Happy Jack Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Clarky managed to prise his old Ampeg Baby Bass out of my fingers last week, so I thought now would be a good moment to take a closer look at KK as a potential replacement. I had a long, hard look at the website: [url="http://baby-bass.com/"]http://baby-bass.com/[/url] I liked what I saw so I contacted Kris Kedzior (KK) and received quick & helpful replies to my questions. He's based near Staines, which is essentially down the road from me, so yesterday evening I drove down to his workshop/studio to check out his KB1 basses. Given that, for most Basschatters, popping down to Staines isn't really an option, I thought it might be helpful to write up my visit. ****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** The basses are actually made by his brother-in-law in his factory in Germany. Kris doesn't keep a stock in the UK or have a showroom of some sort, all basses are made to order and pass through his hands for set-up and final prep in his workshop. Output varies between 10 and 20 basses a month, with them being shipped worldwide but unsurprisingly loads going to the States. As of yesterday, he happened to have four KB1 basses (one a 5-string) passing through, and each of the three 4-string basses was in a different finish and had different strings fitted, so there was a fair bit of variety on offer. I played them all (badly, but I still played them ). The first thing I noticed was ... they don't smell. After owning a 60's Ampeg BB for a while, you approach one of these things expecting to get a whiff of Uvex and it's almost strange [i][b]not [/b][/i]to get it. The second thing was the sheer quality of the instrument. These are beautifully made basses using well-matched materials and finishes. The bodies are fibreglass based on carbon fibre (you could drive a car over one of those things), the necks are maple, the fingerboards are ebony. The finishes on all four basses were superb, the colour choices pretty good too. Plugged one in, and immediately I could hear how much better the magnetic diaphragm pickup is on the KK than on the original Ampeg basses. KK have re-calibrated the pickup, based partly on data helpfully supplied by Ampeg, to create something with much higher gain and way more thump. The KKs that I was playing were all going straight into a Markbass combo, no need for a preamp. And, of course, no feedback. Kris is a pretty mean salsa player and in his hands the basses all sounded great. I play no salsa at all (closest I get would be [i]Smooth [/i]by Santana ) so my interest in Baby Basses is for playing blues and light jazz where taking a DB is too much like hard work. I know that to some salsa players that would be anathema, but the truth is that the KK can really deliver on that music choice, again because of that magnetic diaphragm pickup. The KB1 is also noticeably lighter weight than the Ampeg Baby Bass (which actually weighs nearly as much as a real DB) and comes in a proper gig-bag, making it the most easily transportable variant I've yet come across. Another feature worth mentioning is that the metal bar which over-arches the bridge (and is actually part of the pickup) also has the effect of protecting the bridge from casual knocks, especially when in the gigbag. If the bridge or pickup assembly do somehow get damaged, then Kris repairs/replaces them in his Staines workshop rather than sending the bass back to Germany. Obviously there's no sound-post to worry about. I asked Kris about slapping, and it turned out that he had someone in his workshop quite recently (another Basschatter?) who asked for Weedwhackers to be fitted and apparently was able to slap the Bejasus out of his instrument, which seemed to be something of a surprise to Kris. I was also delighted to see that Kris offers discreet side-dots on the KK. Again, serious DB players may not be impressed with this, but as an electric bass player who merely dabbles in upright the option to have proper side-dots instead of blobs of Tippex / Sno-Pake is really very attractive to me. I couldn't try the KB Classic, which is KK's take on a straight reproduction of the original Ampeg Baby Bass, but Kris assured me that it's essentially the same as the KB1 (which I was trying) but with the shape & weight of the original (which I owned until recently). Similarly, I couldn't try the KB2 but I wasn't particularly keen on a 1/2-size bass and I don't like the body shape anyway. I won't comment on KK's prices, since I think those who are interested should really be asking Kris about that, but I like them and will be ordering a KK Baby Bass for myself this week. Kris likes a decent deposit at order, followed by 6-8 weeks for delivery, so I'll be hoping to have mine by the end of August. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Nice one Jack. Kris seems very helpful. I am getting him to make me a custom gigbag for the Ampeg BB (which won't smell of children's vomit and old parmesan, like the 1960s original does!!!) and he is going to fix the bridge on mine (actually replace the metal bridge with a maple one so that I can safely slot a piezo pickup into the bridge wing without fear of it popping out). Incidentally, the BB sounded awesome at the launch gig last night (I listened outfront as I let teh support act borrow it and the soundguy, who works a lot with acoustic instruments like DBs, also complimented it) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andydye Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Thanks for this! I've been lusting after an ampeg one for ages and this may just supplant it on the list!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tayste_2000 Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Awesome I'll book my train ticket for August to come try it I had a chat with Clarky recently as whilst as you know I'm no DB player the Ampeg Baby bass is on my list of things to own (think it comes from living in Venezuela) Do you think this would be the sort of thing that would suit me if I wanted to dabble in DB, I believe they aren't that pricey and the size and weight makes them a bit more suitable for my modern city flat living Thanks for the write up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muttley Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 I saw these on eBay and thought they looked very interesting (I'm not familiar with the Ampeg model). However, the listing does not inspire any confidence in a buyer (although the feedback seems good). The website is worse: quite nice layout but is short on information and there are no contact details apart from a mobile phone number... So it's good to know the instruments are good. I look forward to reading some more reviews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 There's quite a few positive reviews on TalkBass from US players who have imported them from the UK to the US, all very positive about the quality and the customer service Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatback Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Really useful and interesting report there Jack - thanks. is the fingerboard on those things similar to your average 3/4 db or noticeably shorter/thinner? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted July 9, 2013 Author Share Posted July 9, 2013 [quote name='tayste_2000' timestamp='1373370834' post='2136735'] Do you think this would be the sort of thing that would suit me if I wanted to dabble in DB, I believe they aren't that pricey and the size and weight makes them a bit more suitable for my modern city flat living [/quote] Yes - I've tried a fair number of EUBs and IMHO none of them capture the DB vibe or tone. The KK is not a 'real' DB of course, but it gets way closer to the real thing than anything else I've tried in both vibe and tone. What's chiefly missing is the sheer physicality of a DB, the way you lean into it and it leans into you, the way you have to clamber around it to reach certain notes. Of course it's exactly that physicality which makes the DB such a complete PITA for transportation and storage ... swings & roundabouts, eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted July 9, 2013 Author Share Posted July 9, 2013 [quote name='fatback' timestamp='1373372369' post='2136765'] is the fingerboard on those things similar to your average 3/4 db or noticeably shorter/thinner? [/quote] Much the same, with the KB1 and the KB Classic. I was able to move between Baby Bass and DB without much adjustment. I suspect the answer may be different with the KB2 but I can't say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andydye Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 you don't happen to know how well it takes to bowing do you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted July 9, 2013 Author Share Posted July 9, 2013 You are now WAY outside my comfort zone! Can't help you there, I'm afraid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andydye Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 [quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1373373994' post='2136803'] You are now WAY outside my comfort zone! Can't help you there, I'm afraid. [/quote] mine too at the moment but I'm wanting to go there as some of our songs would really benefit from that lovely throaty drone you get so I wanna learn... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassace Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Good review, Jack. I had a telephone conversation with Kris about 18 months ago; he came over as a very pleasant straight ahead sort of guy (as Mr Blair would have said). I didn't proceed because I was concerned that there was just too much thump off the instrument (the salsa thing). How thumpy, Jack? Trouble with too much thump is that sometimes when stage sound gets over-powering and you turn up, you hear the initial thump but no following note. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted July 9, 2013 Author Share Posted July 9, 2013 Enough thump to make that word an essential part of any review. We were playing through a MarkBass 1x15 in a tiny workshop the size of a small garage with a ridiculously low ceiling, so the acoustics were abominable. Kris was well aware of that, and the EQ settings on the MarkBass were pretty extreme! Until I get a chance to play one of these through my own kit and in a known location I can't be absolutely sure, but on t'other hand, if you like thump (which I do) it's a very nice thump indeed. Bear in mind that my frame of reference is vintage short-scale Hofners and vintage Precisions with flats and the tone rolled off. To me, thump is a good thing. As soon as I take delivery, you'll be very welcome to come visit me in Chiswick and have a work-out. It will be delightful to hear it being played by someone who knows what he's doing. If the SouthEast BassBash happens this year, I could bring it along to that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malbass Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Great review, have been looking at these over the past few days so this is just what I needed - have now sent them an email Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.