NBD (well NFBU to be precise)

[JPJ]

So a little while ago, I decided I wanted to try a bass Ukulele for fun and the odd acoustic gig we do. Not wanting to throw away the type of money Kala want for a U Bass, and after a couple of false starts, I decided on giving the Harley Benton fretless bass ukulele a try and ordered one from Thomann.

As usual, thanks to UKMail, my delivery arrived two days late, and as I work away from home all week, meant I didn’t get to play with it until last night. A year or so ago, I bought a Harley Benton five string acoustic bass for my weekday home in Holland, and once that was restrung with some decent flatwounds, it’s been an unbelievable bargain, so I hoped for the same with the bass ukulele.

First impressions are that the quality far far exceeds the price. The woodwork is excellent, the finish is light and uniform, and the woods even look good quality. The headstock is scarf jointed, and the inside of the body is clean and well constructed. The stock strings look like Aquila Thunderguts, but I have bought some Thunder Reds to try when I get around to it.

But the best bit is playing it. It is so much fun to play and I haven’t been able to put it down this morning, oh and it’s one of those things that just makes you smile every time you look at it. And all this for the princely sum of £127. 

[ped]

Looks really good for the price. I keep looking at them and really fancy one. How’s the preamp? Is it slightly larger body than a standard bass uke? It looks a bit bigger behind the bridge, though I notice the scale length is the same. I think it looks better balanced actually. 

[kodiakblair]

Great wee things. I had the fretted model but found I was fretting too hard and causing the notes to go sharp,easy done  when there's a small fret/mega thick string combo 

Bought a deko fretless model as well. Not really the right tool for me but plenty of fun  Didn't plan on selling them but after leaving a favourable comment on somebody's for sale ad, 6 folk got in touch asking for 1st dibs should I decide to sell.  Don't know if they still make them but D'Addario sold bass uke strings too, Nylatec I think they were called.

 

@JPJ That's £127 well spent 

[alyctes]

I want a fretless fiver

[jposega]

13 hours ago, kodiakblair said:

Great wee things. I had the fretted model but found I was fretting too hard and causing the notes to go sharp,easy done  when there's a small fret/mega thick string combo 

Bought a deko fretless model as well. Not really the right tool for me but plenty of fun  Didn't plan on selling them but after leaving a favourable comment on somebody's for sale ad, 6 folk got in touch asking for 1st dibs should I decide to sell.  Don't know if they still make them but D'Addario sold bass uke strings too, Nylatec I think they were called.

 

@JPJ That's £127 well spent 

The Daddario Ubass strings are rebranded Aquila Thunderguts in slightly different gauges.

 

@JPJ is this longer scale length compared to a Kala Ubass?

[ped]

1 minute ago, jposega said:

The Daddario Ubass strings are rebranded Aquila Thunderguts in slightly different gauges.

 

@JPJ is this longer scale length compared to a Kala Ubass?

I think it’s about the same (530mm ish) 

[jposega]

1 minute ago, ped said:

I think it’s about the same (530mm ish) 

Yup, looks like they’re both 534mm. I loved my U bass but think it would’ve intimated better with a slightly longer scale, like the Goldtone Microbass (which are really nice).

[JPJ]

On 27/01/2018 at 23:59, ped said:

Looks really good for the price. I keep looking at them and really fancy one. How’s the preamp? Is it slightly larger body than a standard bass uke? It looks a bit bigger behind the bridge, though I notice the scale length is the same. I think it looks better balanced actually. 

I’m not sure what’s standard in terms of size. If it’s any help, it fits snugly in a half-sized acoustic guitar gig bag? The preamp is a fairly simple affair, treble and bass sliders, volume control on a knob and a built-in tuner. The tone controls are useable and plugged in it sounds just the same as a fretless bass. A little bit of req and it’s a passable dB sound.

[Matt P]

How is the access for string changes on these? My kala has an access panel on the back for string access but these don't, do you have to reach through the sound hole? 

[JPJ]

So I restrung her yesterday with the Aquila Reds I bought at the same time as the Uke. The Aquila’s are noticeably lighter gauge than the Harley Benton strings, but sound no different in use. Add bonus is they do not smell like smokey bacon crisps, and it’s possible to slide up and down the neck without killing the note.

 

Access for the string change was incredibly tight with my not so large hand only just fitting through the sound hole. The D string was a particular P.I.T.A due to the proximity of the bridge hole to a longitudinal stiffener. I also had to shorten the E and A strings to reduce the number of winds on each machine head. Other than this, the Reds are a massive improvement over the stock strings 😎