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Kala UBass Megathread, Part 5

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The bridge lead goes to the preamp, and then from there to the end jack socket. I'd have to take the preamp out to get anywhere, but if you guys agree it's a shielding issue then that's all I need to know... I'll let the shop take it from there.
 
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]

Yeah, our band do that one. Reckon the UBass would work ok on it!

Taking it back soon is just a question of covering myself - If you get anything new from a shop, you can take it back and just get your money back if it doesn't work properly when you buy it, but if you wait awhile you're at the mercy of whatever the warranty is. So I have to at least report it as faulty ASAP...
 
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?

I didn't think it would be a question of pickup shielding, but maybe cable shielding..?

On removing the batteries, it sounds like the lead isn't plugged into anything.... it picks up some hum but not as loud and nothing relating to how close my hands are to the pickup.

I'll see if I get a chance to record it... getting late here!
 
I didn't think it would be a question of pickup shielding, but maybe cable shielding..?

On removing the batteries, it sounds like the lead isn't plugged into anything.... it picks up some hum but not as loud and nothing relating to how close my hands are to the pickup.

I'll see if I get a chance to record it... getting late here!

IIRC, the cable from the pickup to the preamp is shielded. More likely a cold solder joint or a bad cable. But it doesn't matter what causes the problem, I don't believe the humming is normal. There is a Shadow preamp / pickup, that looks exactly like the one in the U-Bass. Quote from the Shadow website: "Because of the active amplification directly at the pickup and a 100% shielding of the system as a whole, Nanoflex pickups are absolutely buzz- and noise-free."

Take it back to the shop :)
 
Just picked up a fretless mahogany ubass. Sounds fantastic through my carvin mb15. Don't have a preamp yet but still sounds great. Intonation is a bit sharp at the 12th fret as most seem to report, but if i play just a hair behind the fret on the upper frets its ok. I've got almost 3 wraps on the posts already so how many is too many? I like the feel of the strings but they don't feel as slick as a ubass I tried many months ago. Do they get slicker with age? Also I didn't get an owners manual with it. Was I supposed to get one? The case it came with is interesting. Not really a hard case but a reinforced gig bag I guess would be the way to describe it! I really like it! What do you all recommend for replacement strings? Which one would give the best intonation, sound and stay in tune the best? Might use it Sunday at church if I can get the strings to settle in!
 
The number of wraps may vary with string thickness. The thing to avoid is about the strings being wrapped in layers.

I consider Thunderguts an improvement over Pahoehoes in all matters music and plaing related. Which hasn't prevented me from ordering some sets of Silver Rumblers to try out.

Klaus
 
IIRC, the cable from the pickup to the preamp is shielded. More likely a cold solder joint or a bad cable. But it doesn't matter what causes the problem, I don't believe the humming is normal. There is a Shadow preamp / pickup, that looks exactly like the one in the U-Bass. Quote from the Shadow website: "Because of the active amplification directly at the pickup and a 100% shielding of the system as a whole, Nanoflex pickups are absolutely buzz- and noise-free."

Take it back to the shop :)

Sounds like the thing to do, will do tomorrow. Thanks all for the advice. I will post a vid of the humminess if I get a chance to record one.
 
So, here is my new removable travel bass uke :bassist:
 

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Some of these EUBs are thousands of dollars.

My thought would be literally to take the UBass design almost as is, with the exception of the rounded fingerboard and the f holes, and bring something like that to market less than $500.
Something that still fits - in a uke case. :)

I like the idea, but I'm not sure about the design. Wouldn't be the rod longer than the instrument? First, would it look silly. Second, what does this mean for the balance of the instrument?

The solutions Ned Steinberger found:

http://thinkns.com/instruments/systems.php#frame
 
My new Ubass sounds great through my amp (Carvin mb15/15), but has nowhere near as much volume as my EB does at the same settings. Will the FDeck help give me a bit of a volume boost besides boosting and cutting frequencies? This bass is by far my favorite as far as sound over anything I have ever owned. Almost don't want to bother with a larger bass anymore! Really like the stock strings but thought about trying something else at some point. Not too crazy about the thunder guts white finish so how do the silver rumblers stack up? Anybody favor them over the others and why?
 
The U-Bass got to shine last night at the Synagogue's Purim play. Fedora Menorah provided the music. I had questions from people afterwards asking WHAT I was playing and how it could sound like it did. They were looking for an upright but couldn't find one. :)
 
... Not too crazy about the thunder guts white finish so how do the silver rumblers stack up? Anybody favor them over the others and why?

Thunderguts and Silver Rumblers are similar. If you like the tone of the TGs, you'll like the tone of the SRs. Right now, my favorite string for the UBass is the SR. Versatile tone, easy to string, stable in days instead of many weeks.
 
Just received my brand new hog fretless (the older, passive model) today after a long wait.

My first observation is that the E string has much less sustain than the other strings, especially when fretted.

Structurally, I see no problems with the bass, so the question is - what is it, a bad E string, poor stringing, or just an inevitable implication of the design itself? I'll try to record a video with the bass to show what I mean. (Unplugged at this time, since I currently don't have anything suitable to plug it in.)
 
Just received my brand new hog fretless (the older, passive model) today after a long wait.

My first observation is that the E string has much less sustain than the other strings, especially when fretted.

Structurally, I see no problems with the bass, so the question is - what is it, a bad E string, poor stringing, or just an inevitable implication of the design itself? I'll try to record a video with the bass to show what I mean. (Unplugged at this time, since I currently don't have anything suitable to plug it in.)

You gotta get that baby plugged into something.
Very likely a bad string or bad stringing.
 
Thunderguts and Silver Rumblers are similar. If you like the tone of the TGs, you'll like the tone of the SRs. Right now, my favorite string for the UBass is the SR. Versatile tone, easy to string, stable in days instead of many weeks.

After trying them for two days I´m pretty amazed at how nice the silver rumbles (SR) sound. They are still a little "sticky", but not as much as the thunderguts (TG) were. I didn´t like the stickiness in the TG, but to my surprise, I think the little stick factor in the SR helps me to play with more control, more in time. Anybody feels the same about this?

In my opinion, the SR have a great mix between the paehoes and the TG: They have a deep bass, and nice high frecuency´s spectrum, that improve the definition.
 
Just received my brand new hog fretless (the older, passive model) today after a long wait.

My first observation is that the E string has much less sustain than the other strings, especially when fretted.

Structurally, I see no problems with the bass, so the question is - what is it, a bad E string, poor stringing, or just an inevitable implication of the design itself? I'll try to record a video with the bass to show what I mean. (Unplugged at this time, since I currently don't have anything suitable to plug it in.)

Hey, you are using it plugged aswell, arent you? The E string unplugged does not have very much sound or sustain at all. You see, they have the body size of an ukulele ;)
 
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