Tinkering with a Ukelele Bass

[ABGBrian]

I recently purchased a Tanglewood Roadster from a local music shop here in Bangkok. I purchased it despite the action of the E-string being so low that it rattled terribly all up and down the fingerboard. The thing was just so darn fun to play I couldn't put it down.

 

I fixed the E-string by stuffing some toilet paper under the saddle on the E-string side. The bass definitely plays a lot better now. What I didn't predict when I did this was the volume disparity this would create in the pickup. Which is noticeable when amplified or recorded: the E-string is present but muffled, the A & D strings are virtually non-existent, and the G-string is loud as hell. This is my conundrum.

 

I love this bass, I literally play it acoustically all day because it's just so damn fun to play and sounds great... acoustically. I am however the type that records on a regular basis and would really like to employ this bass on some recordings in the future. Does anyone have any ideas for me? A custom bridge may need to be built...

[jeremy c]

You'd be way better off with a Kala U-bass, but that might cost a lot more than the bass you have.

 

I assume that your bass has a piezo pickup under the saddle. That's going to be nearly impossible to adjust.

[b5pilot]

Congrats on the uke bass. My suggestion is to put a thin wood shim under the entire bridge saddle and re-notch the bridge to suit. I think you aren't getting even pressure on the piezo across the length of the bridge and that may be causing the uneven sound. Also as you may have guessed toilet is too soft to transmit vibration effectively.