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Kala UBass Megathread, Part 4
- Thread starter smperry
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slaerts said:
Nice. I have smelled that piece. And the sawdust from the body wood. It is great to see it forming! At least one body is already heavily chambered. Saw it yesterday.
I'm new to this thread and definitely interested! the question I have is since the acoustic Kala U bass does not have a preamp, how much volume does it have compared to a standard electric bass in the same amp with same settings? would you have to buy a separate preamp, and if so any particular one come to mind that won't break the piggy bank?
I don't have a Ubass yet, but I bet the Fishman Platinum Pro would work great with this. Affordable too.
There are tons of posts in the second and third parts of this thread about the Fishman Plat Pro. Me, TimW, and several others have posted lots of opinions on it. Search those threads for it and you'll get a wealth of info.
It's the only effect / modifier that I use with my UBass, and I love it. It goes great with my Takamine TB-10 and my Godin A4 (both with nylon tapewounds on them) too!
We're almost to megathread part 5. I don't think any bass-specific megathreads/clubs have 5 parts, do they?
Edit: nevermind, the Spector club is up to part 47
Who'd have thought this little bass would inspire so much discussion.
Edit: nevermind, the Spector club is up to part 47
Who'd have thought this little bass would inspire so much discussion.
The passive U-Bass blows away all electrics in output volume. At least mine does. To switch from EB to U-bass means about a 25% level decrease to keep volumes the same.
The Plat Pro is a great Do-all preamp for this little beast. I sold mine in favor of the F-deck and a few other high end custom pieces. Set flat the Fishman has a baked in tone. It is not bad, just not always desirable. I like transparent sometimes.
You have
1. High impedance buffer
2. Phase reverse option
3. Variable high pass filter
4. EQ
5. Compression
6. DI out
For around $100 used. And works very well for a single little box.
The F-Deck is a transparent buffer, high pass filter, and phase. My Aphex Punch Factory is my favorite compressor, and has a great DI. With the ubass I rarely use any compression or DI. That leaves EQ. For this instrument for me that basically means controlling the highs and high mids. I have 2 excellent eq pedals, but The red dragon pedal is a wonderful solution for me in that area and has amazing overdrive sound for more warmth. My custom red dragon that is on its way to me has a mid control switch too. I am also working on a tone circuit that will match the output of the F-Deck.
Each one of these parts IMO function and sound better than that part of the Fishman. But at 10 times the cost and hassle. I am a tone nazi.
The Plat Pro is a great Do-all preamp for this little beast. I sold mine in favor of the F-deck and a few other high end custom pieces. Set flat the Fishman has a baked in tone. It is not bad, just not always desirable. I like transparent sometimes.
You have
1. High impedance buffer
2. Phase reverse option
3. Variable high pass filter
4. EQ
5. Compression
6. DI out
For around $100 used. And works very well for a single little box.
The F-Deck is a transparent buffer, high pass filter, and phase. My Aphex Punch Factory is my favorite compressor, and has a great DI. With the ubass I rarely use any compression or DI. That leaves EQ. For this instrument for me that basically means controlling the highs and high mids. I have 2 excellent eq pedals, but The red dragon pedal is a wonderful solution for me in that area and has amazing overdrive sound for more warmth. My custom red dragon that is on its way to me has a mid control switch too. I am also working on a tone circuit that will match the output of the F-Deck.
Each one of these parts IMO function and sound better than that part of the Fishman. But at 10 times the cost and hassle. I am a tone nazi.
scotch
It's not rocket science!
- Nov 12, 2006
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Yup. The Fish-Plat-Pro is my favorite interface with the U-Bass! I've tried a lot of other things/combinations, but the eq centers of the Plat Pro just seem to be perfect for this instrument! The hi-mids are perfect for reducing piezo-squawk and the sub bass can be tailored perfectly for the room. Throw in a great sounding di (that works on phantom, battery or adapter) and a rudimentary comp & it's a great all-in-one solution!
Do you have a link? Didn't know they are avaliable.
I use the fishman plat bass di too, sounds lovely. Has lots of great options. Not quite as transparent as the lr baggs pre-di, but not far off. I like it because I often just play through pa only and have no soundman. Being able to tweak where I am is very handy.
1stnamebassist said:
Hi!
I can see that you already got some good answers but I'll add just another pre-amp you could check out.
I did a comparison between an old Fishman (Model-B) and a Sheer Audio Headway EDB-1 in a post
a while back on my little UBass blog. It might be an interesting read. Good luck finding what's best for you!
http://playubass.com/2011/12/04/tips-and-tricks-amplifying-your-ubass/
http://playubass.com/2012/02/01/pre-amp-shoot-out/
These are really good preamps, of course.
I had both.
But for getting a "natural" and even sound which is fat and transparent at the same time WITHOUT even having to fiddle with EQ, compression etc. in many situations, the Fdeck HPF-Pre wins FLAT OUT. Really.
The problem with the U-Bass is that the E string pumps out VERY fat low tones which can lead to muddiness or simply overloading of a smaller amp. And the notes on the G string are thin in comparison, so it sounds uneven (you can hear that on many of the YouTube videos). The Fdeck is up to now the ONLY device I could test that is able to even these differences out while retaining fatness, "naturalness" and richness of sound.
There is no need to pay 2-3 times more money for preamps which (for this particular instrument) do a worse job.
I had both.
But for getting a "natural" and even sound which is fat and transparent at the same time WITHOUT even having to fiddle with EQ, compression etc. in many situations, the Fdeck HPF-Pre wins FLAT OUT. Really.
The problem with the U-Bass is that the E string pumps out VERY fat low tones which can lead to muddiness or simply overloading of a smaller amp. And the notes on the G string are thin in comparison, so it sounds uneven (you can hear that on many of the YouTube videos). The Fdeck is up to now the ONLY device I could test that is able to even these differences out while retaining fatness, "naturalness" and richness of sound.
There is no need to pay 2-3 times more money for preamps which (for this particular instrument) do a worse job.
Check this out! I have the double electric bass case I love it!
http://www.monocase.com/mono-ukulele.asp
Wonder if the Ubass will fit...
http://www.monocase.com/mono-ukulele.asp
Wonder if the Ubass will fit...
I've heard good things about the Mono Cases, but I just don't like soft or semi-hard cases. I want something that I don't have to worry about if someone else is loading the van.
After a week of using the new Kala tweed hard case, I have to say I LOVE IT! It looks great, I get a ton of compliments on it, it has all the room I need, and I feel confident in the protection it offers.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41+S1wohyoL._SS270_.jpg
It's not a Pelican case, but it's way more than a step up from the Kala softcase.
So, I met Scott Grove at the Cincinnati 2012 GTG 2 last week. After seeing his Link Removed:
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and talking to him about the kinds of stuff he can do, as well as chatting about the uke bass he's working on for TimW, the Link Removed):
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I decided that he was the guy to work with on my custom Uke Bass.
I primarily play the uke bass in a old timey / bluegrass / Americana group, so I thought his old crate top idea was perfect.
So, I'm working on the drawings now for the body shape, and we'll be getting together to discuss the build after I'm back from the band's NYC trip.
We'll probably spend the rest of this year ironing out the details, and then start the build after the first of the year.
Basically, this is what I'm thinking:
That's all I have for now, until I visit with Scott at his shop.
I'm open to thoughts, ideas, suggestions...
In the mean time, check out some of Scotts other builds:
Link Removed
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and talking to him about the kinds of stuff he can do, as well as chatting about the uke bass he's working on for TimW, the Link Removed):
Link Removed
I decided that he was the guy to work with on my custom Uke Bass.
I primarily play the uke bass in a old timey / bluegrass / Americana group, so I thought his old crate top idea was perfect.
So, I'm working on the drawings now for the body shape, and we'll be getting together to discuss the build after I'm back from the band's NYC trip.
We'll probably spend the rest of this year ironing out the details, and then start the build after the first of the year.
Basically, this is what I'm thinking:
- Same scale as my 'hog fretless.
- Using the same Pahohoe strings that come on the UBass. (I really like their sound, despite the stretching issues.)
- Semi-hollowbody (thinner body depth, but still with chambers for resonance.)
- Shadow pickup, like the Kala UBasses? Other options?
- Built-in pre-amp. Perhaps a HPF-Pre, like TimW is doing on his build. I need to hear how his sounds once it's done. Would the Nano-Flex EQ that Kala puts in their other ukes work? Or would the frequencies be wrong? Other ideas?
- A vintage crate top, probably a whiskey crate. I'm also looking into creating my own whiskey/moonshine "label" for a fictitious brand that I'll have screened onto crate boards and distress them before integrating them into the build. My buddies at the silkscreen company love the idea.
- I'm debating on a more open interior design with a standard sound hole, like an acoustic UBass, or classic F-Holes. It will depend on how the crate top lays out.
- I'm also considering setting it up as a B-E-A-D tuning or doing a five-string.
That's all I have for now, until I visit with Scott at his shop.
I'm open to thoughts, ideas, suggestions...
In the mean time, check out some of Scotts other builds:
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I know others here have used this with mixed results, but let me throw in some love for - the Behringer ADI21. I really like what it does, and at less than 40 bucks, it's a steal.
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