Bass Ukulele ?

Clifford

Clifford

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This is my take on the idea of a Bass Ukulele.



When Kala first launched the U-Bass, my UAS kicked in big time. I wanted one sooooooo much. Then I looked into it further and discovered it was Tenor size (far too big!), designed to be played 'plugged in' (hardly portable then) and it was tuned like a bass guitar, so hardly a uke at all really. Add to this the 'Rip Off Britain' price being asked here in the UK, £400 ($640) compared to $400 in the states, and the UAS faded rapidly, only to be replaced with the desire to design and build my own version of a Ukulele Bass instrument.

First I got some Pahoehoe strings, UK price £30 ($48) MGM's price $25, and his postage was less! Then worked out what scale length I needed to give me proper GCEA ukulele tuning. From there on it was all experimentation, based on the biggest vacuum formed body I could get.

I'm very pleased with the result, it's brilliant fun to play and makes me wish I'd taken up bass years ago.
 
Clifford said:
This is my take on the idea of a Bass Ukulele.



When Kala first launched the U-Bass, my UAS kicked in big time. I wanted one sooooooo much. Then I looked into it further and discovered it was Tenor size (far too big!), designed to be played 'plugged in' (hardly portable then) and it was tuned like a bass guitar, so hardly a uke at all really. Add to this the 'Rip Off Britain' price being asked here in the UK, £400 ($640) compared to $400 in the states, and the UAS faded rapidly, only to be replaced with the desire to design and build my own version of a Ukulele Bass instrument.

First I got some Pahoehoe strings, UK price £30 ($48) MGM's price $25, and his postage was less! Then worked out what scale length I needed to give me proper GCEA ukulele tuning. From there on it was all experimentation, based on the biggest vacuum formed body I could get.

I'm very pleased with the result, it's brilliant fun to play and makes me wish I'd taken up bass years ago.
Click to expand...


Aloha Clifford,
Thanks for sharing, it looks and sounds awesome man!!! I like it alot..cool size for the
deep and rich tones....Happy Strummings...Have Fun and Enjoy!! MM Stan
 
Gonna start making some of your own, Dave? :p
 
Fantastic! You ought to make those to sell. And thanks for giving some love to John Deacon, one of the most underrated bassists in rock. His playing always totally blew me away, especially his upper register melodic stuff ("Millionaire Waltz", "March of the Black Queen", that sort of thing).
 
Clifford, duly impressed. When will you start making them to sell? So new to the bass, do you play this just like the UBass just has different tuning?
 
fantastic - really impressed that you found such a good solution to the price of the U-bass!
 
Thanks for all the nice comments. I got the scale length wrong in the video, it's actualy 17 1/2" so slightly larger than a tenor uke, but still a lot shorter than the U-Bass' 20".

I work as a Design & Technology Technician in a school, hence the easy access to all sorts of uke building friendly tools and equipment. This project has taken over a year to complete, working on and off, mostly off.

My enjoyment comes from the design process, then proving that my designs work. I could never build and sell at a profit, so have no desire to waste my time trying to make money at something I enjoy and in the process, losing out on the enjoyment.

John Deacon Rocks!
 
ADD said:
Clifford, duly impressed. When will you start making them to sell? So new to the bass, do you play this just like the UBass just has different tuning?
Click to expand...

If you watch the video, he says it has GCEA tuning, unlike the UBass, which isn't really a uke. Looks like low G to me.
 
Clifford said:
Thanks for all the nice comments. I got the scale length wrong in the video, it's actualy 17 1/2" so slightly larger than a tenor uke, but still a lot shorter than the U-Bass' 20".
Click to expand...

I'm seriously thinking about making one of these Clifford. I'm pretty handy and have access to lots of tools, but I've never built an instrument before. Would you mind helping by sharing some of the details? Here are some of my questions:

  • Scale length is 17.5" - nut to bridge, right?
  • How did you attach the bass strings on the bottom of the uke? A banjo type connector? (I'm totally ignorant on this part so bear with me)
  • Did you use a fretboard with a standard length neck (Mainland sells Soprano/Concert/Tenor necks so I'm wondering if I can use one of those for the neck)?
  • What is the body length/width/depth you ended up with?
  • How did you attach larger pegs to the friction tuners? Did you just use a dowel (or something similar)?
  • What sized fretwire did you use? Just the medium that is commonly available?
  • Would you be willing to post a few pictures of the details (like the tailpiece and headstock)?

I'll probably muddle through even without help, but any details would be appreciated. In any case, thanks for posting this and creating your video. It's inspiring!

- Mary
 
Yo. I'm thinking too. Mine's gonna be fretless, so a lot easier to build, if I know the scale length. how many octaves is it below a standard soprano/concert uke?

PJB
 
It looks like the UBass itself uses a string-through bridge which would be relatively easy to do once I know where the bridge needs to be. I can see why Clifford used the floating bridge now that I think of it (easier to adjust the distance). On the other hand it seems harder to build since I'd have to attach a tailpiece of some sort to the heel.
 
Best wishes to anyone who fancies having a go at making something similar. To answer some questions -

Scale length is 17 1/2" from '0' fret to bridge (saddle)

The strings are attached to the tail piece which is simply a piece of wood with four holes in it, counterbored to accomodate the ferrules that the strings come with, except the thinest one which I tied a knot in.

I made everything myself so nothing is standard. The neck and fretboard are considerably wider than normal beacause the strings are so thick. 1 3/4" at the nut.

Body is 13 1/2 " long x 10 1/8" at it's widest x 3 3/4" deep.

The tuning pegs I turned up on a lathe, they are just like violin pegs only a lot bigger. For excellent instructions on making similar pegs, as well as your own tapered reamers and peg shavers see http://www.instructables.com/id/Cookie-Tin-Banjo-Part-1--Make-a-Tuning-Peg-Hole-R/

As I said in the video, the fet wire is 3mm braizing rod. I just cut a groove and glued it in. Any similar size brass or plastic rod would do. The strings are so soft you could even use thin dowel or even bamboo skewers split lengthwise.

There really isn't much more to see of the headstock or tailpiece than is shown in the video. They are both literally just bits of wood with holes in.

I think it's two octaves below a standard uke with a low G string.

Hope this helps, good luck with your build.
 
Wow - this is great! Thanks for all this info. I was actually thinking about using a cheap tenor uke for the body and drilling through the bridge/body to make a string-through bridge. My concern with doing it that way is that I'm afraid the neck on a cheap uke won't stand up to the tension in the bass strings.

As an alternative I'm thinking about enlisting my woodworking brother-in-law to help make the body, or even (gasp!) just buying dang Kala U-Bass and be done with it. The problem for me (as you said it was for you Clifford) is the scale - I find it harder to play a tenor than a concert and a baritone is another 3" longer! I think talking I'll start with my BIL and go from there.

Thanks again for the details - I really appreciate it! - Mary
 
Very cool uke, I too have been drooling over the Kala Ubass but can not justify spending that much. Does the scale length effect the tuning you choose? In other words, could you put the strings you got from MGM on a Kala Ubass and tune it GCEA? The reason I ask, is I found a travel size bass from Beaver Creek for sale used and it has traditional bass tuning like the Kala (EADG). Could I buy a set of the strings you are using (asuming they are long enough for the Beaver Creek's 22" scale) and tune it GCEA. If anyone can answer this for me, I would appreciate it.
 
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