NBD: Michael Kelly Sojourn Port Acoustic Travel bass

KohanMike

Los Angeles, Beverly Grove West
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near the Beverly Center.
Sunday I was preparing for my senior uke group's regular Monday afternoon Zoom session and decided on my Gold Tone GT 23" fretted MicroBass that I haven't used for a few months, but when I tuned it, the Pahoehoe strings way over wrapped the spools. The E and A string also rattled between the 1st and 5th frets, and the pickup did not amplify evenly, needing the cut apart fix I posted about in the past. I wished I could change the strings to the Gold Tone/La Bella MBLS flatwound 25" scale, but there's no convenient way to do it, So I put it aside to deal with at another time.

Then Monday morning I saw a post on the Talk Bass forum that mentioned the Michael Kelly Sojourn Port Acoustic Travel bass, which caught my attention. I did a search and it's beaut, but slightly longer than I like, 24.7" scale. I found it on a variety of sites for $399, but only pre-order for a 6-8 week delivery. I saw that Sam Ash carries it, so I called and was told my local store had one in stock.

I flew there and looked it over. It's all glossy koa with a Fishman Presys II preamp and a sound hole on the side. The scale felt pretty good, so I bought it with a $20 discount, $379. When I got it home, I rotated the pickup to face me, added a matching strap button to the neck heel, and changed the strings to the MBLS 25" flatwound using short spacers at the bridge so they would only wrap the silks.

I used it today with 6 members of my uke group in the backyard of one member, with masks and safe distance. They complimented it and even took a couple of pictures. The action is a bit high up the fret board, sanding down the bottom of the saddle should fix it. Otherwise it worked very well, so I'm going to sell my Gold Tone MicroBass because my wall only fits 30 basses, which controls my BAS to a degree.

Kelly Sojourn mine 1024.jpg

Me and bass from Ellen.jpg


Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly Grove near the Beverly Center
8 tenor cutaway ukes, 4 acoustic bass ukes, 10 solid body bass ukes, 14 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 36)
•Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
•Member The CC Strummers: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers
 
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Nice looking bass. Is that inlay on the top or just the way the light bounces? I am literally in awe of your mind blowing array of ukulele basses. I think it is one of the best instrument collections of any kind I have ever seen.
 
Looks nice! The scale is too long for me, I like the 20" scale...
 
Nice looking bass. Is that inlay on the top or just the way the light bounces? I am literally in awe of your mind blowing array of ukulele basses. I think it is one of the best instrument collections of any kind I have ever seen.

Thanks very much. Yes, that's reflections off the very glossy finish.

Looks nice! The scale is too long for me, I like the 20" scale...

I recently realized with the nerve damage I have in my neck, I can't play 20.5" scale acoustic ukes, so I replaced my four with two 23" scale, which is my sweet spot scale. This one is also comfortable. Interesting that just a couple of inches makes a big difference.
 
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