• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Kala Ubass Megathread, Part 1

Status
Not open for further replies.
#681
Was trolling thru a local guitar store yesterday evening looking for unique new or used things that I really don't need (guess thats a classic GAS-oholic tell tale sign) and I stumbled across a new mahogany U-Bass Uke they had just got in earlier in the day. Picked it up and plucked a few notes, wasn't all that impressed with the sound but it was kinda cute and unique so I took it over to the amp section and plugged it into a combo bass amp. OMG, the sound coming outta that thing was awesome! The entire time I was playing with it I was LMAO. After about 10 minutes of playing I look up and there were about 5 people standing around me in complete disbelief that this sound was coming from a tiny little uke. One of them wanted to give it a try and I told him sorry, this one's sold. I picked it up for $329 with case and an extended warrenty. Couldn't be happier.

Got it home, showed it to the wife - who started laughing uncontrollabily about the thought of me playing a uke. So I plugged it into my SVT-VR/Berg NV610 rig and with the volume set on about 25% hit an open E - darn near blew the windows out of the house, her jaw hit the floor - couldn't believe what she just heard. Then she laid down the law - don't ever play that damn thing on that rig again!

So.... lucky me, I get to excercise more GAS and find a suitable small combo amp to play this thru - any suggestions from those that have one of these monsters on what combo amp goes well with this bass and allows moderate volume (say UB level in an acoustic bluegrass coffe shop or small bar type venue) and still retains a very UB type sound.?

BTW - count me in as a new club member.
 
#682
Wow, is this thing ever fun to play! I absolutely love it. Mine has terrible intonation though, especially the D and G strings -- sounds like a common problem with the UBass. I wonder what I should try first. Ask Kala for new strings? I'm skeptical new strings will solve the problem, but it might be worth a shot. I noticed the bridge doesn't sit flat and is tilted away from the neck. Is it hard to adjust?
 
#683
Hothersale said:
Wow, is this thing ever fun to play! I absolutely love it. Mine has terrible intonation though, especially the D and G strings -- sounds like a common problem with the UBass. I wonder what I should try first. Ask Kala for new strings? I'm skeptical new strings will solve the problem, but it might be worth a shot. I noticed the bridge doesn't sit flat and is tilted away from the neck. Is it hard to adjust?
Click to expand...

Take the strings off and restring it. I was skeptical also. More than skeptical. I didn't see how that would solve anything, but it did.
 
#684
Hothersale said:
Wow, is this thing ever fun to play! I absolutely love it. Mine has terrible intonation though, especially the D and G strings -- sounds like a common problem with the UBass. I wonder what I should try first. Ask Kala for new strings? I'm skeptical new strings will solve the problem, but it might be worth a shot. I noticed the bridge doesn't sit flat and is tilted away from the neck. Is it hard to adjust?
Click to expand...

First, try restringing the stock strings as shown in the youtube video, (linked several times in this thread, or just search YouTube for Kala U-Bass Strings)... I did that, am still using the original strings and haven't had a problem since.

-robert
 
#685
The first thing I did when it arrived was restring it per the video (using the original strings). I guess I'll contact Kala and see what they say.

EDIT: Just spent about an hour fooling around with the bridge -- trying to seat it differently, trying it without the shims, etc., but it didn't make any difference.
 
#686
Joe Nerve said:
Take the strings off and restring it. I was skeptical also. More than skeptical. I didn't see how that would solve anything, but it did.
Click to expand...

side anecdote:

I am building a bass with a respected builder/repairman. In the shop this week, he was working on some repairs and had a great old 50's archtop guitar where the d string just wouldn't intonate despite any bridge compensation/adjustment. After fiddling around with the bridge, checking frets, etc.... he just swapped out that string & voila! Fixed.


back on-topic:

I just ordered a few extra sets of strings for my U-Bass. I'm doing about a month of shows with it exclusively & want to be prepared. Plus, I'm finding that the strings do stretch continuously over time and get a little (ever so slightly) narrower. I really can't afford to have a string break on this gig - so I'm gonna start with a fresh set! My U-Bass has the original strings that came with it right now, but I think they might be past their prime. They still sound great, but I'm worried about breakage... I've been playing them every week for about 7 months.
 
#687
Hothersale said:
Wow, is this thing ever fun to play! I absolutely love it. Mine has terrible intonation though, especially the D and G strings -- sounds like a common problem with the UBass. I wonder what I should try first. Ask Kala for new strings? I'm skeptical new strings will solve the problem, but it might be worth a shot. I noticed the bridge doesn't sit flat and is tilted away from the neck. Is it hard to adjust?
Click to expand...

Guess I got lucky, mine's fairly well intonated (at least to the 12th fret). I do experience a lot of tuning though, these strings do seem to stretch a lot but I've only had it for a few days so maybe that will improve over time. In the meantime I'm really enjoying this thing, but really need to find the right amp for it.
 
#694
After playing with my UBass some more, I've decided that mine is probably defective because the intonation is out on ALL the strings. It's less severe on the E and A string, but they are perceptibly flat at the 12th fret too, and my tuner corroborates this. This leads me to believe the bridge is mispositioned and should be closer to the neck. In fact, if I insert something thin under the strings just in front of the bridge (effectively moving the bridge closer to the neck), I can "fix" the intonation, although it compensates a little too much for the E string and makes it slightly sharp at the 12 fret.

So I guess I'm going to have to return it. I suspect they are churning these things out of China as fast as they can make them, and quality is suffering. I really do LOVE the sound and playability, however, so I'm tempted to step up to one of the American-made solid bodies, which I imagine have much better quality control. Anybody have any experience with these?
 
#696
Well I finally broke down and bought a combo amp to go along with the new Kala. Didn't want to spend a lot so looked mostly at used stuff and tried to find something that I could gig and practice with since my SVT-VR/Berg610 rig was massive overkill (and darn near leveled the house the first time I played the U-bass thru it). Ended up with a nice deal on a used Ashdown Mag300 evo II 2x10. Plays nice with the Kala and ran me about $300. A lot of the smaller cabs just didn't do the bass on this thing any justice. I'm guessing the 300watt 2x10 combo should handle just about any smaller venue with no problem especially in an acoustic setting, of course I can always pull out the big guns for the larger stuff.
Week 3 and still lovin my U-bass but I think I'll tweak the A string slot on the nut just a bit, I'm finding the string hangs in it when tuning, may try a little graphite in each slot first. Also might try and restring it since I'm starting to get a lot of wraps around the D and A tuners.
 
#697
I've never played fretless before. Do you think it would be stupid to cut my teeth on a fretless U-Bass? I know the short scale would be challenging, but at the same time, a fretless would let me correct for any intonations problems inherent in the instrument. Thoughts?
 
#698
Hothersale said:
I've never played fretless before. Do you think it would be stupid to cut my teeth on a fretless U-Bass? I know the short scale would be challenging, but at the same time, a fretless would let me correct for any intonations problems inherent in the instrument. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I remember someone (maybe even in this thread) saying that due to the size of this, if you're not already pretty dang proficient at the fretless thing ya might want to get the fretted. I imagine playing in tune would be a bit of a challenge, but then again, people play violins. I wanted to have fun with mine and not have to wrestle it. I considered the fretless until I read what I just spoke of, and then never looked back. Whoever said what they said was pretty convincing about it.
 
#699
Joe Nerve said:
I remember someone (maybe even in this thread) saying that due to the size of this, if you're not already pretty dang proficient at the fretless thing ya might want to get the fretted. I imagine playing in tune would be a bit of a challenge, but then again, people play violins. I wanted to have fun with mine and not have to wrestle it. I considered the fretless until I read what I just spoke of, and then never looked back. Whoever said what they said was pretty convincing about it.
Click to expand...

+1 I did the same thing, have and play fretless 34" basses but didn't want to wrestle with a fretless short scale rubber string acoustic bass uke, besides I stumbled across a fretted one in a local music store that I could try before I buy and not go the mail order route. Bought the full Mahogany fretted U-Bass for about $330 and am really lovin it! Finally got the Ashdown Mag 300 evo II 2x10 combo dialed in as well, completely nails an amped DB.

Has anyone been able to get less than 4 wraps around the post of their "D" string. I'm finding that 5 wraps on that post is about max before riding onto the nut - which obviously should be avoided. I'm at 4 now but would like to get it to 3 so I can have some spare post for continued tuning without worry of riding down to the nut.
 
#700
GBassNorth said:
Has anyone been able to get less than 4 wraps around the post of their "D" string. I'm finding that 5 wraps on that post is about max before riding onto the nut - which obviously should be avoided. I'm at 4 now but would like to get it to 3 so I can have some spare post for continued tuning without worry of riding down to the nut.
Click to expand...

I restretched my D string about 4 times, and I don't have a clue how the guy in that video (on the kala site) does it as simply as he does. I had a major wrestling match with mine, and it was tough for me to get it pulled tight enough so I only got 2 wraps around the post. I never want to have to take that string off again. Ever.

I think the trick is making sure the bass is secure so you can get a really good pull on the string before wrapping it around the post. Legend has it that if you don't restring it you might snap the tuner.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back