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Kala UBass Megathread, Part 2

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#43
Well I received my uBass 2 (spruce top, fretted)(from American Musical Supply) and love it. I usually play short (30”) scale basses and did not find the size of this bass that hard to adapt too. I am playing it thru an Ampeg Portabass amp and the tone is great. As everyone says, very much similar to an upright bass. I used the normal passive input (without an outboard pre-amp) and have no trouble getting a nice tone and plenty of volume.

Someone had commented in an earlier posting about concern that quality control might suffer with the great demand. I am a very meticulous person, so some of the things I note may be of little concern to others. I have not seen an earlier production model but I was somewhat disappointed in the QC on this uBass. Right out of the box, The input jack was lose, there were 3 tiny spots of something, orange in color, apparently spilled on the top after the finish had partially dried (and left there). The finish is so thin you can feel the wood grain pretty much every where. The ends of the frets are poorly dressed and are felt when you run your hand up/down the neck. The magnetic cover for string access is not flush and can be dislodged accidentally. I know this is not a $ 1000 instrument but I did expect a little better... I have a Jay Turser jazz box made in China and it is perfect...

For those considering a uBass purchase, here are the stats from mine:
neck width at the nut 1.77”----
neck width at the 12th fret 2.2” ----
neck thickness at 1st fret 1.8” ----
scale 20.375”----
neck meets the body at the 12th fret----
lower bout 10.187”----upper bout 7.687”----
body depth at lower bout 3.125+”----
body depth at upper bout 2.75”----

nominal string diameters (after one re-string/stretching as per KALA video)
E string = .185” ----
A string = .155” ----
D string = .102” ----
G string = .077”.

I checked the intonation with two different tuners and here are my results:
E string at 12th fret = -10 cent
A string at 12th fret = -15 cent
D string at 12th fret = -10 cent
G string at 12th fret = -10 cent

Like most uBasses (I suspect) mine could not be tuned up without following the KALA re-string/stretch video 1st.

I really do like the uBass itself and the sound so, in all likelihood I will end up keeping it because whatever I get as a replacement could be far worse (as far as QC)... Besides American Musical Supply did a price match so I got a pretty good deal.
 
#44
3 fingered bass said:
I really do like the uBass itself and the sound so, in all likelihood I will end up keeping it because whatever I get as a replacement could be far worse (as far as QC)... Besides American Musical Supply did a price match so I got a pretty good deal.
Click to expand...

I think you did very well. I'm not very fussy with cosmetics. Actually when I see something unique and not too much of an eye sore, I Like it because it makes the bass unique.

The finish is applied very, very thin. I like it that way.

The fret ends can be taken care of. I did that just last night.

Enjoy.
 
#46
It has been about a week with the Thunderguts:

- Tone is tighter

- My bass intonates Better

- They are far, far more stable than the stock strings. I can pull my bass out of the gig bag from the previous day, and the bass is still nearly perfectly in tune. Never saw that with the stock strings.

- The strings just Feel way better. Takes this bass from feeling like it has toy strings to having Real strings.

I will still refrain from commenting on Durability because that needs time, but with All Other Aspects, I am really enjoying these strings and prefer them to the stock strings.
 
#48
As I said, I took just the U-Bass to Shabbat service this morning. The sound guy -- aware now -- had me in the mix very well. I got quite a few questions as to exactly WHAT I was playing. Everyone was hearing a bass, but they didn't see a bass. :D I tend to play my electric with the tone knob at 0, so the U-Bass wasn't much a deviation from my usual sound.

It was funny to see the looks on the faces of the people when I let them see it up close.
 
#54
Anyone know if the Thunderguts strings apply greater tension to the neck? Without a truss rod, I wouldn't want any string that has a higher tension than the original equipment.

Also, are they a little harder to depress? Since they are brighter, I would think so.

Also, I read somewhere it is a good idea to occasionally apply a small amount of lemon oil to raw rosewood such as fretboards. I have done this to several guitars with great success. The fretboard wood on my uBass looked so dry and bleached out I tried rubbing a small amount with a cotton cloth.. It soaked it up like a sponge and also improved the appearance... Just be a little careful so as not to get oil anywhere else, you don't need much. ( I did this with the strings out of the tuners) I have always used Kysers Dr. Stringfellow Lem-Oil.
 
#55
3 fingered bass said:
Anyone know if the Thunderguts strings apply greater tension to the neck? Without a truss rod, I wouldn't want any string that has a higher tension than the original equipment.

Also, are they a little harder to depress? Since they are brighter, I would think so.

...
Click to expand...

Yes, they are definitely higher tension. The neck doesn't seem to have budged at all though.

I suppose they might be a tiny bit harder to depress, but they're still really easy to fret.
 
#57
SBassman said:
Let us know how it goes.

When you switch to the Thunderguts, rest assured this re-string game is over - after about 24 to 48 hours.
Click to expand...

I use a capo to help with the re-stringing, so it was a relatively painless process. The G and D strings are now re-strung. Maybe I should clip off some of the extra strings now.
 
#58
...well,... it looks like I might be another Aquila convert! At least, I think they are a great option for the U-Bass & may be a better 'transitional' string for folks that have trouble adapting to the instrument and/or don't find playing the U-Bass very intuitive.

Working up a detailed pic/clips/comparison review for my website. Stay tuned!
 
#59
Teaser clip (Aquila Thundergut on U-Bass > Empress ParaEq with treble cut 10db broadly at 2.5k), no compression or normalization, etc.:

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Note the decent sustain at the end and relatively in-tune octave glissando! Aquila's have their advantages!
 
#60
SBassman said:
I assume many of you have subscribed to Magnus' blog.
If you don't yet, you should.

Here's a great article on
Amplifying Your UBass:

Invalid Link Removed
Click to expand...

I'm currently just running my Ubass directly into an Ashdown Mag300 Evo II 2x12 combo and getting results that sound good to me. What's the advantage of using the Fishman Bass preamp as noted in the Magnus blog vs just using the tone controls on the Ashdown? Is anyone else using the Fishman or similar preamp feed to their amp? Does it really make a difference?
Always willing to experiment and play around but unfortunately I don't have a Fishman laying around, but I do have a Boss mulitfunction bass pedal I could throw in front of the Ashdown.
 
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