Kala Ubass

I'm pretty much sold on the idea of playing a Ubass. But, I live nowhere near music stores and the few that are around tend to have guitars and marching band gear. Not even standard electric bass. This may be a stupid question, but what would be a cheap, decent Ubass that I could learn to like. I don't mind too much for aesthetics as much as quality. My price range is $0-$250. Or, just the cheapest you have come across.
PM me. Mine's for sale. Would be open to negotiations on price.
 
I think it's a nice idea and I wouldn't mind owning one but it falls short on both the acoustic aspect and the price point. I feel that an acoustic instrument should give you the option and being played acoustically along with other acoustic instruments. The sound is not there. It is small and portable but as soon as you figure out the size of the amp you have to carry with it, the point is moot. For that money you could get a nice traditional acoustic bass.
 
I think it's a nice idea and I wouldn't mind owning one but it falls short on both the acoustic aspect and the price point. I feel that an acoustic instrument should give you the option and being played acoustically along with other acoustic instruments. The sound is not there. It is small and portable but as soon as you figure out the size of the amp you have to carry with it, the point is moot. For that money you could get a nice traditional acoustic bass.

Most of the Acoustic Bass Guitars I have played are ALSO not loud enough unplugged to compete with an acoustic guitar without being drowned out. So they have the same problem on that front. I don't own one, but I can think of one major advantage to the UBass, even when you factor in having to carry a large amp. It weighs a heck of a lot less than an electric bass, and when I play bass in a bar or club from 9:00 pm until 1:30 am, NOT having an 11 lb. Fender Jazz Bass hanging from my shoulder sounds kind of appealing.
 
Same experience with acoustic basses. They need amplification because the string energy is too low to allow much projection. Even a good upright bass is pretty quiet compared with other instruments (bowing imparts more energy to the string, however). Plus the surface area of the Ubass and most acoustic basses is relatively small compared with the wave size of the lower notes.
 
You may be right but i still feel the Ubass is lower than say the Tacoma Thunderchief but that's only my opinion. And of course prices are night and day. But if all you want if lightness just go with an Aria Sinsonido. As a nice novelty it's fine but for the price i still feel there are better options. I'm not saying it's firewood and I'll have one eventually but it's not on the top of my list.
 
I bought a Ubass and really like it. Great fun. There is enough volume unplugged to practice and sounds very good plugged in. My problem is that my wife has all but taken it over. The short scale and light weight make for a bass she can handle. So if you are married watch out.
 
Congrats, rlan, Kala makes quality instruments and you will be very happy with yours. It's a great thing for a uker to have a spouse that's a UAS enabler!

I'm still working on a baritone to bass conversion. I am optimistic that it will produce the sound (using the Pahoehoe strings / active peizo) and general ease of playing of a real UBass. The latest snag involves the finish so I'm getting behind schedule. I'll post a build thread with pix when complete.
 
Last edited:
Thanks Bob,
I am a lucky man in that my wife loves music. She plays a few different instruments and really enjoys it. I have very little if no complaint when I drag in something new.
 
I replied earlier, but screwed up and not sure it got posted. Had one for 6 months. the strings were still stretching and this was a nuisance requiring unwinding strings and rewinding with tension to avoid too much wrapping on tuning posts that can lead to broken tuners.

I found the sound was fine with another ukulele or similar instrument, but I did not like the sound with a group including keyboard and guitar. Went back to my Carvin fretless.

I have to say though that I do applaud kala for the creativity. Just not my cup of tea (or bass).

Larry
 
Kala's solid body Ubass is almost ready for sale. Mike says they'll sell for around $1200. Yikes! that's pricey. By accident I discovered that Beaver Creek has a ukulele bass too. They don't call it that - they call it a travel bass guitar but it's built on a baritone ukulele scale as is the Ubass. It actually has special made steel strings which I am assuming why they call it a travel guitar as opposed to a ukulele bass. It's an acoustic body with a cut away and has passive electronics and looks really nice. Here's the kicker....it sells for around $300 with a gig bag! check it out -
https://www.musicianswebstore.com/products.asp?cat=1572
 
Is the Beaver Creek tuned as low as a regular bass? Those strings don't look much fatter than normal.
 
Looks like I am the minority here. I had a UBass and liked it at first. Had no trouble getting used to it, or with the feel of the strings. Its portability is hard to beat for a bass too. My regular bass is a Carvin fretless.

I had a problem with the strings forever stretching. About every 2 weeks I would unwind them, stretch them through the tuners to take up the slack, and retune. Otherwise, from constant stretching the strings would over wrap the tuner shaft. Kala has a video on replacing the tuners, so I assume the tuner breakage is a problem. They are pretty flimsy.

I liked the sound through a Line6 bass amp or through a house PA fine with another instrument, but when playing with a quartet (acoustic guitar, keyboards, drums), I did not like how it fit in. I sold it after about 6 months.
 
Is the Beaver Creek tuned as low as a regular bass? Those strings don't look much fatter than normal.

Yes, it is tuned like a regular bass. Here's a video review/demonstrattion:



Personally, I don't think it sounds too good in this video, at least acoustically.

- Steve
 
Great review! I thought about this one during my research phase but the lure of the Pahoehoe strings was too strong. The sound of this one confirms what I thought, very metalic tone, at least acoustically. Does look like a nice instrument, even has the top strap button installed. At $300 it deffinately is not worth modifying, a real Ubass is a better choice.

Today I'll be soldering up a multi-disc peizo pickup (I had a bunch of discs from another project) and test into the premap installed in my converted baritone. If that goes well, then I'll work on making a new bridge to maximize the resonance of the top (I'm thinking of individual bridges for each string so I can adjust intonation by just sliding them back and forth), and stick the discs under the top.

I made the bridge floating for this reason, I can always experiment but go back to the original if needed.
 
Just got the pictures from a gig at the Wild Rabbit Cafe last Saturday night.
I sat in with these guys who do about half original material. The other half is covers from Beatles to Bee-Gees, to Jim Crochee to Old Crow Medicine Show. This was my first public gig with the U-Bass. It really made a hit both with the band, and also the audience.

My regular band won't let me play it. A traditional Bluegrass band needs a traditional upright bass-or so I'm told.

Bill
TRIO.jpgBILL & BILL.jpgUBASS at GIG.jpg
 
When I was at the NY Uke Fest last year Greg Hawkes of The Cars checked out my U-Bass. Here he is with my bass and Jumpin' Jim Beloff:

9881524_orig.jpg


- Steve
 
Top Bottom