JapanAxe Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 Hello BC posse, I am considering a hollow uke style fretted Kala U-bass and I wondered what action and intonation adjustments they had. Or are they built spot-on so that adjustments are unnecessary? Off you go... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 (edited) None, none and no to be frank. There's no standard action or intonation adjustment, although if you're sticking with stock strings the action is pretty irrelevant really. The build quality of some U-basses leaves a lot to be desired. There are reports that quite a few have the bridges set slightly off from where they should be so your intonation is never going to be right. Mine is off just enough to be annoying. On my particular model the bridge saddle has the pickup bonded to it so you couldn't do the old sand down the bottom of the saddle trick to lower the action even if you wanted to. Also rules out changing the saddle without major surgery. Also there's a known issue with the pickup bonding in that the bonding material doesn't leave a flat surface to make contact with the bottom of the saddle channel so you can get dead strings (usually the G or E). The UK distributors fix is to loosen the strings and roll the saddle back, away from the neck just a little so the pickup makes better contact. It works, but again has made my intonation worse. There may be good examples of them out there somewhere but mine isn't one of them! To be honest I bought a Deko Harley Benton Uke bass for £40 and it's every bit as good as my Kala so I'd advise you to save your cash and do the same or look at one of the alternatives like the Short Bass One or the like... I'd sell my Kala except it was bought to me as a birthday present... If you're set on a Kala, try before you buy and be super critical - keep all these things in mind while you're doing it. Initially I was really taken with the whole Uke bass idea, but the longer time has gone on the more annoyed I get by the stupid problems on an instrument of that price. Edited April 28, 2016 by Bigwan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 My Kala was out of tune above the 7th fret. If I was to buy one again it would be a fretless so I can make adjustments myself by ear! You can adjust the action by shaving down the bridge saddle piece, but it's not that necessary since a high action is still very playable as the strings are so flexible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted April 28, 2016 Author Share Posted April 28, 2016 (edited) Thanks for the heads-up chaps. I would really want to try before buying, which would necessitate a trip to either Bass Direct or the Gallery. Anyone know of other bass uke stockists in the South? EDIT: Just found that Hobgoblin Music in Bristol have a couple of Ashbury (budget brand - not Ashbory) bass ukes in stock. Edited April 28, 2016 by JapanAxe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pineweasel Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 Looks like this place in Bournemouth have them: http://www.southernukulelestore.co.uk I tried a Kala U-Bass at Duke of Uke in London and it put me off buying one. Too expensive for what it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twincam Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 Get the Harley Benton version. I bought a fair few as dekos and fixed them up was mainly bad contact of the pu. There not bad built and sound very similar to the more expensive ones. The inbuilt eq is ok not great but useable, surprisingly powerful tho. As far as setup well its debatable you want a nice bit of relief not too much but the strings move a lot and string height is too preference but I found I needed at least 3mm again the strings move a lot. Very easy to fret so even a high action is playable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornats Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 [quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1461845209' post='3038108'] EDIT: Just found that Hobgoblin Music in Bristol have a couple of Ashbury (budget brand - not Ashbory) bass ukes in stock. [/quote] They're worth checking out. I tried one and really liked it. They have flatwounds on them rather than the big fat rubber strings but still sound good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted April 29, 2016 Author Share Posted April 29, 2016 [quote name='pineweasel' timestamp='1461845823' post='3038120'] Looks like this place in Bournemouth have them: [url="http://www.southernukulelestore.co.uk"]http://www.southernukulelestore.co.uk[/url] I tried a Kala U-Bass at Duke of Uke in London and it put me off buying one. Too expensive for what it was. [/quote] Not sure I want to be seen going into a ukulele shop! Looks like Ms Axe and I are off to Bristol today... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted May 2, 2016 Author Share Posted May 2, 2016 Continued [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/284295-nubd-kala/"]here[/url]. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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