Bass Ukuleles/U-Bass

Shakespeare

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I have read through the threads brought up by the search engine about bass ukuleles but thought a new thread would be a good idea. I would be really interested to hear your thoughts on bass ukes. How do they compare to upright/double basses and bass guitars? Do they have an advantage over other bass instruments when playing with other ukes? How well do they fit in with other instruments? I am particularly interested in fretless bass ukes but any opinions on any type of bass uke would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
The fretless U-Bass is immense fun and a great learning tool to improve your hearing.
 
There are a lot of bass players using the u-bass as part of their gigging lineup. There is an extensive thread/group on the talk bass forums with lots of good information and experience. I've personally used the acoustic electric ubass with a jazz trio I play with. An instrument that fits in a normal size car and doesn't break your back getting on stage is worth considering! The sound works very well; traditionalists have a problem with the look. Takes a little while to get used to the feel of the strings. Aquila makes replacement strings, so there is the endless debate over what strings to use.
 
Some of us like the Ashbory bass. It has the most upright sound of any ot the litlle basse. It is fretless. Roland has a Bass Micrcube, It plays 7hours continuously on batteries.
 
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A Bass Uke will NEVER sound completely like a true Upright Bass. Let's get that out there first. Nor will it sound like an electric fretted or fretless bass. Each of these are their own instrument, and knowing the nuances and techniques of each (because they are different, despite being strung up the same) is going to benefit you more in emulating each of them than the instrument itself.

However, the Kala U-Bass has a very warm, robust sound that gets in the area that many of us say is "close enough," and frankly the audience rarely cares. I've only had mine for a week, and tonally it is pretty close to my upright bass. I brought the U-Bass to my folk group rehearsal last night. The sound blends very well with the acoustic guitars.

Do they have an advantage over other basses when playing with ukes? I don't think so. The player has more influence (style, note choices) over what instrument they're playing. Dirk from Southcoast Ukes is working on a "piccolo" acoustic fretless bass, citing that the tonal range (one octave up from a normal bass) will sit better with ukes. I'm very curious on that, because it makes sense; there is a LARGE tonal space between a bass and a ukulele. However, that also allows both musicians a lot of room, if they know how to use it properly.

Good luck if you go the fretless route. Many people have a hard time with regular fretless scales that trying to cram your fingers on a 22" scale to be properly in tune isn't worth it. If you check the Gollihur Music site, Bob even recommends AGAINST buying the fretless one. I played an Ashbory years ago, and quite honestly it was a pain to play in tune. And my normal instruments are upright bass and fretless electric.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I have had a Fender Squire Affinity P-Bass for years but it has always been second (and now third) to guitar. I recently got a double bass which is great fun. Do double bass players see fretless ukulele basses as travel/practice double basses?
 
Personally i find they are so different that playing the ubass isn't valuable upright practice. Technique is totally different, fingering, plucking, etc. sight reading and song learning are transferable, but the ubass is really its own instrument.
 
Do double bass players see fretless ukulele basses as travel/practice double basses?

Most double bassists don't even consider playing on an electric upright bass the same. Having played upright for over twenty years, there is absolutely no similarities between the two; it's like comparing an apple to a monkey.

The closest people you'll find that would consider it a travel option would be electric bassists that either don't have access to, or don't want to invest in a double bass but would still like to approximate that sound.
 
i really wonder, though, if the ubass kala on the mother ukers video is modded somehow. It appears to be amplified, but it's just so "tuba-like", that is must pass through a pedal of some sort. Hmmm.
 
Maybe, but from my listening the U-Bass sounds pretty darn close to what I hear from mine unplugged. It has that tubby low end that really gives it the character that everyone knows. I just switched out the strings to Thunderguts, which don't have as much "boom" as the originals do, but the tighter tension and tone of them makes it worth it for me.
 
Dumb question, 1Bmonkey. Since the tuning is different, the fingering is different than my GCEA ukes, right?

You are correct. The U-Bass is tuned like a regular bass (EADG), so you will need to use a different fingering, and also playing style.
 
Hi this is Luap (Paul) from the Mother Ukers.
Darryl The Chap plays his U-Bass through a Ampeg SVT Micro-Stack and then a DI straight into a Audio interface.
I use a Howlett concert Uklectic through a Roland AC-60, both this and Jonty Jonsons vocal and Kiwaya KTS-7 are picked up by a couple of good quality condensor mics plugged into the audio interface.
The recordings are all live using a macbook for both audio and video.
 
Personally I prefer a steel stringed mini electric bass.
I find the sound more usable for a broader range of music.
I agree. I had a Kala U-bass and it was fun, but requires a somewhat different approach. The sound was good amplified, and nicely fat. But the strings are also fat and tend to roll under your fingers. They require a more precise placement than a typical steel-string bass and a bit more care when playing. The short scale put limits on the upper fret use, too. The small spacing made it difficult to play in the 12-fret-higher zone.

I don't think the very short scale works really well for fretless, either. You will find the precision required very demanding. Hell, it's hard enough playing a fretless upright (mine's an Ergo EUB) and getting the notes right is still a challenge, even with a whole lot more room to maneuver.

As for sounding like an upright bass: Hmmm. Well, that's also something to do with the amp. It sounds a lot like any acoustic bass because the sound reverberates in the body in ways that solid body basses don't. And the U-bass strings are not as tight as a steel string, so they have a bit of slappiness that gives them that 'woody' sound that is sort-of like an upright. It's like synthesizer keyboards: they can sound sort-of like a violin, sort-of like a piano, sort-of like a saxophone, but not quite.

The big problem for performing is that bass and uke need a lot of balance to work together. Bass of any sort can easily overpower a uke. Takes some tweaking to get them in harmony. The U-bass is also a LOT lower in tone than a standard uke, and the difference can sound off. A bass is an octave lower than a guitar, but can be two octaves lower than a uke (soprano to tenor).
 
Dumb question, 1Bmonkey. Since the tuning is different, the fingering is different than my GCEA ukes, right?
The uke is tuned like the first four strings of a guitar (soprano to tenor are tuned five frets higher, of course). The bass is tuned like the last four strings.

On a bass, each higher string is tuned five frets higher than the one below it (E > A > D >G). On a uke and the first four strings of a guitar, the second string is only four frets higher (C > E). That's only a big deal for chord formations or run patterns. But you have to keep it in mind when playing scales or patterns.

As an alternative idea: get an inexpensive baritone uke and string it with the first four strings of a nylon guitar set. You'll have a piccolo bass. Gives you a chance to play and experiment with bass runs.
 
As an alternative idea: get an inexpensive baritone uke and string it with the first four strings of a nylon guitar set. You'll have a piccolo bass. Gives you a chance to play and experiment with bass runs.
great idea, i'm going to try that
 
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