ubassman Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 (edited) In the summer I decided to take a bass away with me on my hols and I purchased and R-Lizard bass ukelele by Ortega. [url="http://ortegaguitars.com/en/products/ukuleles/ukulele/show/Product/rlizard-bs/rlizard-bs/"]http://ortegaguitars...-bs/rlizard-bs/[/url] Absolutely brilliant little instrument , great fun and definately an alternative to the U Bass by Kala. When you put it through an amp the sound is astonishing - the instrument sounds like proper bass especially if you replace the orange polypropylene strings with 'Thunderguts' ! On the plus side what attracted me was the fact that you can turn volume up and down and adjust the tone with controls on the instrument - the UBass you have to go over to your cab. You can also listen to yourself through headphones - and it sounds nearly like a double bass! That said, I sent the little beauty back to Thomanns in Germany. A real shame really ...as they say - the devil is in the detail. There was a nasty little buzz around the fretboard where there is the inlaid mother of pearl lizard. The frets were not even in that part of the instrument and would need wipping out and re-doing in this area ( shouldn't have to do a repair on a new instrument!). The snakeskin hard case that it comes with was a good snug fit but there was no allowance made for the nob volume and tone controls - the only way that you can get the bass into the case is to compress the padding so that the nobs don't shear off ....just seems to me to be asking for trouble. Finally the top seems incredibly thin and I have to admit my mind turned to the potential for warping. If Ortega can get these sorted it would be a cracking little instrument! Edited February 1, 2013 by ubassman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubassman Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 I hasten to add that the instrument is not for acoustic playing in ensembles - there jet not enough volume . Plugged in , or through headphones the sound is awesome and no need for a pre-amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubassman Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 Here's a link to the UBass which I think I will stick with for the time being ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNPx6RS8PiM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andydye Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 Having seen but not heard a ubass before watching that vid can now hear/see the attraction! I'd like one of those little fellas!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubassman Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 They take a bit of getting used to as the strings are really floppy - the perfect instrument would be a 'cut and shunt' of the RLizard and the UBass !! ....any luthiers out there fancy a go at that ?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubassman Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 (edited) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lw69FrITSbI More Bass less space!! Edited February 1, 2013 by ubassman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basskit_case Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 The ortega d walker bass looks promising, proper strings too. http://ortegaguitars.com/en/products/acoustic-basses/acoustic-bass/show/Product/d-walker-wh/d-walker-wh/ Posted on mobile, cannot do proper links, will edit later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubassman Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 Yes, could be. Those orange strings are hideous - really squeaky under the fingers and not that great a tone !! I bought some Thundergutts ( they are the white ones) and what a difference! For me the D Walker is very similar to the U-bass and doesn't have the all important on board controls that the R-Lizard has. Hopefully just a matter of time !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanzepans Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 I had the chance to play both the Ortega Lizard and the Kala U-bass in a shop today. Both were great sounding instruments. The Ortega has more "presence" in the sound, it sounded more organic than the U-bass, and has more midrange overtones. But I noticed a some rattling notes on the fretboard as well, so the build quality may not be that good. Sound-wise the Ortega seems a bit better, but overall I would prefer the U-bass, for it's build quality and for its looks. All new U-basses from end 2012 / early 2013 do have exactly the same built-in tuner and volume/tone controls that the Ortega has, so that problem has been solved. They have even come out with a cheaper model, the Rumbler. I am curious to try that one out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubassman Posted February 15, 2013 Author Share Posted February 15, 2013 [quote name='hanzepans' timestamp='1360775790' post='1976310'] All new U-basses from end 2012 / early 2013 do have exactly the same built-in tuner and volume/tone controls that the Ortega has, so that problem has been solved. They have even come out with a cheaper model, the Rumbler. I am curious to try that one out. [/quote] Thats excellent news !! Will look out for one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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