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KK Baby Bass


drewk_ie
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I was wondering the same thing. I've been lusting after some form of Baby Bass for years but you hardly ever see them on this side of the pond. These KK ones seem reasonably priced so if they have anything like that authentic Ampeg thump they'd be a great addition to the Latin band that I play in. Now I just need to rustle up the cash, which will probably take me several years :(

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  • 3 weeks later...

I bought a KB2 a few months ago. Spent a good bit of time A/B'ing it with a '65 Ampeg BB and it's really impressive. I've been using it almost exclusively lately. Right on the money for the salsa sound. I've owned or played on several other Ampeg copies -- Sendel, MOG, Ray Ramirez, etc. The KK stands out the most because of the build quality (Ray Ramirez and Azola are in the same class). It's the first BB I've seen since the Azolas where no corners have been cut. It looks, sounds and FEELS like a high quality instrument. Another plus, and the reason I gave this a try was that the bass is made in Europe. That means no funny business with your bass arriving damaged or in pieces because of customs issues in Latin America. I've had a few nightmare situations with the Colombian bass makers ... I won't get into it here. But KK is a completely professional operation. Kris was really helpful and responsive. The bass arrived in perfect condition, ON TIME. Then he emailed me a few times within the first few weeks to make sure that everything was working perfectly. I've contacted him a couple of times since and I've always received a response the same day. Highly recommended -- It's a beautiful instrument and I'm totally happy with it for Latin music. Great attack and thump... the pickup is just right. The bass is head and shoulders above the other options. The KB2 is so portable and it does the job like a champ. If I didn't have the Ampeg, I'd get a KB1 in a second. I still may. If you do salsa, without a doubt, it's a good choice. Can't really comment on using it for other playing styles.

Edited by ampegbabythump
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Apegbabythump, you praise this bass,among others.
so can you, pleace, tell some more have you giged it on a scene, and ,can you go into details abit more, other than, just saing its great.as fare as I know, you are the only one,begining to coment on this bass, so its wery interesting,with all respect,congrat with the-bass.like to hear what, players, have to say about, KK basses?

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I have been playing EUB for the last few years mainly Latin and Jazz using and trying different type of basses, not trying to feed any criticism here on any I have used. I found about KK baby bass through a friend that plays in NY , he got KB1 and recommended KB1. My choices were: getting $2000 Ampeg that needs work =pay more or go for KB1, I went for it , ordered in white, 4 weeks later I had my bass. Over all, very well finished, most importantly good quality fingerboard, sounds great through any amplification. The truths comes out on stage, band work, with different type of venues acoustics. If you are looking for Ampeg like sound and Azola finish KB1 is a good choice.

Has anybody tried the Superior Bassworks nylon strigs?

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[quote name='sea1bass' timestamp='1344010013' post='1758712']
Apegbabythump, you praise this bass,among others.
so can you, pleace, tell some more have you giged it on a scene, and ,can you go into details abit more, other than, just saing its great.as fare as I know, you are the only one,begining to coment on this bass, so its wery interesting,with all respect,congrat with the-bass.like to hear what, players, have to say about, KK basses?
[/quote]

Yeah -- I've only had it for a little while so I can't say that I've gigged with it extensively. The best thing about the KB2 is taking it to rehearsals. Effortless. I've done a couple of latin dance music gigs with it -- the salsa scene. That's where it shines. I have some SuperFlexibles on it and it is actually more powerful than the Ampeg in terms of volume. Since there's not much body to it, I use a K&M EUB stand with it while playing and that works great. In terms of other detail, I'd just say that this bass sounds exactly like the Ampeg BB. The other baby basses I've played have been good instruments, but they usually do something a bit different with the pickup and the sound requires quite a bit of tweaking for my taste (I like a very old school sound). When I put the SuperFlexible strings on the KK, it was immediately ready to go. It's the jackpot for me because I have a lightweight, compact, solidly built baby bass that sounds like a vintage Ampeg. I'm not sure how many people are looking for that, but if you are, look no further. I imagine you can get all sorts of different sounds if you use different strings. But really... if you're not into salsa, why bother with a baby bass?

In terms of people starting to talk about these basses, I don't know how many are out there... when I bought mine, there was no KK website. It was recommended to me by word of mouth. But Kris sent me photos and sound samples. The price was right and I took a chance. I have spent twice as much money on a plasticky baby bass that arrived several months late and had to have a lot of work done before being playable. I suspect more and more people will give these a try and they are likely to fill the gap in the market that Azola left. I just did a search and there are some youtube videos online. All very recent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2YM9OMLKYw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUMoipiOHZM

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MMmm judging from,that seller is selling his instruments new on ebay,all ove the world,therre must bee sold somthing?
if you look at the baby bass threads, on talk bass they,go pretty mutch in to details abot a lot of things.
kk basses, doont have a phone number to call, on their/his site,and the site is a littel mysterious in that way(manny(i think)sorry.
I just mean that a place like this wood bee perfect to show up,for KK basses,and get some super basses out the door.
its really allmost to good that a London ,luither can make basses at same prices, as in fantastic hot latino contries,(great people! over there,(tho their custom-police shut have more labradors,he he not funny,sorry)

with all respect,
look forward to hear more.

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I have heard some stories in NY about damaged basses from south america, but I didn’t think it was all true, you know, people tell stories . I can imagine the disappointment though.

ampegbabythumb when I was buying my KB1 ( like the red from YouTube link but in white ) over a year ego, the website was there.

Sea1bass mentions KK basses, it is actually KK baby bass, KK basses is completely different establishment, bass guitars I think. And yes, some of this may appear mysterious in some ways, they may not be known as Azola yet, but hey to me it may be as simple as good bass, good price to gain the market trust , Europe is not driven by latin music style ? although bass sounds great on Jazz !

I have a good instrument I wanted, made and delivered on time, not much to add here. I would have had to fork-out a lot more to get this quality instrument. Never mind reason behind it.

Sea1bass, they have a phone No, when ordering I sent a message through website and the replied email had tel No . I was also offered to try the bass before ordering.

!!!!!has anyone tried those strings I mentioned before?

Regards to all!

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Hey fellas

I'm a pro bass player from Paris and 2 months ago i buy a KK baby bass through ebay ! I realy love it, a good bass for latin and also it's great for old school jazz, soul. I know the ampeg bass and the KR1 seems a very good reissue of the old one with a better neck fingerboard wood. Kris is very serious he phoned me many times to know if the bass is ok. The difference between it and an Ampeg is the sustain, plucking with the end of the fingers give you that puncjy tumbao sound but in a jazz context you can have a warm sustain for ballads ! Fine arco player too

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Hey Fatback.
just hit KK baby bass ,annywere on google,and thy pop up ,or on ebay and you will see the, price.
i think around 6-700 GB pounds, if they are as good as felow BC say, its a god deal,
mabye its gonna bee a big hit ,just like sandberg did?who knows, mabye we will see Sting,and other big names endorse,it soon?

annyone been to the K:K:B:B shop?

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AZOLA Basses I chlosed, at the moment,nobody knows ,if they start up again.

this threat,is the forum with most info on KKbabybasses,,,,?() so KK come on the thread ,or sombody get in to details.
I think it wood be hard to make somthing, as good as the ,latin luithers(price),(thats were the music is from) so they know -tumbao!

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[quote name='sea1bass' timestamp='1344338148' post='1762924']
AZOLA Basses I chlosed, at the moment,nobody knows ,if they start up again.

this threat,is the forum with most info on KKbabybasses,,,,?() so KK come on the thread ,or sombody get in to details.
I think it wood be hard to make somthing, as good as the ,latin luithers(price),(thats were the music is from) so they know -tumbao!
[/quote]

That may be where the music is from, but that does not mean that you are getting a good deal on the instrument. With these basses, the key is the pickup. That is done right on these basses. Add in good quality materials (probably sourced very differently than the Latin makers) and professional, quality-controlled building processes ... better bass, better price. Looking at one of the basses I bought from Colombia, there's NO WAY it's worth the price I paid for it. And I thought that long before I knew anything about KK. It was clear as soon as I unpacked the bass. It's just the price for these semi-rare instruments and the market supports it. Lots of plastic, components which don't fit well together, very little attention to detail. Fingerboard that lasts for about a year of good playing. You pay double and more for the next level -- Ramirez, Azola, Ampeg in good condition, etc. So hopefully these KK baby basses will change the market a bit. I suspect they are actually worth the price with a reasonable margin for KK.

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[quote name='AlfreDez' timestamp='1344260722' post='1761826']
I have heard some stories in NY about damaged basses from south america, but I didn’t think it was all true, you know, people tell stories . I can imagine the disappointment though.

ampegbabythumb when I was buying my KB1 ( like the red from YouTube link but in white ) over a year ego, the website was there.

Sea1bass mentions KK basses, it is actually KK baby bass, KK basses is completely different establishment, bass guitars I think. And yes, some of this may appear mysterious in some ways, they may not be known as Azola yet, but hey to me it may be as simple as good bass, good price to gain the market trust , Europe is not driven by latin music style ? although bass sounds great on Jazz !

I have a good instrument I wanted, made and delivered on time, not much to add here. I would have had to fork-out a lot more to get this quality instrument. Never mind reason behind it.

Sea1bass, they have a phone No, when ordering I sent a message through website and the replied email had tel No . I was also offered to try the bass before ordering.

!!!!!has anyone tried those strings I mentioned before?

Regards to all!
[/quote]

Ok, interesting. When I was looking, I couldn't find any info on google. I was thinking that KK was around for a much shorter time. So there must be more of them out there! Can you post a picture of your white baby? If I get a KB1, I think I would go white.

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[quote name='sea1bass' timestamp='1344253544' post='1761682']
MMmm judging from,that seller is selling his instruments new on ebay,all ove the world,therre must bee sold somthing?
if you look at the baby bass threads, on talk bass they,go pretty mutch in to details abot a lot of things.
kk basses, doont have a phone number to call, on their/his site,and the site is a littel mysterious in that way(manny(i think)sorry.
I just mean that a place like this wood bee perfect to show up,for KK basses,and get some super basses out the door.
its really allmost to good that a London ,luither can make basses at same prices, as in fantastic hot latino contries,(great people! over there,(tho their custom-police shut have more labradors,he he not funny,sorry)

with all respect,
look forward to hear more.
[/quote]
[quote name='Nicolas Chelly' timestamp='1344268308' post='1761983']
Hey fellas

I'm a pro bass player from Paris and 2 months ago i buy a KK baby bass through ebay ! I realy love it, a good bass for latin and also it's great for old school jazz, soul. I know the ampeg bass and the KR1 seems a very good reissue of the old one with a better neck fingerboard wood. Kris is very serious he phoned me many times to know if the bass is ok. The difference between it and an Ampeg is the sustain, plucking with the end of the fingers give you that puncjy tumbao sound but in a jazz context you can have a warm sustain for ballads ! Fine arco player too
[/quote]

Hey all,

I sent an email enquiry to kris via the website and he called me back, very similar and quick response when I ordered my Azola a few years back and Jill (Azola) called me... and Kris has since sent me on a few sound clips and invited me to come and try the bass out in person!

Based on the contact so far, I couldn't fault them for their 'hands on' approach....

It's good to see a few players popping up who have tried and tested the KK Baby Bass! Keep the info coming....

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