Kala UBass Megathread, Part 7

[Mediocrity Man]

Both will nail Motown, once you drop the treble a bit. It's a beautiful thing.
What's Goin On:

Nice job!!!

 

[cavemanbass]

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.View attachment 3017876

Action is very high especially the treble side. No way to adjust it, at least not on the one I have (Rumbler). If you want metal strings I suggest trying the Taylor mini bass. Excellent intonation, perfect setup. I switched mine over to use Gold Tone / labella nylon core strings and it is awesome. IMO etc

 

[cactus1]

I was just surprised because I didn't remember the (few) uke basses that I tried in the past having such high action. It is a shame because otherwise I would be happy with this bass.

 

[KohanMike]

The action does need to be higher than for metal strings. Loosen the strings and take out the saddle assembly (the ivory colored section and see if there are shims in the bridge slot in which it sits. I've removed shims I've found in my Rondos.

 

[cactus1]

The action does need to be higher than for metal strings. Loosen the strings and take out the saddle assembly (the ivory colored section and see if there are shims in the bridge slot in which it sits. I've removed shims I've found in my Rondos.

No such luck here. The bridge is bottomed out. Out of curiosity what kind of gap do you have at the 16th fret on your uke basses? This looks to be almost a 1/4" between top of fret and bottom of the e string.

 

[cavemanbass]

No such luck here. The bridge is bottomed out. Out of curiosity what kind of gap do you have at the 16th fret on your uke basses? This looks to be almost a 1/4" between top of fret and bottom of the e string.

Mine is 3/16 on both the E and G strings. I usually set up my ABGs to 3/32 on the G string and 1/8 on the E so the Kala seems very high. Doesn’t feel all that weird because of the soft strings, but I would prefer lower. Lower action would also help with intonation for us fretted players.

 

[KohanMike]

Out of curiosity what kind of gap do you have at the 16th fret on your uke basses?

My Rondo acoustic walnut is 7/32 inch. Because the strings are looser than metal, I don't find the gap a problem.

 

[cactus1]

My Rondo acoustic walnut is 7/32 inch. Because the strings are looser than metal, I don't find the gap a problem.

Thanks for your comments. I am trying to acclimate to this gap but I don't know if I can get comfortable with it. I can adjust okay to the scale length and string spacing, but my other basses and guitars are set up with the lowest possible action and this bass is 180 degrees away from that. Can you shave the bottom of the saddle down to lower the action? I am going to put in more time with it because I really want this to work for me. On the plus side my wife approves, she thinks it's cute, and we both really like the way it sounds through my PF 50T.

 

[cavemanbass]

Thanks for your comments. I am trying to acclimate to this gap but I don't know if I can get comfortable with it. I can adjust okay to the scale length and string spacing, but my other basses and guitars are set up with the lowest possible action and this bass is 180 degrees away from that. Can you shave the bottom of the saddle down to lower the action? I am going to put in more time with it because I really want this to work for me. On the plus side my wife approves, she thinks it's cute, and we both really like the way it sounds through my PF 50T.

Mine has the pickup attached to the saddle and can’t be lowered. However what did help a lot was filing the nut down.

 

[cactus1]

I popped the saddle out, but as soon as I saw no shims, I put it right back in without really checking the bottom to see if I could shave it down. I don't think I would gain much by filing this nut as the gap there is really not bad. The height of the bridge is really my issue.

 

[KohanMike]

I popped the saddle out, but as soon as I saw no shims, I put it right back in without really checking the bottom to see if I could shave it down. I don't think I would gain much by filing this nut as the gap there is really not bad. The height of the bridge is really my issue.

That's was going to be my next suggestion, remove some of the wood in the channel where the saddle sits.

 

[cactus1]

That's was going to be my next suggestion, remove some of the wood in the channel where the saddle sits.

After playing the Hadean for a week, I am really liking it. I will probably mess around with the saddle when I eventually change strings, but, the high action seems like less and less of an issue the longer I play it. Any suggestions for a good, cheap, gig bag? Thanks

 

[RoadRanger]

Any suggestions for a good, cheap, gig bag? Thanks

My two fit just fine in ordinary baratone uke bags from fleaBay.

 

[KohanMike]

Any suggestions for a good, cheap, gig bag? Thanks

I like the ChromaCast baritone gig bags.

https://www.amazon.com/ChromaCast-CC-TNBTB-BAG-Baritone-Ukulele-Padded/dp/B00H54AILK

 

[Hypercaffium]

Hi guys,
I'm thinking about getting a nano/travel bass for this summer.
I've seen several "Rumble" models around, so I guess it's the most popular among them?
Do you have a specific model to recommend? I don't need necessarely the cheapest model, I just want to get some infos about the differences between them in order to get an idea of what is better for me.
Thanks.

 

[murmur70]

Hi guys,
I'm thinking about getting a nano/travel bass for this summer.
I've seen several "Rumble" models around, so I guess it's the most popular among them?
Do you have a specific model to recommend? I don't need necessarely the cheapest model, I just want to get some infos about the differences between them in order to get an idea of what is better for me.
Thanks.

I thought about the Rumbler. I like the look of the dark wood better. I have seen a lot of cracked headstocks on the Rumblers which made me nervous. I would take the step up to the Exotic Mahogany. I went with the Bubinga model(discontinued but can still be found in some shops and Reverb). It is the same level of instrument as the Exotic Mahogany. Some say the Bubinga is the best sounding of the acoustic models. I also wanted the rear access panel to make changing strings easier which the Rumbler did not have(the 2018 models do have it).

 

[Hypercaffium]

Is this the Exotic Mahogany model you're talking about?
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Infos are lacking on this one, but I guess it's him.
This is the Rumbler:
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[murmur70]

Is this the Exotic Mahogany model you're talking about?
Invalid Link Removed
Infos are lacking on this one, but I guess it's him.
This is the Rumbler:
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Yes, that is the one. Also the Exotic Mahogany has Hipshot Ultralight tuners instead of the generic ones the Rumbler has.

 

[lug]

Have a Rumbler. Great little Uke, used it on my last recording session, engineer was stunned!

 

[Hypercaffium]

Yes, that is the one. Also the Exotic Mahogany has Hipshot Ultralight tuners instead of the generic ones the Rumbler has.

Thanks.
Considering that I still don't know how much I'll play an instrument like this except for when I'm on vacation (which is the reason I started looking for a ubass), I'd probably go for a cheaper model to start this "journey".
Maybe I'll fall in love with the unique tone of these instruments, maybe not. I wouldn't necessarely go for the cheapest option, though. I'm still trying to get an idea of the differences between models.
The Rumbler seems the most popular, I don't know why.