ukulele as starter bass???

there are ukulele basses that are stringed eadg

U-Bass Landing – Kala Brand Music Co.

 

Firstly, welcome!

As Bassweazl says there are ukelele basses out there. Kala's are probably the best, but pricey.
I'd say go for it ... even with an ordinary uke.
At the least, it'd get his fingers ready for a 'real' instrument.

 

Are ukuleles not real? Did I just imagine them?

 

i´d want one too for noodling around on the couch, but the kala´s are too expensive for that.

does anyone know if there are cheaper ones worth trying?

 

A regular Ukulele has a totally different feel and approach that a bass uke.
Not to mention sound.
A Rondo Hadean bass Uke is perfect.
And it won't break the bank.Rondo Music Banjos and Ukuleles

 

At four?

If your kids are anything like mine, four is so young that getting ANY instrument into their little paws is great. I wouldn’t get hung up on the number of strings, nor the type of instrument. If they’re willing to play it, go with it.

 

most kids don't develope any musical inclinations until age 10 or 12. Until then, just keep instruments around the house. Remember kids that young have virtually NO attention span.

 

just tune it to EADG in the uke's octave. It'll be fine.

 

ukulele as starter bass???
No.

 

+1 on the Hadean Bass uke. Nicely made, good sounding (if you like the sound of a bass uke), and very affordable compared to some of the alternatives. Depending on his size, there’s always the 25” micro basses such as the Ibanez Mikro to consider.

 

i started on piano at age 6 ... ( but that was eons ago )

i know for piano ... a whole new world of music opens up as soon as your fingers can reach an octave .. !
before piano , i was noodling around with a melodica for a year-ish ... great for little fingers ..!

the small bass ukes would be cool ... and it's also something you could use .. !

 

If you don't want to spend that much on an instrument that might end up getting smashed:

Hadean Bass Uke UKB-22 Fretless - RondoMusic.com

Rondo has the Hadean line of ukulele basses.

 

It's like the "real world". People keep talking about it and so far it seems I haven't gotten there. I think that ukuleles and the world I'm living in must be imaginary. Oh well, these ukes and this world work for me so I'll just keep waiting for the real thing.

On topic, a uke should work as a first instrument but I'd say if you really want to give him a good start, go with piano lessons either now or in a year or so like @DavC mentioned.

 

I agree. If he's into hitting, plucking, etc. any kind of thing that he feels is making music, then let em at it! I bought my son a Bronco bass when he was about 8. Even that was way too big for him, but he had some fun with it. It was actually quite awesome--he'd lay it flat on the floor and we'd run it through all kinds of stomps--multiple delays, fuzz, you-name-it-- and he was doing abstract drone noise music at 8!
He's not toying with it much now (he's 12), he still grabs it from time to time. It sits right by the piano and he's more into that these days, but the bass did get him started.

 

by the time Esperanza Spalding was five years old she'd taught HERSELF to play the violin and was performing with The Chamber Music Society of Oregon. She's now on track to become the worlds greatest living bassist...so, I'd say four is OK and Uke is OK.

 

Every kid should have a uke to play around with. Its a great introduction to stringed instruments. Cheap digital keyboard/synths are good too. Both are inexpensive so you're not out much of the kid loses interest or breaks it.

 

Could you expand upon your reasoning so we can mock you easier?

 

You so win the net today!!!