Apprenti L'Artisan

Hi everyone, Does anyone have a spare A string I could have? I'm using a mix of anima-bottom and gut top (both of which I wad given) but they A string's unravelling and it's buzzing during gigs (I play out a bit outside of school). I'd prefer velvet (any type) or gut but if nothing shows up I don't mind something else. Many thanks and I hope you all have a very merry Christmas! God bless, Joe

As promised, sound clip! The rattling is stuff being shook off the desk by some DEEP notes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmnQGnwdBTY&feature=youtu.be

As promised, sound clip! The rattling is stuff being shook off the desk by some DEEP notes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmnQGnwdBTY&feature=youtu.be

Hi! Don't bother with cigar boxes. Most people say that it has to be a cigar box, but that's not suitable for this type of build. Mine's an art box, I've found the cheap art-sets typically come in boxes like this! As for the pickup, I just wired it up with my piezo undersaddle pickup (cost £5) and it sounds AMAZING!!! So much better than acoustically, the pickup is shockingly good! Will record this evening if I get a chance!

Thanks everyone! IF ANYONE WANTS A PLAY ON IT AT ALL pm me and if you're local I'll be happy to let you have a go I live near Eastbourne and hailsham, east Sussex UK.

Thanks for all the kind words Strings-Aquila thunderguts. Not sticky for me like I'd been led to believe (though for some they are due to sweat etc). The signwriting's by my dad. He's still quite new to it, but as you can see, he has quite a natural talent! The sound isn't much acoustically (enough to play on the sofa with though). Will record it when it's wired up. Thanks again, Joe

Thank you

Definitely, though I'm not sure the pickup will sound great (I'll replace it with a better one if it's not). If it's awful, I'll TRY and record it unplugged

Haha thank you very much, that's quite a compliment!

[left]It's quiet, which I kind of expected. Only a little bit quieter than a Kala UBass though, if at all. Will wire up the pickup tomorrow and report back on electric tone. Acoustically though, very cool! The E-string requires a COMPLETE change in technique, and it's quite a bit quieter than the others, but other than that it's great! Very thumpy and warm, like a double bass with guts. No buzz at all and very dynamic. Playing near the bridge is more defined and funkier, near the 12th fret is thumpy and dark, and everything else in between! The neck is super comfy as well, that's the part I'm most proud of [/left]

Hello! About a month ago was my birthday, and I went to London. Whilst in London, I tried out a Kala U-Bass and I LOVED it! So I decided to build one! I used a crappy art box that wasn't getting used for art. This rubbish box was awful as an art box, but very resonant and certainly good enough for a uke-bass! So, here it is! 47mm nut. 19" scale. 18mm string spacing. Sign-writing is by my amazing dad! Uhm, that is all. Enjoy! [url="http://s1171.photobucket.com/user/Josiah_Goldsmith/media/ukebass1.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1171.photobucket.com/user/Josiah_Goldsmith/media/ukebass8.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1171.photobucket.com/user/Josiah_Goldsmith/media/ukebass7.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1171.photobucket.com/user/Josiah_Goldsmith/media/ukebass6.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1171.photobucket.com/user/Josiah_Goldsmith/media/ukebass5.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1171.photobucket.com/user/Josiah_Goldsmith/media/ukebass4.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1171.photobucket.com/user/Josiah_Goldsmith/media/ukebass.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1171.photobucket.com/user/Josiah_Goldsmith/media/ukebass2.jpg.html"][/url] All the best, Joe

Hello! About a month ago was my birthday, and I went to London. Whilst in London, I tried out a Kala U-Bass and I LOVED it! So I decided to build one! I used a crappy art box that wasn't getting used for art. This rubbish box was awful as an art box, but very resonant and certainly good enough for a uke-bass! So, here it is! 47mm nut. 19" scale. 18mm string spacing. Sign-writing is by my amazing dad! Uhm, that is all. Enjoy! [url="http://s1171.photobucket.com/user/Josiah_Goldsmith/media/ukebass1.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1171.photobucket.com/user/Josiah_Goldsmith/media/ukebass8.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1171.photobucket.com/user/Josiah_Goldsmith/media/ukebass7.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1171.photobucket.com/user/Josiah_Goldsmith/media/ukebass6.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1171.photobucket.com/user/Josiah_Goldsmith/media/ukebass5.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1171.photobucket.com/user/Josiah_Goldsmith/media/ukebass4.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1171.photobucket.com/user/Josiah_Goldsmith/media/ukebass.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1171.photobucket.com/user/Josiah_Goldsmith/media/ukebass2.jpg.html"][/url] All the best, Joe

I make quivers occasionally, and can't really determine much difference in tone due to how mine are strung up. They also don't flap about. To me, the usefulness of a quiver far outweighs any tone loss, and I'm just beginning to use a bow!

E and A Animas. D and G Gamut Pistoys (picking them up tomorrow!!!!!).

Hi guys, I've been building a uke bass (well, the body's just an art box, but I built a proper neck etc) but I don't know how to amplify it! The kala pickup is too expensive, so would something like a guitar pickup work? The thing is, guitar transducers seem to have six nodes, and apparently that makes unbalanced output. Would one of the floppy rods work? Can I cut it to length? Would it sound ok? Thanks in advance, Joe

I play double bass, and I'm putting a lot of effort into making one of these. Tried bass guitars before double bass, and now I hate them. Every bass guitar has been uncomfortable to me, just feels lifeless and dull. The ukulele bass I played actually felt better to me than a bass guitar, weirdly enough much closer to a double bass. Double bassists could say the same to bass guitarists. If it feels like a guitar, looks like a guitar and plays like a guitar, why not just buy a guitar? The bass guitar was just as gimmicky as any ukulele bass is, so before you say something that might offend someone in the future, why don't you think about what it is you're saying? Honestly though, I have nothing against bass guitars (in fact I still have two). If you guys want to play them, that's no problem with me. All I ask is that you respect those that want to play ukulele basses. They're no different to you bass 'guitarists'. No hard feelings, Joe [quote name='skej21' timestamp='1375361871' post='2160261'] So why not buy an actual bass? The U-Bass doesn't sound like a bass, or a uke. It's a 'no mans land' type instrument. Just like the Banjalele and the guitalele. Gimmicky nonsense IMO. [/quote]

I need something that'll now ok as well. Thanks for the offer though, if I didn't bow I'd look into it. Joe

Frequently, annoyingly though a lot of people seem to be reluctant to ship to the uk!

Update: would like to use this a an opportunity to try guts. Anyone got gut G and D's? If not, I can get the two for £70 on Thomann

I'm borrowing my teacher's bow at the moment. The stick's straightened out and it's haired with synthetic horse hair. Unfortunately the Yita's out of my price-range really. I need to replace my strings, and I need an amp and pickup as I start gigging more. If the thomann's as good or nearly as good as the yita, then I'll buy that. If not, I'll have to continue to borrow my teacher's bow.

Hi everyone, I've been using animas on my bass, and today the D string snapped. The whole set was ancient, so I'd imagine the others will soon follow suit. Has anyone got any sets of strings I could try as a replacement for the animas? Or even another set of animas? I'd like to try the following: Animas Garbos Blues (a lot of velvet eh?) Guts Zyex Any old sounding strings. I'm open to any offers, I can't really afford to be choosy with just 3 strings at the moment. Thanks in advance, Joe