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Kala UBass Megathread, Part 7

#486
The rumbler comes with silver rumbler strings and doesn't have a back hatch which makes string changes more difficult, and the tuners are cheap. It generally feels much cheaper and poorly built, and the gigbag is crap. The exotic mahogany comes with pahoehoes, has the back hatch and hipshot tuners, even though the description says they're the die-cast generic non-hipshot versions, and the gigbag is better. The $50 you'd save on the rumbler over the exotic mahogany is not worth it.

The solid body models have hipshot tuners, and active bass and treble and volume control.

If you're in the market for a ubass, I highly recommend the exotic mahogany acoustic for $400. If you want fretless, the spruce top is the cheapest new option at $450. Also keep an eye out for used ones. There's a solid mahogany fretless acousticon used.guitarcenter.com right now for $300.
 
#488
You're welcome. I have no affiliation with Guitar Center, but if I wanted a ubass, I'd jump on this. It's solid wood, not laminate. It's the older model with passive electronics, which I prefer. And it comes with a hard foam case rather than a gigbag.

Used Kala U BASS KAUBASSFL WC Acoustic Bass Guitar
This product comes with a case.
Guitar Center Sioux Falls
Sioux Falls, South Dakota 57106
605-361-5369
$299.99

110229447_lg.jpg
 
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#489
Howdy, I purchased my spruce UBass in Sept 2012 and just started playing regularly last October with my Ampeg BA-110 and then a Fishman Platinum Pro a few months ago. No probs whatsoever until this morning when I couldn't get the tuner or Fishman to respond at church. Is the piezo pickup something that fails randomly? I'll look for my N'Stuff info for any warranty info.

If anyone from Kala is feeling sympathetic to a bass playing wannabes, I'm available to accept a charitable donation for a free repair.
 
#490
If there was zero output, the pickup could have gotten unplugged from the jack. When the pickup fails, there is usually still signal coming from it. Just bad signal. The pickup plugs into the inside of the jack. Open the access panel on the back, and you can check it through there.
 
#491
Thanks Tim! I wasn't aware that there was a tiny plug going into the jack assembly. I plugged the tuner in a wiggled the wire around and noticed a signal, but when I let go it went away. I either have a break in the wire or inside the jack. I have a multimeter that I might be able to use to check on the signal.
 
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#493
Take a small mirror, a compact mirror from your girl friend/wife, and look in the sound hole at the jack and see if the wire is plugged into the jack. I goes from the pre amp to the jack and from the pizeo to the pre amp if my memory serves me right. You will need to loosen the strings to get your hand into the body to mess with the wires. Best of luck with the project
 
#496
Any opinions on the fretted vs fretless ubass? Been looking for a fretless thinking it might be a bit easier to play. Also you can correct intonation problems. I haven't been able to play one personally. That being said I found a fretted one at a nice price. Any thoughts?
 
#497
I think it's very hard to predict what you will like. If you can make it through the pile of previous posts :) you'll see that opinions differ on this. As they should differ - since we all have different opinions on fretted v.s. fretless. Personally, I went from fretted to fretless - and eventually back to fretted, never to touch fretless again. :)

Best bet is to get to a store and try both.
 
#498
jmceachern36 said:
Any opinions on the fretted vs fretless ubass? Been looking for a fretless thinking it might be a bit easier to play. Also you can correct intonation problems. I haven't been able to play one personally. That being said I found a fretted one at a nice price. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

I used to chafe at the "You have to use a fretless U-Bass" camp, but overall I agree. At least, in terms of upright-like tone, the fretless does sound more like a hyper-upright. I never had a problem with 'fret clack', but I do enjoy my de-retted U-Bass more than when it had frets. Intonation is often improved, too (very few fretted U-Basses I have tried have had good intonation up to the 14th fret...).

De-fretting these is pretty easy, too. The tiny frets are not glued in too strongly & it's an easy job to fill and plane the board. I did mine in a couple of hours.
 
#500
jmceachern36 said:
Ooooh. Great idea. It would be getting the bulk of the use on a jazz gig. Is there a truss rod in the ubass?
Click to expand...

My older model does not. The new ones all do, I believe.

I've had mine for years now. In every climate imaginable from Florida in the summer to Saskatchewan in the winter. It's never budged.
 

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