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Kala UBass Megathread, Part 4

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#861
JEBassman said:
Hi Joe,

Thanks for the heads up about BP's UBass review. I hadn't spotted that yet. How do you like your SUB UBass? I'm very interested in any feedback or suggestions you might have, as I'm considering buying either a SUB or a California solid body.

What lead you to choose the SUB? Are you happy with your purchase?

Thanks for your thoughts,
Joel :)
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Just caught this today, or I would have responded sooner. I never played a california ubass, so I have no clue what it's like in comparison to the sub. I bought my sub after buying an acoustic. I actually like the aoustic a bit more. The sound is a little more defined and punchy, but it's not a huge deal and could have a bit to do with the setup on each. As for my feelings towards the sub - if it were the only ubass I had, I think I'd be blown away. It's deep and rich sounding, and what comes out of it is nothing like I'd expect from seeing it. Can easily be used in any band situation I can think of. Because I already had the hollow bodied bass I wasn't blown away by the novelty of it.

The plusses on the electric for me are that it can be used ina band without any feedback, it has some frets past the 12th, and it has some eq options. It's fun, it's great for travel, but right now I haven't much use for it and it's sitting in it's gigbag. If I were playing a ton of gigs it would get some attention, but i'm down to just a few a month, and one of my bands is a zep tribute. While it would actually sound great on some of those tunes, i'm not too sure how much the audience would appreciate it. Bought a jazz just for this gig.

Bottom line for me is the sub is worth the $400... if I paid the price of the USA one, I think I might feel like I threw away a bit of money. Someone with both basses can probably give you a more informed opinion however. Hope that helped some. :)
 
#862
pauliebass said:
I'm gonna forward my wife's info to you so you can consult her on gift giving. :)
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:D I'm not normally this generous - normally I'm much, much poorer. But since we'll be celebrating his birthday, Christmas, and our 5 year anniversary all in one shot, I figured I'd go all out.


SBassman said:
The Pahoehoes are vastly different than the Thunderguts and the Silver Rumblers.

The Pahoehoes are essentially a rubber. They sound very good, but they stretch and stretch and stretch. And stretch. They don't reach stability for a Long, Long time. The Thunderguts and Silver Rumblers are essentially a variant of a nylon. They offer awesome tone, while reaching stability in days instead of many weeks.

Having said all that:
1. You Rock for buying your boyfriend a UBass. :)
2. If he knows what's good for him, he'll keep you. :)
3. He will have plenty of fun exploring the bass with the stock strings. You might want to leave the string experimentation to him, because it's a very subjective situation.

Please tell us how it all goes.
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I see what you're saying about the subjectivity, and normally I'd leave him to have his fun. The thing is, he's training in the Army and will only be home for a few days, so I thought it'd be a good idea to have strings on it that would already be stretched out and stable, that way he can just pick it up and play. There's a repair guy who we're very good friends with who can set up the bass and keep it in good playing condition until he gets back. Have you tried the Silver Rumblers or the Thunderguts? Is there a significant difference in sound or playability between the two of them? Sorry for all the questions.
 
#863
MsBasicBassist said:
:D I'm not normally this generous - normally I'm much, much poorer. But since we'll be celebrating his birthday, Christmas, and our 5 year anniversary all in one shot, I figured I'd go all out.

I see what you're saying about the subjectivity, and normally I'd leave him to have his fun. The thing is, he's training in the Army and will only be home for a few days, so I thought it'd be a good idea to have strings on it that would already be stretched out and stable, that way he can just pick it up and play. There's a repair guy who we're very good friends with who can set up the bass and keep it in good playing condition until he gets back. Have you tried the Silver Rumblers or the Thunderguts? Is there a significant difference in sound or playability between the two of them? Sorry for all the questions.
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No apologies. We're glad to try to help.

The Silver Rumblers and the Thunderguts are very similar strings, by the same manufacturer. Either equally reach stability far faster than the stock strings. If either are available to you, order the Silver Rumblers. If only the Thunderguts are available, that's great, too. Hope this helps.

Ask the repair guy to read some of this thread if possible. If not, let him know that the SRs and TGs are a form of nylon, and you don't want to be rough with stretching them. Being too rough can actually damage them. You want to put them on, and as far as stretching, you want nature to take it's course. Also, it's wise when tuning up to repeatedly take the string out of the nut slot and then drop it again. That will prevent the string from sticking inside the tight nut slot while bringing it up to pitch. If your repair guy wants to contact me, I'd be glad to dialog with him further about the strings.
 
#865
Is it $34 just to mail it, or the total cost (device + shipping)? If so, I could act as a middle man for ya at a much cheaper cost.

The basic international first class parcel cost is about $12. There is no getting around that. $10 for the sound hole cover, $12 for a padded envelope cost. It should only cost $24 total from Kala to Oz. It is $5 to sent it to Ohio, USA.
 
#866
bassmagics said:
I just posted this @ playubass.com

A new song DEMO and a little string test too!

http://playubass.com/2012/10/21/song-teaser-test-report-jam-afrique-and-string-test-part-3/
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Thanks for the demo. I put Thunderguts on my acoustic the first week I had it. I like the TGs but have to admit to getting a little tired of the stickiness.

Your demo may have pushed me over the edge. The Pahoehoes are definitely fatter and warmer sounding. It's good to hear the string sets one after the other. The only hangup is that I may have to defret my acoustic because of the Pahoehoe pitch issues. The defretting is somewhat inevitable though. Like I said, I think I just moved closer to that inevitability.
 
#869
caeman said:
Is it $34 just to mail it, or the total cost (device + shipping)? If so, I could act as a middle man for ya at a much cheaper cost.

The basic international first class parcel cost is about $12. There is no getting around that. $10 for the sound hole cover, $12 for a padded envelope cost. It should only cost $24 total from Kala to Oz. It is $5 to sent it to Ohio, USA.
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The mailing cost is $34, so $44 all up. Way too much for something I don't really need, which is probably a dumb thing to say considering that I own about 30 ukuleles.

Your kind offer is much appreciated, though!
 
#871
CaballoViejo said:
The mailing cost is $34, so $44 all up. Way too much for something I don't really need, which is probably a dumb thing to say considering that I own about 30 ukuleles.

Your kind offer is much appreciated, though!
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If there were a few of us sharing postage to Oz it might be worth it. I'd be keen. CaballoViejo send me a PM if you'd like and we might take Caeman up on his offer.
 
#872
Has anyone seen these?

Invalid Link Removed

Sound different to the Kala..it may be the strings, which are Pyramids...probably the same ones Kala sells...I am trying to find out.

Curious if the difference in sound is just the strings or if they are a better instrument. They are over twice the price of Kalas!!!
 
#873
slaerts said:
If there were a few of us sharing postage to Oz it might be worth it. I'd be keen. CaballoViejo send me a PM if you'd like and we might take Caeman up on his offer.
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Where are you guys based? I am in Sydney. Room for someone else to share this?

Edit : Dunno what postage is to the US, but I have a friend in Canada. It's only $12 cheaper to send it there, so by the time it gets reposted, cheaper to go direct to Australia.

Plus if I add a feedback stopper in the postage goes up $10. I ship stuff in from the US all the time. Those postage charges are way out of line with the actual cost. $44 postage for a set of strings and a feedback stopper, which combined cost $70 to buy??? It cost less than $60 to ship an entire uBass here!!!!!

I know Kala used to monitor this thread. Hopefully they still do. Guys, you invented the bass uke and I want to support you but right now I have emails out looking for an alternative, because your postage is unreasonable. Feel free to PM me with a better offer :)
 
#875
I've been talking to Mark Milazzo of Kala about the high shipping charge to Oz issue. I don't think he'd mind me quoting him here:

"Our online store is powered by Amazon and they require that we charge shipping based on dollar amount not weight/size. This can make smaller higher priced items very costly to ship. We are working on a solution for this, and should have something in place prior to the holiday season."
 
#877
CaballoViejo said:
Bridge pins: a solution to a non-existent problem.

You can even find the darn things on some ukuleles.
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I always wondered if it was a patent thing.
No doubt that pinless bridges are superior - and preferred by potential buyers. But I have wondered if maybe they owe a licensing fee to somebody for use of a pinless bridge design.

Ovation has been doing bridges like that for a long time. Maybe they have a patent on that?

If there is no additional cost involved, then it really makes no sense why every acoustic instrument doesn't have a pinless bridge.
 
#878
SBassman said:
I always wondered if it was a patent thing.
No doubt that pinless bridges are superior - and preferred by potential buyers. But I have wondered if maybe they owe a licensing fee to somebody for use of a pinless bridge design.

Ovation has been doing bridges like that for a long time. Maybe they have a patent on that?

If there is no additional cost involved, then it really makes no sense why every acoustic instrument doesn't have a pinless bridge.
Click to expand...

Not that I am in love with pins, but why is it such a big deal? Seems pretty low on the scale of reasons to choose one instrument over another imo. What am I missing?
 
#879
CaballoViejo said:
I've been talking to Mark Milazzo of Kala about the high shipping charge to Oz issue. I don't think he'd mind me quoting him here:

"Our online store is powered by Amazon and they require that we charge shipping based on dollar amount not weight/size. This can make smaller higher priced items very costly to ship. We are working on a solution for this, and should have something in place prior to the holiday season."
Click to expand...

Thanks.
 
#880
The solution is to use a middleman here in the USA until Amazon gets their heads out of their...posteriors.

$34 from Kala vs. $12 + 5 from a middleman. Half the cost. And even cheaper if a bunch of you group, as a padded envelope can weight upwards to 2 lbs before the cost exceeds $12.
 
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