Kala Ubass rubber black no longer available?

[Downunderwonder]

Seems that way.

 

What is the closest equivalent to the old Pahoehoe black strings for original Ubass without truss rod? Although they were slippery it was manageable and the tone was fine.

 

I was not impressed with the white Aguilar ones. Too tacky and didn't last long before dry rot set in.

[Downunderwonder]

Where all the "vintage" ubassers at?

[tauzero]

Have you tried google?

 

https://kalabrand.com/products/road-toad-pahoehoe-u-bass-strings?variant=6031545089

[Downunderwonder]

18 hours ago, tauzero said:

Have you tried google?

 

https://kalabrand.com/products/road-toad-pahoehoe-u-bass-strings?variant=6031545089

Yeah. Tried all sources. Nobody had any in stock on click through.

 

Tried your link. Clicked the shop locally link. Not in stock.

[Downunderwonder]

At least they now appear available at Kala US when they were not for the last three or four months. Hopefully they show up here sometime. 

[linear]

I love the old black strings, and have a similar dislike of the standard white Thunderguts.

 

I haven't tried them yet, but I think I would be giving the Aquila Thunderbrown a go when my Pahoehoes finally give up.  Supposedly slippy enough to slide properly, and they sound decent in the demos I've listened to.  Although, I note Aquila say they are higher tension - not sure if that would be an issue on a UBass without a truss rod.

[mikebass456]

On 19/06/2024 at 08:07, Downunderwonder said:

Seems that way.

 

What is the closest equivalent to the old Pahoehoe black strings for original Ubass without truss rod? Although they were slippery it was manageable and the tone was fine.

 

I was not impressed with the white Aquila ones. Too tacky and didn't last long before dry rot set in.

Used to get my pahoehoe strings from Roadtoad in the US up until last year.  Have tried most of the others, but they suffer from the tackiness that prevents easy sliding etc.

However, I've currently got a set of Aguilar thunderblacks on my Kala rumbler, and find that a wipe down with Mr sheen aerosol furniture polish gives the same feeling as the pahoehoe strings, and lasts for just under a standard gig. Have done this at least a dozen times already, with no noticeable signs of deterioration or other such problems.   Dont use the Mr sheen furniture wipes though, as they are more alcohol-based and dont work anywhere near as well.....😉👍

Edited December 29, 2024 by mikebass456
Product name error

[Downunderwonder]

I wound up with ThunderBlacks.

 

The feel is ok for me.

 

They emphatically are NOT able to be installed in one hit "stretchproof". If anything they stretch out more than the Pahoehoe before stability is achieved. The claim that they can be installed without taking off again is BOGUS.

[mikebass456]

37 minutes ago, Downunderwonder said:

I wound up with ThunderBlacks.

 

The feel is ok for me.

 

They emphatically are NOT able to be installed in one hit "stretchproof". If anything they stretch out more than the Pahoehoe before stability is achieved. The claim that they can be installed without taking off again is BOGUS.

Agreed - they do take some time to settle down, even if you get the maximum tension on them initially.  I've had to take mine off and trim the excess from the machine heads a couple of times as there was far too much wound around them. They're stable now though........

[Downunderwonder]

Roughly 8 hours of playing and two restringings before mine were stable. I was making very good friends with my clip-on tuner.

[mikebass456]

I did have an email conversation with one of the people at Aquila a while ago, who assured me that the new formulation of the thunder reds was a lot less tacky than previous, and better than the thunderblacks. I have as yet to risk any of my pocket money on testing the theory out though, as most of my uke basses have fairly new strings on them (and they've all settled down as well!)