Kala UBass strings - today!

[uomocane]

Hello,

I’m a UBass early adopter from Italy. Got my spruce top UBass back in 2011, iirc. I played that bass quite often back then, but it has been sitting in the case for the last (not so few) years. I feel like I could go back to it in the next weeks or months, for rehearsals mostly, maybe as a “special effect” in wedding gigs. I took it out of the case a few days ago and I found quite a messy situation - strings have lost all tension, I definitely need to change them.

Which leads to the question: what are the options nowadays? I liked the stock black rubber strings sound very much but I was not a big fan of the super soft feel. I tried the white Aquila strings but I didn’t like the sound and got back to the stock ones.

What can I try now? Are there more options? I’d like a set of strings which sounds mostly similar to the rubber one (double bassy, so to speak) and that feels slightly tighter under the fingers, hopefully requiring less settling time - or no settling time at all. Do I ask for too much?

Thanks for reading, thanks for helping,
u.

 

[J Posega]

Aquila offer a bunch of options now, all you have to do is check their website or Google them. Kala offers some metal-wound strings as well, made by various companies.

No idea which sound closest to the original black Pahoehoe strings. I hated the feel and forever-stretchiness and replaced with Aquila Thunderguts on my first U-bass.

On my current bass, I have the Aquila Thunderbrown which are a little louder than the Thunderguts IMO, plus thinner and have a little more treble content. Never gigged them, but it's the bass that sits next to my desk for noodling on breaks.

 

[HaphAsSard]

Hello,

I’m a UBass early adopter from Italy. Got my spruce top UBass back in 2011, iirc. I played that bass quite often back then, but it has been sitting in the case for the last (not so few) years. I feel like I could go back to it in the next weeks or months, for rehearsals mostly, maybe as a “special effect” in wedding gigs. I took it out of the case a few days ago and I found quite a messy situation - strings have lost all tension, I definitely need to change them.

Which leads to the question: what are the options nowadays? I liked the stock black rubber strings sound very much but I was not a big fan of the super soft feel. I tried the white Aquila strings but I didn’t like the sound and got back to the stock ones.

What can I try now? Are there more options? I’d like a set of strings which sounds mostly similar to the rubber one (double bassy, so to speak) and that feels slightly tighter under the fingers, hopefully requiring less settling time - or no settling time at all. Do I ask for too much?

Thanks for reading, thanks for helping,
u.

From what I've been able to gather (I don't own a U·Bass myself), current options are as follows:


- Dogal UBS162, an unusual, and expensive, steel multifilament-core (aka stranded-/braided-/rope-core), nickel roundwound set

- nylon-core, silver-plated copper roundwounds by Pyramid (508 201) and Kala (KA-BASS-4)
- the similar Aquila Round Spirals, which are nylon multifilament-core, varnished copper roundwounds

- the stock Road Toad Pahoehoe (black and Dreads)

- Worth Strings polyurethane bass ukulele strings (light OP-L and regular OP-R)

- Aquila Nylgut strings, in various flavours, namely Thundergut (68U; also rebranded as D'Addario EJ88UB Nyltech), Thunderblack (140U), the Kala branded Silver Rumblers (AQ-UBASS-RUMBLER), as well as
a pair of incremental improvements over the original formula (less sticky and stretchy, a more present, growlier tone), i.e. the Thunder Reds (91U) and Thunderbrown (165U)

- Aquila "Sugar" bioplastic core, copper flatwounds (Flat Spirals 200U)

- Galli nylon-core, black nylon roundwounds (UXB810)

- Galli nylon-core, stainless steel flatwounds (UXB910C), more commonly available under the Kala brand (KA-BASS-4FW)


^ [options not relevant to your requirements in gray]
Have a browse, and see what info / demo videos you can retrieve about the options I judged to be the most promising for you.

 

[KohanMike]

After playing bass ukes for almost 10 years with the various poly strings, including the new browns, I've given up on them and now only use the Kala/Galli flatwound nylon core. They never get sticky, never need to be trimmed then restrung, have a very 'bassie' sound, and don't have the annoying zing that round wounds have.

 

[iiipopes]

I play the Aquila Silver Rumblers in my ukulele band, Uke66. They last a long, long time. The tone is the perfect complement to the other two in the band, one who plays a soprano uke and the other who plays a concert uke. On my bubinga Kala U-bass, I can get everything from ukulele tone, to upright bass emulation, and when eq'd properly, approaching a driving electric bass style tone. We play everything from traditional Hawaiian to classic rock, jazz and crooner standards, to originals.

 

[uomocane]

Thanks a lot for helping! I appreciated each reply. In the end I think I’ll give those Galli flatwounds a try! Pricey but promising.
Thanks again!
u.