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Harley Benton 'Kahuna' Basses (Kala U-Bass ripoff)


dannybuoy
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Anybody tried one? For £100, about a quarter the price of a Kala, I sure am tempted. I translated the German reviews (which were pretty positive) and they say it's a lot bigger than the Kala, which is a plus point for me as I was looking into getting a [url="http://www.goldtone.com/products/details/w/instrument/494/MicroBass"]Gold Tone Microbass[/url] or [url="http://www.aquilacorde.com/corde-per-musica-moderna/strumento-corde-per-musica-moderna/2813/short-bass-one/?lang=en"]Aquila Short Bass One[/url].

I loved my old Kala, but fancied something a bit bigger and fretless. I had a Breedlove acoustic after that, but it was a big beast and I really want something in between sizes with the rubber strings, just for keeping nearby to pick up and mess around on occasionally. Therefore for the price, the Harley Benton looks like a winner. Surely not up to the build quality of the Kala, but I'm not sure I care! It would be interesting to string one up with either the new Aquila Thunder Reds or the La Bella white tapewounds designed for this scale.

http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_kahuna_clu_bass.htm



http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_kahuna_clu_bass_fl.htm

Edited by dannybuoy
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Check out the Gold Tone and Aquila basses too:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/gold-tone-microbass-talk-1032038/
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/new-acoustic-bass-guitar-shortbass-one-small-loud-968706/

The [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/sub-short-scale-talk-644956/"]sub-short-scale thread[/url] over at Talkbass shows quite a few pictures from NAMM and there are several manufacturers getting in on this game now!

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These Harley Bentons are 21" scale same as the Kala U-Bass (I found conflicting info that the Kala has 20", but their site says 21"), so those Pyramids should fit no problems. They sound good! I wouldn't want them on the fretless if they are roundwound though.

The reviews were saying the Harley Benton is much bigger than the Kala, but I guess that is overall size and body length rather than the string length.

I believe the new LaBella white nylons and the new Aquila Reds (which are better sounding and less sticky than their white Thunderguts) are coming out in both Kala 21" scale and also the longer 23" scale used by a lot of the new basses coming out from other makers.

Edited by dannybuoy
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  • 2 months later...

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1397998144' post='2429339']
I believe andyonbass got one for his daughter recently. Andy?
[/quote]

Thats right, but in typical 15 yr old fashion she never really played it, so I sold it last week. To be fair, she is learning to play electric bass guitar and found adjusting between the the 21' scale and a 34" P bass a bit confusing.
Seemed a tidy little instrument though, I would have changed the strings, had she taken to playing it, as they seemed a bit sticky, (probably would have played in with a little more use). Huge sound when amped though.

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I have one :)
I bought it because I run a uke club so the HB uke bass should fit in fine .
What can I say?
The ONLY thing I don't like about it is the very light colour satin finish. I'm thinking of staining it ebony or a dark colour, this is purely my own preference though, the uke itself I can't fault, mine has the white 'Rubber band' strings but they're not sticky at all. I play it regularly and for the price it's an absolute bargain! :)
Nige

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It makes no sense IF you already have a Kala, Owen.

Seeing as I sold you back your old U-Bass, that left me without one. I waited a long time for Andy's daughter's Kahuna to come up, and it is indeed very nice (and has already attracted compliments from a couple of BCers who have now played it) ... but not as nice as the Kala it copies.

ps: It's worth noting that part of the high price of the Kala gets you a superb padded semi-hard case. The Kahuna comes in a flimsy unpadded plastic gigbag which offers no serious protection whatever.

Edited by Happy Jack
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I have flogged my Kala as I now have a 5 string thing of beauty (you cannot spell Bass without a B ), but I miss the kind of funky comedy duality of the uke size/shape and the phat sound.

Edited by owen
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  • 1 month later...

[URL=http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Performance/Sundry/KingRalphKew35_zps595f714f.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/h4ppyjack/Performance/Sundry/KingRalphKew35_zps595f714f.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

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[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1403532323' post='2483607']
[URL=http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Performance/Sundry/KingRalphKew35_zps595f714f.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/h4ppyjack/Performance/Sundry/KingRalphKew35_zps595f714f.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[/quote]

I'm not sure if this is supposed to represent the 'for' or 'against' side of the argument...

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[quote name='skej21' timestamp='1403556006' post='2483935']
I'm not sure if this is supposed to represent the 'for' or 'against' side of the argument...
[/quote]
Harsh, but true!
I'm waiting for one of you to post an ultra-positive review before I unleash the Barclaycard

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[quote name='booboo' timestamp='1403556371' post='2483944']
I'm waiting for one of you to post an ultra-positive review before I unleash the Barclaycard
[/quote]

I've gigged every bass I've ever owned (it's a sort of OCD thing, I just have to do it to justify buying the bass in the first place :rolleyes: ). At £90-odd I think this may well have been the cheapest bass I've ever played but, in its own way, it was just as satisfying as the £2000 DB at the back of the tent, or the £1500 Mike Lull I played the previous night.

Ultra-positive? Nah! It's a £90 uke-bass for God's sake! But value for money? Oh [b]YES[/b].

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