Upton Double Basses

GH Services is the premier Canadian Upton Bass dealer. GH Services is located in the Niagara Region of Canada, near Toronto and the Canada-U.S. border. Owner Greg Holmes is a long-time musician, ready and able to help you with any questions you have. More about GH Services here.

Affordable Double Basses

At Upton Bass String Instrument Company the goal is to bring you affordable double basses that have the same attributes as luthier-commissioned upright basses costing ten times the price. Upton's double bass design, the quality of the materials used, the traditional European construction methods, the level of care and refinement their setups include, and all of the upgraded accessory items make these double basses not only the most unique upright basses on the market today, but also possibly the best valued basses in the world.

The instruments are hand-crafted from raw wood by the Upton luthiers in Connecticut.

The varnish on all Upton Basses is a proprietary Linseed Oil mixture that is applied in the Upton workshop in a traditional manner that accentuates the natural beauty of the wood and the tone. It is gently antiqued with color shading. This is the same varnish that luthiers use on high-end custom double basses. Upton has tested their varnish in the most extreme situations and they are 100% confident in it's durability.

All Upton Basses include:

• Ebony endpins - high quality, heavy duty, German-made, and fitted with removable metal threaded rubber tips.
• Upton bridges - French-made, meticulously fitted, carved, and tonally adjusted for each individual bass. The top radius of each bridge is custom carved to meet the specifications of your playing style. Once a bridge meets Upton's standards, it is then branded with their logo.
• Ebony tailpieces - English-style grade "AAA", hung with Clef HITEC tailpiece cable. This lightweight, flexible cable is stronger than steel. After-lengths are carefully calculated and adjusted for the best tone.
• Seasoned European spruce sound posts - hand-selected and fit by Upton to ensure each bass reaches its maximum tonal capabilities. These sound posts fit 100%. No bevel, no domes.
• Ebony extended fingerboards - the highest grade ebony, thick, straight grained, jet black, and dressed and polished to perfection. The solo extended fingerboard is a stock option, but you can have a regular board if you want.
• Ebony nut - brought to exact tolerances. Other than the bridge, the nut is one of the most important (and most overlooked) aspects of your setup. Incorrect string angles can prematurely break strings and cause buzzes. Incorrect spacing can make it difficult to play and grooves that are not correct can damage the string as well as take away from your instrument's tone. Incorrect string heights can not only make your bass difficult to play, but may cause long term medical problems.
• Full setup - according to your desires. Just mention your playing style and favorite players and the playing situations you will be using the bass in.
• The Upton Bass 5 Year Warranty.

Real inlayed purfling and German-made Rubner tuners add to the appeal of these instruments. Upton cuts "pockets" under the tuner tabs and worm gears to relieve stress on the plates and allow for smoother tuning. Upton has reversed the orientation of the tuners to lessen the tension on the E string, making the G string tuner the lowest. But you can have the traditional setting if you want it.

The body shapes are based on a modified Hawkes design, and can be considered a large 3/4 or a smaller 7/8 bass with a 42 inch string length (3/4). The large upper bouts allow for the bass to move more air, resulting in a thunderously low but warm tone, but having a custom taper to allow for ease of play. Customers often comment that for such a full bodied bass it is remarkably comfortable to play. This has been achieved by increasing the over stand (amount of neck above the body) and projection (path of the fingerboard extended to the bridge). This gives a nice tall bridge with plenty of access to the length of the fingerboard and enough clearance to bow without hitting the edges. The ff hole pattern was inspired by the ff holes on the Scott LaFaro Prescott.

All Upton Basses have these approximate body dimensions:

Upper Bout	:	19 3/4 inches
C Bout	:	15 inches
Lower Bout	:	26 1/4 inches
Rib	:	7 inches at neck set to 8 inches at endpin
Body Length	:	44 3/4 inches
String Length	:	42 inches