The central difference between a laminated and hybrid bass is the top. The body of a laminated bass is solid plywood, while the hybrid has plywood back and sides and a fully carved spruce top. This may sound like only a small change, however it is the top that makes all the difference in tone. Laminated basses tend to have a dark, thumpy warm tone with a lot of boom, but lack clarity. Hybrids also offer a lot of low end, but the tops pump and vibrate more, resulting in a dynamic sound with a complex range of tonal color and articulation. In short, hybrids "speak" better than laminates, and only get better the more you play them. They are excellent for jazz and classical, while laminates are better for blues, bluegrass, rockabilly and rock.

With regards to UB builds, we offer both the laminate and hybrid in the Standard and Bohemian pattern, but also build hybrids in the Brescian, Mittenwald and Karr (pictured above) patterns. Please feel free to email/call with any questions you might have and to discuss which model would suit you best.

Two weeks in, and the bow I'm making is starting to shape up! Slowly chipping away at it (no pun intended!) in between customer calls, instrument auditions and instrument repairs and hoping to have the stick finished around Christmas. More to come! I'll be blogging about this as I go and will post pics on the Upton Blog.