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Gold Tone MicroBass Talk

Did you by any chance measure the actual length of each string in the package?

I didn't. I'm inpatient. But the standard set definitely wouldn't fit. I ended up needing the extra length to tie the knot, and I had to string them around the post rather than in the post hole like the thunderguts.

Also worth noting, two days from Cali to NY, with free shipping.

The d is 28 and 3/8" and the g is 25 and 1/8", if that helps.
 
Keep us posted.

I just couldn't deal with those Hoehoes, but, there are certainly plenty of people who did.

I think I said over in the Kala thread that if the Hoehoes were the only string game in town, I never would have bonded with a UBass. My experience with those strings was bad. And actually bloody.

I'm going to have to do more experimenting with lubes.
I did very briefly while I had a SUB pass through my hands, and I hated the results, but in retrospect, I just plain didn't like the SUB pickup. Gonna have to try some lubed TGuts on the Micro Bass.
 
I think that instrument had/has significant potential. But companies have to do more than fling instruments onto the market...

...bring an instrument to market and provide no ability for string replacement.

That's my biggest fear with new, non-standard instruments.

I decided I wanted a Kamoa 20" scale piccolo uke bass with the flatwound stainless steel strings.
When I e-mailed Mim's Ukes she gave me a 30 day return guarantee on the bass, so far so good.
But I wouldn't buy until she got me three spare sets of the proprietary strings. I had talked to a guy at Kamoa asking if I could get some from him, but he dropped the ball.
She got the Hawaiians to drop ship the strings to me and the deal was done.

*********

I appreciate that Frank started this thread separate from the U-Bass one.
Personally, I'm more of a uke player than bassist now, so I'm sticking with 20" scale.

I still have plenty of full scale basses, and my beloved little Mexican P-Bass Jr. 28.5" scale, which takes a world of available strings, thankfully.
My monster Michael Kelley 5-string fretless Dragonfly is mostly a wall hanger these days, just for the shock value of how gigantic it looks when you hang a soprano ukulele next to it.

I like the cutaway and offset body on the GT acoustic, and that solidbody looks gorgeous.
It's great that Pahoehoes will work on them as an alternative to the TGs.
Give Owen Holt credit for developing those strings even if you think the u-bass is just a glorified ukulele.

I'll follow you boys' adventures with great interest.
Carry on.
 
I too am glad that your liking your micro bass and am also glad to hear you put the Paehoehoes on with no issues. Does it sound pretty much like a U-bass with the new strings? I’m betting the tension on the strings when you get to the final stretch will be a bit tighter than the u-bass. At least I hope so. Still trying to wait on the solid body. I guess its time to give Goldtone a call.
 
OK, I just called Goldtone and here is the latest on the solid body. Maybe later this coming year, but maybe not until the following year. Bummer. They had issues with the pickup and also the sound they were getting didn't please them. At least they are taking their time and getting the bugs out before bringing it to market. Says a lot about the companies integrity. I also mentioned that a lot of people have problems with the Thunderguts. I explained the squeaking and stickiness that many people seem to be cursed with even when using powder and such. I said maybe you could consider the option of another string at some point.
 
The pahoehoe e and a are all low end. Deep and warm and dish rattling. On my home rig the difference btw the hoehoe e and a and thundergut d and g is very noticeable. Sounds like two different basses. I'm probably gonna end up changing the d and g too.

Oh, and the tension is indeed higher than I remember from the ubass. The micro with four broken in pahoehoe's is gonna amazing.
 
Oh, and the tension is indeed higher than I remember from the ubass. The micro with four broken in pahoehoe's is gonna amazing.

The higher tension with the Pahoes is good news. Those strings are looser to start with, so on the U-Bass action has to be high. It would be really nice to bring the action down on the GT Micro with the Pahoehoes.

Hate to ask, but how's the intonation with the Pahohoes as you move up the neck to the higher notes? I suppose it's too much to hope for good intonation just because they're on a longer scale bass.

I sure appreciate all the posts about the GT Micro from you folks who own one. It's getting closer to an ideal little acoustic bass. Like Frank, I'm not sure we're there yet, but I sure like the where it's going.
 
My only tuner is a snark clip on so it's not 100% accurate, but intonation is near spot with the hoehoes. A slight improvement over the thunderguts.

Wow, that's amazing. I'm happy with the Thunderguts and Pahoehoes, so that gives me options.....except for tapewound, which seems like a no brainer, doesn't it? But then I guess we've beaten that poor horse to death.
 
I have been playing with my Gold Tone Fretless and noticed that on the upper side of the neck the fret lines stuck out just the slightest little bit. Then I noticed that the fret line on the fifth fret line it was loose. I laid down some masking tape lightly just in case. I took a common pin and some super glue and dripped a couple of drops down the common pin into the void, then I clamped it for a few minutes. Took the clamp off and scraped the excess out from around the edge of the fret line. Now I need to hit all of the fret lines with a little sand paper to clean them up and its all good.
 
In addition to the synthetic strings, there are multiple metal string explorations in progress right now. No promises until the soup is done, but it's very possible there will be metal string offerings sized to the MicroBass in the not so distant future.

do we talk about real metal strings (that work with a magnetic pickup)? IIRC the pyramids are metal wrapped nylon strings, which are more like the strings for a classic guitar.
 
I stopped in the store where we ordered 2 GT Micro Basses, 1 fretted and 1 fretless, the fretted came in with a split in the fingerboard from the 2nd fret to about the 10th fret. The crack is about 1/16th to 2/16th of an inch right down the middle of the fingerboard. It will be sent back tomorrow. Mine the fretless had a lifted fretline which I super glued and clamped, its all good. Yes they are flat fingerboards I looked at the fretted today.
 
Disclosure Time:

Some of you who are familiar with me here know how passionate I have been about micro scale instruments. I have participated significantly in several short scale instrument threads, and I just plain love these instruments.

Life is short, and my passion bubbled over to the point where I just Had to get involved more. So, I have started an online business to sell and support a small number of carefully selected micro scale instruments.

The first is the Gold Tone Micro Bass. This is a great, super fun instrument.
However, I will not sell that exclusively. Over time, I am researching various instruments, and I will select a small number of different ones to offer. Instruments that I believe in. I'm also working, believe it or not, on bringing my own vision of all of this to market in 2014.

I have updated my sig and disclosure area to reflect all of this.
I am now an authorized Gold Tone dealer.

Happy micro bassing.