Description

UB Standard Laminate Opus 001

This is where it all started…the very first UB Standard Laminate!  Full Package including Mooradian case & bass stand.

The “History” of the Standard model, as I remember it.

The Standards did not start out as they are today.  Back in 2007, there was no UB Bohemian model (there wasn’t a Brescian, Concord, Karr…heck, there wasnt even a gamba, they were all violin corners!) They were all just Upton Basses.

In 2007 we had been making for a year…and we were losing our shirts with the laminated basses!  The maple and spruce veneer was easily costing us about $500 per bass, and purfling the tops and backs added precious hours to each build!  We needed to either drastically raise the price of the bass or reduce the cost.

We honed the process as best we could…jigging, tooling, over analyzing every step of the process.  We had nowhere left to trim costs, other than materials.  So, we built a laminated bass with no fancy veneers and no purfling, as a test for a good friend and long time customer…and it came out better than we could have hoped for!

Deep and dark in tone and varnish…we found by stripping away the things that only added expense, and didn’t add to the tone or playability, we were able to keep pursuing handmade laminated basses completely made in America.

-Eric

Upton Bass String Instrument Co. specializes in building award-winning custom double basses and offers accessories for the double bass. Upton Bass also services all instruments and bows of the violin family with world-class restoration and repair, to view our online restoration portfolio visit stringrepair.com

Upton Bass is ready to offer advice and answer any questions regarding double basses or related bass topics. Please contact UB at sales@uptonbass.com or call the shop at +1 (860) 535-9399. Hours of operation Tuesday through Saturday 10am – 6pm. The Workshop (The Barn) and showroom are located in Mystic, Connecticut conveniently between Boston and NYC.