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Kala UBass Megathread, Part 5
- Thread starter smperry
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Hey guys, I haven't had a chance to read through the whole mega thread yet so I'm sure this has been discussed at some point. Does anyone have suggestions for a small, battery powered amp that would give me a decent sound for my acoustic ubass? I've been looking at a pignose, but figured I would see if anyone had suggestions. This isn't for gigs or anything... just jamming by myself or with my bro and his uke or acoustic guitar.
This is probably a fairly useless answer being that it comes straight out of my butt, but I think any small battery powered amp is gonna be fairly useless for a bass, especially for a bass that's super deep and thumpy like a ubass.
The Roland Micro Bass Cube is the gold standard battery amp.
Two different guys in our uke club use them.
You can get good bottom out of them for only using 4x 4-inch speakers and 5 watts of power, because the cabinet is well-tuned and the eq voiced for bass.
Not cheap @ $279 street, but anything less would be pretty weak.
There's a $60 Vox AC1RVBASS available on Amazon, never heard one of those.
It has a whopping one watt of power, it might boost your mids a little and give you an overdriven tone if that's all your looking for.
Same with a Pignose, no bottom, over-driven sound except at the lowest volume.
Two different guys in our uke club use them.
You can get good bottom out of them for only using 4x 4-inch speakers and 5 watts of power, because the cabinet is well-tuned and the eq voiced for bass.
Not cheap @ $279 street, but anything less would be pretty weak.
There's a $60 Vox AC1RVBASS available on Amazon, never heard one of those.
It has a whopping one watt of power, it might boost your mids a little and give you an overdriven tone if that's all your looking for.
Same with a Pignose, no bottom, over-driven sound except at the lowest volume.
scotch
Just got my Mahagony fretless last Thursday eve, you are so right about below, I have an Eminence EUB which is an awesome axe, I had a Grunert 3/4 upright before that and this little ubass sounds so close to both the others when running through the GK MB150 it is eerie. I logged some hours on the weekend and by last night I was on to this ubass thing, I struggled initially with the short scale and how to get the tone and positioning but it is falling into place now.
Played a couple hours tonight after work and by gosh I think I got it, E & A strings stablized right away while D & G are not quite there but not bad really (no worse than my fender strat....LOL)
Notice a slight intonation difference at the 10th location on D & G string but easily compensated for by rolling the finger a hair one way or the other and no worse than a regular upright in that respect.
Luving the thing to death and my hands, legs and shoulders are going to thank me this summer at full weekend festivals when we have 4 sets and hours of jamming.
Can't wait to sit in a chair and play for hours playing and not ripping my fingers apart with blisters on the right hand....LOL
Took some time to get used to using the thumb but got it now and have figured out how to dig in already on the strings for dynamics....
Coolest little thing ever ! why didnt have these things 30 yrs ago ..............man my body would be in better shape than it is now.....LOL
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I recently purchased my first double bass & am getting started on that instrument (first gig is in about 3 1/2 weeks on the Grand Ole Opry... Eek! Ricky Skaggs is sitting in too... Double Eek!!!!).
Anyways, it's pretty remarkable how similar these instruments sound alike while being so obviously disparate to look at! No comparison in acoustic volume of course, but plugged in it's remarkable what a super-short scale and 'rubbery' string can do!
Just got my Mahagony fretless last Thursday eve, you are so right about below, I have an Eminence EUB which is an awesome axe, I had a Grunert 3/4 upright before that and this little ubass sounds so close to both the others when running through the GK MB150 it is eerie. I logged some hours on the weekend and by last night I was on to this ubass thing, I struggled initially with the short scale and how to get the tone and positioning but it is falling into place now.
Played a couple hours tonight after work and by gosh I think I got it, E & A strings stablized right away while D & G are not quite there but not bad really (no worse than my fender strat....LOL)
Notice a slight intonation difference at the 10th location on D & G string but easily compensated for by rolling the finger a hair one way or the other and no worse than a regular upright in that respect.
Luving the thing to death and my hands, legs and shoulders are going to thank me this summer at full weekend festivals when we have 4 sets and hours of jamming.
Can't wait to sit in a chair and play for hours playing and not ripping my fingers apart with blisters on the right hand....LOL
Took some time to get used to using the thumb but got it now and have figured out how to dig in already on the strings for dynamics....
Coolest little thing ever ! why didnt have these things 30 yrs ago ..............man my body would be in better shape than it is now.....LOL
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I recently purchased my first double bass & am getting started on that instrument (first gig is in about 3 1/2 weeks on the Grand Ole Opry... Eek! Ricky Skaggs is sitting in too... Double Eek!!!!).
Anyways, it's pretty remarkable how similar these instruments sound alike while being so obviously disparate to look at! No comparison in acoustic volume of course, but plugged in it's remarkable what a super-short scale and 'rubbery' string can do!
scotch
It's not rocket science!
- Nov 12, 2006
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Pretty crazy, eh speedster? So small but so mighty!
I'll be all over Ontario end of May & beginning of June doing shows with Paul Brandt. As of right now, it's all on double bass -but I'm bringing the U-Bass & will try to 'sneak it in' if possible. (I've already been using the U-Bass in Paul's regular "electric band" shows.) Hit me up if you want to check out a show!
I'll be all over Ontario end of May & beginning of June doing shows with Paul Brandt. As of right now, it's all on double bass -but I'm bringing the U-Bass & will try to 'sneak it in' if possible. (I've already been using the U-Bass in Paul's regular "electric band" shows.) Hit me up if you want to check out a show!
scotch
It's not rocket science!
- Nov 12, 2006
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I've actually heard good things about that pig nose and its tone when using it at a quiet volume for an acoustic jam. I am thinking about getting it cause worse case scenario you just return it cause it stinks. I,ll probably try it out in a month or two
Hey Scotch might just wanna take you up on that, Pauls music lends itself to the upright sound for sure if I'm anywhere near where he is playing I'll poke you and perhaps hook up for a refreshment.
I've been using an Eminence fixed neck for about 8 - 10yrs now as it is way easier to get around with than the old Grunert I lugged around for yrs.
Was about to pull the pin on an Eminence Removable Neck as we've been travelling to the East Coast of Canada quite a bit and I've been driving while most of the others fly.
then came across the UBass and for less than 700 bucks I figured *** giver a try.... The Eminence RN is down to about 5 grand tax's in now so nothing lost nothing gained.
Now the trick will be to get Folks to buy into the look..........LOL Figured if I hide out behind the rest of the band they may not notice.......LOL
In any event it will save my hands, shoulders and legs enough pain and suffering while hangin out under an awning jamming that even if I never play it on stage it will be well worth the 700 bucks I paid for it.
Compared to a decent upright it is a steal ! And way cooler..... got to imagine chicks will dig it for its cuteness alone............LMAO....
I've been using an Eminence fixed neck for about 8 - 10yrs now as it is way easier to get around with than the old Grunert I lugged around for yrs.
Was about to pull the pin on an Eminence Removable Neck as we've been travelling to the East Coast of Canada quite a bit and I've been driving while most of the others fly.
then came across the UBass and for less than 700 bucks I figured *** giver a try.... The Eminence RN is down to about 5 grand tax's in now so nothing lost nothing gained.
Now the trick will be to get Folks to buy into the look..........LOL Figured if I hide out behind the rest of the band they may not notice.......LOL
In any event it will save my hands, shoulders and legs enough pain and suffering while hangin out under an awning jamming that even if I never play it on stage it will be well worth the 700 bucks I paid for it.
Compared to a decent upright it is a steal ! And way cooler..... got to imagine chicks will dig it for its cuteness alone............LMAO....
So I run my amp using an Inverter Battery Power Box which has 400 - 800amps and lasts several hours. Clean power, here in Canada you can buy them on sale at Canadian Tire for around 129 bucks when on sale... Invalid Link Removed
check them out rather than buying a cheap battery operated amp that sounds like crap
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Hey guys, I haven't had a chance to read through the whole mega thread yet so I'm sure this has been discussed at some point. Does anyone have suggestions for a small, battery powered amp that would give me a decent sound for my acoustic ubass? I've been looking at a pignose, but figured I would see if anyone had suggestions. This isn't for gigs or anything... just jamming by myself or with my bro and his uke or acoustic guitar.
check them out rather than buying a cheap battery operated amp that sounds like crap
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Hey guys, I haven't had a chance to read through the whole mega thread yet so I'm sure this has been discussed at some point. Does anyone have suggestions for a small, battery powered amp that would give me a decent sound for my acoustic ubass? I've been looking at a pignose, but figured I would see if anyone had suggestions. This isn't for gigs or anything... just jamming by myself or with my bro and his uke or acoustic guitar.
Hi there:
If you still haven´t, I would give a try to the silver rumbles or the thunderguts before buying anything so expensive: They both can add a lot of volume to the ubass unplugged. Probably not against a jumbo-mega-dreadnought guitar, but I´m sure the ubass can be heard playing with an uke and couple of voices.
I would even wait until the new Aquila ubass arrives to the market (couple of mounths): A lucky guy I know had the chance to play one unplugged with a five ukuleles group, back there in Italy, and he said no amp was missed. They are going to be really cheap and loud he said...
scotch
It's not rocket science!
- Nov 12, 2006
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- 51
- Disclosures
- Please see Profile for Endorsement disclosures
What is the product ID number of the one you use. There is a "Booster Pack" for $129, but that's not it, right?
Jeff
I have an early fretted spruce-top acoustic that I bought used. Pahoehoe strings. I'm getting a buzz when I play between the 7th and 12th frets. Seems to slowly be getting worse. There is visible relief in the neck.
Can the bridge be shimmed higher without affecting the pickup? Or am I looking at neck surgery?
Can the bridge be shimmed higher without affecting the pickup? Or am I looking at neck surgery?
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