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Kala UBass Megathread, Part 4

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#624
SBassman said:
Well, forget this stuff.

It's a good cleaner and lube. But it's now causing all kinds of
string noise.

I hope I can get it off. It's really killing things.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I really blew it. I tried cleaning the strings, but I'm still getting a Ton of string noise. So much that I have to put the SUB down for now because I have a rehearsal tomorrow night that I need to prepare for. Very big bummer. Keep Dr. Stringfellow away from your UBass strings.

I think I may have killed that set of strings. When I have time, if the sound isn't gone, I'm going to have to throw that set out and start over.
 
#626
imperialbari said:
A younger family member...

I tend to find the SUB a bit more robust looking than the acoustic UBass, but do I read the Kala site right in only finding one lefthand model, the acoustic spruce top?

A couple of questions on the SUB also:
Click to expand...

First, the folks at Kala are responsive to email for your European distribution question.

You're correct that acoustic spruce is the only factory lefty.
A lefty SUB is a challenge, but not insurmountable.

I just tried turning mine around- it's awkward and access to the high frets from the "wrong" side isn't good, obviously.
But still five frets better than an acoustic.
As a practical matter, there's little I play that high.
The "reverse body" look could be appealing.

The nut could be turned around or remade by a luthier.
If the saddle is the style that is compensated for string length, it appears to me that the lead on the pickup is long enough to reach from the reversed position.

If you're serious about pursuing this I would be happy to post some photos.

Good luck with your cousin, very exciting to facilitate the passion of young players.
 
#628
SBassman said:
Well, forget this stuff.

It's a good cleaner and lube. But it's now causing all kinds of
string noise.

I hope I can get it off. It's really killing things.
Click to expand...


Ed Friedland about Ronnie Baker in 'The R&B Bass Masters':

'His sound has been described as 'dead, deader, deadest'. Keeping his strings from having any ring to them was an obsession - some people claim he actually marinated his strings in butter to further deaden the sound.'
 
#629
I have no relation to Marleaux at all, but when a question comes up around a link to a German store, where I am a customer, I try to find answers. I happen to speak and read German, which is not common for most members of music forums written in English.

It may be discussed whether an instrument tuned an octave above the contrabass AEDG-tuning is a bass at all. But the UBass predecessor was tuned that way until the arrival of the Pahoehoe strings.

Marleaux call their instrument a piccolo bass intended for soloing. I am not going to by one because of the price, even if I like the possibility of playing high melodies using bass fingerings. And then I don’t consider the octaver option a useable contrabass. The missing low punch leads to a lack of immediacy, a point where I find the well amplified Kala UBass strong.

Klaus
 
#630
imperialbari said:
His dad consults me on diverse acquisition matters, and there the UBass came up, as Mathias has no bass himself. So far he has played right hand basses upside down, a trick he also can pull on guitar, if he hasn’t brought his own.

I tend to find the SUB a bit more robust looking than the acoustic UBass, but do I read the Kala site right in only finding one lefthand model, the acoustic spruce top?
Click to expand...

Hmmm. Dunno about Europe but Kala made eight lefty SUBs for http://www.jerrysleftyguitars.com that he should have in a few days. His prices and shipping are very reasonable. Just picked up a lefty spruce U Bass from him, arriving Tues : ) I would definitely give him a call.
 
#632
spigmu said:
Hmmm. Dunno about Europe but Kala made eight lefty SUBs for http://www.jerrysleftyguitars.com that he should have in a few days. His prices and shipping are very reasonable. Just picked up a lefty spruce U Bass from him, arriving Tues : ) I would definitely give him a call.
Click to expand...

Yes, very good info, spigmu, thanks.

There you go, Klaus.
How much does the child prodigy's daddy love him?
He would have a collector's item, the only one in Europe.

Kala, what a class outfit.
I'd like to know more about the U-Bass "Custom Shop" , they teased us with those exotic wood bodies.

Have yet to see the Silver Rumblers strings show up on their site. :eyebrow:
 
#633
The left hand guitar store was mentioned a bit earlier in this thread. I took a look and was profoundly impressed by the very existence of such specialty store. I wrote the booklet for the 200 years jubilee of a friend’s brass and woodwind store back in 1996, so I have been reasonably close to the industry.

Stocking specialties, especially the high-end ones, gives a store class, but it is insanely costly, as the turn over by definition is lower than with standard goods. Jerry must be in an area with a huge general guitar & bass market. And Kala making a run of leftie SUB’s speaks for his reputation.

But as hinted in a previous posting, dealing across the pond isn’t just piece of cake. Especially if problems come up. I bought an Ovation tenor ukulele from a high profile store in Hawaii. It clearly was marketed at having a solid Koa soundboard, which was a strong point for me. I trusted that store, but some time later I learned from an online discussion, that the soundboard was laminated with mahogany, and that an employee in the store had been aware about that. I would have taken action, if the dealer had been in my country or in the EU, but doing that across big waters is not really possible. Therefor I prefer doing deals within the EU.

My UBass came from the UK. Sadly that specialty bass dealer does not market any of the solid body UBasses.

I happily help family members (and others) finding relevant instruments, but I always refer them to doing the business side directly with the dealerships. With less experienced buyers of musical instruments that works best within their own country.

As a sample of how I deal: I bought the UBass from BassDirect after a phone talk with the owner. I told him that when I bought the UBass from him, I wanted the deal to succeed in the first try, and that I hoped never having to discuss the deal with him afterwards. So please would he check the UBass for flaws before shipping it, so that we both were saved from the hazards of shipping it back and forth. He agreed.

Klaus
 
#635
Any of you U-Bassers have any experience with the Radial PZ-DI? It doesn't seem to be for sale anywhere. Is it new? Discontinued?

pzdi-top-lrg.jpg
 
#636
caeman said:
Any of you U-Bassers have any experience with the Radial PZ-DI? It doesn't seem to be for sale anywhere. Is it new? Discontinued?

pzdi-top-lrg.jpg
Click to expand...

Nope, but THIS has always intrigued me for those doubling on U-Bass and electric bass like myself! Footswitchable, variable level inputs with a common xlr output AND tube technology plus an hpf:

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firefly-panels-lrg.jpg
 
#637
scotch said:
Nope, but THIS has always intrigued me for those doubling on U-Bass and electric bass like myself! Footswitchable, variable level inputs with a common xlr output AND tube technology plus an hpf:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Click to expand...

Darn it Justin! Bought and sold a few dozen preamps, keeping the 1 or 2 that work best and you gotta throw this in the ring! Now I have to have one! Very sexy. 4MegOhms is not common but I hear it is ideal for this type of thing. I have a custom pedal being made across the pond that has a 5 MO input.

Chad, I believe that box is a new piece this year. A stripped down PZ-Pre. Excellent piezo buffer and flat sound. But the frequencies of the filters are more for guitar and not as ideal for bass IIRC.
 
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