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Kala UBass Megathread, Part 7
- Thread starter olitoon
- Start date
Not sure what kala is doin as all the sub models are discontinued on the website. Only Cali solids are there. Subs were smaller bodied and lighter than my rondo. Higher price uke body kala models are really nice. Gold tone mbass was my most comfortable model I have owned.
A friend of mine bought one of the American made acoustics. It was exactly as good as a foreign made mahogany. A complete waste of money, IMO. A sample size of one is meaningless but I saw absolutely no justification for the price. It wasn’t like an American Fender vs an MIM. There are significant differences in quality there. The thousand dollar ubass, or however much it was, was in no way worth the price unless you really, really want an American made instrument.
My china kala acoustic solid wood mahogany was nicer than a rondo acoustic. Worth the money. Don't know. But some people play 2000 soprano ukes too. Rondo is just as playable
When I had a California solid body there was definitely a difference from my hadean solid body, even when my hadean had the lr baggs electronics in it - the rondo necks feel a lot cheaper. However, I was not impressed at all with the build of the kala and I think the fact that there's no truss rod is a major oversight.
I've never played a rondo acoustic ubass, and I only played a kala once in a store, but the kala did sound really nice - it was an older acoustic with no preamp, and sounded very fat and felt great. No doubt they all feel better than my converted first act baby guitar ubass....
I have 2 Kala acoustic-electric U Basses, one from California (for 2 years now) and one from China (4 years). I've played (and gigged with) each of them quite a bit. The California model looks nicer overall but several minor cosmetic flaws appear on close inspection. The China model is "plainer" but flawless (I think). The LR Baggs electronics on the Cali unit appear to have hotter output than the Shadow electronics on the China model, but this is just a subjective impression. The Cali U-Bass/LR Baggs combination also offers more control over the tone that the China/Shadow unit does. However, they both produce the deep, rich tones for which the U Bass is famous, although the tone of each is quite different than the other (played through the same rig).
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Is there a problem with the U-Basses being downtuned to a "D" from standard "E" or will the strings get too floppy and the neck need to be readjusted?
Thinking of picking one up for an acoustic band I play in but everyone is downtuned a full step.
Thinking of picking one up for an acoustic band I play in but everyone is downtuned a full step.
If you could get away with a solid body uke in the acoustic band, a 5-string California might be worth considering.
Does the solid body kala sound like an upright? 5 string is not necessary but I would certainly consider it if it had the acoustic upright sound.
Take a look at the new Kala Journeyman, it's reasonably priced ($300) and does have an upright sound to a degree, and would fit in an acoustic band very well.
I've never played one myself, but there are some Youtube videos out there. The fretless would sound more "uprightish" than the fretted. That's why I chose my fretless mahogany acoustic over the fretted model.
I agree that fret less is the way to go.
My concern is whether or not I can down tune to DGCF without floppiness and having to adjust the neck.
Mine's downtuned to D. You have to have a very light touch, it's as far as I'd want to go.
scotch
It's not rocket science!
- Nov 12, 2006
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I've returned a whole step before. There really should be no neck adjustment necessary. The string tension does get a little floppy with Pahoehoe's though. Playable, you just have to adjust your technique.
I actually like the red one, of which I recently became aware, because I have a set of red Pahoehoe strings (red is the official state color of Hawaii).
The Hadean UKB 23C I ordered from Rondo came today. The service was excellent. The bass looks good, the intonation
seems okay and the sound across the strings is very even. That is the good part. The problem for me is that action is so high that it is very difficult/uncomfortable to play. Is this extreme high action common on these? I can't imagine ever playing this with round wound strings like some people have installed on their uke basses. I am planning on sending it back but I'm just curious what anyone thinks about this.
seems okay and the sound across the strings is very even. That is the good part. The problem for me is that action is so high that it is very difficult/uncomfortable to play. Is this extreme high action common on these? I can't imagine ever playing this with round wound strings like some people have installed on their uke basses. I am planning on sending it back but I'm just curious what anyone thinks about this.
