NBD: Rubbery goodness - Batking Uke Bass

[Jon Gordon]

Hello.

Re: feedback problem with the Batking fretless "F" hole ukulele.

 

A good way to reduce feedback a lot without losing the hollow body double bass sound is to make "feedback suppressor plugs" out of dense foam.

Use thin paper and do a pencil rubbing of the F holes. It doesn't need to be very accurate. Next cut out the paper F hole shapes and use them asa a template to draw the F hole onto the foam. I used tailors chalk to do this.

Now use a craft knife to cut the "F hole plug" out of the foam. If it's a little too large don't worry because you're going to squeeze it into the F hole. A bit of trimming may be necessary but it's worth the effort.

It works a treat. I got the idea from F hole plugs for hollow body jazz guitars. Try it. It costs very little and definitely works for me.

 

Btw: I get a rattle/buzz on my A string when pressing it. I say "fretting" it but it's fretless. The open A is fine. 

I've tried adjusting the truss rod and putting a bit of folded card in the nut slot as I thought maybe the slot had been cut too low. It's improved but still there. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Many thanks, Jon Gordon.

[mcnach]

It looks like the preamp on mine is always on.

 

I've replaced a few batteries already, blaming myself for forgetting to turn off the tuner (I use it a lot unplugged)... but nope, the battery just drains. So now I just put the battery in if I want to plug it in.

 

Anybody else had the same issue?

 

 

[tauzero]

Thinking about it, the fact that there's no need to plug in a jack in order to use the tuner implies that there's either a switch on the tuner that also switches the power on and off, or the preamp is permanently on and the tuner is just switched on and off.

[tauzero]

Just checked and the battery on mine is dead, after never having plugged it in and not leaving the tuner on. Wonder if it's feasible to put a stereo jack in and switch the battery (which would also mean that if the XLR socket is to be used, you'd have to put a plug in the jack).

[mcnach]

Yours too, eh? So it looks more like a design 'feature' than a fault.

 

Good to know! It's only mildly annoying, as this is something I just use at home, so I might not bother trying to fix it... my list of 'projects' grows faster than my discipline to finish them

 

[lemmywinks]

18 hours ago, tauzero said:

Just checked and the battery on mine is dead, after never having plugged it in and not leaving the tuner on. Wonder if it's feasible to put a stereo jack in and switch the battery (which would also mean that if the XLR socket is to be used, you'd have to put a plug in the jack).

 

The XLR socket on these has a little switch in it which I assume completes the circuit when a plug is inserted so should be ok fitting a regular 1/4" stereo jack.

[FiFoFum]

Late to the party:  Just on-shored (to Vermont) a Batking fretless. It's remarkably well built, especially for the price. Oddly the gut-buster (white) strings that came installed seem to have been pre-stretched...they very easily tuned up to pitch and (almost) stay there, day after day.

 

But about the battery: my red indicator light is on when I use the tuner, and I'm now worried that the pre-amp might be cursed with that always-on "feature."  

@mcnach and @tauzero: any fixes you've come up with?

My over-the-air troubleshooting suggests that the ring and sleeve connections might be reversed, but I thought I'd sound out the gang before attempting micro-surgery.  Also, should a swap-out be needed, I see there's a pre-amp that looks identical to the one in the Batking for $14US, called "EVALM."  Its input impedance is listed at a whopping 22Mohms!

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