Hey, nothing much to update, which is good concerning the Aquila strings. I feel pretty confident in recommending them now. I agree they are making the effort to correct the problems with the first batch. I'm enjoying playing them a lot.
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Kala Ubass Megathread, Part 1
- Thread starter cb56
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Tony at Sweetwater was very happy to match MF's discount. w00t! I will be placing my order the spruce fretless model tomorrow.
Everything is fine with the strings.
The stock strings are fine, although I have felt the bass can be even Better if they could make the G thicker. Anyway Aquila has
an alternative set. People here have tested them. It seems that the initial batch was not quite right, so things got off to a less than perfect start. But the company has endeavored to work out the kinks and they are a legit alternative. Plus, the G is thicker, and I'm told that overall, the set feels and sounds more balanced.
I'll post my experiences when I get them in hand - next few days or so.
The stock strings are fine, although I have felt the bass can be even Better if they could make the G thicker. Anyway Aquila has
an alternative set. People here have tested them. It seems that the initial batch was not quite right, so things got off to a less than perfect start. But the company has endeavored to work out the kinks and they are a legit alternative. Plus, the G is thicker, and I'm told that overall, the set feels and sounds more balanced.
I'll post my experiences when I get them in hand - next few days or so.
Can I get a number? Got mine for Christmas. Mahogany fretted model, thanks to my wife and son, and I am loving it!
I've been playing it nearly nonstop for the last 20 minutes through a Barber Linden EQ pedal into my mixer board. This is a fun little bass and I love upright-like sound. Acoustic basses just have such a nice sound to them, being an upright or an acoustic bass guitar.
Glad you like yours too. It's funny how there's pretty much a consensus of people getting 'addicted' to these basses. They're a blast.
First of all, before I answer that question:
One thing I learned about this bass is to let *It* tell you when it's out of tune, not the tuner. In other words, if you watch the tuner too much, you May freak out.
My litmus for this bass is: can it go a full set without grossly changing? The answer is - absolutely yes.
Is this going to be the kind of bass, like a very stable steel string, where you could pick it up a few days after tuning and it's still perfectly in tune? Nah. But, it will last a Set fine. [for me, defined as - 90 minutes or so.]
Now, your question: rather than a *few* days, I think it's more realistic to be talking about 1 to 2 weeks - and then you'll see much more stability.
The other good news is - there is a string alternative, and we collectively need to research it much more. I'll be receiving the strings soon, and I will be offering up detailed reviews.
One thing I learned about this bass is to let *It* tell you when it's out of tune, not the tuner. In other words, if you watch the tuner too much, you May freak out.
My litmus for this bass is: can it go a full set without grossly changing? The answer is - absolutely yes.
Is this going to be the kind of bass, like a very stable steel string, where you could pick it up a few days after tuning and it's still perfectly in tune? Nah. But, it will last a Set fine. [for me, defined as - 90 minutes or so.]
Now, your question: rather than a *few* days, I think it's more realistic to be talking about 1 to 2 weeks - and then you'll see much more stability.
The other good news is - there is a string alternative, and we collectively need to research it much more. I'll be receiving the strings soon, and I will be offering up detailed reviews.
Well, I tuned it up after the instrument warmed up to room temp, and it was a whole step off. So, I'm not looking TOO closely at the tuner, but, suddenly I was playing Drop D.
Still - it's just out of the box. Give it a few rounds of stretching and retuning. Then play the crap out of it for a week, and the Drop D will stop.
Bottom line. It's not your bass. It's not the strings. These suckers need to be broken in like a great pair of jeans. But it's worth the energy. Trust us.
I had the desire to play an upright - until I actually tried one.
I gotta over that pretty quickly.
I gotta over that pretty quickly.
scotch
It's not rocket science!
- Nov 12, 2006
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It does take the strings closer to 1 to 2 weeks to stabilize. Once they do, they stay in tune quite well! I just got done with two different tours where I used my U-Bass for 5 to 6 songs without tuning between songs. One of those tours was in Canada as well - crazy temperature extremes!
Expect to have to re-install/shorten the strings in a week or two (to prevent too many windings on the post, see previous posts...). Once broken in, you can expect months of life without major retuning or restringing.
Expect to have to re-install/shorten the strings in a week or two (to prevent too many windings on the post, see previous posts...). Once broken in, you can expect months of life without major retuning or restringing.
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