Joel Quarrington sits down with Gary to examine in detail his tuning of the double bass in fifths and using it in all applications! If you dare to buck convention, Joel has compelling reasons why it enhances his role in the orchestra. For over forty years, Joel Quarrington has served as the Principal Double Bassist…
Recently Made Uptons - A Gallery of Notable UB Builds
Mittenwald Opus 129 – What a Carved Back!
This Mittenwald Model Upton double bass displays all the simple functional beauty of the German basses that inspired it. But wow! Everybody in the shop wants to take this one home. Check out the center cut of the back, now ready to resonate for centuries. The lyrical ff-holes bring the whole shape together – pretty…
Mittenwald Hybrid Double Bass
Many of the staff at Upton Bass are veteran bass players and when we daydream about our own Upton bass, we’d most likely land in the performance/price sweet spot of a flat back hybrid. You get all of the stability and toughness of a hybrid with the remarkable response of our lightweight flatbacks with the…
Upton Double Bass Top Conversion – Plywood to Hybrid
We’ve done this a few times now, to the point we can quantify it and offer as a product! this double bass top replacement service upgrades your existing fully-laminated Upton bass (UB Laminates and Bohemians) into a hybrid with an in-shop top swap. We made a huge number of plywoods over the years, if you…
Upton Gagliano Double Bass
Whenever we make a direct copy of an historic instrument, we make ‘an heir and a spare’ and build two instruments off the new form. The first of our 1781 Gagliano double bass copies, the heir in this case, is already at work in the New York Philarmonic – but Prince Harry here is ready…
Gagliano Double Bass Build
This build began with tracings of one of the world’s finest basses! A Josef Gagliano double bass dated to 1781. Deep arching and remarkably figured old-forest Maple adorn the original historic instrument. In homage, Gary selected some of our wildest spalted pieces – they fit beautifully together in three… Ribs setting is slow and deliberate…
Klotz Pattern Double Bass, 2024
We’ve been building this compact powerhouse for over a decade, from direct tracings of an original, wide-ribbed Klotz. With a slightly shorter string length, it’s become a favorite of crossover bass guitarists and anybody who needs a compact double bass that packs a wallop. This gorgeous slightly-antiqued hand varnish sets off the stout dimensions of…
Mittenwald Model Double Bass o241
This mild-mannered Mittenwald Double Bass has its gorgeous evening attire in the back! This Mittenwald is built with a flat back of well-figured Maple hand-varnished to a light-catching luster. Bravo gang! The Mittenwald brings the generous dimensions and rib depth of our Brescian to a gamba-cornered instrument. As with the basses of its namesake, the…
Upton Bass School is in Session!
Upton Bass School brings detailed lessons and insight from our own setup benches directly to you! Our Knowledge Bass is built for every issue great and small, check out a free version of the Upton Bassics care guide, or renew your entire bass setup with our Pro Luthier series!
Ghosts of Prescott Basses Past, Present & Future
We’ve always appreciated the accomplishments of Abraham Prescott and his thriving early 19th Century New England string instrument company. Separated by an ocean from the violinmaking traditions of Europe, his large resonant basses built of native old-growth Sugar Maple have inspired classical and jazz bassists to this day. In this holiday season we can see…
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