[Bass of the Week] Capozzoli Bass Electric Upright

See the business listing for this bass builder here

There’s really not much I can say about this bass because it speaks for itself, as it is an incredible build.

Builder Chris Capozzoli writes:

I decided to build this bass in the last two weeks of 2013. It was a project to help me keep my focus while my mom was suffering of cancer. I dedicate this one to her.

This is the second electric upright I’ve built, and was a good chance to make improvements from the first build. The wood I chose was to try to achieve a more acoustic tone when plugged in. The top wood is old growth cypress off the side of a barn in Pennsylvania. I’ve been saving this board for about 10 years waiting for the perfect opportunity to make a top out of it. The body is spanish cedar. Very aromatic and bug resistant. Its a softer wood than mahogany giving me a little less weight and a more woody tone. The neck wood is soft maple. And the headstock was a challenge to carve! I chose bubinga for the nut, finger board, tail piece, and saddle. I’ve been hanging on to it for about 10 years as well, just for this moment. The electronics consist of the Bartollini NTMB 918F three band eq 18volt with switchable mids and the MPB2-918 piezo buffer (thank you Best Bass Gear). The pickup is in-between the foot of the bridge and the body. I made it from scratch with piezo film and some copper foil. It has an ultra clean sound. Great lows and mids and the perfect amount of attack for the percussion you get from an acoustic upright. I am a part time instrument builder working towards full time. It is a passion of mine to provide the world with stringed instruments to help harbor beautiful music and endless memories of the good times created while using them.

Saying “well done” on this build is a massive understatement, as there are some who would pay an absolutely ridiculous amount of money to own something like this even as just a work of art, let alone play it.

Want to submit your bass for Bass of the Week? Use our easy web form, or if you prefer email, send a short story of your build and at least 3 high-quality photos to featureme@bestbassgear.com.

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Update:

Chris contacted us later and let us know of his experience with being featured on Best Bass Gear.

He wrote:

I got instant feedback from being featured on BBG bass of the week. Everyone who follows my Facebook post for Capozzoli Guitar Co. got all excited. About 5 minutes after my bass was posted on BBG I got a text from a good friend explaining the news to me. And about 10 minutes after that I started getting email inquiries about it. Some wanted to know details about the bass, some wanted an internship. In the order of arrival I sold it to the first person who emailed me. Since then I’ve got a few inquiries for custom bass builds. I’ve also linked the post to my FB page to help with promotion. Its another great tag in the big scheme that helps link all past experiences of my one man company together to boost future business. It has totally helped me to sell my instruments. I typically photograph my own instruments but for this one I asked my friend Lou Murray, a photographer, to capture this one for me. She did a great job and it allowed me to focus on building. It’s great to have a supply company that’s into what their clients are doing with their products and to have it all promoted on the BBG web page. I enjoy seeing everyone’s bass of the week and hope it helps them as much as it has helped me. Thanks Max for your time and effort and for keeping BBG alive.