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Kala UBass Megathread, Part 3

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#281
Hey all... Longtime lurker/reader, seldom poster, but i thought I'd share some of my U-Bass experiences...

First off, I got my fretless spruce back in late August '11 from BassNW (right after Joe's bad experience)... Gotta say, no complaints, great bass out of the box. I'm glad I took the plunge, because at that time, these were pretty hard to find in stock anywhere. That seems to be remedied somewhat...

In 7 1/2 months of playing/gigging this bass, this is the rig I have used most of the time:

Fishman Pro-Platinum EQ
AI Clarus
1 homebrew 1X12 with a Eminence 2512 (they're just stacked for storage)

kala_native.jpg


The Fishman is a constant in the setup and has been since the beginning. A nice 'grab-n-go' for gigs running straight into the PA... I also put it in front when I'm playing a coffee-house through my little Acoustic B20. With the AI, I run it into the effects return, bypassing the amp's EQ... This is also a great setup for doubling when I want to run another bass into the amp's input. FWIW, the Kala sounds plenty fine straight into the 'High' input on the AI, but I'm completely spoiled by the Fishman...

kala_settings.jpg


As far as the strap, I've used it with a regular strap via a shoestring attached to the peghead... This has worked adequately, but sometimes when I am standing, the body shifts too far to the right and I am constantly adjusting. For some time, I have been wanting to add a button at the heel but was a bit unsure of the positioning. Thanks to Tim for the excellent photos of the button placement, I got it right the first time! Then there was the issue of the button itself... I love the 'organic' feel of the Kala so much that I was pretty hesitant to put a big ol' shiny strap button on there. Was doing a little turning this weekend and knocked out a couple of wood buttons in cherry and maple (the maple one is just sitting there for show)... Now it sits perfectly when standing, and I am very happy :hyper:

kala_buttons.jpg


Doing a number of 'singer/songwriter' gigs this month, and the Kala's getting stage-time on all of 'em... I have a little formula of my own that I use to determine when a piece of gear has 'paid-its-way', and the Kala hit it's mark in mid-February... I'm very happy with this piece of kit!

-robert
 
#283
I feel set as far as preamps and gear but you all are tempting me with that Fishman. I just can't wrap my head around anything with that name on it because of that upright bass pickup. Makes me think of Ron Carter on the '70's. I've spent my career trying to avoid that tone and now I'm in the clear. Can anyone offer an objective comparison between the Fishman and the LR Baggs Para EQ and the VT Deluxe, both of which I have?
 
#284
Tim, I think you have one of the larger sets of preamps compared to the rest of us. Maybe you should get pick one up so you can do a thorough comparo for the purpose of optimizing u-bass sounds.
 
#285
i've tried the VT Deluxe...wasn't for me. haven't tried the LR Braggs. i bought the Fishman because i was new to EUB and Gollihur recommended it to me in an email. i think he was right. it is a swiss-army pedal, and it's only accessory that i'd buy again in an instant. i'm a "flatliner" when it comes to dialing in my sound on an amp. this thing really lets you sweeten the signal before it hits the amp, which i really like for my passive instruments. besides, it's cheap.
 
#286
caeman said:
Tim, I think you have one of the larger sets of preamps compared to the rest of us. Maybe you should get pick one up so you can do a thorough comparo for the purpose of optimizing u-bass sounds.
Click to expand...

Maybe if someone buys my Radial I can foot the bill for the Fishman...

I, too am a flatliner. I like to have a great signal coming into my amp. I adjust my Walter Woods based on the room.
 
#287
I'm gigging tonight with a friend who has the Baggs (which is wonderful with her guitar)... I'll see if she'll let me borrow it for a few days for some comparisions...

And Scotch, thanks for the comment on the buttons... I'm going in for a redesign that uses a flat-backed srew rather than the traditional counter-sunk ones... These are prone to splitting when installing if you're not really careful... How do I know? Well, let's just say that I made more than two :D

-robert
 
#288
Played my first gig last night with the mahogany Ubass. It was a trio gig (acoustic guitar/singer, drums) and for me was primarily upright. Pulled out the U halfway through the second set and had a blast with it!

I need a bit more practice time with it, going from upright to Ubass mid-set kept me on my toes.

My setup for these gigs? iamp 350 into a Low Down Sound 12/6, with the Fishman preamp in front.

Wish I'd thought to get a photo - will next time tho! People get a real kick out of seeing the Ubass sitting next to my (standing) upright.....
 
#290
rllefebv said:
I'm gigging tonight with a friend who has the Baggs (which is wonderful with her guitar)... I'll see if she'll let me borrow it for a few days for some comparisions...

-robert
Click to expand...

my favorite Baggs settings for the Hog:

Gain off to 9:00 - that input is boost only. Zero gain is actually flat.

Bass noon.

Notch 1:30 boost, fraquency knob about 9:00. Seems to give it as little hump in the 100-120hx high bass range, adds to that upright thump.

Mids 9:00-10:00 at about 1.3khz (3:00ish on the frequency knob.

Presence all the way down.

Treble 9:00-12:00

Volume 12:00-2:00. I always adjust that to match the level of straight in the amp without the Pre.

Phase button in or out. I choose based on the sound. Both sounds good and feedback has never been an issue.

I use roughly the same settings for the solid body fretless.
 
#291
TimWatson said:
I feel set as far as preamps and gear but you all are tempting me with that Fishman. I just can't wrap my head around anything with that name on it because of that upright bass pickup. Makes me think of Ron Carter on the '70's. I've spent my career trying to avoid that tone and now I'm in the clear. Can anyone offer an objective comparison between the Fishman and the LR Baggs Para EQ and the VT Deluxe, both of which I have?
Click to expand...

Tim,
Looks like I may be in the minority on this but I bought the Fishman in March based on all the great reviews in this thread and hooked it up to my GK MB210 combo. It did sound great with the Kala hollowbody and got nearly all the struming/plucking noise out of the mix. It did great compression, had an XLR out and phantom power. I picked it up at the Florence Guitar Center which is where I returned it after about 28 days.
I really tried hard to fall in love with it but in the end it just didn't get all the right hand noise out, I didn't have a need for phantom power and my combo amp already has an XLR out. The clencher was that I also own an older VT pedal (like yours) and did an A/B for the better part of the month with the two pedals.
I found that the VT was easily able to get the finger noise out without losing the top end or the DB tone and that I could use the VT for any of my many very different basses vs the Fishman which would really only met (and not completely) my needs for the acoustic bass. To me it was a uni-tasker vs the VT multi-tasker.
In the end it went back to the Florence Guitar Center as a full $175 refund which was applied to a screamin Blackstar 20watt guitar tube amp head, but that's another story. Had the Fishman been under $100 or had I not already had the VT pedal I might have kept the Fishman, it was close but no cigar.
YMMV
PS - give the Florence GC a call they might still have the Fishman and might sell it as open stock (there was nothing wrong with it) and you can always return it within 30 days if it's not to your liking.
 
#292
Just curious, but has anyone with a SUB refinished theres? I wasn't a huge fan of the sunburst, would of preferred black or red but just fell in love and bought her anyway. Would there be any reason it wouldn't be a good idea? I bet there could be some really cool refins. Green burst, candy red, seafoam green.. Heck, one of Marty Bell's sparkly flake finishes would be really cool. Just a thought I figured i'd share.
 
#295
#296
Hey all -- I've joined in on the Kala madness here, with a Mahogany, fretted UBass. Strung with Thunderguts. Love it so far! Sounds great. Surprisingly loud for how little it is (pretty sure it's louder than my 6-string Kinal ABG). Here are a couple videos I put up on youtube, both recorded acoustically. Seems like there are a lot of amped youtube vids, but not so many acoustic ones. I think the UBass sounds great acoustically :bassist:

Kala UBass - Bass Ukelele - YouTube

Kala UBass - Bass Ukulele (vid 2) - YouTube
 
#298
I was able to spend about 15 minutes with the ubass into the Fishman pro-EQ and I like it. The 5-band eq has a touch more utility than the ADI21's 3-band. What keeps it close is the ADI's sweepable mid q.

I wasn't able to play with it long enough to get a sense of the compression and depth knobs. That will have to wait for the weekend.
 
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