Kala Ubass

[ukulefty]

I played bass (incredibly badly) for about six months back in high school but never really took to it. Too big and I hated steel strings. I had a jam on the Kala U-Bass at Ukes for UNICEF on the weekend and let me tell you, I didn't want to put the U-Bass down!!!

So much fun and much easier to play in my opinion! The strings are fat and weird but I liked them.



I'd love one - but reported tuner snaps and endless string stretching puts me off....

[chrimess]

Karadoo,
the Thunderguts are a definite improvement both tonally and in terms of tuning stability.

last week is firt time I played kala u bass & i like it
I want to build it by myself with carbon fiber .
I will use shadow pickup same Kala.
but i want unplug sound louder

what's better body size & scale lenght ?

unplug volume Thundergut VS Pahoehoe string ?

If it same. I will made semi hollow.

My sketchAttachment 33580

Sorry for my bad English.

-Thanks-

[coolkayaker1]

Greg is my favorite Car.

I know he's a uke maven, and I wish he'd tour with the uke (like he did with The Cars last summer).

When I was at the NY Uke Fest last year Greg Hawkes of The Cars checked out my U-Bass. Here he is with my bass and Jumpin' Jim Beloff:



- Steve

[bassfiddlesteve]

I'd love one - but reported tuner snaps and endless string stretching puts me off....

The tuners won't snap as long as the strings are installed correctly and the strings eventually settle down and stop stretching, just like ukulele strings. I wouldn't let either of these issues deter you if you want one.

- Steve

[One Bad Monkey]

Karadoo,
the Thunderguts are a definite improvement both tonally and in terms of tuning stability.

I'd argue the improvement in tonality. They made my U-Bass sound closer to an electric bass than an upright; the drummer at church compared the sound (with the Thunderguts) to Noel Redding with Hendrix. That's not an improvement, that's a preference. I quickly switched back to the Pahoehoes, since they were definitely what I wanted out of the U-Bass.

Tuning stability? Maybe I got a bum set, but even after two weeks I was still tuning the strings up a full step after leaving them sit with the bass in the case for a day or two.

[Gillian]

I just got my hollow, fretted spruce top yesterday. I've never played a bass before so I have nothing to compare it to. My first song was CCR's "Down on the Corner" which was easy to memorize.

I'm sure it would sound better going through a proper bass amp, but it sounds just fine to me going through my little Roland AC-33 and my old Crate GFX-30. I'm learning the proper 'touch' to use to not get buzzing. I'm curious about Aquila's Thundergut strings, so I'll order a set to check them out.

Such fun!

[arpie]

..... I've never played a bass before so I have nothing to compare it to.......

I can relate to that Gillian - I've just ordered a Spruce from the States as an early birthday present!! Can't wait for it to arrive - now only have to get an amp & whatever else is needed to get it up & running!! I think I'll get a portable 9v one ....... somehow!! Any tips on a good website for absolute beginners???

cheerio

Roberta

[bgrif]

Has anybody had this happen to a Thundergut string? Luckily a friend noticed this on my U-bass last night before it snapped.thundergut.jpg

[Gillian]

..... I've never played a bass before so I have nothing to compare it to.......

I can relate to that Gillian - I've just ordered a Spruce from the States as an early birthday present!! Can't wait for it to arrive - now only have to get an amp & whatever else is needed to get it up & running!! I think I'll get a portable 9v one ....... somehow!! Any tips on a good website for absolute beginners???

cheerio

Roberta

For a beginner, this website is fantastic. Easy to understand with very helpful interactive elements. This site provided the "light bulb" moment for me. In an hour, I was playing R, 5, b7, R bass lines!

[The Saint]

Has anybody had this happen to a Thundergut string? Luckily a friend noticed this on my U-bass last night before it snapped.thundergut.jpg

Hi. Not sure if I'm allowed to add a link to another forum, but over on TalkBass they have a huge thread about the uBass and one of the topics concern the problem you have. I can save you the trouble of searching through 100's of pages by saying that it was an early problem with the early Thunderguts, but it has been resolved and the new ones appear fine. I hear that if you contact Aquila they will replace them.

Hope that helps...