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Kala Ubass Megathread, Part 1

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#661
Joe Nerve said:
Wow!!!! I'm thrilled, and bummed. Help!??!

Just got the bass about an hour ago. I see it's addictive qualities as I haven't been able to put it down. Really does feel different, wasn't expecting the rubbery feel, and I love it. It's easy and fun to play and was immediately inspiring. I'm surprised that I can play pretty much anything on it, thought the tiny frets would be limiting but they're not.

The bummed part... the D string is not intonated right and it's off enough that it makes a difference. Almost a half step between the 12 fret harmonic and note. This sucks. I'm going away next week and bought this bass NOW specifically for that reason. I could have gotten the bass for less money at sweetwater (I have some credit waiting for me there), but bought it at bass nw so I could have it for the trip.

Is there a way that I can fix the intonation? The saddles look as though they're made to properly intonate it, so I'm hoping there's some hope... otherwise I'd appreciate your thoughts. While $414 isn't a fortune to spend for a bass, it's enough money for me to expect this instrument to be capable of a professional performance. This is noticably off once I get past the 5th fret.

Help?!?
Click to expand...


Hey, I just removed one of the plastic shims underneath the bridge. It helped my intonation greatly. The intonation is as good as any acoustic bass I've ever owned (they are seemingly never perfect). I hope you figure yours out too. Good luck:bassist:
 
#662
Joe Nerve said:
Wow!!!! I'm thrilled, and bummed. Help!??!

Just got the bass about an hour ago. I see it's addictive qualities as I haven't been able to put it down. Really does feel different, wasn't expecting the rubbery feel, and I love it. It's easy and fun to play and was immediately inspiring. I'm surprised that I can play pretty much anything on it, thought the tiny frets would be limiting but they're not.

The bummed part... the D string is not intonated right and it's off enough that it makes a difference. Almost a half step between the 12 fret harmonic and note. This sucks. I'm going away next week and bought this bass NOW specifically for that reason. I could have gotten the bass for less money at sweetwater (I have some credit waiting for me there), but bought it at bass nw so I could have it for the trip.

Is there a way that I can fix the intonation? The saddles look as though they're made to properly intonate it, so I'm hoping there's some hope... otherwise I'd appreciate your thoughts. While $414 isn't a fortune to spend for a bass, it's enough money for me to expect this instrument to be capable of a professional performance. This is noticably off once I get past the 5th fret.

Help?!?
Click to expand...

I had the same problem with mine. Kala claimed it was a faulty string and sent me a new one. I put it on and now the intonation is pretty solid up until the 12th fret.
 
#665
DeanT said:
Despite what Kala says, the string wraps are not that critical. As long as you have 4 or less wraps on the peg head you'll be fine. Don't go crazy and try to get it down to 1 or 2. I have like four on my D string and it's not a problem.
Click to expand...

Before the information about tuners breaking came out and I hadn't seen the video on proper stringing I had my D string with four wraps and it broke the tuner. Beware. If the tuner starts wrapping around the nut instead of the shaft you are in danger of breaking a tuner.

Kala was very nice and sent me a replacement tuner for free, but I was unable to play the bass until the replacement arrived.
 
#666
Update: Spoke with Kala. Experience light years away from my experience with bassnw. They believe the problem is in the strings and are sending me new ones. If that's not the problem they said they'll fix or replace it, and they'll do it directly, I won't have to go through bassnw. He said it's a little complicated and not their policy to do that, but after explaining my dealings with bassnw he assured me they'd take care of anything if needed. The other Joe's post makes me hopeful that the string change will alleviate the problem.

There aren't all that many details I left out on bassnw but if anyone wants to read the rant (which I'll speak no more of here), you can do so here http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f30/bass-northwest-beware-800290/ .

All that aside, I love this thing!!!!! Like others, I found it real hard to put down last night. I'm currently playing in a zep tribute and I had to run through the songs on it. :) It's a blast. Some stuff is more challenging to play, some easier, some just more fun. Thanks for the gas everyone.
 
#668
I've been playing this thing so much that I can't even play my electric right anymore...can I get a number please?

DSCN0034.JPG
 
#672
Can anyone elaborate some more on the sound of the hollowbody kalas when unplugged? Is it loud enough to be heard when playing with other instruments?

Edit: sorry went back and re-read the earlier posts and got my answer but any other comments are welcome!
 
#674
Jimbo said:
Can anyone elaborate some more on the sound of the hollowbody kalas when unplugged? Is it loud enough to be heard when playing with other instruments?

Edit: sorry went back and re-read the earlier posts and got my answer but any other comments are welcome!
Click to expand...

I tried one out a year ago- it actually sounds pretty terrible unplugged IMO. Like a toy. Plugged in it's deep and bassy, and sounds quite nice.
 
#675
Unplugged it does sound a bit toy like, BUT, volume wise it's actually just about as loud as a michael kelly I have sitting next to me with flats on it. Agreed that plugged in however it sounds freakin awesome. :) I have a Roland micro cube I've been playing it through and with the tweakability of that amp I can get it to sound very much like an upright, and also get to soundd pretty high tech and sizzly. I should start makin videos. My hair just never looks good whenever inspiration strikes.

Haven't used it at a gig yet, but think I'll use the Roland as a preamp if I do.
 
#679
I picked up a Fishman BII belt clip preamp today - it works great with the U-Bass! I had been using an Empress ParaEq pedal as a preamp (which works awesome as well), but needed something I could keep 'closer at hand' and be able to walk-on/walk-off stage with quickly. The Fishman works just as expected with more output than could possibly be needed. It's also dead quiet!

The form factor is a little larger than I would like for a belt-clip pack (I'm actually hooking it to my U-Bass strap), but it really sounds amazing and the 10megohm input impedance is particularly well suited to the U-Bass'es high impedance.

Highly recommended!
 
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