affordable small acoustic bass?

N

nyal

Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2014
Messages
18
Reaction score
0
hi, found my way here when we thought our 7 yr old was going to play ukulele....but as i was researching, he changed his mind and we ended up with a short scale ibanez mikro.
nice enough i suppose - but he would like an acoustic bass. a standard acoustic/electric bass guitar seems too large for him right now; i was considering a ukulele or 3/4 guitar conversion but have zero experience and am reading that it's not necessarily worth the time and effort, so
i'm looking for creative solutions, advice, recommendations. i'd prefer not to spend the $400 or so for a UBASS, so something that would come in quite a bit under that.
thanks for any thoughts.
 
nyal said:
...he changed his mind and we ended up with a short scale ibanez mikro... ...but he would like an acoustic bass...
Click to expand...
IMHO your 7-yr-old really needs a ukulele. They're cheap and easy.
Seven is a little young to take on bass.

If he want to be a bass player, put a low g string on a uke.
Let him get used to linear tuning and plucking single note melodies and bass lines.

Any ukulele bass you buy or build, at any price, will not be "acoustic," technically they are electro-acoustic.
In other words, they are practically inaudible, no louder than your electric mikro bass, unless plugged in to an amp.

Some of us have strung baritone ukes with the bottom four strings of an acoustic guitar and tuned it EADG like a bass, only an octave higher.
That lets you play bass patterns on an "acoustic" instrument.
 
thank you.
i don't think the luna is quite what we're looking for, but id have to see one to know for sure.

as far as being too young for bass....he's already playing it. he seems to be holding his own, and his teacher is happy with his progress.
i just wanted something to have lying around that would be easy to pick up and mess around with. i think i will try restringing a baritone uke....

thanks again, i appreciate the advice.
cheers
 
See PM............................
 
thanks, i've heard great things about the sojourn.
 
~dave~~wave~ said:
IMHO your 7-yr-old really needs a ukulele. They're cheap and easy.
Seven is a little young to take on bass.

If he want to be a bass player, put a low g string on a uke.
Let him get used to linear tuning and plucking single note melodies and bass lines.

Any ukulele bass you buy or build, at any price, will not be "acoustic," technically they are electro-acoustic.
In other words, they are practically inaudible, no louder than your electric mikro bass, unless plugged in to an amp.

Some of us have strung baritone ukes with the bottom four strings of an acoustic guitar and tuned it EADG like a bass, only an octave higher.
That lets you play bass patterns on an "acoustic" instrument.
Click to expand...
Dave wave, I know this is an old thread but am hoping you or someone else knowledgeable reads this and can help me out. I too had thought about converting an old Bari into A/E UBASS, but it's a little pricey for me right now and I am not super handy, also I'd have to get an amp too...more$$. I generally just play uke acoustically and thought the idea of EADG tuning was a great idea. I have an old Harmony that I could use but am wondering what kind of strings work best for this type of use?
 
Last edited:
Rondomusic.com has small basses that are very similar to the Kala u-basses, both acoustic and solid body, for around $150. I just bought 2 solid bodies, a blue and a sunburst, to modify and I'm tempted to buy a flame maple acoustic. Here's the link, just scroll down and look for Hadean.

http://www.rondomusic.com/bassguitars4.html
 
nyal said:
hi, found my way here when we thought our 7 yr old was going to play ukulele....but as i was researching, he changed his mind and we ended up with a short scale ibanez mikro.
nice enough i suppose - but he would like an acoustic bass. a standard acoustic/electric bass guitar seems too large for him right now; i was considering a ukulele or 3/4 guitar conversion but have zero experience and am reading that it's not necessarily worth the time and effort, so
i'm looking for creative solutions, advice, recommendations. i'd prefer not to spend the $400 or so for a UBASS, so something that would come in quite a bit under that.
thanks for any thoughts.
Click to expand...
look at http://www.rondomusic.com/ they have several Hadean ubasses there both electric and acoustic, they are allot cheaper than a Kala u-bass and have some good reviews you can find youtube videos for them too
Hadean bass ukulele on Youtube

got to be good for that. your son can play ubass now and into the future. would start with a fretted version and go from there.
 
If you have some DIY skills you can try converting a cheap dreadnaught acoustic guitar to bass. I just did one by putting a short trapeze tailpiece on the end (to lengthen the string stretch), replaced the nut with a bass nut and put some old light weight bass guitar strings on (skipping the middle tuners which I removed).

It actually plays and sounds much better than it should. The action is a bit high from what I am used to but most ABG are that way from what I hear. 25.5" scale and it is pretty close in intonation if I tune it at the 5th fret to fudge it.

Next I will make a soundhole pickup using a dual blade strat sized humbucker. With blades (or rails) I do not have to worry about the strings lining up with the 6 guitar pole pieces.

Total cost so far is about $60 since the guitar was free.

So... if a regular acoustic guitar is playable by the child then maybe check around for a cheap acoustic he can start working with then convert it later if they really want a bass.

Crazy? YOU BET! I specialize in crazy ideas!
 
Your post was way in the past and I am sure your boy has moved on and you have found a solution.
For anyone else in a similar predicament, I may suggest converting a tenor scale uke or 3/4 scale guitar to a bass.
It is not that difficult, a bit fiddly, but I reckon if you can put up a shelf, make a toast rack ( my level or above) and your hands do not shake too much, you can do this.
Check out what is on-line and look at
Buzzard Field bass
https://sites.google.com/site/buzzardbasses/how-to-make-a-bass-ukulele
and
http://www.buzzardsfieldbasses.co.uk/store/p5/Build_Your_Own_Bass_Uke.html
I hope this may be of use.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

ukuleland
Wanted Affordable soprano around $100
Replies
4
Views
322
Dave Holiday
D
D
New more affordable Pono model in development ...
2 3 4
Replies
62
Views
4K
miqbri
miqbri
L
I Sell Custom Ukes for an Affordable Price!!
Replies
6
Views
678
louiegoddardart
L
badscooter
American made affordable Martins
Replies
6
Views
2K
Ukecaster
Ukecaster
Twiggy
Cheap/Affordable Uke Recommendations?
2
Replies
33
Views
4K
Kenn2018
Kenn2018
Top Bottom