Just got back from a trip to Kauai where my wife helped me pay for this wonderful little Islander Pako FM (by Kanelea) Bass Ukulele. I've never been a fan of tort pickguards on basses, but for the binding on this instrument, it really looks great!. And, it's fun to play as well. This is a well made instrument with lots of attention to detail and at the same price point as the most common major brand (and I got a nice deal). Flamed mahogany with nicely bookmatched parts. {} {} {} {}
Me too, except for on an actual turtle/tortoise. I'm still trying to figure out what pickguard to put on it...oh, wait...
I don't know how to approach this, but I might as well be straight forward just in case someone is interested in buying one. I've seen what looks like almost the exact same bass as yours from Rondomusic.com in New Hampshire for about $180, Hadean Bass Uke UKB-29 - RondoMusic.com (I almost bought one last year because of the tort binding, but I also want cutaway so I bought their walnut cutaway instead). I'm always curious why people don't say the price they paid for their instrument, I do. Do you mean the Kala U-bass that costs about $400?
Really nice bass - can you share the name of the shop that you got it from? May want to look into getting one...
My local store has something very similar. I played around with it for a minute and put it back because I could not believe how sticky those strings were against my plucking fingertips.
I played with one in a store and had the same comment. The shop owner told me that some u bass players talcum powder their strings to make them less rubbery feeling. Anyone else ever hear of that?
You bring up a good point, and I actually was hoping that the store would have some less expensive alternatives for comparison. However, as a gift, my wife wanted to contribute to the cost and I had some cash from selling another piece of gear, so I wasn't hurt too badly financially. The final assembly and finish of this bass is done in Hawaii instead of China, so I'm sure that makes a difference in the price. The out the door price including a padded gig bag was $400. Others have high recommendations for the Hadean and now Kala has several lower priced options too. I would have been happy with one of those, but my sweet wife encouraged me to go for this really nice one. And, I have to say that I have no buyer's remorse.
Yes, they are sticky, especially the A and E strings. Forget about using a pick! There are other string options available now including regular round wounds. Kala uses a black string material on theirs which is supposedly less sticky. I checked with the manufacturer to make sure this neck would handle round wounds if I ever wanted to go that route and they assured me that it would be no problem. Then it would sound much like an acoustic bass with round wound strings.
I got it from Scotty's Music in Lihue. I actually bought a tenor ukulele from them 8 years ago. They were the only shop on the island that I could find with bass ukes. They had a couple of Kalas as well. But, they didn't have any of the less expensive ones that are on the market now. They are great people and don't pressure you to buy. I had to go away and think about it overnight before I made my decision.
There's lots of information on the Kala Ubass Megathread. Seems that the talcum powder really is a thing. Kala UBass Megathread, Part 7
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