KK Baby Bass

[leo]

Hi all
I found this forum on google search and have been following for a while. It is great share the experience , it helps in many ways
At start I would like to point out that I do not have KK baby bass yet.
Principally I have a question for [size=4][b]sea1bass[/b][/size]:
What music do you play and what EUB do YOU use?

[sea1bass]

Hey leo.
I play salsa, and contry,
I got the ns design 4 string (half a year), but like to get somthing with som more vintage tone, and bumpy like and old ampeg baby,
but wood be nice to get som propper instrument with out paying 2grands.

are you going for the KK?, then lets hear about it,Leo, and Wellcome to the Forum.

[leo]

Hi

Thanks for your answer. The reason why I asked is that a forum like this I consider a good source of other people experience based on some facts before they make a statement. You seem to have most doubts about these basses that anyone in this forum, I had the impression that you had some sort of bad experience with KK baby bass. It was my misunderstanding since you use NS.
I agree that it is difficult to find a good gear at reasonable/affordable price these days. That is why I guess people follow these forums. I also play salsa and afro-jazz

I had bad experience with bass from South America, not important now by who and how. Fingerboard was crap, cheap wood painted black.

I live in Glasgow and we were in London occasionally, I took the opportunity to go and check the bass out , KK studio not far from Heathrow airport. I tried 3 basses with different type of strings on them; nylon round wound(nice but strange), thomastic superflex and helicore hybrit low tention. Also 2 different amps; Peavey and Markbass combo. I like the sound has very minor differences between the type of the string, very much ampeg sound. Over all it is nice looking bass; has ebony fingerboard, good finish.To me, as mr skeptical I am, it sound all good so far.
I ordered KB1, waiting time from 4-6 weeks on the color that I chose.

Thanks to all for info.

[sea1bass]

Thanks for the post Leo ,and sorry, if I been a bit to skeptical?,with out backing,,other than what I found on the net.

i got a littel off wen Fellow BCers,start to blame no name Latino luithers,making funny deals, and beeing that kind-
of stero dealing ,with.so just buy a thrusty London Bass, I dont like the sound off that .
why not , just stick to KK witch this thread, is about.
Leo, I think it wood bee , a wery good ,thing to start, a thread,about bad experience,wen buying EUB.
Its not mutch use wen you,compare it with somthing that simply, dosent do the job,and you dont name other-
than, latin America,Start a thread about IT.(you are giving Latin luithers, a BAD name)
So Leo ,and KK Basses,sory if i been ,a bit skeptical,looks like, info comming out,just now,Im werry sory for beeing,a bit negative on subject.keep it comming Leo.
And Leo you and others ,here on the Thread,if you only wanna compare,with chrap bases from ???you can just point at witch thread to look, at so we can see witch ,to avoid,in another, thread,

Leo Thanks for your, extremly god, info!(compared with my skeptical ,not realy, usefull skepticisme.SORRY)

I get your point, Leo Thanks.

[Virgilio]

Hey guys

I ordered a kk KB1 this morning, I have no experience with EUB's, but I used to play double bass.
I agree that the tone of this basses, works great with salsa; but i would like to know if anyone can recomend me strings to get more sustain and growl out of this bass.
I do not play salsa, but im not oposed to learn, I got it to play some Jazz funk type of thing, or even bow.

thank you

Edited July 14, 2014 by Virgilio

[Clarky]

I would email Kris Kedzior directly and ask his recommendation - he is best placed to know (he plays his instruments as well as builds them). For a warm jazzy thump I would recommend Presto Nylonwound Ultralight strings but they are not great for bowing. For a more traditional steel string that bows, maybe Thomastik Superflexible or Spirocore Solo Tuning (these are meant to be tuned higher than EADG so in downtuning them they become lower tension under the fingers). Many BB players use Thomastik Solo strings

[Virgilio]

thank you, I remember playing the solo ones when I played doublebass many years ago.
but yes I will e mail him.

someone mention before that this basses were for latin salsa music, but I personally disagree.

no sure if you guys have seen guys asking for the best bass for metal.
and we all know that it could be a P bass with flats, or some other modern bass with EMG,s and super bright strings.

cheers

[Dazed]

Reviving this thread as have I appear to have a growing interest in DB/ EUB and these seem to be getting a good rep.

Any further string experiences to offer? Again looking for a more growly Jazz tone not so much the thumpy ampeg sound ( which these carry off very well !)

[Makka]

Hi Dazed, how have you gotten on?

I have recently ordered one of these bases. Kris will custom build your bass to suit. I wanted to create as much of a natural feel and sound as possible so I ordered a custom K K baby bass, traditional body style which is the largest body they make. I have opted for a 5 String set up strung with Thomastik Spiricore S strings. I figure that the larger the volume of bass structure, the more acoustic it will sound so I have opted for a full 4/4 size. It will obviously be way smaller than a full wooden acoustic 4/4 but big enough to get a more acoustic tone.

I play jazz and Latin jazz so it's important for me to get that growl so with the added volume and Thomastik Spiricore S strings (not the cheapest strings though), I'm sure it should hit the spot.

Edited September 6, 2015 by Makka

[njbillbass]

Hi all,
I just recently joined this forum looking for some opinions on using a piezo pickup on a KK baby bass that I've had for about 2 years now. I'm not really sure how it would sound, but I've recently been interested in a little more high end. I do love the huge thump that I get from the stock bass - but some new projects are calling for a little slap...and I'm thinking I need a little more click and
high end. Anyone ever experiment with this before ?....I'm sure folks have. For reference, this is video was taken with sound off the board (after a few minutes in) and I really like how
the KK sounds in this setting. And yeah, I know...I'm not a salsa player...I'm not sure why the baby bass gets pigeon-holed for that type of music, but I use it on all kinds of material.

[url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKa2yd7Nsio&t=1516s"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKa2yd7Nsio&t=1516s[/url]


Bill

[Marc S]

[quote name='njbillbass' timestamp='1486414889' post='3231638']
......I really like how
the KK sounds in this setting. And yeah, I know...I'm not a salsa player...I'm not sure why the baby bass gets pigeon-holed for that type of music, but I use it on all kinds of material....

[/quote]

Hi Bill, and others
I'm tempted by a KK myself. I too wonder why it gets pigeon-holed for salsa, as surely, it's suitable for other genres of music too?

Just bumping this thread, as that's a good question - anyone here installed additional pickups to a KK baby bass?
Has anyone fitted a slap pickup or rockabilly duo pickup to one of these? I'm thinking a J-tone pickup is cheap and easy to fit....

Also, just wondering whether it would be easy to change the bridge on one of these - for an adjustable type? Anyone done that?
Be great to hear your thoughts on this

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='njbillbass' timestamp='1486414889' post='3231638']
I'm not a salsa player...I'm not sure why the baby bass gets pigeon-holed for that type of music, but I use it on all kinds of material.
[/quote]

The original Ampeg Baby Bass caught on in the Caribbean and Central America with salsa players and established itself as a must-have instrument.

I don't know the sales figures, but it wouldn't surprise me to find that Ampeg sold more of these in the Caribbean than in all of the USA.

It's also noticeable that the Baby Bass 'clone' industry seems to be centred in South America. Kris Kedzior got the idea of making high-quality copies like his after marrying a South American lady and being exposed to a variety of poor-quality copies.

[tinyd]

[quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1490958317' post='3269377']
Hi Bill, and others
I'm tempted by a KK myself. I too wonder why it gets pigeon-holed for salsa, as surely, it's suitable for other genres of music too?
[/quote]

It does have a classic sound for salsa, but it's definitely used in other genres. I remember spotting one Home Alone. John Candy's polka band uses one, so that's at least one other non-salsa example

[njbillbass]

I use the KK Baby Bass for mostly blues, americana, and roots material. I get many compliments on the tone and look of the instrument. Anyway - the other week, I did try out a
Bass Max Piezo pickup on the bass. There was a stronger output, but not an improvement in the tone, to my ears. It wasn't bad - but not as even sounding as the original
pickups in the KK. I ended up pulling it out and keeping things simple for now. I may give it another try - but in the end...I kind of felt like I wasted $100.

[JPJ]

I'm a recent entrant into the KK world. I found the stock pickup has the thump but to dial in any mwah meant I lost the fundamental brutality of the thump. So I added a pair of J-Tone reds. I run both pickups through a Headway EDB-1 and mix them to taste.

[URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/JPJ/media/266D7700-684E-4ADA-9050-895C89CE06CD_zps1nzbrwdo.jpg.html][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/JPJ/266D7700-684E-4ADA-9050-895C89CE06CD_zps1nzbrwdo.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/JPJ/media/646558A3-7BEA-4373-9D31-703C66A81AD4_zpspevvgedn.jpg.html][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/JPJ/646558A3-7BEA-4373-9D31-703C66A81AD4_zpspevvgedn.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

I'm using mine for blues/country stuff and it works really well and one gig in, received a lot of compliments on the tone.

Here's a phone video from her debut gig

https://youtu.be/xNONsJBxTE8

[kevind35okc]

Hi guys, 

I'm looking into buying a KK baby bass and I found a seller, but a bass needs to be shipped. What would be the best way to ship one of these? I've read that the original Ampeg baby bass could be easily take apart which would make the shipping much easier and also cheaper. Can you do the same with a KK bass?
 

[Happy Jack]

No, it's a single piece of moulded fibreglass. The neck does NOT come off.

[kevind35okc]

2 hours ago, Happy Jack said:

No, it's a single piece of moulded fibreglass. The neck does NOT come off.

Hey, thank you for your input.

Are you sure about this though? The websites says "maple neck with adjustable action- regulation on upper back body". 🤔

[Happy Jack]

[Silvia Bluejay]

3 hours ago, kevind35okc said:

Hey, thank you for your input.

Are you sure about this though? The websites says "maple neck with adjustable action- regulation on upper back body". 🤔

The neck can be moved by using a hex key (one turn is enough! Very quick adjustment). So clearly there is a joint of some sort, but the neck itself is not meant to be dismantled.

[kevind35okc]

Hi guys,

could maybe somebody tell me how to set up the string height on the KK baby bass? Supposedly you can lower the strings by tightening the hex screw, but the hex screw on my bass (a 10 years old KB1) is tightened completely and the string height in the upper register is still pretty high.

[Happy Jack]

Contact Kris Kedzior on [email protected]

His number used to be +44(0)7793 741 759 but that's a few years old and may have changed.

In those days he was based in Staines.

 

[Clarky]

9 hours ago, Happy Jack said:

Contact Kris Kedzior on [email protected]

His number used to be +44(0)7793 741 759 but that's a few years old and may have changed.

In those days he was based in Staines.

 

That number is still shown on his website along with  01784 459 539

[JPJ]

On 20/06/2020 at 15:59, Happy Jack said:

No, it's a single piece of moulded fibreglass. The neck does NOT come off.

The neck definitely comes off my 5 string KK Baby Bass. Obviously its a full strings off job, but with the strings off, loosen the one Allen bolt on the back of the body and withdraw the neck from the body. I wished I'd known this when I had mine posted from Wales as Parcelfarce did unspeakable things which resulted in the fingerboard being ripped off the neck and a tuner bent beyond saving 😤

[kevind35okc]

Hi guys, I wanted to know if anyone had a chance to try out an KB2.

I own a KB1 and I prefer a 1/2 scale length so I'll either be ordering a KB Junior or a KB2. Do they sound very similar? There are very few clips of the KB2 available online and they don't sound nothing special to me but it could also be the player or the recording.