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Kala UBass Megathread, Part 5

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#322
As I read the Kala Gear online store, the Silver Rumblers are out of stock currently. As these were my main motivation for overcoming the red tape and the costs associated with imports from outside of EU, I went to Aquila's own site. No mentioning at all of the SR's, so i went with the Thunderguts.

Aquila still tell about having a somewhat clumsy paying system, but to my surprise they do take cards now.

Klaus
 
#324
I generally prefer super low action on normal basses. With the fat strings and frets on mine I understand the action couldn't be too low. What about maybe deepening the nut slots? Or possibly removing any shims that might be under the pickup. It's not so high that its hard to play, but don't we all like low action? Or does it have to be this way.
Crappy poorly lit cell phone action shot:
 

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#332
I was away from the UBass for enough time that I felt like I was relearning technique over the holidays when I got the new hog.

I really think best tone and intonation with this bass come from the absolute lightest touch possible. It's very interesting.
 
#333
SBassman said:
I really think best tone and intonation with this bass come from the absolute lightest touch possible. It's very interesting.
Click to expand...

Coincidentally, three people at my New Years shindig played bass and tried out the ubass for the first time. I told them to finger gently and evenly amd immediately they could all play it smooth and clean. I think the super short scale and rubber strings make people thnk it's less playable than it is.
 
#336
I was so intrigued by jonadams post on the cello with thundergut conversion (#109 pg 6 of part 4) , that I got one for myself for Xmas, and converted it to the Thunderguts. Was amazingly easy, I just had to file the nut and bridge to accept the string width. I shot a video finally:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7B_M4b4oOY

One thing I forgot to mention in the video, was that the bridge and nut slots were burnished with graphite powder. Another thing I'd like to mention, is that the strings were not sticky at first, but became so after use.

So I used some silicone spray lubricant sprayed on a paper towel to rub the string where it was sticky... and it is no longer sticky, and I have not noticed any bad effects. Plays really well now.
 
#339
agfrag said:
I was so intrigued by jonadams post on the cello with thundergut conversion (#109 pg 6 of part 4) , that I got one for myself for Xmas, and converted it to the Thunderguts. Was amazingly easy, I just had to file the nut and bridge to accept the string width. I shot a video finally:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7B_M4b4oOY
Click to expand...

Great inspiration! Here we are approaching something I could do myself. I even have most of the tools (files).

This one looks like a 1/2 or a 3/4 cello. How long is the oscillating part of the string?

I have looked at some European eBay pages and have seen sizes down to 1/4 or maybe even 1/8. The length of the oscillating strings isn’t mentioned, so I will have to ask. I hope finding something very close to that of the acoustic UBass.

In the video the E and A strings look like sitting quite close at the nut. Is that a problem when playing in the low positions? Looks like I will have to ask for the nut width of the even smaller sizes

Is it possible to buy two piezo elements that go to a stereo or even a mono jack? Might add some depth to the sound.

Klaus
 
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