Kala UBass Megathread, Part 5

[SBassman]

Woot! Tracking number!

Great. What's the ETA?

 

[HeavyDuty]

I'm having it diverted from Saturday home delivery to pickup at the local FedEx store, so maybe Saturday - more likely Monday.

 

[gangonthehill]

I just picked mine up this morning at 9:00. It went to its first jam at 2:00. This little thing is pretty amazing.

 

[imperialbari]

The Road Toad UBass was developed on basis of a bass ukulele sounding an octave higher. The strings for that variant no longer are made by Road Toad.

I tried putting the 4 lowest from a set of guitar strings on my Clearwater baritone ukulele, a Chinese made copy of the Ovation roundback idea, only the bowls are plastic rather than the Ovation Lyrachord(?) material. But the soundboards are nice solid spruce with quite good fret tuning.

I gave up on the project for two reasons. The sound was too bright, and, worse, the thinner strings were not kind on my bass style plucking index, middle, and ring fingers. There the Pahoehoes and Thunderguts are much smoother and much more flexible.

The idea of a ukulele bass in the cello range is not dead. I found this presentation of a model from Kamoa:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT7fp8ByJs8

Only I rather hear this as guitar playing than as bass playing.

Any ideas about fatter-than-guitar-strings for playing a baritone ukulele an octave above the UBass?

Klaus

 

[olitoon]

The Road Toad UBass was developed on basis of a bass ukulele sounding an octave higher. The strings for that variant no longer are made by Road Toad.

[...]

Any ideas about fatter-than-guitar-strings for playing a baritone ukulele an octave above the UBass?

Klaus

Have you contacted Roadtoad? The Website says: "I can do custom sets for 18" to 25" scale".

I'm sure Aquila is able to produce baritone ukulele strings in guitar tuning, but is there a market for it?

I don't know how to calculate string pitch, tension and length. Maybe there is a slight chance, that one of the new Aquila Shortbass-One sets could be tuned to E2, if you use these on a shorter scale?

 

[Orangeclawhammr]

The idea of a ukulele bass in the cello range is not dead. I found this presentation of a model from Kamoa:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT7fp8ByJs8

Only I rather hear this as guitar playing than as bass playing.

Klaus

+1 Sounds pleasant, but not like a bass.

 

[HeavyDuty]

A question for five string solidbody owners, please...

Tim mentioned that it appeared the bar type string retainer on his five didn't do much, and may actually cause more problems than it solves by impairing tuning.

Can anyone else comment? I'm finally getting ready to order one and am considering asking Kala to leave the string retainer off.

I wouldn't do it. It functions well. Just unstick the strings from it whenever you turn the tuning keys. It really only stocks to the low B, and the A and D strings need it or they would not be down in the nut enough.

Is it worth considering picking up a second retainer bar and cutting it down to only span EADG?

I bought a fender-style disc type retainer and planned to use it farther up on the headstock to only hold A and D. The rest really don't need it. But instead of modifying it I sold it and funded a custom. Make sure if you do that the barrel part is tall enough to allow enough clearance of those thick strings!

I guess I'm going to be the Guinea pig here. My new five is coming shortly, and (at my request) Jason didn't install the string retainer, it's packed separately. I'll see what works best, but I won't be surprised if the stock retainer gets installed.

My goal is to see if tuning without lifting the strings out of the nut can be achieved. I figure I'll polish up and lube the nut for starters.

 

[olitoon]

Any ideas about fatter-than-guitar-strings for playing a baritone ukulele an octave above the UBass?
Klaus

Take the D and G string of a Thunder-Red set and the D and G of a baritone Red set. I guess the strings are too thick for a baritone ukulele, but you won't get any thinner unwounded strings.

What perfectly fits for a 20" scale length is a Fender Bass VI string set (30").

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Use the A1 D2 G2 B2 strings and tune to E2 A2 D3 G3. Problem is the string tension, which is 2 to 3 times the tension of normal ukulele strings.

You can also use the E1 A1 D2 G2 strings as B1 E2 A2 D3 on a 20". Same with short-scale 30" bass strings.

 

[topo morto]

I just got a U-bass - one of the newer models with the tuner and tone control.

Great little thing, but - when I put my hand near the bridge (e.g. if I want to pick there to get a brighter sound), I get a hum - not so noticeable at practice volume, but quite loud through a PA.

Is this normal?

 

[Gorn]

You're one of the first people here, maybe the first with the new model, so it's hard to say. Also, no pics=no bass.

 

[topo morto]

Might be a case of "keeps humming, no bass" if I can't get it to stop! I'll post a pic later though.

 

[WMITGUY]

Nooooooooooo just checked the tracking on my ubass. It's at UPS in Lanexa, KS. They just happen to be in the middle of a snow storm. Right now it says scheduled delivery by the end of day on Monday (my birthday) , but I'm guessing that may change.

 

[topo morto]

You're one of the first people here, maybe the first with the new model, so it's hard to say. Also, no pics=no bass.

Don't worry, it's not as close as it looks....

The tuner...

the little battery thing that holds 2*CR2032...

So the hum stops when I touch the outside of the metal jack plug. A few sites suggest that's a problem with the shielding in the wiring somewhere.

 

[SBassman]

Hmmm. This is very interesting. And, we're kind of hopeless here in trying to help. I think you should write to Kala immediately and get a consult.

Looking forward to hearing from the next couple of owners of the new design to see if this is a fluke or working as designed.

 

[Gorn]

These are probably gonna be just as inconsistent as the originals.

 

[SBassman]

These are probably gonna be just as inconsistent as the originals.

Well, rather than call it inconsistent, maybe we can just call it - continuous design improvement - in progress.

I come from a manufacturing background, and we always focused on - Continuous Improvement.

We need to applaud anything Kala is doing to raise the bar - right when there are about a half dozen Chinese clones with no innovation about to hit the market.

 

[topo morto]

I think you should write to Kala immediately and get a consult.

I have, although as I bought it new I really just have to take it back to the shop soon...

 

[imperialbari]

Has the intra-body lead from the bridge to the end-jack-socket become twisted?

Is that lead plugged well into the end-jack-socket?

That is where I would look first.

Klaus

 

[SBassman]

I have, although as I bought it new I really just have to take it back to the shop soon...

Nah - don't think that way. Yes - make the shop aware, but, for actual support, you're going to get it from Kala, not the shop. Most UBass dealers these days are clueless. [almost rhymes with useless.] The people at Kala are great, and they will take care of you, one way or another.

[cue Blondie tune]

 

[olitoon]

I just got a U-bass - one of the newer models with the tuner and tone control.

Great little thing, but - when I put my hand near the bridge (e.g. if I want to pick there to get a brighter sound), I get a hum - not so noticeable at practice volume, but quite loud through a PA.

Is this normal?

I had a mahogany for a couple of days in December and I didn't recognized any humming. I had a small amp and never played it very loud, maybe I missed it. It could be a problem with the internal cabeling / solder connections or a defective guitar cable. It's not a shielding problem:

http://handmademusicclubhouse.com/forum/topics/why-does-my-piezo-hum

If you remove the batteries, does it still hum?

Can you make an audio recording of your U-Bass?