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Kala UBass Megathread, Part 7

#1,622
Started a thread about this but nobody responded ... then I saw this thread:

Hello, I just bought a set of these
here Galli/Kala Flat Wounds... is there
Anything I need to know about them; like special installation steps or any thing? how far past the tuning post should I trim the string for a nice neat post wrap...? Etc.
 
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#1,627
Thanks! Haven't needed an adjustment yet, but I'll put a 5/32" in the bag! Appreciate.
Really is a nice little bass huh?
Was using it at rehearsal the other night - Nirvana's "Come As You Are" - coming out of the lead guitar solo a little bit of controlled feedback from the JMan did the trick!
With the Galli stings, this bass can really work for a good variety of tunes.
 
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#1,628
With the Galli strings...you mean with flats? I guess so. So far, I've only had the rounds that came with it. I find I can get a nice, deep, almost dub like sound from them. Really good for the Latin and jazz trios I am currently playing with.

If the flats sound better...that must be a pretty awesome sound.

Kala strongly suggests that we use a case or gig bag humidifier with our instrument...do you guys do that? Or is Kala just trying to sell those humidifiers?
 
#1,630
jfh2424 said:
With the Galli strings...you mean with flats? I guess so. So far, I've only had the rounds that came with it. I find I can get a nice, deep, almost dub like sound from them. Really good for the Latin and jazz trios I am currently playing with.

If the flats sound better...that must be a pretty awesome sound.

Kala strongly suggests that we use a case or gig bag humidifier with our instrument...do you guys do that? Or is Kala just trying to sell those humidifiers?
Click to expand...
Actually it's these strings that I use. In my opinion they bring this bass to life. I agree that for more of the "upright" sound the rubber type of string works best. I've not tried the flats or the rounds. But these so far have made me the happiest:
upload_2020-3-5_21-58-52.png


As to humidity, I live in a very dry climate. I keep it in it's soft case and with various humidifying devices I am just able, in winter, to keep the humidity in the low 30's.
In summer we use evaporative cooling which bumps it up to mid 40's.
I believe it's a good idea to not let acoustic wood instruments get too dry. I do use case humidifiers as well at times.
 
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#1,631
MasterMonkeyMan said:
Actually it's these strings that I use. In my opinion they bring this bass to life. I agree that for more of the "upright" sound the rubber type of string works best. I've not tried the flats or the rounds. But these so far have made me the happiest:
View attachment 3733314

As to humidity, I live in a very dry climate. I keep it in it's soft case and with various humidifying devices I am just able, in winter, to keep the humidity in the low 30's.
In summer we use evaporative cooling which bumps it up to mid 40's.
I believe it's a good idea to not let acoustic wood instruments get too dry. I do use case humidifiers as well at times.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that, MasterMonkeyMan. I appreciate it. I will try them in the future. It's always nice to have another option.
 
#1,632
Hello all. I was happy with the gig bag that came with my Kala Journeyman in most ways. However, the cut out “pocket” really did not leave any room for cables and other things. I looked around the net for options. The Fusion bag was super cool, but super expensive. And then @kohanmike suggested the ChromaCast gig bag (baritone size).
https://www.amazon.com/ChromaCast-C...ocphy=1013587&hvtargid=pla-522603270168&psc=1. It was relatively inexpensive, it looked good...I bought it. I also bought the little uke stand. (I am in Canada and in order to have free delivery, I needed to spend a bigger amount. So I bought the stand, because I would’ve spent roughly the same amount on delivery).

I really like the bag! It isn’t really a whole lot better than the Kala bag. The padding and straps are relatively the same. But the little pouch made a difference to me. I can put stuff that I need in it, I don’t need to bring a separate bag for all that now. Plus, the long pouch at the top of the bag is really cool to transport cables. With those two things, I have all the room I need for what I want to bring with me.

The stand is...ok. I wasn’t expecting much and it pretty much delivered that. It is rather flimsy. It won’t really keep the Jman upright if it is hit while on the stand. It’s an ok stand as long as you don’t touch it! But as I said, I wasn’t really expecting much. I don’t think I would trust this on a gig. I would take my Hercules stand. However, this stand does fit into the long top pouch of the gig bag. Still...I wouldn’t trust it in a bar.

I’m writing this in case someone else is looking around for a gig bag for their Jman or other uke. Thanks for the heads up about the bag, @kohanmike! I appreciate it.
 
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#1,634
jfh2424 said:
Hello all. I was happy with the gig bag that came with my Kala Journeyman in most ways. However, the cut out “pocket” really did not leave any room for cables and other things. I looked around the net for options. The Fusion bag was super cool, but super expensive. And then @kohanmike suggested the ChromaCast gig bag (baritone size).
https://www.amazon.com/ChromaCast-C...ocphy=1013587&hvtargid=pla-522603270168&psc=1. It was relatively inexpensive, it looked good...I bought it. I also bought the little uke stand. (I am in Canada and in order to have free delivery, I needed to spend a bigger amount. So I bought the stand, because I would’ve spent roughly the same amount on delivery).

I really like the bag! It isn’t really a whole lot better than the Kala bag. The padding and straps are relatively the same. But the little pouch made a difference to me. I can put stuff that I need in it, I don’t need to bring a separate bag for all that now. Plus, the long pouch at the top of the bag is really cool to transport cables. With those two things, I have all the room I need for what I want to bring with me.

The stand is...ok. I wasn’t expecting much and it pretty much delivered that. It is rather flimsy. It won’t really keep the Jman upright if it is hit while on the stand. It’s an ok stand as long as you don’t touch it! But as I said, I wasn’t really expecting much. I don’t think I would trust this on a gig. I would take my Hercules stand. However, this stand does fit into the long top pouch of the gig bag. Still...I wouldn’t trust it in a bar.

I’m writing this in case someone else is looking around for a gig bag for their Jman or other uke. Thanks for the heads up about the bag, @kohanmike! I appreciate it.
Click to expand...
Helpful review jfh, thanks for sharing.
 
#1,636
jfh2424 said:
So 5/32 did it for my Journeyman. Turning the key counter clockwise (to the left) three times seems to have gotten rid of the buzz. But we will see tomorrow for the final test, after everything has settled.

John
Click to expand...

Buzz is completely gone. Intonation is dead on. Setting the action higher on the Jman is not difficult.

I'm glad to see that the trussrod is useable. These instruments seem really well made. At least as far as I can see, at this point.
 
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#1,638
Hi everyone,

I recently bought a Kala Journeyman UBass, I want to check the piezo seating (string volume balance issue), but the saddle does not seem to come off (strings are off), as if it is glued in place. Has anyone taken off the saddle, is there a trick to it?
 
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#1,639
The saddle is part of an assembly that includes the pickups. You have to unplug the assembly from the preamp, take it out, pull off the two black caps on the ends and then the saddle will come out. Inside the metal base are four small pickups, one for each string. I've fixed string to string volume problems by slicing apart the the four sections of the saddle and carefully reassembling the saddle assembly. This allows each string put individual pressure on the pickup below. Why the saddle is not done that way in the first place is beyond me, poor designing.

I just had the same thing happen to my new Oscar Schmidt Comfort Flame Maple with the G string, so I'm going to do the same fix. If it doesn't work, then I'll change the strings.
 
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#1,640
KohanMike said:
The saddle is part of an assembly that includes the pickups. You have to unplug the assembly from the preamp, take it out, pull off the two black caps on the ends and then the saddle will come out. Inside the metal base are four small pickups, one for each string. I've fixed string to string volume problems by slicing apart the the four sections of the saddle and carefully reassembling the saddle assembly. This allows each string put individual pressure on the pickup below. Why the saddle is not done that way in the first place is beyond me, poor designing.

I just had the same thing happen to my new Oscar Schmidt Comfort Flame Maple with the G string, so I'm going to do the same fix. If it doesn't work, then I'll change the strings.
Click to expand...
Sounds like a great solution! Do you have pictures posted somewhere of how you did this?
 

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