Another lefty SHEN upright bass

[FOM]

Three lefty SHEN upright basses were shipped to North America last month. Matt R has already posted some awesome images of his bass last week. This bass replaces my early 1990's Engelhardt S1 righty that had the strings reversed (post & bar remained in righty position). The Engehardt met my needs until I joined a local community orchestra and started bowing. The SHEN is a much larger step up from the Engelhardt than I expected. The tone is darker and much fuller under the bow and the pizz volume and punch greater than I expected.

Attached are some images of my new SHEN SB150 that came in last month with Matt's bass:











The SHEN SB150 is a hybrid bass - fully carved top with laminate side & back. The workmanship, fit and finish quality is excellent. The endpin, bridge, tail piece and fingerboard are exceptional for this price point. Unfortunately the wait was forever!!!!!!!!!!! (Bass was ordered December 1, 2011). As mentioned earlier three lefties came in last month. I was told that twelve lefties were shipped to North America last year. Not many companies would be willing to gear up production for such a small order potential. This is a really GOOD start!

[Matt R.]

So, so beautiful. I'm giving you a virtual high five. Once again, congrats

[fivebass52]

Not only does it sound like a beautiful bass sonically, the grain and finish is stunning, but it sits in your living room as if it was built and destined to be there! Nice!

[mcarp555]

Stunning indeed! I assume the fingerboard is also LH, with the correct cambering for the low E. How does the bowing feel compared to the Engelhardt?

[AzWhoFan]

Damn, if I got me one of those I would also need to build out one of the rooms in my house to accomodate it .... hmmmmm

Nice bass BTW! congrats

[pjmuck]

Damn! You guys are killing me with these. Simply stunning. Nothing in those pictures screams budget instrument.

So for someone new to upright, what sort of maintenance is required to avoid them from blowing up? I once read an article with Jaco where he said the Florida humidity destroyed his upright. Is it as simple as getting a dehumidifier or is it more involved?

[Matt R.]

Depends. My bass is fully laminated so it doesn't require the upkeep that a hybrid or fully carved bass does (humidifiers, etc). Carved instruments also can be more prone to cracks than laminates. But they resonate better, so there are trade offs.