Kala U Bass

[Wally Malone]

I had the opportunity to play a fretless Spruce top Kala U Bass and now know I need to get one of these. My day gig will have me doing more traveling this coming year and it would be nice to play in hotel rooms.

 

Wally

[Cthulhu Fhtagn]

Acoustic blues gig. Guitar whipped out a Uke for a couple of songs. Was thinking that having a Kala to play bass on would be awesome.

[Mark Schmieder]

I've tried a few bass 'ukes and have yet to find one that feels right to me or even sounds right. Perhaps a spruce top is the secret. I love 'ukes in general but my largest is a baritone. Most of the videos I've heard of bass 'ukes remind me of guitarrons, and that's sort of how the ones I've tried feel, but I'm guessing what you bought is higher-end than what GC carries. :-) Care to list the specific model link?

 

Also, what type/style of strings are you using? The ones I've tried disturbed me deeply due to the string material. They felt too wiggly and almost like a probe going under my skin. That's partly why they felt like guitarrons to me.

[Cthulhu Fhtagn]

Odd. I play guitarron and haven't had that particular sensation.

 

The older ones used those really thick neoprene/rubber strings that seem to be the size of suspension bridge cable. Haven't looked at the newer ones lately. After picking up the second Harley, I'm on double secret shopping probation again.

[b5pilot]

Tried one at the music store the other day. Very cute. not much unplugged sound-wise but plugged in they sound pretty good. sort of upright bass like. Strings are urethane so they were a little grippy on the fingers but not that bad. If they weren't so pricey I'd be picking one up. A little too much to spend on something I consider a novelty instrument.

[Wally Malone]

Mark, I haven't purchased one yet but am looking. the Spruce top model is about $100 more than the Mahogany top model. The one I played felt and sounded good unplugged. I didn't have the opportunity to plug it in. It belongs to my friend's son who is in town from DC, is a good player. He said he uses it on gigs with singer/songwriters, etc. when he isn't required to take solos and just required to lay in the pocket and groove. The reason I'm thinking about this is I'll be doing more travel this year for my day gig and spending a lot of time flying and staying in hotels.

 

Wally

[Mark Schmieder]

We had a power outage while I was responding so my carefully written response is gone for good.

 

The strings were quite rubbery on the ones I've tried. I'll see if GC has the spruce model; I stopped trying them after figuring they're not worth bothering with, but I would like to complete my 'ukulele voicings with a bass at some point.

[Wally Malone]

Guitar Showcase in San Jose has the Rumbler model without the spruce top, all mahogany. I may go and take a look and hear since that model is $100 less.

 

Wally

[Wally Malone]

Looks like I'm leaning to heading over to Guitar Showcase and if it plays good I'll come home with it. I really don't think having the spruce top makes a difference and I can save $150.

 

Wally

[Mark Schmieder]

Hmm, that Rumbler model sounds interesting.

 

I looked at Guitar Showcase's website today to see if they have the Fender Modern Player Jaguar Bass I'm interested in, but no Jaguars of any sort showed up on their website, which surprised me.

 

I may give them a call this coming week, and see if they are accessible by public transit. I've never been, and most say it's something for the bucket list. :-) I do hate their on-line videos though; very annoying overall. As long as they aren't condescending towards customers, I'll be fine inside the store. :-)

 

GC in Concord only had the Kamaka U-Bass today, and it was set up with re-entrant tuning in the same pitch/octave as a standard model, so it didn't sound like a bass of any sorts. :-) Not a bad feel to the neck or the strings, but it seemed more like a baritone in overall feel. I haven't compared the specs yet.

[jeremy c]

One of my former students has one of those Kala U-Basses and it sounds and feels pretty good to me.

 

I used to have an Ashbory bass with the same kind of strings and enjoyed playing it, but it was an awkward shape.

 

The scale length takes some getting used to.

[Mark Schmieder]

Kala also has a fretless bass, I see. Same price as the fretted version, and same options.

 

I'm going to hunt down some videos now, to see if I like the sound of any of them.

 

Eddy Finn also makes bass 'ukes now, and, more importantly, so does Ohana (a widely respected newer vendor).

[Mark Schmieder]

Seems like the -Bass is built on a baritone body. In this demo, it sounds like an upright bass, but it's clear this instrument is made for plugged-in playing to get the right tone:

 

 

Hmm, if I can find one that FEELS right, this could make a fun addition to my jazz combo setup at gigs. I very rarely drag my upright along, as we often play in confined spaces.

 

I just don't think I could get used to the feel of the strings though, which are made of surgical rubber.

 

I did see though that Kala offers a model that can handle steel strings. Likely it wouldn't have the "right" sound though.

 

The spruce fretted version doesn't sound nearly as good to me:

 

 

I think I'd go with the mahogany fretless, but again, those strings...

[Mark Schmieder]

Here's the fretless mahogany model unplugged, on Miles' Seven Steps to Heaven:

 

 

As expected, the spruce top fretless is warmer and richer, but this also exposes its artificiality more than the all-magonay model (which simply sounds like a dark upright miked a certain way):

 

 

Here's a nice video of the fretless mahogany version in the context of a live jazz trio, showing that it does indeed cut through and blend properly when plugged in:

 

 

Aside from the solid body models, they also have a high-end hollow body acacia available:

 

http://www.kalabrand.com/Models/U-BASS/DetailsPageAcaciaUBass.html

 

In addition, there's a newish custom shop Made in USA series (various woods):

 

http://www.kalabrand.com/Models/U-BASS/DetailsUSA-Acout-Elec.html

 

I'm going to try to hunt down some video demos of the acacia and custom models.

[Mark Schmieder]

Actually, the idea of a fiver really appeals to me, as I find five-string uprights too difficult to play but often miss that low string!

 

Maple and Koa are the woods for the custom series, for now. I was hoping maybe Walnut. I've always enjoyed walnut's tonal balance on acoustic instruments.

 

The main page shows Walnut as an option, but it doesn't show up on the custom shop page once you click.

 

Note that the custom shop models are 1" longer (21" scale vs. 20" scale).

[Mark Schmieder]

No audio, but here's the NAMM presentation of the new custom series, showing off the loa model:

 

 

As for the acacia model, here are a couple of demos:

 

 

 

I still think the all mahogany model sounds the most convincing as a stand-in for jazz uprights bass.

[Mark Schmieder]

Here's the answer to the string dilemma:

 

 

It seems that Pyramid collaborated with Kala to make these compatible copper-wound strings for the U-Bass hollow body series.

 

From that one video, however, I'd say that these strings sound less acoustic, when amplified, than the standard rubber strings. It's just one video, unfortunately.

[Mark Schmieder]

Oh, Pyramid recently came out with tape-wound strings for the U-Bass:

 

 

Here's a comparison of the Pyramid silver-plated copper vs. the standard strings:

 

 

Here's an awful comparison of LaBella's new white tape-wound vs. the Pyramid's, with an out-of-tune U-Bass and a mixture of two strings each from the two brands (apples and oranges).

 

 

Of course, he explains that these standard strings don't work on U-Bass; hence the intonation problems, and why the dedicated copper-wound strings had to be developed by Pyramid exclusively for the U-Bass.

 

Here's a Pyramid string demo on another brand, Korala (flamed okume wood):

 

 

Seems to be popular with the Europeans. I haven't found much information on it yet. Apparently it's cheaper than the Kala; hence its popularity overseas where there would be an additional import fee on the American-based brands (even though most aren't made in Hawai'i).

[Mark Schmieder]

Here's some info and demos of the high-end ($2K) solid curly koa u-bass:

 

http://www.theukulelesite.com/usa-made-ubass-solid-curly-koa-w-new-lr-baggs-pickup.html

 

Sorry to say, but I prefer the sound of the lower-end model. Must be something about the magic combination of woods, scale, pickups, etc.

[jeremy c]

Any bass instrument of that size is going to have to be amplified to be heard. Unless you can change the laws of physics.

[Wally Malone]

I picked it up and getting used to in short time. I like the way it sounds through my GK MBE. I did get a mandolin strap in case I need to stand but have found it comfortable sitting. I'm glad I got the fretless and took to it quickly. Thanks for the links Mark and although I didn't see these until coming back from Showcase I will make sure to take a look.

 

Wally

[Mark Schmieder]

Cool; you bought the only model in the series that appealed to me in the videos.

 

I sent my bandleader a link to that one jazz guy who had the live trio recordings with the fretless mahogany model, and he thought it sounded weird and off, so I won't be buying one as the only point would be to get closer to "that" sound at small gigs.

[Wally Malone]

And it is their least expensive model. I just spent a little more time with it through the GK and know I can get good tone and volume for the right situations. It also is a setup I would take to get togethers with friends and for small parties.

 

Wally

[Cthulhu Fhtagn]

Any bass instrument of that size is going to have to be amplified to be heard. Unless you can change the laws of physics.

 

Ah, but THAT is a subject for another thread.

[Wally Malone]

Late last night I did play it unplugged while watching TV. I'm thinking about getting the Electro-Harmonix headphone amp for hotel rooms. I read the reviews on this one and it seems to be a top pick for these.

 

Wally

[Wally Malone]

I spend a lot of my current practice time working on jazz melodies & improv on my five tuned E-C. Last night after playing the Kala working on walking lines I realized I need to spend more time doing this. So the answer is to take the U-Bass when traveling for the day gig along with Ed's books.

 

Above I mentioned the Electro-Harmonix headphone amp but now recognize it doesn't have the option for an outside music source. I have a Tascam unit that can play CDs but never warmed up to it since my bass didn't have a great signal. I could use my iPad Dock but really don't want to travel with it. Any thoughts on something small that I could use to hear my bass and music from either my iPad or CD player?

 

Wally

[jeremy c]

I recommend this puppy:

Cafe Walter Headphone amp

http://www.bassnw.com/images/Effects/Cafe%20Walter%20HA1.jpg

 

and.....Walter is a bass player and a very nice guy.

[Wally Malone]

Thanks Jeremy, that's the one I was trying to remember.

 

Wally

 

[Wally Malone]

Received this from Bass Northwest where Walter sells his product: Thanks for the e-mail. We are currently out of stock of the Cafe Walter HA-1A headphone amps and unfortunately the Cafe Walter company will not be building more until Spring 2015. They have also told us that they may be designing and building a new updated model that will replace the current HA-1A model. When we have information about that we will post it on our web site.

 

Wally

 

 

Bass NW

[DJR_Bos]

All the endorsement I need - http://www.avclub.com/video/harry-shearer-and-judith-owen-cover-spinal-taps-ch-213297