Questions re starting UBass ......

I have a cheap Amazon UK Dream, if you're wondering. It's perfectly adequate. Fret edges weren't as smooth as I'd like so I had to file them a bit. I won't endorse it or warn against it, but it's affordable. :rolleyes:

Affordable is always a strong point with me!
 
However another twist is I have read that the small scale acoustic basses don't work optimally with "regular" bass amps (like the Fender Rumble series) so I'm digging into that. If anyone has any additional comments or suggestions please share.

I'm always wary of statements made on the internet if they are made from actual experience. So often I've found that people talk out of their hats and don't have hands on experience. I have a Carvin MB15 200w combo bass amp that's on par with the Fender Rumbles, and a Phil Jones Double Four Bass, which in my opinion is the best mini bass amp made. Neither have a problem with any of my 27 bass ukes or mini bass guitars.
 
I suspect there's partial truth to the comment that acoustic basses don't work optimally with regular bass amps, but that the full story is that it's fixable with a pre-amp or by changing the input setting on the amp. If I have my big amp set up for my P-Bass it sounds awful when I plug in the MicroBass. Flip the amp's input level switch and all is good. Better: run it through my preamp pedal and get absolutely lovely sounds.
 
I suspect there's partial truth to the comment that acoustic basses don't work optimally with regular bass amps, but that the full story is that it's fixable with a pre-amp or by changing the input setting on the amp. If I have my big amp set up for my P-Bass it sounds awful when I plug in the MicroBass. Flip the amp's input level switch and all is good. Better: run it through my preamp pedal and get absolutely lovely sounds.

That's a good point, both my amps have a switch for instruments that have an active pickup (preamp) or a passive pickup, which I use accordingly.
 
Another advantage of one of those instruments, for example the Guild or the Taylor, is that some are available from Elderly Instruments who IIRC is one of the popular dealers here as they do QC checks and setups before shipping. .
One note on that is that I got an email today saying they are having to temporarily shutdown the store and shipping as part of the COVID-19 response. They can still take orders and answer emails but it may be a number of weeks before they could send you anything.
 
Thanks for all the comments. I contacted Elderly and got the news about the shutdown. They are still answering emails, and advised me that my choice should be based on how much I want to spend and how loud I want the instrument to be unplugged. They also recommended the Fender Rumble 40 as being a good start, so per that and what I'm hearing from you all I'm going to forget the comments about acoustics not "working optimally" with regular bass amps.

The pause from the virus give me a good excuse to continue over-analyzing!
 
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