Any Uke Bass fans out there?

[mr. beaumont]

Big fan! Sounds more like an acoustic bass than an acoustic bass, if that makes sense...

Anyway, here's mine. Mixed a little low, try headphones, close your eyes, and imagine me playing an upright.

[Brent Hahn]

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

Anyway, here's mine...

Really nice. Bass could be a little louder, yeah, but it's doing the job and has the "bloom" that a conventional electric bass doesn't. Lovely playing, too. Were the kids there while you were recording?

[Pine Cone]

Nicely done Jeff!

What strings are on your u-bass?

[The Growler]

Originally Posted by Pine Cone

I am pretty sure it is too soon for me to order a 2nd u-bass. I should at least wait until my first one arrives....

Oh, I dunno.

You know we won’t talk you out of it.

[columbia]

In my opinion, a uke bass--and it doesn't have to be a Kala, the $125 ones on eBay are great too--are much better for acoustic music than the best electric basses.

[leew3]

I haven't read the entire thread but am an ardent fan of the Kala UBass. I have a Fender Jazz bass that I should sell as I use the Kala nearly every time. I love the sound, portability, ease of playing and it gets rave reviews every time I use it.

My favorite story about the UBass comes from a review by a bluegrass player. He delicately noted that their bass player was a 'big girl' who when asked whether her Kala was a mini bass says "no, it's a full size bass...does it make me look fat?"

[mr. beaumont]

Originally Posted by Brent Hahn

Really nice. Bass could be a little louder, yeah, but it's doing the job and has the "bloom" that a conventional electric bass doesn't. Lovely playing, too. Were the kids there while you were recording?

Oh yes, the fellas are never far away...its a small south side of Chicago house

Originally Posted by Pine Cone

Nicely done Jeff!

What strings are on your u-bass?

I'm using the Kala Ubass roundwounds...I bought a set of the flats to see if I could go even more "uprighty" but they were so much wider I would have needed to do extensive nut work just to get them on. So I'm sticking with the rounds.

[Forest Dweller]

Originally Posted by posternutbag

I have said before, when people ask about acoustic basses, acoustic basses are really toys that look like real instruments, whereas Uke basses look like toys, but they are real instruments that have an important niche to fill.
.

You are of course entitled to your opinion, as am I, and you are wrong. Acoustic basses are not toys and I have video evidence to prove it. A well made acoustic bass can nake a very fine, expressive musical instrument
Robbie

[posternutbag]

Originally Posted by Forest Dweller

You are of course entitled to your opinion, as am I, and you are wrong. Acoustic basses are not toys and I have video evidence to prove it. A well made acoustic bass can nake a very fine, expressive musical instrument
Robbie

OK, let me put a finer point on it. It’s simple physics. Acoustic bass guitars do not have a large enough sound chamber to push enough air for lower frequencies to be hear unamplified when played with even one other guitarist, much less in any sort of ensemble situation.

ABGs could have some practical use in a solo situation; Jonas Hellborg did some interesting things on solo acoustic bass in the late ‘00s, but that’s a special situation where a musician had access to an entire recording studio and was specifically interested in pushing the bounds of the instrument.

Most regular jamming or performing musicians will find that they need an amp in order for the acoustic bass guitar to be heard in an ensemble setting. At that point, you might as well play a P Bass (or Uke bass). A P Bass with flat wounds will likely sound better than the ABG when amplified; it won’t feed back, and it will be more comfortable to play for several hours.

Here is the thing. Every proponent of the ABG I have ever met or talked with online has “proof” that they have the magical instrument that cracks the code and makes a true (unamplified) acoustic bass guitar a usable instrument in an ensemble setting.

To that, I say, “Bring it!” Let’s see it. Let’s see the proof. It’s not like I am picking on the ABG just to be a jerk. I would love an ABG that can be played unamplified in an acoustic ensemble with a couple of guitars and a mandolin. And I am hardly the only one. If someone actually cracked the code and defied physics, they would have customers. They would have lots of customers, including me. But if someone did indeed solve the volume issue with respect to ABGs, I doubt they would keep it a loosely guarded secret. They would be selling their design to Fender or Martin.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by posternutbag

OK, let me put a finer point on it. It’s simple physics. Acoustic bass guitars do not have a large enough sound chamber to push enough air for lower frequencies to be hear unamplified when played with even one other guitarist, much less in any sort of ensemble situation.

ABGs could have some practical use in a solo situation; Jonas Hellborg did some interesting things on solo acoustic bass in the late ‘00s, but that’s a special situation where a musician had access to an entire recording studio and was specifically interested in pushing the bounds of the instrument.

Most regular jamming or performing musicians will find that they need an amp in order for the acoustic bass guitar to be heard in an ensemble setting. At that point, you might as well play a P Bass (or Uke bass). A P Bass with flat wounds will likely sound better than the ABG when amplified; it won’t feed back, and it will be more comfortable to play for several hours.

Here is the thing. Every proponent of the ABG I have ever met or talked with online has “proof” that they have the magical instrument that cracks the code and makes a true (unamplified) acoustic bass guitar a usable instrument in an ensemble setting.

To that, I say, “Bring it!” Let’s see it. Let’s see the proof. It’s not like I am picking on the ABG just to be a jerk. I would love an ABG that can be played unamplified in an acoustic ensemble with a couple of guitars and a mandolin. And I am hardly the only one. If someone actually cracked the code and defied physics, they would have customers. They would have lots of customers, including me. But if someone did indeed solve the volume issue with respect to ABGs, I doubt they would keep it a loosely guarded secret. They would be selling their design to Fender or Martin.

I wouldn't express that to Jack Casady when he's playing his Ribbecke Diana acoustic bass.

All "acoustic bass guitars" can't be lumped into the same pot.

[Brent Hahn]

I think posternutbag is right about an in-your-lap bass not being big enough to work unamplified in, say, a guitar-pull setting, especially outdoors. If they did work, nobody would make or buy the gigantic expensive standup doghouse kind. But I also don't think this is news to anyone.

I do not, however, think that an amplified P-type works nearly as well in an acoustic setting as something hollow. In my case, big and hollow and fretless with flats. It gives a "bloom" to the notes that a sold-body instrument simply can't match. In case you missed it on the previous page, here's the link I posted -- scroll down to around 2:15 where you can hear the bass pretty much in the clear.

[posternutbag]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

I wouldn't express that to Jack Casady when he's playing his Ribbecke Diana acoustic bass.

All "acoustic bass guitars" can't be lumped into the same pot.

Again, he is plugged into an amp. But no, the Ribbecke is an interesting instrument because it’s about the size of cello (I am partially kidding, but the acoustic bass guitars I have heard that “work” to any extent in an ensemble setting tend to be plugged in and/or very large. I am thinking about Violent Femmes bassist playing the Ernie Ball Earthwood, or even something like the guitarron played in Mariachi Bands).

And again, I want to be clear. I am not ragging on ABGs because I hate ABGs. Quite the opposite. An ABG that worked in an unplugged ensemble setting would be welcome. It would literally completely change the sort of venues my band (small bluegrass trio and quartet) could play.

If a bassist could just show up with a more or less guitar sized instrument and be heard, we could forgo the upright bass, and that would open up tons of new gigs, both out of town gigs (which are hard due to the difficulty in hucking around an upright) and also small venues where the spacing is too tight for either an upright or a bass guitar and amp.

And so again, to circle back to my original point, this is why the Uke bass is a real instrument. It “sort of” solves the bass problem for many small working bands. A Uke and a Fender Rumble 100 are relatively small and portable, and have a relatively small footprint when setting up. But still, a bass guitar that could be heard unamplified in an ensemble setting would solve everything. I am still waiting.

[posternutbag]

Originally Posted by Brent Hahn

I think posternutbag is right about an in-your-lap bass not being big enough to work unamplified in, say, a guitar-pull setting, especially outdoors. If they did work, nobody would make or buy the gigantic expensive standup doghouse kind. But I also don't think this is news to anyone.

I do not, however, think that an amplified P-type works nearly as well in an acoustic setting as something hollow. In my case, big and hollow and fretless with flats. It gives a "bloom" to the notes that a sold-body instrument simply can't match. In case you missed it on the previous page, here's the link I posted -- scroll down to around 2:15 where you can hear the bass pretty much in the clear.

I don’t usually like to double post, but these are such different points, I couldn’t see an easy way to address them in one response.

First, that sounds great. Tubby, thumps, and as you say, the bass note has time to breathe or “bloom”. As a bluegrass mandolinist, this is something I pay close attention to, how do the bass notes unfold sonically.

Second, I like the sound of a P Bass with flats. It’s not an upright tone, although that was clearly the original intent, but it’s a good sound. But again, this is why I like the Uke bass for acoustic settings. It has a nice tubby, thumpy tone. I think the one thing it is missing is the presence of an upright. On an upright you “feel” the bass as much as you hear it, and I have never found anything that gets that feel, both the physical sensation of the instrument and the way the note unfolds in time, other than maybe a tuba.

[Forest Dweller]

OK at the risk of making an utter fool of myself this is what I used my ABG for. I'm not saying it was the loudest ABG or the best, but it wasn't a toy and I could make vaguely interesting music using it (unfortunately I had to sell her and I really miss her)

[posternutbag]

Originally Posted by Forest Dweller

OK at the risk of making an utter fool of myself this is what I used my ABG for. I'm not saying it was the loudest ABG or the best, but it wasn't a toy and I could make vaguely interesting music using it (unfortunately I had to sell her and I really miss her)

Not foolish at all. I can see how this is using an acoustic bass an an instrument to make music. That tune would be difficult to play on an upright, and the instrument has a sound that would be difficult to reproduce with an EBG, so will recant and admit I was wrong.