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Kala UBass Megathread, Part 6
- Thread starter smperry
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Hi Tim--Mike Upton from Kala here. When and who did you talk to at Kala when your concerns fell on deaf ears? Your concerns as well as all UBass players concerns are
definitely our concerns and since this is my business it is my concern and I want to make sure that any questions or needs you have are addressed. Please email me at [email protected] and I would be happy to address anything you need!!!
Thanks-Mike Upton
definitely our concerns and since this is my business it is my concern and I want to make sure that any questions or needs you have are addressed. Please email me at [email protected] and I would be happy to address anything you need!!!
Thanks-Mike Upton
Ouch!! Sorry to hear about the accident! I just had surgery a month ago, and the U-bass is great therapy while healing.
Great that the lightness of the UBass gives you relief in a difficult situation. For my arthritic hands the short reaches and the low string tension are the smoothening factors.
If my memory still serves me, you had considerations about selling your UBass some months ago. I am glad you still have one.
Klaus
Am I wrong in thinking a lot of us would be interested in tapewounds? Or flatwounds. It's great to see kala paying attention to what's said here. I'd buy a set. Anyone else?
I would favour tapewounds over flatwounds.
The octave-up strings for the Kamoa E3E are flatwounds. Even if they are much thinner than the UBass strings will be, their stiffness makes them harder to fret in the top range than any of the current synthetic UBass strings.
The softer surface of the tapewounds will give a better grip of the frets than a steel/nickel surface will.
Klaus
The octave-up strings for the Kamoa E3E are flatwounds. Even if they are much thinner than the UBass strings will be, their stiffness makes them harder to fret in the top range than any of the current synthetic UBass strings.
The softer surface of the tapewounds will give a better grip of the frets than a steel/nickel surface will.
Klaus
Because you have the surplus (based on talent and/or experience) to modify your intonation on the fly.
When I was practicing seriously on my main instruments (brasses & recorders) I also could do that.
But on the fretless UBass I need reliably pitched strings to even attempt playing in tune.
I admit that especially the last set of Pahoehoe's I tried was very good and went stable in pitch very soon. They were on the fretted hog I gave to a friend. He did not want to switch to Thunderguts or Silver Rumblers after comparing with my fretted and fretless respectively stringed.
That said a good amplification emitting the true frequencies of the low notes allows for settings bringing the strings from Aquila quite close in sound to the Pahoehoe's.
Klaus
I'd love to see tapes and flats that would fit my solid 5, but at the risk of sounding like a broken record - I wanna try Thunder Reds first!
I like this one as well. That Zoom B3 was out of my radar... I can ear it sounding nice with the ubass for recording. How does it sound switched between the ubass and that amp (gallien perhaps?) beind you?
PHAT! Are you asking how does the B3 sound going to the amp? I'm still working out how to dial in the perfect EQ for the ubass but the Bass Pre certainly brings it to life! Love it. Thanks!
Just received my Rumbler UBass from HMS with a great set up less than a week ago and I'm loving it! I get some really nice bass sound. I can get the thumping sound or just a nice, low end sound with no problem. I paired it up with an Acoustic AB50 acoustic electric combo amp which is perfect for home practice and small venue playing. I have a York Bassmaster 200 which is a great amp, but just too heavy for me to be moving from room to room or up and down the stairs. Sounds great though!
I like the silver rumbler strings and I took the advice of another poster and got some finger ease to spray on the strings and man, does it make a difference! They felt pretty sticky initially, but with the finger ease on them, sliding around is no problem at all. The on board electronics work just fine and I think that I have found the sweet spot that I like. I love the on board tuner! Makes things so much easier!
Being almost 60 years old with shoulder, back, and neck problems, this light little bass is perfect for me! I love my Gibson EBO and my Fender Mustang, but the day has come that hanging those solid body bases from my neck for more than a few minutes gets the old pains to throbing! This little base can be played sitting down, standing up, or laying down! I love to lay back in my easy chair and just work it out!
I got a Kala cloth Ukulele strap, planet waves Guitar strap quick release system, and the Kala Stand Out Mahogany Ukulele and mandolin stand and now I'm ready to gig! The stand matches my Rumbler. I like the guitar strap quick release system so that I don't have to put another strap peg in the guitar. Works very well.
The only thing about the Rumbler that I'm a little leary about is that there is no little door to open to make changing the strings easier. The strings have to be thread through the hole in the body. Oh well...costs had to be cut somewhere I suppose. The little frog isn't on the headstock. Also, it's a Mahogany laminate, but that's okay by me because here in Virginia, we have very hot, humid Summers and cold Winters and everything in between and I won't be as worried about it as I would if it was a solid wood. I have not heard a solid wood UBass (other than on youtube), so I can't compare the tone of the two, but the tone on this one is just fine.
All in all, I am very impressed with the Rumbler and I'm glad that I got it. I see years of fun ahead...well, whatever time I am aloted anyway!
I like the silver rumbler strings and I took the advice of another poster and got some finger ease to spray on the strings and man, does it make a difference! They felt pretty sticky initially, but with the finger ease on them, sliding around is no problem at all. The on board electronics work just fine and I think that I have found the sweet spot that I like. I love the on board tuner! Makes things so much easier!
Being almost 60 years old with shoulder, back, and neck problems, this light little bass is perfect for me! I love my Gibson EBO and my Fender Mustang, but the day has come that hanging those solid body bases from my neck for more than a few minutes gets the old pains to throbing! This little base can be played sitting down, standing up, or laying down! I love to lay back in my easy chair and just work it out!
I got a Kala cloth Ukulele strap, planet waves Guitar strap quick release system, and the Kala Stand Out Mahogany Ukulele and mandolin stand and now I'm ready to gig! The stand matches my Rumbler. I like the guitar strap quick release system so that I don't have to put another strap peg in the guitar. Works very well.
The only thing about the Rumbler that I'm a little leary about is that there is no little door to open to make changing the strings easier. The strings have to be thread through the hole in the body. Oh well...costs had to be cut somewhere I suppose. The little frog isn't on the headstock. Also, it's a Mahogany laminate, but that's okay by me because here in Virginia, we have very hot, humid Summers and cold Winters and everything in between and I won't be as worried about it as I would if it was a solid wood. I have not heard a solid wood UBass (other than on youtube), so I can't compare the tone of the two, but the tone on this one is just fine.
All in all, I am very impressed with the Rumbler and I'm glad that I got it. I see years of fun ahead...well, whatever time I am aloted anyway!
Glad your liking your rumbler! My Ubass is becoming my favorite! I probably look a bit silly playing it at 6'1" and 220 lbs, but the sound is incredible! I tried the Silver Rumblers for awhile, but they had too much finger noise to suit my taste so I put the Paehoehoes back on and everything is fine again! I used finger ease and I used powder, but I wasn't satisfied with the results. Again Congrats and enjoy! I'd love to try the five string sometime!
Tinstar, thanks for the Rumbler review!
As an instrument collector I am very interested in the way instruments work. Normally I can visualize descriptions reasonably well, but you touch upon a matter I don't quite understand: how the strings are mounted on the Rumbler model, when there is no rear opening.
As I have seen no illustrations of anything but the front and sides of the Rumbler, please provide some photos of the string mounting area of the Rumbler.
Is this model in general more sturdy than say the solid hogs?
I have a younger family member who could make good use of a UBass. He doesn't have a bass of his own. He is left handed and plays left handed guitars. But he is reported to grab right handed basses and play them left handed even if the strings are in the reverse sequence to him.
Should he develop that ability or should he get a properly stringed left hand bass to develop his technique on?
Speaking for the former approach would be the much wider selection of UBasses, including the Rumbler and the fretless ones, and of anything else within bass guitars.
Klaus
As an instrument collector I am very interested in the way instruments work. Normally I can visualize descriptions reasonably well, but you touch upon a matter I don't quite understand: how the strings are mounted on the Rumbler model, when there is no rear opening.
As I have seen no illustrations of anything but the front and sides of the Rumbler, please provide some photos of the string mounting area of the Rumbler.
Is this model in general more sturdy than say the solid hogs?
I have a younger family member who could make good use of a UBass. He doesn't have a bass of his own. He is left handed and plays left handed guitars. But he is reported to grab right handed basses and play them left handed even if the strings are in the reverse sequence to him.
Should he develop that ability or should he get a properly stringed left hand bass to develop his technique on?
Speaking for the former approach would be the much wider selection of UBasses, including the Rumbler and the fretless ones, and of anything else within bass guitars.
Klaus
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