Kala U-Bass or Accoustic bass????
 

I am in a situation where I can either purchase the U Bass which looks beastly or an Acoustic bass (no brand ideas yet) with a price range roughly around the price of the u bass... So any ideas/help/suggestion would be loved??
:hyper:

U bass. I have never come across a horizontal acoustic that was enjoyable...except for the Kala.

Haha
That's what I have read a few times, but I wasn't sure if it was marketing talk or not...

I was also wondering about the Ubass, frettless or fretted?

I see so many U-Basses on craigs list that I can't help but wonder if once the new wears off with a u-bass, your stuck with a toy with funny rubber strings. And for me the strings are the problem with this bass.

I would say get a real acoustic bass.

Ubass with no hesitation. Make sure to check out the Kala Ubass megathread somewhere in the board, hundreds and hundreds of posts have been written about the little instrument. For a lot of people and for me, those strings and the sound coming from them is what makes you love that bass. Also, on the last pages you'll find a preview of a new italian-made instrument, the Shortbass by Aquila, quite interesting in my opinion and yet another option to keep in mind, available in a few weeks.
u.

^thats really helpful thanks!!
Do you know anything about fretless or fretted versions?

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Ubass. Small? Yes. A toy? Absolutely not. It is a totally valid musical instrument, I would not be without one by now.

I have 2 ubasses, and 2 acoustics. All of them get very little playtime. :). With a ubass you at least get a little bit of character and the ability to take it on a plane with ease. They both have about the same acoustic volume, most regular acoustics have a bit more character when plugged in. I think your choice should be dependent upon what you're going to be using it for, which you haven't said. If I had to keep just one it would be my acoustic ubass.

As for the fretted fret less thing, if you play fretted I'd get fretted. If you play fretless.... Well....

If you are talking about an ABG (not a URB) I would go with the Kala. The ABG has just never done it for me. If you are talking about a URB, I say go for it. Nothing beats an upright.

The U-Bass is a love or hate thing that doesn't seem to leave much middle ground. Technique and sound-wise I have a fairly traditional double bass type approach to the ABG and the U-Bass has always felt like a barely playable toy. Extracting the best possible acoustic tone from an ABG has long been something that directly informed my electric bass playing which the rubber band Kala will never do in a million years. If the black and white split of opinions in this thread doesn't convince you to try before you buy I don't know what would.

If you get a chance to play a ubass you'll pick one over an ABG, in my opinion. Get a fretless spruce or mahogany for about a hundred bucks more.

LOL!

Bought a U-Bass
 

Got a good deal on a used one ($300 shipped).

Played it for one day and sold it for $300 shipped.
Not my thing.

The only ABG that I have played and loved is Rob Allen's Mouse. Compared to that, all others are just toys IMO, and not usable unless plugged in.

I own a spruce top fretted Ubass, and I'm very happy with it, even if intonation is not perfect when approaching the higher register. I've read good things about the fretless Ubass too, but of course it would be better if you could try both of them for yourself and make your own choice. Loads of information about fretted, fretless and defretting on the Megathread.
Even if I agree that it's always better trying before buying when possible, I don't agree calling the Ubass a toy at all, it's an excellent instrument, just somewhat quirky.
Bye!
u.

Ubasses are awesome. I was just playing my fretless mohog at practice the other day and everyone just loved the sound and look. Def. go fretless....and I am not a fretless electric player. The fretted has less sustain and lots of buzz on the lower frets. So my vote is ubass!

Interesting to see so much ABG bashing. I've owned two and loved every minute of it. My current ABG is an Ibanez AEB5E, still wearing the factory strings. I'm thinking I'll put either D'Addario Tapewounds or flatwounds (D'Addario, La Bella or Rotosound are my considerations.)

It's great for playing in my apartment. I haven't played it out yet, but I look forward to it! For U-Bass money, you can get a Fender Kingman, or an Ibanez AEB10 with cash leftover. If it were me, I'd go for an ABG. Look for a Tacoma or Breedlove, for just a little more cash, used.

Thanks alot for all your help!!!! I am thinking about the fretless U bass.... it seems really good and compact, and a beastly sound!

FWIW I purchased a fretted U and returned it for the fretless version and I think the fretless is way more in line with what the instrument is. The U is much closer to an upright tone (although not the same) than an electric. It only took 30-60 minutes to get used to playing the fretless..and I thought it would take a month. One cool ABG that has always caught my attention is this but it is over 1k US. http://www.godinguitars.com/godina4p.htm