I have always liked the sound of the Pahoehoe strings on my U-Bass. Stupendously like an upright double bass (at least to my untrained ears). But at the same time, I felt like I missed out on something, since other brands like Ohana and Taylor have introduced small bass models with steel strings.
So I was happy to find metal wound strings that are specifically made for the Kala U-Bass. There is a set by Kala and another one by Pyramid. They have been around for several years, but they haven't come to my attention until recently.
I have put on the Pyramid set and like it a lot. I mostly play the bass unplugged to myself or accompained by one uke, and these strings are definitely louder than the Pahoehoe in this setting. They also have more treble to them which helps with being heard against other instruments. Whereas the Pahoehoe strings provide the tone of an upright bass, these metal strings sound a bit more like a bass guitar.
They are a lot thinner and feel great. Less floppy than the Pahoehoe. The Pahoehoe were so thick and floppy that they slapped against the fretboard sometimes. The Pyramids, on the other hand, have more noise to them when sliding and when being pressed against the frets.
To compensate the thickness of the Pahoehoe strings, the Kala U-Bass has a lot of compensation built into the saddle. With the thinner metal wound strings, I was expecting bad Intonation, and it is not perfect indeed, but it's ok (again, to my untrained ears). It wasn't perfect with the Pahoehoes either. I guess intonation is always a problem with such a short scale.
Anyway, I think these strings are worth a try.
So I was happy to find metal wound strings that are specifically made for the Kala U-Bass. There is a set by Kala and another one by Pyramid. They have been around for several years, but they haven't come to my attention until recently.
I have put on the Pyramid set and like it a lot. I mostly play the bass unplugged to myself or accompained by one uke, and these strings are definitely louder than the Pahoehoe in this setting. They also have more treble to them which helps with being heard against other instruments. Whereas the Pahoehoe strings provide the tone of an upright bass, these metal strings sound a bit more like a bass guitar.
They are a lot thinner and feel great. Less floppy than the Pahoehoe. The Pahoehoe were so thick and floppy that they slapped against the fretboard sometimes. The Pyramids, on the other hand, have more noise to them when sliding and when being pressed against the frets.
To compensate the thickness of the Pahoehoe strings, the Kala U-Bass has a lot of compensation built into the saddle. With the thinner metal wound strings, I was expecting bad Intonation, and it is not perfect indeed, but it's ok (again, to my untrained ears). It wasn't perfect with the Pahoehoes either. I guess intonation is always a problem with such a short scale.
Anyway, I think these strings are worth a try.