kay? Kay thin body? These early deluxe version Kays are some of the rarest. We’ve serviced vast multitudes of Kays and haven’t seen a Selmer Kay even for a string change. In fact, our friends at the Kay Bass Registry haven’t seen one either! We…
Alcoa Aluminum Bass c1930, #92
This big crazy Alcoa has been hanging at the shop, now fully sorted with a fresh setup and for sale on our vintage page! Shiny underneath, with weathered paint. Very few come through in original condition – it’s pretty cool! Many have been stripped and polished to hot rod chrome, they definitely have a cult…
A Low Note’s Worth a Thousand Words
Gary auditions a couple of easily-overlooked basses in the loft this week – Here are new videos of the Stamitz bass and Dittrich bass – both great values available on our Vintage page:
Vintage Bass Listings – New This Week!
August 13, 2022 Just put up a one-owner Kay M-1 from 1955 and a great fully-carved Budil from a high-end jazz club: This Dittrich just took a huge price break, and this century-old Morelli has a fresh Upton restoration!
edUB – Upton Bass Educational Platform Preview
We’re offering access to our educational videos for a limited time! CLICK HERE to SUBSCRIBE
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 –…
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,…