How did I know he'd have one?
Jemaine lives right around the corner from me here in Wellington.
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Kala Ubass Megathread, Part 1
- Thread starter cb56
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How did I know he'd have one?
Jemaine lives right around the corner from me here in Wellington.
I use a tie on strap and it works great. I wouldn't bother with a strap button.
Not good news for me. It took me all of one day to break the post of the D tuner by having too many wraps and putting too much stress on the bottom of the post. The good news is that Mike Upton with Kala was very quick to respond to my email (like within 5 minutes) and said he will send a replacement ASAP. Hopefully they do have a post in stock- we'll see. I highly recommend you watch the stringing tutorial for these basses before you attempt to tune it for the first time. Had I done this I probably could have avoided the mistake by paying closer attention to how the strings were wound on the posts. Mike openly admitted this is an "issue" for the D and A string in his email reply but I feel a bit silly for not researching it first. I've never played or seen an Ashbory in person so this isn't like anything else I've ever played or owned.
Otherwise I was totally digging the bass. Great tone and fun to play. Put me on the list!!
Yeah Mike has already proven to be a stand up guy with me. You can't ask for better customer service than talking directly to the president of the company.
Wise words about the video. The link is in post #1 of this thread
Your number is coming right up!
Andy Brown
Commercial User
- Jul 23, 2004
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- Founder/Owner: Wing Instruments
Man... I think I'm going to get sucked into U-Bass nation pretty soon. They look like a lot of fun.
Very similar, but there are differences. The scale length is longer, the strings are made from a different material (not sticky like the ones on Ashborys). It is also available fretted, where the Ashbory is not.
I do a cable Access TV show and twice a month I film at a place callec Banko's Music in Ansonia CT we spotlight various instruments and anecdotal tales of being in music,I visited Joe at the store we usually hook up a few days before filming and figure out the show,He had one of these Kala bass Ukes he just got in,I tried it and fell in love with the darn thing,It did feel a little tiny but I thought I could dig this thing.My wife started bass this year and It seemed like a good choice for her hands especially,and I can get it at dealers cost oooh lucky me
+1.
I just ordered one... and I have no idea even what colour it is as it is the only one apparently in my part of Canada.
I am doing a lot of acoustic stuff lately, and I think this would be a cool instrument to play to confuse the crowd and my 2 guitards.
I'll take a number. Today's my birthday and my wife got me a mahogany U-Bass from Dusty Strings. I've been playing for a little less than an hour. It does take getting used to. The finger noise is obnoxious unless you turn down the treble and the midrange. Fretting and plucking touch are both very different from my Jazz Bass, not to mention the super short scale. However, once it clicks in for you it is great fun. The rapid decay and slightly squirrelly intonation (even with frets) make it sound a lot like an upright bass, but also a little like a bass guitar with string mutes.
I think every bass player who travels will want one in their carry-on luggage.
I think every bass player who travels will want one in their carry-on luggage.
Yup. I took mine with me on a month long trip to Korea and it worked out great. It fits in the overhead easily.
There is some finger noise, but not as much as a regular acoustic bass guitar IMO. Also this depends on how you pluck the strings and where you pluck the strings. I kind of like getting a little "attack" to the notes by playing fingerstyle a bit closer to the bridge. Kind of sounds like the old recordings of an upright bass being doubled by a dano "tick tack" bass.
Try plucking with your thumb towards the soundhole and it sounds much different. Keep in mind this is a unique instrument with a different feel and a different sound.
Try plucking with your thumb towards the soundhole and it sounds much different. Keep in mind this is a unique instrument with a different feel and a different sound.
There can be a little bit of squeak on the strings that can be eliminated with clean technique and EQ. And if you don't fret them solidly you can get an ugly noise. They aren't real forgiving of sloppy technique.
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