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Kala Ubass Megathread, Part 1

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#161
I use MB LM 250 + 102P 8ohm, sound's amazing. Most of my gigs are in clubs, backyards and halls, so it's quiet enough for me. Pretty lots of headroom, heavy lows and decent high end,IMHO. Looking forward to add another 210, so it will give a full 4ohm 250 watts, killer! :bassist:
Happy with the rig..
 
#163
bassfiddlerman said:
eventurn:

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

Watch the string tutorial video here before you do anything else-

If you don't have the D and A string started properly in the tuning machine you may snap the post. Ask me how I know :crying:

I got an email from Kala this morning and they're sending me a replacement out this week so I'll be back in business soon, but don't do what I did. WATCH THE VIDEO!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...



I tried to string mine as described in this video and still need way more wraps to get to pitch. Also after a couple weeks mine still goes out of tune very quickly. Suggestions?
 
#164
I have more wraps than shown in the video as well but haven't had any other problems. The main thing to watch for is not to let the string bind at the bottom of the post. I'm finding it still goes a little flat after a couple of days but not like it was for the first couple of weeks.
 
#165
I just got my U-Bass 2 back from the repair shop where I bought the bass. Kala shipped them a replacement peg, a replacement D string; and they fixed and restrung it for me. When I got it home it was still being a bit sluggish about taking tuning adjustment. I checked the posts and they still had multiple windings from the factory on the E, A and G strings. So I watched the instruction video from Kala a couple of time and went ahead and restrung and tuned it back up from scratch. Worked much better and the tuning machines are far more responsive.
 
#166
I actually run a ukulele club and host several events including a ukulele open mic where this photo was taken:

600_14126315.jpg


Unfortunately the A string tuner broke and I'm waiting on a replacement. Sounds like this has happend to other U-Bass owners.

- Steve
 
#168
I just replaced the tuner, and restrung it (with the same strings of course) following the video posted earlier in this thread. Since I've had the bass since April the strings have had a long time to stretch. As a result, I was able to get them on and up to pitch with far fewer turns around the post than before, and had several inches of extra string hanging on. Except for the E string, which was fine as it was.

For those of you who have had your Ubasses long enough for the strings to have stretched a lot I would highly recommend that you redo the stringing to get rid of the extra turns of string around the posts. It isn't hard and it will keep you from breaking a tuner.
 
#169
RS said:
I tried to string mine as described in this video and still need way more wraps to get to pitch. Also after a couple weeks mine still goes out of tune very quickly. Suggestions?
Click to expand...
Streeeeeech that string and make sure you do the wrap around like he shows in the video for the D string. I watched the video 3 times before I attempted to do this.
I just re did my D string because of too many wraps and now I'm up to pitch with just a bit less than 2 wraps.
Like Mike Upton says in the video. "The strings are made of rubber. Don't be afraid to stretch them. That's what rubber does, it stretches".
 
#170
cb56 said:
Streeeeeech that string and make sure you do the wrap around like he shows in the video for the D string. I watched the video 3 times before I attempted to do this.
I just re did my D string because of too many wraps and now I'm up to pitch with just a bit less than 2 wraps.
Like Mike Upton says in the video. "The strings are made of rubber. Don't be afraid to stretch them. That's what rubber does, it stretches".
Click to expand...

I watched the video several times and made a couple different attempts. The last time I sat on the couch and stretched each string for 5-6 minutes each before installing. I still have 4-5 wraps on each post. So either I am still doing it wrong or ???
 
#172
RS said:
I watched the video several times and made a couple different attempts. The last time I sat on the couch and stretched each string for 5-6 minutes each before installing. I still have 4-5 wraps on each post. So either I am still doing it wrong or ???
Click to expand...
man, I don't know then. 5 minutes of stretching seems uneccesary. It took me 30 to 45 seconds to get mine up and going. Are you keeping the string under tension while you are wrapping it around? That's what I did and it took a bit of effort to keep the string tight and not have the back side of the uke pop up in the air. Had to use my elbo to hold the back (bridge) side down while kept the string tight and wrapped it around the tuning peg. Think of it as a big rubber band you want to stretch to the right pitch and hold it there. really once i got it hooked on the post and wrapped around I was at Db already and didn't have to wind much to get it to D.
 
#173
Well, I just used my Kala on the gig this weekend with the cover band at the Four County Fair in Dunlap, IA, a small but well-paying gig. I surprised everyone with it at sound check and it went over well. The singers loved that such a small instrument could sound so beefy when amplified. Our drummer, who plays with in-ear monitors, complimented how it sounded and how well he could hear it in the mix. Even our music director, who even hates the sound of a child's laughter, gave me a terse "I like it." It was perfect for the oldies, Mo-Town and the R&B stuff. I switched back to my electric 5 string for the hard rock stuff where I needed more sustain and aggression.

I had a similar experience to my previous gig in that the top was very lively under high sound pressure. Still, even though we were playing right at the edge of feedback, it never went over the edge. I also noticed that my place on stage and which direction I was pointed made a difference. It's quite gig-worthy as it is, but I'm going to go ahead and make a sound hole damper for my U-Bass.

I played another gig with my original band on Saturday and this time I played the U-Bass on all but about 5 of our songs over a 3 hour set. The only songs that I really couldn't get by with using it to play were the ones where the I played slap parts for most of the tune. It drew a lot of attention from the other musicians in the room who wanted to know what the *(&^ I was playing.

It's officially part of my arsenal now, so I'll take my club number when it's convenient, please. :)
 
#174
Played the Kala out for the first time this past weekend at a fundraiser. Fairly straight ahead bluegrass band set-up (guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, bass) with me normally playing a '53 Kay through an Acoustic Image Coda w/ a line to the PA for some extra oomph in the mains. The building was a small community center in a fancy neighborhood with open rafters, wood floors and a fairly high ceiling. Not the best venue to get a true gauge on how I'm going to like it for gigs because the bass in general was getting lost in the room. I couldn't get the upright to sound anything except mushy and boomy no matter how I tweaked the EQ. Even with the challenging room though it was still a lot of fun to play. The rest of the band was blown away at the tone and volume I was getting out of it. Plus it's pretty fun to go from playing the biggest instrument on the stage to one of the smallest. It was a somewhat disinterested crowd as we were there for background music more or less but when I took a couple of breaks I noticed some pointing and smiling going on. Of course they could have been pointing and laughing at my solo I guess...
 
#178
If money's no object, then by all means get the $600 model. If $200 is the difference between buying one or not, then get the Spruce top and have fun playing it. :)

I'm pretty happy with my Spruce top. I could swing $400 by tightening my belt for a couple of months, but I did have to get a tuner replaced. The upgraded case, tuners and the overall aesthetic appeal might see me swapping into the mahogany version at some point. What I'm really lusting after, though, is the solid body version they showed at NAMM this year. Having more frets and a slightly longer scale really appeals to me.
 
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