Thanks for the sage advice, Ken. To address your last concern first -- I do have a teacher, and I'm going to try and get him along to try the Stentor with me. And while not ideal in terms of a trial, I am taking what I've heard and felt of Richard's Christopher as an indication of what I might expect from the 401.
I've emailed Upton twice regarding their shipping costs and have yet to receive a reply; I'm not jumping to conclusions, but this does seem rather at odds with their much vaunted reputation for customer service, and would make me a little wary of dealing with them further from such a distance.
I appreciated your fast response to my ill-placed PM (sorry about that) and your candour there and here regarding the costs and risks associated with shipping. Would that I could visit your establishment, but even then, those caveats would apply.
It may be that the Christophers are freighted here from China and set up in Auckland, but I know that the Stentors are sent from China to England for "finishing" and then here for their setup by a good local luthier. Prices here are correspondingly higher than I've seen advertised in the USA and UK, but there are advantages to living at the bottom of the world, too (right, Richard?
).
Thanks again, and I'll shift any further discussion of these basses to the "Chinese/Asian basses" forum.
Shane
Edit: 11 days later and still no response; too late now, I've bought a Christopher.