Ukulele Bass

[Linus27]

I currently have a Kala Sub Electric Ukulele bass which is a brilliant fun instrument. My band is incredibly busy (nearly 100 gigs booked this year) and about 30 or so are acoustic where I use the Ukulele bass through a small combo. As this setup is getting more and more usage including a handful of festivals, I'm looking at getting a better Ukulele bass or one that perhaps looks more acoustic to match the rest of the band.

The two that have caught my eye are the Kala Hutch Hutchinson Ukulele bass and the Mahalo Solid Ukulele bass. My current Kala is fine but I wouldn't say its high end in quality, despite costing about £500 when they came out new I think. I believe the Kala Hutch Hutchinson Ukulele bass is a higher quality model but I'm wondering is there a better quality brand available? I like the look of the Mahalo Solid Ukulele bass as it's a solid piece of wood but it only costs £250 so maybe it's a step down and I'll run into more problems.

So apart from Kala, are there any other decent Ukulele basses out there?

[Happy Jack]

The step up from a Kala is not likely to be significant, I'd have thought.

I stepped down from a Kala to a Harley Benton and was quite surprised (and pleased) at how little I'd lost. Since you can't really play it acoustically, by the time you've fed a bass uke with flobbadob strings through a preamp and a PA, there ain't a lot of the underlying sound to hear.

IMHO.

YMMV.

WTF.

 

[Linus27]

Thanks Jack, appreciate your thoughts 😊

[Mickeyboro]

I have a Countryman which was an amazing deal from this board. They are no longer made, allegedly cos K*la felt they were too close copies. Cost to quality ratio is stunning, and I like Jack was a Harley B fan. Look out on the secondhand market.

[Mottlefeeder]

Depending on your definition of a Uke bass, there are three models in the Aquila Shortbass one range. Using a 23.5 inch scale and taking thundergut reds, the '60 has a bowl back and the '12 has a conventional body. The '14 has a 26 inch scale length.

http://www.shortbassone.com/?cat=4&lang=en

Bass Direct and Bass Centre prices seem to be around £400, but no one seems to have stock at the moment.

I don't have one - I'm just an interested observer

David

 

[Owen]

flobbadob strings

I love it!

[Owen]

I went from Kala to a HB and was disappointed. The law of dimishing returns certainly exists in this equation. I was dissapointed enough to buy my Kala back. But I have form in that aspect of things.

[Frank Blank]

I know it isn’t a uke but I own a Taylor GS Mini-e Bass which is superb, might it be an option?