Another fretless vote from me! One other thought about advantages, the Ubass is so light that I recently had to go wireless because with the Ubass the cable weight and drag on the floor became unbearably irritating and burdensome....
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Kala UBass Megathread, Part 4
- Thread starter smperry
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I have been content to tie around the headstock with the mandolin strap that I bought. I hold my bass up high and tight, so it has worked out well for me.
Etoncrow's wireless statement has made me think...
The ultimate micro rig!
A couple of Ubasses in a double gigbag, a mahogany fretless and a solidbody 5er fretless...
Arnopol Crazy88 Stack
EA Micro or Doubler
Pedaltrain Nano loaded w/ 1590a and other micro pedals...
Triton and other goodies from MythFX
a bunch of SFX naturally
Bootiki stuff
Polytune micro
Chi Wah Wah
compact wireless of your choosing
You could swap out 1590a pedals to suit each situation...
The ultimate in portable one trip load in...
What else?
Maybe a replica of Stonehenge surrounding the Nano?
The ultimate micro rig!
A couple of Ubasses in a double gigbag, a mahogany fretless and a solidbody 5er fretless...
Arnopol Crazy88 Stack
EA Micro or Doubler
Pedaltrain Nano loaded w/ 1590a and other micro pedals...
Triton and other goodies from MythFX
a bunch of SFX naturally
Bootiki stuff
Polytune micro
Chi Wah Wah
compact wireless of your choosing
You could swap out 1590a pedals to suit each situation...
The ultimate in portable one trip load in...
What else?
Maybe a replica of Stonehenge surrounding the Nano?
Here you go: EA Wizzy 10 with EA Micro 550 / Ubass fretless Hog / Line 6 G30 / PT Mini w/VT Dlx, Sonic Turbo tuner and Empress Parametric
Dougness,
For what it seems like you are after, maybe a SUB or Cali solid body U-bass is the ticket. It has 24 frets. I also agree that a fretted one would probably be most appropriate for trying non-stock strings.
I am waiting for a flatwound nylon or metal string with a flexible core to get even closer to the upright thing ;-)
For what it seems like you are after, maybe a SUB or Cali solid body U-bass is the ticket. It has 24 frets. I also agree that a fretted one would probably be most appropriate for trying non-stock strings.
I am waiting for a flatwound nylon or metal string with a flexible core to get even closer to the upright thing ;-)
On Saturday, I will play the whole gig with my fretless UBass - for a contemporary blues rock band I recently joined.
Of course, being the mental case that I am, enjoyment is reduced by the fact that I worry about not carrying a spare bass.
I Will be carrying a spare in the form of my steel string, but so much practice time was on the UBass with this material that it will be a bad day if I have to switch in the middle of the gig.
Of course, being the mental case that I am, enjoyment is reduced by the fact that I worry about not carrying a spare bass.
I Will be carrying a spare in the form of my steel string, but so much practice time was on the UBass with this material that it will be a bad day if I have to switch in the middle of the gig.
Yeah, Tim, I've thought about the the solid body, but I prefer acoustic tone and the ability to practice without plugging in. I admit that I tend to want one instrument to do everything, which is unreasonable and rarely works out anyway.
Seems like the best plan is to get a fretless acoustic to start. I'm sure Kala will address the intonation issues with the fretted basses sooner or later. I can pick up a fretted acoustic or solid body when that happens.
After trying it both ways, I prefer a strap button on the neck heel. Depends on your playing position and how you like the strap to come across your shoulder.
On the big fat phone jack strap button at the base, I use a lace tied in a loop rather than stretch or enlarge the strap hole
^^^
Wow, nice clip.
From what I can see of the grain and how it reflects light, I'm guessing acacia.
Note that he ties his strap to the headstock.
Wow, nice clip.
From what I can see of the grain and how it reflects light, I'm guessing acacia.
Note that he ties his strap to the headstock.
It's beautiful. I wish Kala would put up youtube videos demonstrating tone across their product lines. I doubt there's much of a difference between the acoustics but it would be interesting.
I just got off the phone with Kala. I was asking about intonation issues with the fretted basses.
The problem appears to be with the polyurethane strings rather than the bridge or frets. He said that the polyurethane strings tend to have inconsistencies. Basically, the nature of the material doesn't allow for reproduction to exact specs. That explains why a string that got a slight twist during installation could cause significant problems, and why Kala sends out single replacement strings to customers with a tuning or intonation issue.
It also explains why davewave said his fretted U-Bass with the Pyramid strings is only off by 5 cent at the worst. The wound Pyramids should be much more consistent than the polyurethane Pahoehoes. And I'm wondering how much of the 5 cents has to do with the high action setup for the Pahoehoes since the strings are farther away from the frets on the higher notes, which means a bigger stretch to fret the string.
Now I see why the folks who want the double bass tone of the Pahoehoe strings are sold on the fretless U-Bass.
The problem appears to be with the polyurethane strings rather than the bridge or frets. He said that the polyurethane strings tend to have inconsistencies. Basically, the nature of the material doesn't allow for reproduction to exact specs. That explains why a string that got a slight twist during installation could cause significant problems, and why Kala sends out single replacement strings to customers with a tuning or intonation issue.
It also explains why davewave said his fretted U-Bass with the Pyramid strings is only off by 5 cent at the worst. The wound Pyramids should be much more consistent than the polyurethane Pahoehoes. And I'm wondering how much of the 5 cents has to do with the high action setup for the Pahoehoes since the strings are farther away from the frets on the higher notes, which means a bigger stretch to fret the string.
Now I see why the folks who want the double bass tone of the Pahoehoe strings are sold on the fretless U-Bass.
Kala was great about sending me replacement D and G pahoehoe strings, but the intonation at the 12th fret was still off. The thunderguts were nearly perfect, and the pyramids I'm still waiting for should hopefully be even better.
No Sir, fretless spruce top. I love it. I only regret not shelling out another 100 bucks for the mahogany.
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