Kala UBass Megathread, Part 7

[mrperkolator]

It’s a shame Kala doesn’t offer any of their premium U-Bass models in a cutaway body or anything pre-strung with flatwounds.

And when is Fender going to get in on the ukulele bass action?

Not bashing fender.... but hopefully not. Usually when a larger company enters a market, they put the smaller ones out of business. And there's a few cool uke bass companies that are gaining traction, it would suck to seem them fall apart.

Edit: I would personally like to see a solid body ubass kit from stewmac.... mostly cuz those kala california ones are just too pricey for me....

 

[mrperkolator]

Probably these...
Invalid Link Removed

The nut for Pahoehoes would have a little slop using these lighter gauge strings. They're basically round wounds, wound with black "teflon?" tape.

You might also want to lower the action, on my Ubass, there's a plastic strip under the saddle, you could just take it out.

I read in a few places that people said they are round wounds with a coating, but site says synthetic core with nylon wraps. If someone uses these.... are they smooth or do they indeed feel like rounds?

 

[RedHotFuzz]

And there's a few cool uke bass companies that are gaining traction, it would suck to seem them fall apart.

Would you mind naming some so I can check them out? All the brands I’ve looked at so far (Kala, Oscar Schmidt, Rondo, Luna, not to mention all the Chinese knockoff brands) are quite similar. I do like the comfort body contours of some of the Oscar Schmidt models. But nothing I’ve seen so far seems excessively “cool.”

 

[mrperkolator]

Would you mind naming some so I can check them out? All the brands I’ve looked at so far (Kala, Oscar Schmidt, Rondo, Luna, not to mention all the Chinese knockoff brands) are quite similar. I do like the comfort body contours of some of the Oscar Schmidt models. But nothing I’ve seen so far seems excessively “cool.”

you named most of what I know. I've heard of Mahalo Ukes, but idk much beyond a google search. Gold Tone makes some that are not ukes but are short scale acoustic. I rather like most of Kala's stuff. Just dont have lots of $$ to throw at them. It isn't lost on me that the ubass is niche and not a tool that fits every genre. I still rather like them. Such is the subjectivity of what is "cool."

But this would be a good moment to ask.... Does anyone know of any custom builders?

but point I made about smaller businesses, is if Fender (or any similar giant company) gets in the mix, kills the small companies, then decides it isn't profitable and exits.... we're left with an empty segment of market.

 

[UbassDanno]

I don't see Fender getting into the Ubass business...the market isn't there for them. There's plenty of offerings out there.

 

[RedHotFuzz]

I don't see Fender getting into the Ubass business...the market isn't there for them. There's plenty of offerings out there.

Right, but none with the cool “Fender” style you see on some of the Fender ukuleles. I’d like a uke bass that doesn’t look like I’m going to a luau, but all the existing offerings have that traditional uke vibe.

As for Kala: Journeyman (trad mahogany) vs Striped Ebony (+$100). Thoughts?

 

[diegom]

Sorry if I sound sacrilegious but, what's the difference between a bass uke and a regular use, other than the strings/tuners?

 

[KohanMike]

@KohanMike you're one of the most active here.... what are the black tapes yall are speaking about? I'd assume that if they're similar gauges to metal strings that a new nut would be needed if moving from the pahoehoe strings. Any other mods?

Probably these...
Invalid Link Removed The nut for Pahoehoes would have a little slop using these lighter gauge strings. They're basically round wounds, wound with black "teflon?" tape. You might also want to lower the action, on my Ubass, there's a plastic strip under the saddle, you could just take it out.

I read in a few places that people said they are round wounds with a coating, but site says synthetic core with nylon wraps. If someone uses these.... are they smooth or do they indeed feel like rounds?

I've used those Galli UXB810 black "tape" wound bass uke strings, so no speculation. I found that they're round wound with a very thin coating of black nylon. They still felt like rounds to me. I wish they would black coat their flats, but when I asked, they said it can't be done.

Sorry if I sound sacrilegious but, what's the difference between a bass uke and a regular uke, other than the strings/tuners?

A bass uke is usually 21" scale, tuned exactly as a full size bass octave, EADG, either acoustic or solid body and have, in most cases, an active piezo preamp/pickup. Some that are 24" scale, and others have a passive pickup. There are a couple that have magnetic pickups and are also called bass uke. I designate anything with magnetic pickups and between 22" to 25" scale as mini-bass guitars.

Ukes are tuned GCEA and 13" to 17", with a baritone at 19" that's tuned the same as guitar strings EADG, an octave higher than a bass uke.

 

[diegom]

A bass uke is usually 21" scale, tuned exactly as a full size bass octave, EADG, either acoustic or solid body and have, in most cases, an active piezo preamp/pickup. There some that are 24" scale, and others have have a passive pickup. There are a couple that have magnetic pickups and are also called bass uke. I designate anything with magnetic pickups and between 22" to 25" scale as mini-bass guitars.

Ukes are tuned GCEA and 13" to 17", with a baritone at 19" that's tuned the same as guitar strings EADG, an octave higher than a bass uke.

Thank you for the detailed answer! Scale-length is the one thing I didn't think about... Had I tried my experiment, I would've ended up with a bass-uke with VERY floppy strings

 

[HaphAsSard]

Sorry if I sound sacrilegious but, what's the difference between a bass uke and a regular use, other than the strings/tuners?

with a baritone at 19" that's tuned the same as guitar strings EADG, an octave higher than a bass uke.

Baritone ukuleles, traditionally (since about 1960 when they were introduced), have a 19" scale and are tuned like the four top, as in treblemost, strings of a guitar, i.e. DGBE.*
Many - I wanna say most - modern models actually have a scale length that's a little longer, at 20". One could be considered as a uke-bass conversion platform: scalewise they're almost there, with Kala Ubass models varying between 20.3" and 20.75" if I'm not mistaken; however, bari ukes have a significantly narrower nut, namely the same as other standard ukulele sizes at 35mm, sometimes a little wider at 38 or 39mm, as opposed to uke basses which have 44-45mm for the obvious reason they need to accommodate their standard, fat-arse synthetic strings.


* [A lone model from Luna
Uke Bass Tattoo Spruce w/ Preamp & Gigbag | Dean Guitars
has a 20.2" scale and comes tuned as you say (guitar-register EADG = piccolo bass tuning). Personally, I regard this one as the better candidate to be called a "bass ukulele", as in, the true bass member of the ukulele family. The Kala U-bass is, at best, a contrabass uke, but I prefer to consider and call it a "ukulele bass" (note the word order): in other words, a hybrid of ukulele and bass guitar. YMMV.]

 

[UbassDanno]

Sorry if I sound sacrilegious but, what's the difference between a bass uke and a regular use, other than the strings/tuners?

That's pretty much it! It's a baritone size ukulele basically...

 

[UbassDanno]

Ukes are tuned GCEA and 13" to 17", with a baritone at 19" that's tuned the same as guitar strings EADG, an octave higher than a bass uke.

Baritone ukuleles are tuned DGBE...same as the 4 high strings of a guitar.

 

[MonetBass]

Right, but none with the cool “Fender” style you see on some of the Fender ukuleles. I’d like a uke bass that doesn’t look like I’m going to a luau, but all the existing offerings have that traditional uke vibe.

As for Kala: Journeyman (trad mahogany) vs Striped Ebony (+$100). Thoughts?

That's striped ebony model looks nice! But I got the Journeyman because I liked the look of the F-holes.

 

[KohanMike]

Baritone ukuleles, traditionally (since about 1960 when they were introduced), have a 19" scale and are tuned like the four top, as in treblemost, strings of a guitar, i.e. DGBE.*

Baritone ukuleles are tuned DGBE...same as the 4 high strings of a guitar.

Oops, my mistake.

 

[RedHotFuzz]

I wanted a sofa practice bass that didn't require amplification, so a few years ago I bought a Fender T-Bucket 32". Sadly it doesn't get the use I had hoped as it's still bulky and uncomfortable to noodle on while watching a football game. So this weekend I picked up something slightly smaller.

I'm really enjoying it so far. My only complaint is I wish the first fret (actually the neck space leading to the first fret) were a bit longer. With those thick strings going up over the nut there's not much room for error on fret 1.

 

[Starthief]

This is the sort of trouble I tend to get up to with my (Hadean, fretless) UBass.



The instrument looks innocent enough, but feed it through enough distortion and granular processing and accompany it with some angry swarming drones, and it turns to the Dark Side

 

[LunarEclipse81]

Q: How do we fix intonation on a u-bass?

A: Pull the frets!!

 

[KindofBlues71]

Hey all, I just received a Kala Nomad U-Bass for Xmas from my SIL/BIL and I'm really enjoying it! They originally bought me some Chinese brand ubass copy on Amazon but shipping was delayed so they upgraded my gift to the Kala. It was a bit annoying that the 'instruction manual' didn't mention anything about the preamp, changing the batteries, changing the strings, etc. but I think I figured it out.

One question I do have is the number of string winds on the tuners. The manual says max 2 winds but I've noticed in pics that most ubass players have more than 2 winds. Can anyone comment on that?

I guess I'm off to read the previous 103 pages of this thread...

 

[UbassDanno]

I think as long as you don't have overwinds, you should be ok.

 

[KohanMike]

...One question I do have is the number of string winds on the tuners. The manual says max 2 winds but I've noticed in pics that most ubass players have more than 2 winds. Can anyone comment on that?...

I usually have a couple more winds to get the string to break over the nut more, but don't let the strings wind back up the spool.