Kala UBass Megathread, Part 4

[davewave]

You used a u-bass neck for that?

No, now that GBassNorth broke the ice and admitted these basses are ukuleles, (not to mention that Kala is a ukulele company), I can reveal that it's the neck and bridge of a tenor ukulele that a local luthier grafted onto a wine box I had lying around.

It's a novelty, unlike the serious musical instrument you play that just happens to look like a ukulele.

It's a piccolo bass, because I would never thread-jack a bass forum with ukulele content.

 

[slaerts]

Hey Guys, I was just on the road toad page to buy a 5 string set of Pahoehoe's and there was a notice saying no more strings till October. I can't find any 5 string sets anywhere else. Can anyone help with a set or a retailer who has them?

 

[slaerts]

Hey Guys, I was just on the road toad page to buy a 5 string set of Pahoehoe's and there was a notice saying no more strings till October. I can't find any 5 string sets anywhere else. Can anyone help with a set or a retailer who has them?

Just double checked it and the date is the 7/10/2012 - and remembered the American thing of putting the month and day in a different order. I'll just wait 6 days and e-mail him, unless someone has a quicker option. Panic over.

 

[Feral Feline]

I'm not a fan pointy basses, personally. Any chance of something less...audacious...and more boring, like an LP style? Or maybe rectangular like a bo diddley?

Hey Caeman,

Remember this post, http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/kala-ubass-megathread-part-2-a-840429/index16.html#post12091156, in the Kala mega-thread part II? Ever since then I've been actively looking for a Gretsch Mini Bo to convert to Road Toad / Kala bass specs. Just haven't found a deal on a used one yet, but when I do, out come the toenail clippers to make it a fretless! Well, maybe. Depends on how well it's intonated along the fretboard. It's not a matter of if... it's a matter of when!

G5850, Mini Diddley rectangle

SCALE LENGTH 21.4" (543mm, scale length of Kala solid SUB bodies is 21" – a good match!)

WIDTH AT NUT 1-11/16" (a damnable narrow 43mm, as Ubass is 47mm!)

TOP Laminated Hardwood
BACK AND SIDES Luan Body, 15-1/2" Long, 8" Wide, 1-5/8" Deep
NECK Maple
FRETBOARD Rosewood
NO. OF FRETS 20


And... what could be more audacious than a rectangle that defies traditional instrument shapes with their flowing curvaceousness?

PS: Those new custom solid bodies have some gorgeous wood tops that are now in-grained... into my memory!

 

[davewave]

unless someone has a quicker option.

Why wouldn't going directly to Kala be an option?
Are you prejudiced against ukuleles?

Just kidding, I think it's noble to support Road Toad and the guy who started it all, I bought my first u-bass and extra strings from him directly.

But Kala shows stock right now if you're in a hurry.
Of course there is the small matter of a national holiday that's going to slow down anything your order this week.

http://kala-gear.hostedbyamazon.com...archPage=1&searchRank=salesrank&searchSize=12

 

[slaerts]

Thanks Dave, unfortunately I don't seem to be able to get amazon to post to Australia. Their sign up only allows for usa addresses only. I guess I'll wait for road toad.

 

[GBassNorth]

Here's the link to the Hercules TravLite Stand GS303B that I use for my Ubass hollowbody...
http://www.herculesstands.com/travlite/GS303B.html

Here's the link to the Martin Guitar Leather Strap Button I use for the headstock loop that allows me to connect a normal guitar strap to the Ubass. I turned it inside out so I wouldn't have to look at the Martin logo and it works perfect.
Invalid Link Removed

The pics are in my post above.

 

[GBassNorth]

No, now that GBassNorth broke the ice and admitted these basses are ukuleles, (not to mention that Kala is a ukulele company), I can reveal that it's the neck and bridge of a tenor ukulele that a local luthier grafted onto a wine box I had lying around.

It's a novelty, unlike the serious musical instrument you play that just happens to look like a ukulele.

It's a piccolo bass, because I would never thread-jack a bass forum with ukulele content.

Don't drag my name into that discussion...
Actually, I've always refered to this thing as a bass Uke. It just happens to have the b@lls to hang in there with a DB and an Electric bass. It's the sleeper of the bass world right now, no one expects the sounds this thing is capable of producing.

 

[caeman]

I've always known it was a bass uke. Thus the "U" in U-Bass. Was there ever a mystery? *shrug*

It is a fun little bass and delivers the tone.

 

[davewave]

^^^^

So it's ok for me to call your bass a ukulele, as long as I don't call it a novelty? Got it.

My bass is not a toy. It isn't a novelty. I am making real music and impressing many with its large sound.

Dave, the way you talk, you sound one of those "it's a fender p or its not a bass" crowd.

Hey, brother, I love your passion for this instrument, and I share it.
Anything that's tuned low and playable is a bass to me, I'm no snob.

Like you guys, I love showing these basses off and seeing people's reaction.

....My bass is not a toy..

If you and I differ, it's only in semantics.
All my instruments are toys, I love playing with them, and I love sharing them with the world.

Last weekend I went to a small local music and camping festival and took my "toys" with me to show off.

Ukuleles are kid and people magnets.

I managed to fish in the classically-trained upright bassist for Deadman Flats as well as the mandolin player to give the basses a try.

 

[caeman]

You cannot help but smile while playing one.

 

[davewave]

Am I correct in saying that the Pyramids currently only fit the acoustic U-Bass?

You are correct, sir.

The Pyramid strings are precisely wound so that the only the "speaking" portion of the string goes over the bridge and nut on an acoustic u-bass.
If you put them on a solidbody, the extra length at the tail for thru-body stringing would put the unwrapped portion of the string that's intended to wind around the tuner below the nut.

You might wish to go back and look at the photos in post #18 and #23 of this thread.

If a guy wanted to modify his s-u-b to use Pyramids, a stop tailpiece like this bolted to the top below the existing bridge might work.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]


[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[davewave]

...Paul McCartney's Hofners had frets and NO intonation adjustment.
He did alright.

Paul's Hofner wasn't 21 inch scale.

Some of us care deeply about this stuff - because we're using them for more than novelty instruments around the house. If you play out, you really have to pay attention to the intonation of your instrument.

The point I was trying to make is that it's possible to make a quality fretted short scale bass with fixed intonation if you can get good strings.

I'm sure what Paul did in 1963 was find the best strings he could, and then got on with his music.

He certainly was playing and recording seriously, but in the context of the Beatles overall sound it probably wasn't critical if his intonation was 5 cents off at the twelfth fret.

 

[davewave]

Here are the statistics for the Pyramid strings from the Pyramid 2012 catalog.
Prices in Euros.
[I added inch conversions to metric diameters]

http://www.pyramid-saiten.de/

Bass ukulele, scale 53 cm
Item, Tone, gauge, description, Tension, Price

508 200, Set, Ukulele Bass Guitar, 40.06 €

508 201, G, 1.24 mm [.049 "], 6.5 Kg, 8.31 €
508 202, D, 1.64 mm [.065 "], 6.5 Kg, 8.31 €
508 204, A1, 2.22 mm [.087 "], 7.5 Kg, 8.81 €
508 204, E1, 2.79 mm [.108 "], 8.5 Kg, 9.83 €


Any man here willing to commit some cash to putting together an order for some custom-made flatwounds or nylon tapewounds?

If we could get ten sets spoken for maybe we could persuade Pyramid to tool up and make some.

On a side note, I met a pro double bassist over the weekend who laughed when I told him some guys here thought $60 was expensive for a quality set of strings.
He pays $200 for strings for his bass.

 

[scotch]

Guess which bass sounds way bigger plugged in?

Awww,... you guys already know the answer!

 

[SBassman]

Guess which bass sounds way bigger plugged in?

Awww,... you guys already know the answer!

It's not even a contest. It's a slam dunk - in Da Face of the Epi.

 

[SBassman]

It's not even a contest. It's a slam dunk - in Da Face of the Epi.

And to add insult to injury, the little guy conjures the 10x tone - without making the player feel like he's hugging a small boat.

 

[SBassman]

And to add insult to injury, the little guy conjures the 10x tone - without making the player feel like he's hugging a small boat.

Kala UBass.
More Bass.
Less Space.
In Your Face.

 

[scotch]

And to add insult to injury, the little guy conjures the 10x tone - without making the player feel like he's hugging a small boat.

Its true... Its true....

 

[caeman]

What's wrong with hugging a boat?