Kala UBass Megathread, Part 5 - Page 33

3234718 · #**641** 02-03-2013, 02:02 PM

It probably would, but there's far too many videos showing a bass but not playing it. Pictures can tell me what it looks like.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaballoViejo

What's the big deal? Unless the active electronics have caused some major changes, it's going to sound just like a U-Bass fitted with AHkwila Thunderguts, only stickier.

CaballoViejo · #**642** 02-03-2013, 02:30 PM

SBassman, with "What's the big deal?" I was referring to the sound, which seems fairly obvious, to me at least, duh.

Whether or not the Silver Rumblers are "the best strings for this type of bass" is entirely subjective. I found them to be unacceptably sticky, even more so than the AHkwila TGs.

The Pyramids are by far the best strings I've had on my fretted hog. The SRs were the worst.

Only now, three years after I bought my U-Bass, do I actually enjoy playing the thing, and I really enjoy it!

3234718 · #**643** 02-03-2013, 02:43 PM

I tried with the SR's. I don't understand how anyone can play them. Even with powder or whatever else, they're so sticky. Fretting become annoying, and plucking or thumbing makes a squeaky sound. The tension and near immediate stability was fantastic, but unplayable for me.

CaballoViejo · #**644** 02-03-2013, 03:01 PM

Which strings do you use now?

3234718 · #**645** 02-03-2013, 03:08 PM

Pahoehoehoehoe. Love the feel and tone, I just wish there was more tension.

CaballoViejo · #**646** 02-03-2013, 03:35 PM

I'm with you there. I especially liked the slickness of the Pahoehoehoehoehoes. It was only their intonation that gave me problems, but this was almost certainly exacerbated by the saddle angle. Couldn't change the latter, so had to try other strings.

scotch · #**647** 02-03-2013, 03:46 PM

It seems that perhaps different players physiology/skin makes a difference with the Aquila line of strings. While I agree that they are 'stickier' than Pahoehoe's, I still have no problem playing them.

Different strokes for different folks!

3234718 · #**648** 02-03-2013, 03:50 PM

Stupid fingers. I suppose mine are incompatible with TG's or SR's. I was hoping with the increase of uke bass manufacturers there would be more string options, but it seems they mostly use TG's. I'll keep hoping for 21" scale tapewounds.

3234718 · #**649** 02-04-2013, 05:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SBassman

I think this awesome instrument is hampered by a Ton of online audio improperly recorded, making it sound thin and lifeless.

When I first heard UBass audio, I honestly thought it sounded like ___insert bad word here___. Later, I caught some other audio that showed me what the instrument Really sounds like, and it was instant love.

I don't know about many of you, but my UBass through an amp does Not sound like most of this cruddy audio. Thank God.

Speaking of horrific recording:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chYyFlwr2QA

olitoon · #**650** 02-04-2013, 05:42 AM

too many models

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/UBass2TS/

bassmagics · #**651** 02-04-2013, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChristophMuench

Right. As I already said a while ago, about the only ones on Youtube who let the U-Bass sound good and like a real, serious instrument that not only can be used as a gimmick in amateurish Ukulele-/Country-/Bluegrass-bands are Tim Watson and Magnus Sjöquist. Especially unnerving I find those videos which also spread by Kala where famous pros (!) like Laboriel, Kumalo etc. are jamming and sounding like senseless blather.

But admittedly: If I hadn't painstakingly studied this forum and tried different setups for months I also wouldn't know how to make the U-Bass sound really good. If you just plug it in, even in a very good amp, you have a good chance that you are out of luck (wrong impedance, missing HPF, frequency response that brings out the "quack" too much and so on...).

Just saw your post! Thanks! It sure takes some tweaking and experimenting to find a tone you can be happy with. This forum is really good and gives me/us plenty of input and options to try out. Thanks everyone for your contribution to making us understand the ubass better!

**TimWatson** · #**652** 02-04-2013, 12:06 PM

It boils down to this (for me):

A high impedance input (the F-Deck is my preamp of choice)

Controlling (cutting) the high mids and highs (still figuring that one out, but an active type tone or low pass filter seem to be the ticket for me).

And a filter to control the extreme lows (again, the F-Deck) really helps clean the attacks up and clarify your notes.

Any [sfx] pedal with the "ultra tone" knob on it sweetens the sound a lot.

Easily available stuff, my votes go with either the Fishman Pro-EQ platinum or the L. R. Baggs Para-EQ. Both sound colored, but very good and are full-Featured boxes.

GK and Genz Benz heads are widely available heads that once dialed in can get passable tones.

And for Pete's sake, turn the tweeters off those speakers!

bluebird28 · #**653** 02-04-2013, 12:09 PM

Would it be possible to put the type of strings that the UBass comes with on a normat ABG to get the deeper tone of a UBass on a regular ABG like a Tacoma ThunderChief?

3234718 · #**654** 02-04-2013, 12:11 PM

It would require different tuners and some kind of modification to where you load the strings. I've wanted this ever since I first saw this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0rwH3dWw5I

And then there's the aquila shortbass, but who knows when and where you can get this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfwobF18W8g

**HeavyDuty** · #**655** 02-04-2013, 06:56 PM

Tim, did you find your solidbody required an external high Z preamp, too? I was hoping it would be plug and play.

**TimWatson** · #**656** 02-04-2013, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeavyDuty

Tim, did you find your solidbody required an external high Z preamp, too? I was hoping it would be plug and play.

It did not require it at all, as long as your gear could deal with the high mids and highs well. It just so happens that the high pass filters in the F-Deck, Fishman, and Baggs were still very effective and useful, but the preamp provides the impedance the pickup sees, and no hi-z stuff will make a difference after that, except for the filtering and tone shaping I already mentioned. I left the bass flat, the treble turned all the way down, and put it through something else to filter the sub lows and tweak the top more.

It was plug and play through a GK MB115 combo I had. IMO no other amp has been as plug and play with the Ubass as that one. It would be worth a trip to the local GC to try it out.

The solid is more plug and play than the hollow, IMO.

**HeavyDuty** · #**657** 02-05-2013, 06:40 AM

Thanks, Tim - no new amps in my future, I'll have to plod along with my current rigs!

little george · #**658** 02-05-2013, 08:40 AM

Today I finally tried a Fishman Bass Pro-EQ platinum I borrowed, with my "acoustic-mahogany-defretted-paehoed" ubass. Its really amazing at least. I don´t know if the tone is really colored or not, but I sure love it.

I´m using it without any compression, plain eq, and it sounds really clearer than before. Any Eq curves that other users would like to suggest?

Also I have access to a simple behringer ultragraph equalizer. I´m really new for bass, so, does it make any sense to try it?

Back to have fun with it!

**TimWatson** · #**659** 02-05-2013, 10:04 AM

Fishman came out with the first upright bass pickup. It was (still is) snarly, clicky, nasally, hollow, terrible sounding. Their preamps seem to have baked in circuitry to counteract those horrible tones. They err on the side of warm, woody, and full. So with improved pickups you'll get a nice warm sound. The high impedance input makes the biggest difference, I think. I used to EQ mine like a bass clef sign tipped on its left side.

Marial · #**660** 02-05-2013, 11:47 AM

This is all pretty interesting. I just picked up a Mahogany hollow U Bass from a fellow TBer and it's just as plug-and-play as my friend's spruce-topped one I tried about six months ago. It sounds great, deep, tubby, old-school. This is going through both an old Fender RAD practice amp as well as my older Ashdown ABM 500 Evo II 210 combo. The only issue I experienced was a massive click/thump when activated or deactivated my TC Electronics tuner. I have not tested it to see if it's now doing that with my regular basses or if it's something to do specifically with the U Bass. Regardless, tone-wise my U Bass is exactly what I wanted and pretty much identical to the one I tried out previously.