Do U-BASS? - A ukulele bass appreciation thread

[Jonrh98]

A question for the UBass enthusiasts in this thread - is a Kala (lower-end, like the Scout, Journeyman or Rumbler) worth getting over the slightly cheaper offerings of Luna, Baton Rouge, Alvarez? I had a Harley Benton Kahuna back in the day, which was v cheap (still decent though), but there was nowhere near as many options back then as there are now.

[SamIAm]

I’ve only played Kala bass ukes (tho many different makes of tenor ukes), this video may shed some light.

S’manth x

 

 

[naxos10]

10 hours ago, Jonrh98 said:

A question for the UBass enthusiasts in this thread - is a Kala (lower-end, like the Scout, Journeyman or Rumbler) worth getting over the slightly cheaper offerings of Luna, Baton Rouge, Alvarez? I had a Harley Benton Kahuna back in the day, which was v cheap (still decent though), but there was nowhere near as many options back then as there are now.

I am happy with my Kala Nomad which is one up from the bottom of their range (I think) and one of the reasons for going for it was that common parts appeared in higher priced models so there should be a consistance in quality and the fact that it had a truss rod which some lower cost ukes do not.

[iamtheelvy]

Does anyone have any recommendations for replacement tuners for uke basses (mine is an Ortega LZZY)? Mine's been fine until recently when I went to do a bit of a clean and polish and one of the tuners has fouled up - jammed then started chewing up the gears when putting any pressure on. 

[SamIAm]

My bass ukes are both Kala and use Hipshot Custom Ultralite, which are fab (But like all Hipshot stuff are not cheap!) https://kalabrand.com/collections/u-bass-parts/products/tuner-u-bass-hipshot-left

 

I see that www.meinlshop.de sell Ortaga UBASS tuners.

 

S'manth x

[tauzero]

21 minutes ago, iamtheelvy said:

Does anyone have any recommendations for replacement tuners for uke basses (mine is an Ortega LZZY)? Mine's been fine until recently when I went to do a bit of a clean and polish and one of the tuners has fouled up - jammed then started chewing up the gears when putting any pressure on. 

 

Not cheap, but https://www.southernukulelestore.co.uk/hipshot-road-toad-custom-black-ukulele-bass-machine-heads-set-of-4/

[iamtheelvy]

Hipshot's probably not a bad shout. Should be reliable. Ortega haven't responded to my query about which brand they use, but they look pretty identical to to Kala Uke's.

 

[Baloney Balderdash]

I love my 28.6" scale 4 and 5 string Ibanez Mikro Basses, so much that the 4 string has been my main for the last past 10 years, and at the moment I am exploring the 5 string, which otherwise haven't got much love.

 

But that's also about where I set my limit of how short a scale a bass can be for me to feel comfortable playing on it, and for it to sound proper, though I am aware that you will have a different opinion on this, but I like my tone to have some zing and snap, and those Uke basses just have a bit too fundamentals dominated and smooth tone to my liking.

 

In fact I even string my Mikros with relatively thin gauge strings and tune them both, yes also the 5 string, to F# standard tuning, the is 2 half steps above regular 4 string E standard tuning, to avoid thud.

 

I should probably make clear that my point with this was not to be that guy who budges into threads/topics where they don't belong to tell everyone that they are wrong, it was really just to say that I have a love for sub short scale basses too, just not that short. 

 

To each their own, and more power to you folks for loving you Uke basses.

 

Edited July 9, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[Owen]

55 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

 fundamentals dominated and smooth tone

 

My favourite things

[paul_5]

I played one for the first time at my local ukulele club last week. Obviously it sounded better through the PA, but the strings were really, really 'grabby' and the intonation was way off! Are they all like this?

 

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

My first tiny bass was a black Ashbory, then I got a blue one to keep it company as they're like guinea pigs and get lonely. I grew to dislike the stock latex string which took forever to get in tune and would occasionally snap for no reason when the bass was in the case, so I started using Kala Pahoehoe strings when these became available. Due to the tiny scale length and lack of frets it was not easy to play the ashborys in tune.

 

Then when Thomann first launched their kahuna uke bass (based on a half size acoustic guitar) I ordered one but had to return it due to faults, then I had to return its replacement due to a different fault and I kept the third one for a while. I also used pahoeho strings on this. It was difficult to get a good tone using this bass and it was very prone to feedback.

 

I eventually upgraded to a Kala SMHG-FS ubass - the one with a solid Mahogany top & tortoiseshell binding. I used pahoehoe strings on this for a while, but at the London bass guitar show a few years ago I met Mike Upton (owner of Kala) who was exhibiting various kala models including one that came fitted with Galli flatwound ubass strings which have a nylon core and Chrome steel flat wrap. I bought a set of the strings and Martin at the gallery reshaped the nut slots on my ubass to enable the strings to be used. After many years I was finally happy with my tiny bass.

 

[Owen]

I have a set of Galli flatwound ubass strings in my Thomann wishlist for when I buy something from there next. 

[SamIAm]

Oy @Baloney Balderdash, don't be

Quote

"that guy who budges into threads/topics where they don't belong to tell everyone that they are wrong"

🤣

 

I definately get a different tone from my Ibby 28.6 inch and my Kala 23 inch, the latter is smoother and sounds more like an upright to my ears ... I love them both!

 

1 hour ago, paul_5 said:

I played one for the first time at my local ukulele club last week. Obviously it sounded better through the PA, but the strings were really, really 'grabby' and the intonation was way off! Are they all like this?

IME Sorta.  There are different string formulations (and even steel wound) available.  The intonation ... challanges ... are partly due to the physics and lack of adjustable string scale lengths, but also technique plays a big part.  I used to really struggle with intonation on my Kala 4-str fretted UBASS, anywhere above the 5th fret would start to sound off!  A lighter touch (and also tuning at the 3rd fret instead of open) helped a lot.  For me the game changer was going fretless, which now that I'm used to it, works really well (and also adds to the tonality I enjoy on the UBASS), tho my fretless 5er has a slightly longer scale length which also helps.

S'manth x

 

[paul_5]

27 minutes ago, Smanth said:

Oy @Baloney Balderdash, don't be

🤣

 

I definately get a different tone from my Ibby 28.6 inch and my Kala 23 inch, the latter is smoother and sounds more like an upright to my ears ... I love them both!

 

IME Sorta.  There are different string formulations (and even steel wound) available.  The intonation ... challanges ... are partly due to the physics and lack of adjustable string scale lengths, but also technique plays a big part.  I used to really struggle with intonation on my Kala 4-str fretted UBASS, anywhere above the 5th fret would start to sound off!  A lighter touch (and also tuning at the 3rd fret instead of open) helped a lot.  For me the game changer was going fretless, which now that I'm used to it, works really well (and also adds to the tonality I enjoy on the UBASS), tho my fretless 5er has a slightly longer scale length which also helps.

S'manth x

 

That makes more sense to tune at the 3rd fret, means that the open strings are slightly flat, but looks like it's a trade-off.

I mainly play fretless bass anyway, so maybe a fretless is the way to go.

[tinyd]

20 hours ago, paul_5 said:

I played one for the first time at my local ukulele club last week. Obviously it sounded better through the PA, but the strings were really, really 'grabby' and the intonation was way off! Are they all like this?

 

I have a Laka bass (it's a nice quality instrument, with decent Fishman electronics). The intonation at the bottom end of the E string is off because of the fatness of the string itself, but the rest of the neck is fine and because I went for a fretless I can compensate down on the E. Strings are very weird alright and I have to remember to play very softly otherwise I get a slightly "twangy" tone. But EQd right it can sound fairly DB-like in the mix, although playing the DB afterwards makes it apparent that the u-bass doesn't have any of the richness that you get with a massive lump of wood 10 times the size....who'd have thought?

 

I reckon if I had a really tight restaurant / coffee shop gig I'd consider using it....

[tinyd]

19 hours ago, paul_5 said:

I mainly play fretless bass anyway, so maybe a fretless is the way to go.

+1. If you're already familiar with fretless BG or DB I think fretless is the way to go alright as you can compensate in real time for any intonation weirdness.

[iamtheelvy]

16 minutes ago, tinyd said:

+1. If you're already familiar with fretless BG or DB I think fretless is the way to go alright as you can compensate in real time for any intonation weirdness.

I love my fretted uke, but somewhat wish I’d gone for the fretless model…

[tinyd]

17 hours ago, iamtheelvy said:

I love my fretted uke, but somewhat wish I’d gone for the fretless model…

I think it depends on what you're looking for, but for me I was interested in the  "mini-DB" aspect so fretless made sense and I do (kind of) play it like DB in terms of shifting and fingering, although obviously I just use the first three fingers rather than 1, 2 & 4

[Owen]

https://www.gearnews.com/fender-fullerton-precision-bass-uke-how-low-can-it-go/

[casapete]

52 minutes ago, Owen said:

https://www.gearnews.com/fender-fullerton-precision-bass-uke-how-low-can-it-go/

Wow, fantastic!

[meterman]

13 hours ago, Owen said:

https://www.gearnews.com/fender-fullerton-precision-bass-uke-how-low-can-it-go/

I’d be interested to try that! My main (well, only) bass for a couple of years was a 25” scale Precision copy. The idea of a similar sized acoustic version floats my weird boat.

[SamIAm]

This is rather nice!

S'manth x

 

[tinyd]

18 hours ago, Smanth said:

This is rather nice!

S'manth x

 

That's a decent review. I think you'll get a very similar sound from any uke-bass with those strings since unlike a DB, the body is so small that it contributes very little to the overall sound.

[Dazed]

Hello all. Some of you may have seen my Uke post in General and some have replied, thank you. Though I’d drop in here and bother you some more 🙂

 

As much as I enjoy researching instruments, borderline ocd, I also hate researching instruments 😄

 

I didnt there was so much choice, brands scale lengths strings etc. 

 

So far I’m feeling drawn to the slightly longer scales, 23” up but having trouble finding stockists and I guess being able to a/b them in one place may prove impossible. Is there much difference intonation-wise in the couple

of inches of the Kala’s 20/21” and say the Shortbass or Goldtones that are 23/24”? 
 

Are strings more difficult to find for one or the other? There seem to be quite a lot of different types for the shorter scales, I presume they won’t work on the slightly longer scales or am i wrong?

[tauzero]

Well, the Bass Centre has (theoretically) the very latest incarnation of the Ashbory bass, with a 23" scale, but it's been sold out for months, if not years.

 

https://www.basscentre.com/bass-centre-ashbory-bass/bass-centre-ashbory-bass-natural.html

 

There was a previous Bass Centre Ashbory available in 2017 which was available in four finishes.

 

Translucent Blue, Amber & Sunburst models • Scale Length : 21" • Weight : 2.5kg (5.5lb)

Translucent Red model • Scale Length : 24" • Weight : 3.0kg (6.6lb)

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20170624164506/http://www.basscentre.com/bass-centre-ashbory-bass.html

 

I asked them about 5-strings at the time, and they said they wouldn't be doing them.

 

Edited July 24, 2023 by tauzero
Scales but not modes