I just found this section of the UU forums. I started playing ukulele a year ago, but played guitar for about 50 years. I've contemplated the idea of learning the electric bass many times before, especially with the encouragement of a very accomplished guitar player friend, but I just didn't like the idea of carrying around that big instrument and amp.
Now that so many small acoustic bass ukes are out, I decided I'm going to take it on. I'm taking lessons now with Brad at U-Space in Downtown LA and have handled the Kala U-Bass, Tanger and Gold Tone MicroBass in his store. I found that I don't really like the configuration of the Kala with only 16 frets, and the others that are 35-36" long with 20 frets are just a little big for me, so I'm having a custom bass uke made by Bruce Wei in Vietnam (he made me a great gypsy jazz uke I received a couple of weeks ago).
This is the detail I sent him, and it includes a custom made case, for $480. It has 18 frets, is about 1.5 inches longer than the Kala and about 4 inches shorter than the Gold Tone, in my opinion just right. I'm having the fret board extended around the sound hole to be a thumb rest. It's all solid acacia koa with binding that matches the Aquila Thundergut strings.
Below that is a comparison of a Kala, my Bruce Wei custom and a Gold Tone MicroBass.
Now that so many small acoustic bass ukes are out, I decided I'm going to take it on. I'm taking lessons now with Brad at U-Space in Downtown LA and have handled the Kala U-Bass, Tanger and Gold Tone MicroBass in his store. I found that I don't really like the configuration of the Kala with only 16 frets, and the others that are 35-36" long with 20 frets are just a little big for me, so I'm having a custom bass uke made by Bruce Wei in Vietnam (he made me a great gypsy jazz uke I received a couple of weeks ago).
This is the detail I sent him, and it includes a custom made case, for $480. It has 18 frets, is about 1.5 inches longer than the Kala and about 4 inches shorter than the Gold Tone, in my opinion just right. I'm having the fret board extended around the sound hole to be a thumb rest. It's all solid acacia koa with binding that matches the Aquila Thundergut strings.
Below that is a comparison of a Kala, my Bruce Wei custom and a Gold Tone MicroBass.
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