meterman Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 Hiya folks. I used to have a 30" scale fretless no-name electro-acoustic bass that I loved playing and would frequently record with. Sadly, it's cheapness meant that it pretty much fell apart after 4 or 5 years - the top bellied up, the bridge lifted up, and then one day the neck cracked at the heel and shortly fell off. So, I've been thinking about getting a little fretless uke bass to replace it. But I've really no idea what to start looking at (except fretless uke basses, obviously)? I have no experience with them. I saw a Jack and Danny one online https://www.musicstore.com/fr_FR/EUR/J-D-UK-BM1R-FL-Fretless-Bass-Ukulele-Natural-/art-BAS0009799-000 which looked alright but I've no idea whether it'll be any good or just future firewood? Does anyone know if the Harley Bentons are any good? I live hours away from any music shops so I'd have to buy online. Any uke bass experts got any tips or recommendations? Mega thankyou's in advance 🙏 - Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 I had the Harley Benton one, and just sold it recently to Guy Trigg. The build was actually very good, but the fitted strings were a bit rubbish. Upgraded to Aquila strings and it was a fun little thing to play. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 I bought a Batking one: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363555959883. Surprisingly good. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meterman Posted August 19 Author Share Posted August 19 1 hour ago, JPJ said: I had the Harley Benton one, and just sold it recently to Guy Trigg. The build was actually very good, but the fitted strings were a bit rubbish. Upgraded to Aquila strings and it was a fun little thing to play. Yeah I've got Aquila strings on both my soprano ukuleles and once they stay in pitch they are rock solid. Harley Benton is one for the shortlist then. Thank you 🙏 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meterman Posted August 19 Author Share Posted August 19 30 minutes ago, tauzero said: I bought a Batking one: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363555959883. Surprisingly good. That does sound really good, better than I expected. Her video was great too, no nonsense or paid product advertising, just good information. Another one for the shortlist, thank you 🙏 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 I also have a Harley Benton fretted and fretless. I managed to snag them both being sold as 'dekos'. They don't get a huge amount of use but they are built well enough and have Fishman electronics. Nothing has come apart or warped, cracked etc in the 5 or 6 (maybe more?) years I've owned them. The tuners don't feel great but they hold tune. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meterman Posted August 19 Author Share Posted August 19 5 minutes ago, Maude said: I also have a Harley Benton fretted and fretless. I managed to snag them both being sold as 'dekos'. They don't get a huge amount of use but they are built well enough and have Fishman electronics. Nothing has come apart or warped, cracked etc in the 5 or 6 (maybe more?) years I've owned them. The tuners don't feel great but they hold tune. Good info thank you 🙏 Thomann are the easiest company for me to deal with so Harley Benton might get the nod 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zonular Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 Any preference between the fretted or fretless? I'm in the market myself. Which model did you pick up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meterman Posted August 20 Author Share Posted August 20 1 hour ago, zonular said: Any preference between the fretted or fretless? I'm in the market myself. Which model did you pick up? None yet, I’m still deciding what to buy. Can’t try any fretted or fretless ukes out as there’s no music stores anywhere near where I live. Will report back when I get something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 I'm suppose it depends on what you want to play. If you're after a doublebass emulation then you'll need the fretless really, I got mine as an easy to transport back up for my doublebass gigs. That said, intonation is a little tricky with the fingerboard being so short, up the dusty end is very hit or miss for me, but that's down to skilled level. The fretted is obviously in tune all the way up the neck. So if you're not accomplished on fretless bass maybe stick to the fretted uke, just because the notes are so close together. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 I had the Batking one, cool little thing that does a very good impression of an upright. One thing I would say though is if you want a fretless acoustic sound and feel but in a tiny package then they probably won't be what you're after. A better option might be getting one of the Ibanez Parlour basses (or similar Taylor GS Mini clones) and defretting it, even better finding one of the old Ibanez Artwood versions which had a fretless option. They're 24.5" scale, have bronze wrapped nylon strings and sound beautiful. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamIAm Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 I was very fortunate to be gifted a KALA California solid body fretless 5er, stable as you could wish for and with Aquilla Thunderbrowns is wonderful to play. It has a slightly longer scale then most bass ukes at 23.5 inches. It does not sound like an upright unless I use some fx (3 Sigma IR) on my Stomp, but direct to an amp does produce a lovely thuddy sound unlike a steel string. I think KALA do some more affordable versions. Sam x 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 26 minutes ago, SamIAm said: I was very fortunate to be gifted a KALA California solid body fretless 5er, stable as you could wish for and with Aquilla Thunderbrowns is wonderful to play. It has a slightly longer scale then most bass ukes at 23.5 inches. It does not sound like an upright unless I use some fx (3 Sigma IR) on my Stomp, but direct to an amp does produce a lovely thuddy sound unlike a steel string. I think KALA do some more affordable versions. Sam x Kala used to do the SUB range (I have one, a fretted 5). They dropped those some time ago, in fact they'd dropped them when I got mine so Thomann were flogging them off (just call me Betamax man). They are now doing a cheaper bass uke range, but these are steel strung with magnetic pickups rather than rubber strings and piezo. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meterman Posted August 20 Author Share Posted August 20 3 hours ago, Maude said: I'm suppose it depends on what you want to play. If you're after a doublebass emulation then you'll need the fretless really, I got mine as an easy to transport back up for my doublebass gigs. That said, intonation is a little tricky with the fingerboard being so short, up the dusty end is very hit or miss for me, but that's down to skilled level. The fretted is obviously in tune all the way up the neck. So if you're not accomplished on fretless bass maybe stick to the fretted uke, just because the notes are so close together. Yeah, that 'not quite' upright bass sound is what I'd like, ideally. My four or five years of fretless acoustic playing were absolute joy, I played all the time until the bass fell in on itself 😂 I rarely venture beyond the 7th or 8th fret on anything anyway so I might be alright with a fretless uke bass. I'll keep looking 👍 thank you 🙏 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zonular Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 (edited) 6 hours ago, lemmywinks said: I had the Batking one, cool little thing that does a very good impression of an upright. One thing I would say though is if you want a fretless acoustic sound and feel but in a tiny package then they probably won't be what you're after. A better option might be getting one of the Ibanez Parlour basses (or similar Taylor GS Mini clones) and defretting it, even better finding one of the old Ibanez Artwood versions which had a fretless option. They're 24.5" scale, have bronze wrapped nylon strings and sound beautiful. That's gorgeous, the fretted one seems more easily available sadly. Between batking and Harley Benton, any preferences from those in the know Edited August 20 by zonular Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 24 minutes ago, zonular said: That's gorgeous, the fretted one seems more easily available sadly. Between barking and Harley Benton, any preferences from those in the know The one available for sale now is the snappily named PNB14E-OPN which is cheaper, has a bound fingerboard/body and is made in Indonesia. The Artwood versions (AVNB1E and AVNB1FE) were Chinese and look a lot nicer IMO. I had the cheaper one but returned it due to finish flaws and a poor fret job but it was a Thomann B stock, other people have had no issues with theirs. Eventually picked up the AVNB1E which is superb with excellent fit and finish. Harley Benton also do a 24" scale travel bass for less, looks a bit nicer than the cheapest Ibanez as well: https://www.thomann.co.uk/harley_benton_gs_travel_e_bass_mahogany.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 Paging @Owen ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zonular Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 28 minutes ago, lemmywinks said: The one available for sale now is the snappily named PNB14E-OPN which is cheaper, has a bound fingerboard/body and is made in Indonesia. The Artwood versions (AVNB1E and AVNB1FE) were Chinese and look a lot nicer IMO. I had the cheaper one but returned it due to finish flaws and a poor fret job but it was a Thomann B stock, other people have had no issues with theirs. Eventually picked up the AVNB1E which is superb with excellent fit and finish. Harley Benton also do a 24" scale travel bass for less, looks a bit nicer than the cheapest Ibanez as well: https://www.thomann.co.uk/harley_benton_gs_travel_e_bass_mahogany.htm Is it wrong that there a certain allure of the rubbery strings (never played them mind you) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 I have an Ashbory, which is pretty much an electric uke bass. (Don't try and do slides, though - you'llburn your fingers!) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meterman Posted August 20 Author Share Posted August 20 Couldn't find any online dealer that would ship a Batking fretless to France, and although I liked the look of the J&D, the only place I could get one from was Music Store in Germany, who I've had the crappiest customer service with whenever I've bought from them So, I've ordered a Harley Benton cheapie from Thomann. It has Aquila strings already and if it's not quite what I'm after then at least the returns process from here is pretty easy. Will do a review when I get it 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meterman Posted August 20 Author Share Posted August 20 2 hours ago, zonular said: Is it wrong that there a certain allure of the rubbery strings (never played them mind you) Not at all, but it's the talc that gets me all excited. Phwoar! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zonular Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 8 minutes ago, meterman said: Not at all, but it's the talc that gets me all excited. Phwoar! Which cheapie did u go with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meterman Posted August 20 Author Share Posted August 20 1 minute ago, zonular said: Which cheapie did u go with? Harley Benton because it already has Aquila strings (so no need to upgrade) and it's from Thomann who are the easiest to deal with over here. €150 with a gigbag and free delivery? If it's okay I'll be chuffed. If it's not, I can always send it back and get a fretless acoustic bass instead and put nylon tapewounds on it. Will tell everyone what it's like and try and do a video or something. 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 On 19/08/2024 at 21:05, tauzero said: I bought a Batking one: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363555959883. Surprisingly good. Tauzero, are you Rachel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 I have been around the Uke Bass block once or twice. The upshot is that the nature of the strings are not hifi and zingy so there really is not much to go wrong on them. You can spend more money than I care to admit to publicly and get some stupendously built instruments. But the bottom line is as long as the piezo bridge is seated properly the rest is not a big deal. It gives a lovely dull thud 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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