U Bass or Taylor GS Mini Bass

[Svend]

Any Comments on the headlind Pls 😀

Edited October 20, 2023 by Svend

[miles'tone]

Also consider the Goldtone...

 

https://www.bax-shop.co.uk/acoustic-bass-guitars/gold-tone-m-bass25-microbass-with-gig-bag

[Svend]

Thx 👍

[tauzero]

Can't help directly as I've only got one acoustic bass uke and it's the cheapo Batking (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363555959883), but worth having a look on https://www.youtube.com/@UkuleleWales and seeing if she reviews either or both.

[casapete]

I’ve not had a U bass but a Countryman Uke bass which is very similar, along with a Taylor GS Mini

as well. If it’s an either or situation, I’d be looking at two factors - 1) what’s it going to be used for,

and 2) what basses are you used to?

 

Bass ukes are cracking little things for certain situations. I tried a few when they first appeared

and found it hard to discern much difference between the Countryman and the U bass, apart

from cost. They sound vaguely upright like, and in the right situation sit nicely with other 

instruments. They do need amplification, as even at home practice level they are quiet

acoustically. The big rubbery nylon strings do take a lot of getting used to, as does the very

short scale. Intonation can also be a bit of a compromise ( I’m not selling these am I?!). 

However, I’ve enjoyed using mine on gigs in an acoustic duo, and it always creates interest

from the punters who can’t believe the massive bass sound is emanating from such a tiny

instrument. There are plenty of bass ukes out there now, mine was less than half the price

of a Kala when I bought it. 
 

The Taylor GS mini is another interesting bass. Sounds good and can be used for home

practice unplugged, but for pretty much anything else you’ll need amplification. The special

strings are based on a multi filament core with phosphor bronze outer, and so feel a bit odd at 

first. Like the uke bass, they ‘roll’ a bit until you learn to adjust your technique. Beware though

that they cost a lot to replace, c.£40 and only D’Addario make them ( I believe). The  23.5 

inch scale is easier to get used to than the uke, and I’d say overall it is a lot more versatile.

There are some other makers doing a similar sized bass now, with the Guild mini jumbo

being a good cheaper alternative. I have an Ibanez PNB14E which is the same scale as the 

Taylor, and is amazing value for c.£240 new, around a third of the price of the Taylor. I use 

it on all my duo gigs straight into the PA and it more than does the job. 
 

Hope some of this helps!

 

 

 

[Svend]

Hi Casapete 

That was excately the kind og help and comments I hoped for. 
I Need a small bass for a duo with ny daughter, she is on a regular Uke and are singing - I Will go the Guild Jumbo Junior bass. 
Thanks a Lot 🙏

Have a Nice weekend 

Svend 

[TheGreek]

I have a Mahalo solid body short scale. 

As mentioned the really short scale does take some getting used to but the phat sounds are to die for.

They sound amazingly like a double bass - my neighbours thought that anyway. 

I'm surprised that anybody uses one live - with mine tuning is a nightmare,  pretty much just stretching the string between the nut and tuner. 

[AlexDelores]

I use an Ortega KT Walker v2 as my #1 bass and gig it at between 60-80 times a year with my acoustic duo.
 

It’s a great little thing as the Fishman preamp is awesome! 
 

Only issue with these little acoustics is the strings. I had it set up with the original nylon core string things that came with it but my guitar tech (who is really good) said he was really struggling to get the intonation right with a workable string height.

 

His solution was to set it to use with medium scale Fender bronze strings. Once they’re on, they’re solid as a rock and cause no issues…but,  getting them on is a nightmare. I have to uncoil part of the E string to fit it in the machine head and often, it kills the string so I have to open a new pack and start again. Not ideal, but I really run my strings in so it’s not a huge deal for me and to play it live, it’s a beast and really comfortable. That said, I have been toying with the idea of a ‘normal’ short scale because of said problems.

sorry I’ve gone off on one there… 

 

Summary

The Ortega KTWalker basses are a cracking little contender as long as you can get on with the nylon core strings. Otherwise, mini acoustic basses are a faff in general.

[lemmywinks]

I have a cheap fretless Uke bass, the same Batking one mentioned above and also an Ibanez Artcore Parlour bass which is 24" scale and uses the GS Mini strings.

 

They're wildly different instruments really and each uses a unique type of string, neither are like a traditional bass and choosing between them depends on what you want it for, both are fun though especially the Ibanez. For upright style thump in a supportive role the uke bass might be what you need as the poly strings will get you there, the GS Mini strings on the 24" basses are basically like the wound strings on a classical (filament core with bronze wrap) and have a sound all of their own.

 

Btw this is a good demonstration of what sort of sound the mini basses with D'addario GS Mini strings can produce, a lot of videos (including Taylor ones) are of guitarists making them sound terrible!

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1854447407928406

Edited October 25, 2023 by lemmywinks

[samkeen]

I have a fretted and a fretless ubass, they sound excellent amplified. As others have mentioned, the very short scale takes some getting used to, the standard strings too. They’re both extremely bendy and quite sticky. I found I developed a feel for them pretty quickly though, and I have a blast playing them. 

[Dazed]

Anyone found a 5 string version anywhere of these 23-25” scale basses. I’m that taken with my 4 string I’m considering getting a 5 string neck custom made and having the bass go through some surgery. 

Edited October 25, 2023 by Dazed

[tauzero]

2 hours ago, Dazed said:

Anyone found a 5 string version anywhere of these 23-25” scale basses. I’m that taken with my 4 string I’m considering getting a 5 string neck custom made and having the bass go through some surgery. 

 

Kala do a hideously expensive one. They used to do a far cheaper Chinese one but it was discontinued years ago.

 

AliExpress - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005856491540.html - I'm rather tempted.

[Dazed]

Think I’ve seen that one or something very similar on eBay. Not sure what scale length it is?

[lemmywinks]

Someone on here was selling one of those cheap Uke bass 5ers a while back, they'd spent a fair whack of money trying to get it to sound ok with more conventional strings and admitted defeat to the inevitable flub so looks like it'd be poly uke strings or nowt.

 

EDIT: Thread here:

 

Edited October 26, 2023 by lemmywinks

[Dazed]

That’s the kind of thing I’d been thinking about and looking at. Owen came to the same inevitable conclusion that I would have ended up at. Normal strings are too floppy in these short lengths and mag pickups won’t work with all the various combinations of polymer strings. 

 

 

[Owen]

54 minutes ago, lemmywinks said:

Someone on here was selling one of those cheap Uke bass 5ers a while back, they'd spent a fair whack of money trying to get it to sound ok with more conventional strings and admitted defeat to the inevitable flub so looks like it'd be poly uke strings or nowt.

 

EDIT: Thread here:

 

That was me. Learn from my mistakes. Don't go there.

[tauzero]

On 26/10/2023 at 15:12, Dazed said:

That’s the kind of thing I’d been thinking about and looking at. Owen came to the same inevitable conclusion that I would have ended up at. Normal strings are too floppy in these short lengths and mag pickups won’t work with all the various combinations of polymer strings.

 

If you're after an actual bass rather than a U-Bass, the Ibanez Mikro GSRM25 is a 28.6" scale 5-string. I don't know if you'll get any shorter than that with metal strings.

[Dazed]

Thanks @tauzero I’ve looked at those but I wouldn’t get on with the narrow string spacing. I think the reality is all metal string strings will be too flubby in scales under 30”. I’m happy with Thunderbrowns and there seems to be a few metal wrapped 21-26” strings available now although I don’t know how well they would work with magnetic pickups.
I’m still having trouble just finding a  23-26” scale fiver. 

Edited October 28, 2023 by Dazed