Kala UBass Megathread, Part 4

[SBassman]

Originally Posted by 3234718

I don't know about the cello, but ive always thought this was awesome:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0rwH3dWw5I

I always loved that clip. For me, I have never heard better acoustic bass tone. It's off the charts excellent.
And the magic is in those Thunderguts.

[slaerts]

After a bit of research I've found that a cello 1/2 size is a 23 inch scale. I'm looking at a few for sale second hand. Hopefully I'll be able to string it BEAD. It will be a nice Christmas project.

[HeavyDuty]

I was able to spend fifteen minutes with a fretless hog tonight - I think a fretless five solidbody is in my future, and probably sooner rather than later. I'm pumped!

[caeman]

pre-welcome to the club, then, HD. You will love being a u-bass owner.

[CaballoViejo]

This looks very interesting:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/251183104...84.m1423.l2649

Pro: preamp
Con: Thunderguts
Con: (minor, for me) plywood top

At only about AU $270 including shipping, if they ever bring out a fretless version I think I might have to bite the bullet.

[slaerts]

Wow! At $270with 2 band pre-amp and volume control, it should bring the price of a kala u-bass down a bit.

[little george]

Founded the legpap web:

http://legpap.com/Product.asp?ClassID=415

Anybody reads chinese here?

[caeman]

Just click on the English option in Google Chrome.

If I had the spare cash, it would be an interesting experiment to get one and defret it.

[TheEmptyCell]

I think the eBay link explains the pertinent info. The true test will be for someone that already owns a Ubass to actually buy one of the competitors and do an AB(C if you wanna throne the Kamoa uke bass in there).

[CaballoViejo]

Going by the pics on the website, they have fretted and fretless versions in both koa and mahogany.

[miiitch]

time for a dramatic change in topic:

i must have missed a bit about the feedback buster. will it be available in europe soon?

[caeman]

I have placed an order for the feedback freezer and will report my results when it arrives.

[slaerts]

Originally Posted by miiitch

time for a dramatic change in topic:

i must have missed a bit about the feedback buster. will it be available in europe soon?

Hey Miitch, I ordered one yesterday but because their international postage is horribly expensive I had them send it locally to a mail forwarding company. My process will take a bit longer but save a lot of cash. It will still probably more than double the price of the feedback supressor.

[SBassman]

Originally Posted by slaerts

Wow! At $270with 2 band pre-amp and volume control, it should bring the price of a kala u-bass down a bit.

If it could be purchased at that price with a U.S. dealer, that would be hard to pass up.

[little george]

I can see only two diferences in this picture with kala original:
- Different jack plug (and worse in my opinion).
- Electronics, but the control panel seems to be quite badly fitted. Looks like a generic guitar panel, forced to contour (or not) the u-bass.

The pickup looks identical to the shadow one doesn´t it?

I have just visited the kala page, they say they are mailing internacional now. But no silver rumbles strings in stock :´(

[3234718]

Pretty in-depth demo of the Hutch Hutchinson model:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RXVPqrLCQU

[jamesczar]

Originally Posted by SBassman

If it could be purchased at that price with a U.S. dealer, that would be hard to pass up.

Looks like a typical Chinese knock-off. Someone at Kala's Chinese manufacturer sold the plans to another shop and they copied almost every aspect, and then made a few minor modifications to say theirs was different.

But I would be surprised if they had the same quality - especially since all of Kala's (as far as I know) go through their American QA before shipping out. And I wouldn't be surprised if a number of corners were cut in the manufacturing process (bracing, humidity control of the wood, quality of glues, finish details, etc.).

I'm very happy with Kala's price point for the acoustic and SUB models. I'd like to see their Calis under $1k, but I'm not really interested in that body shape anyway - if they came out with a semi-hollow body like RoadToad made, then I'd be willing to pay $1k+ to Kala for an American-made version.

Frankly, I think that the only non-Kala, non-custom, I'd be interested in at this point is the Ortega RLizard-BS UKU Bass:

They're a German manufacturer, and from their photos, it looks like they do all their work in-house. $708USD (based on the current exchange rate with the Euro).

Or you could try this Truth TMT "Ukelele Bass" Custom, but it'll run you $2328USD (based on the current exchange rate with the Japanese Yen). It doesn't really look like a "custom" job, just a Kala knock-off, with what appear to be red (orange?) Pahoehoe or Pahoehoe-like strings? I mean, look at the finish! Couldn't they even bother to buff it? It looks like they weren't done. And how about that big knob?!

I think the only new uke bass for me is a custom, unless Kala does a more interesting-looking solid body, semi-hollow body, or some other quality manufacturer comes on the scene with an interesting offering.

[caeman]

Hasn't the design of the uke been relatively unchanged for decades? The look like minature guitars. There isn't much variation.

[jamesczar]

Originally Posted by caeman

Hasn't the design of the uke been relatively unchanged for decades? The look like minature guitars. There isn't much variation.

Maybe, but the electric bass has many different styles. I don't own two J-Basses - one is enough. If Kala, or whoever, is going to appeal to a diversity of bass players, they need to offer some different styles.

That's why I'm taking the custom route. I've realized I've essentially fallen in love with the strings, the pickup, and the scale. Now I want a design that is unique.

[CaballoViejo]

Originally Posted by jamesczar

Looks like a typical Chinese knock-off. Someone at Kala's Chinese manufacturer sold the plans to another shop and they copied almost every aspect, and then made a few minor modifications to say theirs was different.

But I would be surprised if they had the same quality - especially since all of Kala's (as far as I know) go through their American QA before shipping out. And I wouldn't be surprised if a number of corners were cut in the manufacturing process (bracing, humidity control of the wood, quality of glues, finish details, etc.).

I'm very happy with Kala's price point for the acoustic and SUB models. I'd like to see their Calis under $1k, but I'm not really interested in that body shape anyway - if they came out with a semi-hollow body like RoadToad made, then I'd be willing to pay $1k+ to Kala for an American-made version.

Frankly, I think that the only non-Kala, non-custom, I'd be interested in at this point is the Ortega RLizard-BS UKU Bass:

They're a German manufacturer, and from their photos, it looks like they do all their work in-house. $708USD (based on the current exchange rate with the Euro).

[...]

Another possibility is that the quality of the Chinese product is on a par with that of Kala's offerings, but the latter are overpriced.

I recently acquired one of these beauties:



The Ortega label says "designed in Germany". We all know what that means, don't we? Not that I'm complaining, mind you, as it only cost AU $560, including shipping, whereas the U-Bass was AU $615.



When you compare the two (not just in a photo), you'd swear the Kala was the cheaper.