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Kala UBass Megathread, Part 3

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#261
Peredur said:
Tim, I would just like to thank you for the work you have put in to demoing the UBass family on youtube. Hearing them in situ is invaluable. You are doing a real service.

I already have one but fancied a 5 string. The solid ones with a B were not around when I wanted it so I commissioned a uke luthier to build me a semi-acoustic one so I am hoping to retain some of that air moving thud that the original ubass manages. It is taking a bit longer than I hoped it would. I will post pics when it appears.
Click to expand...

Wow - that sounds exciting. Care to tell us who the luthier is?
 
#262
Peredur said:
Tim, I would just like to thank you for the work you have put in to demoing the UBass family on youtube. Hearing them in situ is invaluable. You are doing a real service.

I already have one but fancied a 5 string. The solid ones with a B were not around when I wanted it so I commissioned a uke luthier to build me a semi-acoustic one so I am hoping to retain some of that air moving thud that the original ubass manages. It is taking a bit longer than I hoped it would. I will post pics when it appears.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much. I am so blessed to have an iPod, a few ubasses (down to 2 now-just sold the fretted solid), and regularly occurring gigs with great musicians that let me work this thing out in situ. They are so patient and indulging. By it is paying off. Everyone is commenting that it keeps improving. I played it for 6 months before I even took the first recording. This instrument is almost a chameleon if you work out your approach. I am so glad my little videos are doing what I hoped: giving the world a glimpse of what the U-Bass can be and do in real life, especially for those of us who can seldom get our hands on one before buying.

I can't wait to get a load of your new 5 string. I wanted a solid fretless and for me, the B string is the same as it is on any other bass: great to have, but only used what the music calls for it. So I got a 5. I actually like the longer scale. And it I more compressed sounding, great baby bass sound for my Latin group.
 
#263
Well, I don't waste much time!

Picked up a Fishman Platinum Pro DI. Whoa! I though my little Fishman box sounded good! (It really does, just that the Platinum has so much more control.)

Blown away by the tone, control and flexibility. If there's any little criticism, it's that the DI does pass a little hiss with all the eq controls set neutral. Very little, but I do hear it on studio monitors (not so much through an amp). Can't wait to use this thing in a big room! Having the 5-band eq is really handy & lets me dial in exactly what I want to hear. The compression sounds really good too, but I'll try not to use it too much.

Best $150 I've spent in a long time!

20120409_162316.jpg


(settings I kinda fell into were the same above, but with half that much compression)

Have been a/b'ing it with my $600 Aguilar tube di. Yeah, the Aggie sounds "better" - smoother highs, more pillow-like lows; but no eq on the aggie! The Fishman is definitely holding its' own. Sounds great on electric bass too, even with my pedalboard throwing it 'the business'.

Gonna keep the little Fishman Bii in the case for times I don't have the di with me, or to interface directly to an amp with no di.
 
#265
I did realize while fiddling with this di that I tend to try to make the Aquila strings sound more like the Pahoehoe's. It's do-able, but thought many of you would like to read that 'admission'! :hiding:

The Aquila's still tune and become stable exponentially quicker in my experience. After the re-string the other day, the Aquila equipped Mahogany is 'gig ready', while the spruce with the Pahoehoe's has a while to settle & at least one more "re-stretch and clip".
 
#267
Very cool build, I've seen a handful of luthier-made U-basses out there. One was documented on TDPRI, the other I stumbled upon while looking for anyone who was building U-basses.

I'm thinking of building a 4 or 5 string fretless cigar-box U-bass this summer. Maybe even fanned fretless to facilitate the Owen Holt B string mixed with a set of Thunderguts. I'd definitely use the Ashbory tuners available from largesound.com since they're so cheap and I don't know how well I'd pull off the build.

In other news, still haven't built my volume control cable as my soldering iron crapped the bed.
 
#271
My endorsee makes passive pedals and he is aware of my desire for a Cave pedal to use with my U-Bass, but that is months away from completion. He went out and bought a piezo pickup so he could begin experimenting, because we don't know if it will work.
 
#272
The eq centers on the Fish' are pretty dang perfect for the U-bass!

Don't like the finger noise or "quack", but still want some high-band sheen? Take down the hi-mids.

Want less cab-rattling subs, but plenty of 'normal' thump? Roll back the depth. (I personally cant imagine reducing cab rattling, but...) ;)

A little compression to keep the lows from killing the house desks' crappy input pre? Easy.

Phase switch, triple power option with phantom protection, uneffected (but buffered) parallel out, plenty of output volume and it sounds good!

Win.
 
#273
scotch said:
The eq centers on the Fish' are pretty dang perfect for the U-bass!

Don't like the finger noise or "quack", but still want some high-band sheen? Take down the hi-mids.

Want less cab-rattling subs, but plenty of 'normal' thump? Roll back the depth. (I personally cant imagine reducing cab rattling, but...) ;)

A little compression to keep the lows from killing the house desks' crappy input pre? Easy.

Phase switch, triple power option with phantom protection, uneffected (but buffered) parallel out, plenty of output volume and it sounds good!

Win.
Click to expand...

I think Fishman owes you and endorsement situation. :)
 
#274
SBassman said:
I think Fishman owes you and endorsement situation. :)
Click to expand...

I've already bought half their products! :p Fishman Bii, Platinum Bass DI & I use their Aura DI for acoustic guitar and mandolin! Fishman's just getting free advertisements now...

It's cool, though. There stuff is pretty amazing! That Aura di saved my acoustics 'quacky' piezo tone! Using undersaddle pickups is just too convenient on big stages. Guitar mounted mics sound great until you add drums, loud monitors, etc... The Aura is a great way to get 'fake miced' tone from a saddle transducer!
 
#275
Good news everyone!
I got a SUB sunburst today. Went up to Chuck Levins in Maryland, it was still in the box and brand spankin new. Absolutely in love with it. Stretching/rewinding the strings has been a pain (Literally. The repeated attempts at getting the A to wind correctly tore my finger a bit)
Got it as an early graduation/Bday gift from my parents. So thankful, i'm absolutely loving it. Too bad they don't have SUB fretless models... *Temptation to defret growing*
 
#276
Congrats on the SUB.

> Stretching/rewinding the strings has been a pain (Literally. The repeated attempts at getting the A to wind correctly tore my finger a bit)

Someday maybe you'll try the Thunderguts. No more wrestling with the strings.

> Too bad they don't have SUB fretless models... *Temptation to defret growing*

Nah - don't touch it yet. Play it. Down the road, one would think there will be a SUB fretless.
 
#277
SBassman said:
Congrats on the SUB.

> Stretching/rewinding the strings has been a pain (Literally. The repeated attempts at getting the A to wind correctly tore my finger a bit)

Someday maybe you'll try the Thunderguts. No more wrestling with the strings.

> Too bad they don't have SUB fretless models... *Temptation to defret growing*

Nah - don't touch it yet. Play it. Down the road, one would think there will be a SUB fretless.
Click to expand...

I'm not gonna mess with it, having too much fun to risk a catastrophic failure haha
I'm probably gonna get the thunderguts asap, love their normal uke strings. I saw somewhere they don't work for the solid bodies though, is that true?

Anyone have any advice on some string buzz? it's just on the first fret of the A string, and a lil on the D and E if I pluck even slightly hard. I know the action isn't gonna get too low, but I still don't want it too high haha.
 
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