Goldtone M23 acoustic bass with polymeric strings, anybody?

[mcnach]

I recently came across these basses. I am not a fan of acoustic basses generally as to me they seem to be too much of a compromise with their relatively small bodies, they just don't get loud enough without amplification and their sound is not something I like much.

I do like the sound of those small uke-type basses, like the Kala, especially with those silicone strings, but not their small form. 

However this one caught my attention. The 23" scale (they also make it in 25") makes it feel more like a bass guitar, while keeping it still reasonably small. The fretless version in particular with those rubbery strings sounds really cool (there are some other more standard strings one can use for a more typical acoustic bass sound if desired, not for me though).

Has anybody got personal experience/own one?

I would get the fretless one. It would fake that upright type of sound much better than my fretless Precision with nylon tapewounds and it would also 'look' better on those 'acoustic' sessions although that's less of a selling point for me.

Here's the beast in action:

Overview (fretless)

 

The fretted version on some funky ride:

 

They seem to cost around £4-500, which is not terrible at all. 

I'm interested in hearing people's experiences with these. What's not so nice about them? What do you dislike about them? What's the build quality? If I decided to go for it, it's very likely I would not be able to try before I buy so I'm trying to get a sense for what to expect.

I used to own an Ashbory years ago, so I'm familiar with the feel of the strings and how long that kind of string takes to settle before the tuning is stable. The built-in tuner would come quite handy on this bass.

[mcnach]

[ crickets ]

 

 

 

 

[bloke_zero]

Look really interesting - my mate got one of the Kala U basses and wouldn't shut up about it, but I, like you, was a bit put off by the tiny element.

[mcnach]

1 hour ago, bloke_zero said:

Look really interesting - my mate got one of the Kala U basses and wouldn't shut up about it, but I, like you, was a bit put off by the tiny element.

 

Same here. The Kala U-bas sounds nice, and the Ashbory I had was cool too, but I didn't like their size. These, at 23 or 25" scale lengths are a better compromise for my liking.

I think I'll end up getting one soon, probably the 23" version. They make a solid body one too which is very attractive in terms of being less 'fragile' when on the move, and I don't think the acoustic output of the standard ones are sufficient to warrant getting one with an acoustic box... but I can see myself playing it a lot at home unplugged... hmm, decisions.

 

[dannybuoy]

Great little basses, I had the fretted 23 as well as a Kala U-Bass a long time ago, and recently picked up another fretted Kala. Things to note:

 

- The fretted models do not intonate very well, notes are visibly flat on the built in tuner on the 5th fret (and maybe lower than that).

 

- Fretless models don’t have this problem, but you need a good ear and to be to hear yourself clearly. There isn’t as much margin for error in finger placement as there is with a full scale bass! I’ve never tried a fretless one of these but have been looking at either the Aklot fretless U-Basses going cheap on eBay, or the Gold Tone 23/25”!

 

- Most find the stock white Aquila Thundergut strings to be quite sticky (some claim not to have this issue though, depends how oily your fingers are I guess). Applying lube or talc helps but is messy. Road Toad Pahoehoe strings do not have this problem, but on the other hand they need constant retuning as they’re very stretchy.

 

- The acoustic versions are plenty loud enough for solo unplugged practice, making it the perfect sofa bass! On the other hand they are prone to feedback if playing at high volume. You can buy covers for the sound hole to suppress this.

 

Best vid I could find of the fretless in action:

 

 

Edited July 28, 2021 by dannybuoy

[Cat Burrito]

I have a ukulele bass that looks like this. Great fun and plugged in, it is truly fantastic. The E is a bit buzzy but on a short scale that is to be expected and thankfully the buzz doesn't amplify. 

[JonesTheCat]

Friend of mine has that Goldtone. I've played it a couple of times, found the strings very sticky. It seemed well built, sounds good acoustic but you're not going to hear it above much else. 

[jd56hawk]

I have no need to try one becatuse some acoustic basses can do the upright sound...and more, much more.

Eight years and I still haven't found an acoustic bass as versatile as mine.

More versatile than quite a few solid-body basses, in fact.

(By the way, I have three of them. Why? Because they're that damned good!)

 

 

Edited July 29, 2021 by jd56hawk

[woolf]

I have one! The solid body fretless. Great fun for noodling around on the sofa. It does a surprisingly good upright impression. I think the 23” scale is very sensible and playable. Only complaint would be that I don’t find the tone knob very useful, anything other than completely rolled off sounds pretty poor I find.

[Aidan63]

On 29/07/2021 at 17:01, jd56hawk said:

I have no need to try one becatuse some acoustic basses can do the upright sound...and more, much more.

Eight years and I still haven't found an acoustic bass as versatile as mine.

More versatile than quite a few solid-body basses, in fact.

(By the way, I have three of them. Why? Because they're that damned good!)

 

 

 

 

Which model is that, some sort of Dean Exotica ? Probably not ever sold in the UK

[jd56hawk]

Older Dean Exotica with the Aphex System...Aural Exciter and Big-Bottom Sound. Not another acoustic bass made with the same preamp.

This one was only $250 with an ABS case. 

They still pop up on Reverb for under $300.

[barrycreed]

I had the Kala U Bass, the fretless one, and it was a cool little thing. Tipped the hat to an upright bass I thought, and I was using it for home recording.

Big issue I had was with the rubber strings. My fingers would stick to the strings so sliding up the neck was not as "fluid" as on a regular steel string for example. 

I am not sure if it was the heat at the time or not. But when I went to slide up, my finger would be "sticky" on the string, and sometimes it would make a little noise while sliding due to the friction. I did like the idea of it though and was a useful little tool to have around for ideas or easy recording etc. 

[mcnach]

4 hours ago, barrycreed said:

I had the Kala U Bass, the fretless one, and it was a cool little thing. Tipped the hat to an upright bass I thought, and I was using it for home recording.

Big issue I had was with the rubber strings. My fingers would stick to the strings so sliding up the neck was not as "fluid" as on a regular steel string for example. 

I am not sure if it was the heat at the time or not. But when I went to slide up, my finger would be "sticky" on the string, and sometimes it would make a little noise while sliding due to the friction. I did like the idea of it though and was a useful little tool to have around for ideas or easy recording etc. 

 

I had that with the Ashbory I used to have. It's a shame, as the rubber strings are a big part of the way they sound (otherwise it's just like a small scale acoustic bass, very different sound), but I noticed there a few different string suppliers now, maybe some are better.

 

 

 

[DanOwens]

I use the Harley Benton Uke bass (fretless) which has a scale length of 21 inches which is slightly longer than the Kala ones, and the body is bigger which I prefer. And it cost £100 which you can't complain about. 

 

Bass: https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_kahuna_clu_bass_ukulele_fl.htm

Case: https://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_1_2_classic_guitar_gigbag.htm

 

Its not the 23" of the Goldtone, but I find it easy to adapt to (but I play a LOT of different scale lengths so I've got used to adapting).