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Kala UBass Megathread, Part 3
- Thread starter smperry
- Start date
- Status
I gotta second Tim's assertion here. For a passive instrument, I'd never be without a preamp. Honestly, I use my Fishman preamp with all of my basses now...I love it. Like Tum said, it's not as essential for an active bass...but I swear that it's an investment you will never regret, and excellent for studio work.
- Feb 3, 2005
- 7,331
- 10,197
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Bergantino Audio Systems and GHS Strings
NOLA Bass said:
I have used someone else's bassbone with my ubass. It was a backline rig. It works, and sounds good, but tone shaping is very limited. The Radial PZ-Pre is a ton better IMO. I have mine up for sale in the classifieds here. It has a parametric mid, variable notch filter, a high pass filter, independent phase inverters on your output and the XLR out, and independent defeatable piezo buffers on each input. Those AND all the features the bassbone has. IMO way more flexible and useful for a passive piezo instrument. They market it for acoustic guitar but the features and frequencies are perfect for any acoustic bass. I am only selling it because of redundancy with other various boxes I have.
I've had very good results with my Fishman Pro-EQ Platinum Bass Preamp and equally good results with my Digitech BP90 bass multieffects pedal. The key is to get something in front of your rig amp or preamp to pad the piezo a bit and cut some of the highs out of the signal.
For those with the Fishman Pro Platinum I'd be interested in hearing what your favorite settings are and if you're connected to an amp/cab rig do you just set the amp flat and turn off the tweeter or do you do any further tone shaping with your amp?
My fishman is currently set as follows:
vol 9:00
gain 9:00
compression 8:00
depth 4:00
bass 90%
lowmid 80%
mid 50%
highmid 40%
treb 0%
GK M210 amp set flat, tweeter off
For those with the Fishman Pro Platinum I'd be interested in hearing what your favorite settings are and if you're connected to an amp/cab rig do you just set the amp flat and turn off the tweeter or do you do any further tone shaping with your amp?
My fishman is currently set as follows:
vol 9:00
gain 9:00
compression 8:00
depth 4:00
bass 90%
lowmid 80%
mid 50%
highmid 40%
treb 0%
GK M210 amp set flat, tweeter off
GBassNorth: like i said before i love my Fishman Platinum. i usually set the EQ section to the room a little, but i keep the volume at from 10:00 - 12:00 and the gain at 9:00. the compression settings is probably the same of a little bit more. i'm always tinkering with the depth knob. the eq section depends on the room, but if i'm recording i like to ramp the bass and low-mid's up a bit. mid's are best at 50% with the Ubass. high mid and treble i set to about 30%. i like it dub sounding, and i like to feel the bass bouncing around in my chest.
one thing i'd like to mention to anyone who has never REALLY heard a Ubass live in person through a real rig...it can hold its own onstage. in my experience, it is quite versatile with a good preamp and can really push low tones without getting too muddy. it's got punch, for sure. you can really carve out a rather interesting space in your band's sound with the Ubass. very low lows without stepping all over the drums or creating a wall of bass mush. in some ways, it's a tone that i've been looking for for a long time.
my main small/medium venue amp is a genz-benz shuttle 6.0. i usually set the eq flat with just a bit of input gain and a bit of a bass boost. the drummer loves this little combo because i usually set it in front of us by about 5 feet or so...so it really helps us create a nice little pocket of thumping goodness for ourselves. he's also a bass drum freak (brings his own sub to smaller gigs!) so we get a very interesting modern tone together. kinda' like Gorillaz.
one thing i'd like to mention to anyone who has never REALLY heard a Ubass live in person through a real rig...it can hold its own onstage. in my experience, it is quite versatile with a good preamp and can really push low tones without getting too muddy. it's got punch, for sure. you can really carve out a rather interesting space in your band's sound with the Ubass. very low lows without stepping all over the drums or creating a wall of bass mush. in some ways, it's a tone that i've been looking for for a long time.
my main small/medium venue amp is a genz-benz shuttle 6.0. i usually set the eq flat with just a bit of input gain and a bit of a bass boost. the drummer loves this little combo because i usually set it in front of us by about 5 feet or so...so it really helps us create a nice little pocket of thumping goodness for ourselves. he's also a bass drum freak (brings his own sub to smaller gigs!) so we get a very interesting modern tone together. kinda' like Gorillaz.
Does anybody here use it for Latin Jazz/Salsa music?
I just heard my first soundclips of the Ubass and it seems perfect for that music.
Is the fretted just as punchy and deep as the fretless version?
I just heard my first soundclips of the Ubass and it seems perfect for that music.
Is the fretted just as punchy and deep as the fretless version?
Here's a cool pic of NEEDTOBREATHE bassist Seth Bolt playing a Kala U-Bass for their acoustic set last night, after the electric set. The U-Bass sounded really, really cool. Sorry for the crappy pic!
gimmeagig said:
Watch and learn:
I believe you asked me something like this in the comments of this video. This bass is wonderful for Latin music. And the string to wood sound is a large part of what can easily emulate that baby bass vibe. The fretted one can be punchy and sound good. Many on this board are doing that very well. But it looks as if many are trending towards fretless. I definitely prefer it for everything I play this bass for.
BYW, ThunderGuts are on as of last night. Only the G was flat this afternoon. Initial reaction: the D and G are good. I think they'll stay. The E and A are about half as punchy and playable as my black ones. I may go hybrid, true to my upright upbringing. That will look funky! If I pull it out on my cover band gig tomorrow, I'll try to get video and post it. I'll take video saturday too at my jazz/Motown gig. I have 2 brand new basses I'm dying to play live so I'll be divying it up a lot.
Hey Tim,
Thanks for posting that for me.I had already found one of your vids on youtube. Nice playing. Love the switch to 6/8 in Invitation.
Yes, that stuff is right up my alley.
I think I do prefer the sound of the acoustic model.Warmer, punchier.I have a nice sound system that I play my computer through so I think I can hear the sound accurately.
I wish there was an acoustic Ubass with a cutaway.That would be nice. I saw a German video,Stevens Instruments (I think) and that bass had the cutaway but It didn't sound as good in the clip and I think it's 1000.- bucks.
How hard is it to play the fretless in tune? Is it like violin, where it's really touchy or is it pretty forgiving?
I guess the lines help, I wish I had those on my fretless....
- Sep 9, 2007
- 5,309
- 4,977
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Eventide, GHS Strings, G&L Guitars, NS Design, Tsunami Cables
As another preamp option, I plugged my acoustic U-Bass into the Phat Beam from Daring Audio just to see what that pedal could do. It works really well in this capacity and thickens up the sound very nicely. I'm going to try running this setup for a while (leaving my Morgan Hill Natural-1 acoustic preamp alone) and see how it works.
gimmeagig said:
Many of us here on this board are very surprised glad to find out that the fretless ubass is very forgiving. Yes, the lines help somewhat but the scale makes it easy to play with a natural finger spread. With just a little practice, the natural adaptation is a cinch. Also the warm mwah-less character of the strings do not highlight out of tune notes. Simply roll your finger a little in the right direction and you're back. Please trust me and others on this board. The fretless is a serious monster but surprisingly easy to "get."
So I found my favorite string setup. I know, can't be too far removed from the upright mentality, ever 
Seriously: I like the G, Liked the D a little less. The ThunderGut A sounded like a bronze roundwound but less punchy, and the E sounded like a quiet muted flat with fret buZz on every note, even open, even with a light touch. Plus, the E and A seem like a certain type of material, less dense and rougher than the others. And the D and G are 2 other different types of materials. The G is even lighter in color! But they are both high tension and slippery, which I like. The upper range especially really sings. I put new paehoehoes on the E and A and it brought back the thickness, punch, focus, and silky glide I like.
Now here is an interesting thing I think is worth taking note of: as I played and tuned up these strings I did a re-string of all 4 pictured. Instead of putting the end throught the post then cranking it around before tightening, even though I could have, I pulled it straight, put the end through the post, and tightened it up by the tuner. I noticed every string got more focused and clearer by not being twisted or turned, not even one time. The balance across the 4 is very even now and the fundamentals are focused across the board. That may have been part of my issues with the unfocused sound and hollowness of the other strings.
Now the feel is right. All 4 strings are tight and slippery. The low end and output seem similar IF I PLAY WITH A CONSISTENT TOUCH. Those are the similarities. The differences: the blacks have less highs acoustically. If EQ'd like I usually would, with high mids and highs rolled back, I imagine the tone across the strings will be consistent. The black treble strings were noticeably lower tension than the whites. Basslines, no problem thumping along. But come solo time, without changing settings, playing harder only got me more smacking sounds on the board and not more note volume. The white treble strings have an extremely high threshold in comparison. Playing harder up high gets more volume, more airy, singing-like quality I can use in real life in a solo or a lick. I am very surprised how evenly this setup is working so far. The true test will be Saturday's gig. Go figure, only 2 types of string brand available, an I have a couple of each. Brings me back to my upright mentality in college. When others come out with a Darker D string I'll put that on. Maybe it'll be orange. And when We can get a Spirocore E I'll be all over it
Seriously: I like the G, Liked the D a little less. The ThunderGut A sounded like a bronze roundwound but less punchy, and the E sounded like a quiet muted flat with fret buZz on every note, even open, even with a light touch. Plus, the E and A seem like a certain type of material, less dense and rougher than the others. And the D and G are 2 other different types of materials. The G is even lighter in color! But they are both high tension and slippery, which I like. The upper range especially really sings. I put new paehoehoes on the E and A and it brought back the thickness, punch, focus, and silky glide I like.
Now here is an interesting thing I think is worth taking note of: as I played and tuned up these strings I did a re-string of all 4 pictured. Instead of putting the end throught the post then cranking it around before tightening, even though I could have, I pulled it straight, put the end through the post, and tightened it up by the tuner. I noticed every string got more focused and clearer by not being twisted or turned, not even one time. The balance across the 4 is very even now and the fundamentals are focused across the board. That may have been part of my issues with the unfocused sound and hollowness of the other strings.
Now the feel is right. All 4 strings are tight and slippery. The low end and output seem similar IF I PLAY WITH A CONSISTENT TOUCH. Those are the similarities. The differences: the blacks have less highs acoustically. If EQ'd like I usually would, with high mids and highs rolled back, I imagine the tone across the strings will be consistent. The black treble strings were noticeably lower tension than the whites. Basslines, no problem thumping along. But come solo time, without changing settings, playing harder only got me more smacking sounds on the board and not more note volume. The white treble strings have an extremely high threshold in comparison. Playing harder up high gets more volume, more airy, singing-like quality I can use in real life in a solo or a lick. I am very surprised how evenly this setup is working so far. The true test will be Saturday's gig. Go figure, only 2 types of string brand available, an I have a couple of each. Brings me back to my upright mentality in college. When others come out with a Darker D string I'll put that on. Maybe it'll be orange. And when We can get a Spirocore E I'll be all over it
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