Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Kala UBass Megathread, Part 4
- Thread starter smperry
- Start date
- Status
SBassman said:
There was a problem with the pickup, it would cut in and out and was obviously faulty. Shipped it out to kala, and got it back in about 2 and a half weeks. Good as new.
Also, took out the frets the other night, with pretty much no problem! Been doing setups and electrical repairs on instruments for a while, this was the first major mod I've done. Very proud haha
I've been looking online for veneer to use to fill in the fret slots with, anyone have a recommendation of where to get it? I can find t tons of places, I just don't need an absolute ton of it for this, obviously.
scotch
It's not rocket science!
- Nov 12, 2006
- 6,944
- 2,081
- 51
- Disclosures
- Please see Profile for Endorsement disclosures
Wow, that little upright bass pretty much rocks my world. That thing sounds HUGE! I sure would like to take one for a test drive. But then, New Zealand is a long way from California. And now, back to my U-Bass.
Rocking it rockabilly style would put it pretty much where you hang your u_bass.
If you put a vid up we NEED info about it. Not cool teasing us like that!
Here's the Web site of the QuarterBass builder with some pics and a little info. Yes, those are Pahoehoe strings on the QuarterBass.
Invalid Link Removed
That's better. I enjoyed it so much I just put a bid in on a broken 1/4 size cello in Ebay.
Just finished defretting my SUB! Not a perfect job, but it was my first defret and there weren't any catastrophic failures, still plays fantastic, even neck, and even more fun to play. I know it's a pretty common mod in the bass world, but I'm proud of her.
Attachments
Hi Klaus,
There are several things that you can try. First, if you're having pain then it's a signal to change what you're doing. Try using ice packs on your hand, to reduce swelling and irritation. Either play for shorter periods or change your fingering system, to avoid more pain.
The big question is: Are you having discomfort associated with building up muscles not used before, OR, are you starting an unhealthy playing technique? If your pain does not go away soon then see a doctor, to be sure that you have medical advice. Ask your doctor if he can recommend a good physical therapist, who specializes in hand injuries. It's vital to identify your problem(s) early and act to change their causes. A good physical therapist can teach you exercises to stretch and strengthen your hands and forearms.
Good luck!
Joel
You might not believe it reading what many people here say, but a preamp is NOT needed for many players.
"Armoring" is what we call "shielding".
It means that there must be a continuous grounded (earthed) metal shield (usually braided) around the center signal conductor from the pickup to the amp.
If you think there might be a problem with your bass, you can remove the panel on the back of the bass and inspect the silver cable from the bridge pickup to the end pin output jack.
You can also email Kala, Ryan in technical support is an excellent resource and very helpful.
I have a 1/4 Cello, and now I am tempted to order a new set of pahoehoe's and re-string the cello as a bass. And add a piezo pickup.
Thanks to Joel for his kind posting on my hand pains. I have had these problems with inflamed tendon seats coming about every 10th or 12th year since 1981. Some of these attacks have taken months to calm down.
I am glad to tell, that this time they went over much sooner, and I sense no pain now.
It looks like two factors shall coincide for the problems to come. One is too hard work, the other is an allergic attack.
Normally the allergies give other problems also (nausea, sneezing), but not really so this time. But in retrospect I must admit to a breach of my diet last Thursday.
If only I would keep my diet, but just about anything tasting somewhat interestingly is problematic.
As you will see from my next posting, I have been active on bass related matters tonight.
Klaus
I am glad to tell, that this time they went over much sooner, and I sense no pain now.
It looks like two factors shall coincide for the problems to come. One is too hard work, the other is an allergic attack.
Normally the allergies give other problems also (nausea, sneezing), but not really so this time. But in retrospect I must admit to a breach of my diet last Thursday.
If only I would keep my diet, but just about anything tasting somewhat interestingly is problematic.
As you will see from my next posting, I have been active on bass related matters tonight.
Klaus
30 years ago I built a bass as the final project of a course at our pedagogical university.
I am not sure about the wood, but it has a neck through with two blocks added as the body. The body is as narrow as a Steinberger.
The body&neck came in a very rough square sawed shape with a groove in the neck into which a non-adjustable steel rood had been glued.
Lots of planing and scraping to shape the neck. The top of the body, except at the ends was chiseled away, so that a soundboard could rest on fours screws. A cavity was drilled from the side and from the top to hold a pick-up, magnet and copper wire embedded in silicone but for one end of the magnet, which picked the vibrations from the soundboard.
I will see if I can get some photos tomorrow, but tonight I fetched it in my other home. I knew it had severe fret buzzing from having been loaned to school students.
I have fret files, also a big flat one to get the frets in level, but I wanted to try it and then decide whether to re-fret it. In other words I de-fretted it.
No toe clipper available. I used a very sharp and strong knife. The trick was about finding the looser end of each fret.
After that it actually played, only the jack wiggled in the contact, So I had to take out that assembly. The spring intended to lock into the groove in the tip of the jack had to be adjusted.
Now it plays, only I have to learn playing without frets.
Klaus
I am not sure about the wood, but it has a neck through with two blocks added as the body. The body is as narrow as a Steinberger.
The body&neck came in a very rough square sawed shape with a groove in the neck into which a non-adjustable steel rood had been glued.
Lots of planing and scraping to shape the neck. The top of the body, except at the ends was chiseled away, so that a soundboard could rest on fours screws. A cavity was drilled from the side and from the top to hold a pick-up, magnet and copper wire embedded in silicone but for one end of the magnet, which picked the vibrations from the soundboard.
I will see if I can get some photos tomorrow, but tonight I fetched it in my other home. I knew it had severe fret buzzing from having been loaned to school students.
I have fret files, also a big flat one to get the frets in level, but I wanted to try it and then decide whether to re-fret it. In other words I de-fretted it.
No toe clipper available. I used a very sharp and strong knife. The trick was about finding the looser end of each fret.
After that it actually played, only the jack wiggled in the contact, So I had to take out that assembly. The spring intended to lock into the groove in the tip of the jack had to be adjusted.
Now it plays, only I have to learn playing without frets.
Klaus
Just wanted to say hey! Hope everyone is doing well.
Things have gotten really busy for me in August and September. Lots of gigging, lots of other events/to dos.
I haven't been around for a bit and I need to get caught up on this thread. I'm still back about 4 pages before the end of megathread #3! Logging in today and I find we're up to page 39 of megathread #4! Holy cow! It'll take me at least a week to get caught up to current.
So in the meantime, a quick update. I had that issue with my E string (on my 'hog fretless) being much quieter than my other strings (can't remember if I talked about it and too tired to go look). I wasn't sure if I was hearing things, but after caeman and TimWatson played my UBass a while back and they agreed there was something wrong with my pickup.
I contacted Kala and they offered to send me a pickup when the model pickup I have (old-style) was back in stock (it wasn't at the time I called) or I could send the entire bass back and they'd either modify the bass to hold the new-style pickup or send me back a whole new bass. Well, I've become attached to this little baby, so I sat on the idea and thought about it a while. I played a few more gigs, and the E string part of the pickup got worse, and now the A string part was starting to decrease in volume.
So I got back in touch with Kala and they had the old-style pickup back in stock, and sent one right out to me. I gotta say, I LOVE their customer service! Kudos to Ryan Haugh for great treatment.
Well, I had a few more gigs after that, and I didn't have time to swap it out (with all that would be involved in the restringing, etc.), so I used my Godin A4 for a few shows. I'm kind of glad I did, since my love of the Kala almost had me writing off the Godin for good. But my interest in the A4 has been renewed, and I think I'll definitely be bringing it along to some gigs for a change of pace from the Kala or just for the heck of it.
Finally, things haven't exactly calmed down, but I hope to get the pickup swapped out this weekend, and I'll report back about the results soon.
My take-away:
Cheers!
Things have gotten really busy for me in August and September. Lots of gigging, lots of other events/to dos.
I haven't been around for a bit and I need to get caught up on this thread. I'm still back about 4 pages before the end of megathread #3! Logging in today and I find we're up to page 39 of megathread #4! Holy cow! It'll take me at least a week to get caught up to current.
So in the meantime, a quick update. I had that issue with my E string (on my 'hog fretless) being much quieter than my other strings (can't remember if I talked about it and too tired to go look). I wasn't sure if I was hearing things, but after caeman and TimWatson played my UBass a while back and they agreed there was something wrong with my pickup.
I contacted Kala and they offered to send me a pickup when the model pickup I have (old-style) was back in stock (it wasn't at the time I called) or I could send the entire bass back and they'd either modify the bass to hold the new-style pickup or send me back a whole new bass. Well, I've become attached to this little baby, so I sat on the idea and thought about it a while. I played a few more gigs, and the E string part of the pickup got worse, and now the A string part was starting to decrease in volume.
So I got back in touch with Kala and they had the old-style pickup back in stock, and sent one right out to me. I gotta say, I LOVE their customer service! Kudos to Ryan Haugh for great treatment.
Well, I had a few more gigs after that, and I didn't have time to swap it out (with all that would be involved in the restringing, etc.), so I used my Godin A4 for a few shows. I'm kind of glad I did, since my love of the Kala almost had me writing off the Godin for good. But my interest in the A4 has been renewed, and I think I'll definitely be bringing it along to some gigs for a change of pace from the Kala or just for the heck of it.
Finally, things haven't exactly calmed down, but I hope to get the pickup swapped out this weekend, and I'll report back about the results soon.
My take-away:
Kala & Kala UBass 'hog fretless - great service, and a great little bass that I fell in love with head over heels.
Godin A4 (older type) - Love it with the LaBella black nylon tapewounds. Not as woody and punchy as my Kala, but a real fun bass to play, and perfectly acceptable substitute for the Kala when going for that psuedo-upright sound, especially through the same Fishman Platinum Pro I use with the Kala. Plus I can ditch/bypass the Fishman and get a whole bunch of other sounds out of the Godin.
Me - Too busy. Tired. But having a great time playing in a few different bands with a three of my favorite basses of all time, the Kala, the Godin, and my trusty Warwick $$.
Godin A4 (older type) - Love it with the LaBella black nylon tapewounds. Not as woody and punchy as my Kala, but a real fun bass to play, and perfectly acceptable substitute for the Kala when going for that psuedo-upright sound, especially through the same Fishman Platinum Pro I use with the Kala. Plus I can ditch/bypass the Fishman and get a whole bunch of other sounds out of the Godin.
Me - Too busy. Tired. But having a great time playing in a few different bands with a three of my favorite basses of all time, the Kala, the Godin, and my trusty Warwick $$.
Cheers!
Dave, thanks for your concerning.
Last night i was giging with some friends plugged with another cord (tried anothers) in a Staner Stage Dragon Bx 200 and the "hum" remains.
I plugged a U$90 Bass in this setup and the noise stoped.
I read about shielding (the right word, thanks!) but never in Acoustic instrument.
I don't know how to identify some problem on the Silver cable. I already looked.
I'll try the Kala support.
The D "poing" is solved with a lighter touch, but i'll still restring it.
It appears you have isolated the problem to the u-bass.
The cable from the pickup is very fragile.
It can become damaged changing strings.
The pickup cable plugs in to the end pin jack.
You could try carefully unplugging and reseating it.
Beyond that you might need to replace the pickup.
It comes as an assembly with the cable attached.
You simply remove the strings to replace it.
Sorry you are having problems, these are great little basses.
The support staff at Kala stand behind them 100%, they will help you get it fixed.
I'm just realizing I haven't been seeing stock out there on the newer Acoustic models Kala had announced:
I just saw one of the sunbursts on eBay, and it made me realize that I haven't been seeing much of those out there.
The black acoustic looks great.
I just saw one of the sunbursts on eBay, and it made me realize that I haven't been seeing much of those out there.
The black acoustic looks great.
- Status
