What I Realized About Short-Scale Basses | Kala Solid Body U-Bass Review
In this video, James reviews the Kala Solid Body U-Bass where he gives his honest thoughts and shows what it sounds like.
Get the Kala Solid Body U-Bass here:
https://bit.ly/3KYFfS4
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Originally posted by UCg509iOSxrYkBrDDKatxClg at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaC4K067Dho
Oh I love this – had a bass guitar from Fleetwood 25 years ago but at 5ft2 it was a lot to play
Recently playing uke and come across the U Bass – been really interested in the Kala as well
Seems like some people would want to know the scale length
I find this review suited for beginners, but not for intermediate/advanced bass players, who don't wanna be wasting 35€ without knowing what to expect. To be honest, beginners too might wanna know more about the peculiarities of playing a mini bass, before committing their hard earned money to the endeavour. Most notably, what kinda strings would one use, and how is the string tension? I imagine it's not strung with normal 0.45-100 rounds?… Also, you make some very strange comments: First of all, this is not a gamechanger, the Samic Corsair mini bass has been around for at least 10 years, and it's in almost every way very similar to the Kala, at 25 inches scale length. The one true innovation of this new Kala, I think is the custom made roundwound strings, which is an improvement over many early mini basses. Also, you say there are more overtones, but what I'm hearing, is fret noise/fret buzz, which, along with tuning and intonation issues, the main challenges one faces with such a short bass.
These have always been possible. It’s the strings that make the difference. String gauges of 0.125, 0.130, etc. wound in shorter lengths weren’t available until the Ashbory bass and Road Toad guitars became popular and Kala licensed the Road Toad design and ran with it. Naturally the foreign manufacturers copied the designs out of the same factory and away we go. Now there’s almost no reason to use anything longer than 30” unless you’re playing an upright. I’m considering getting a 22” scale guitar and putting 12s on it to see what happens…
Too bad a set up wasn't done first. Would sound much better. Intonation is off and needs strings raised, neck adjustment.
Thanks for the great introduction to this instrument. The finger style playing sounds rather convincing, the plectrum style not at all, slapping in between.
An added note: There are left handed models. For a parent trying to teach their left handed child, the options are limited and leads to a tendency to just stick to piano.
Is this instrument good enough to lay down some bass in a track? Want it for recording bass parts without having to buy a full size bass since I’m mainly a guitar player…..
Thanks ahead ! I’ve asked on multiple videos and haven’t gotten a good answer yet…
I have allmost every type of bass in regards to lenght, I definitly prefer the 28" squires.
My list:
23" Kala fretless
25" GW101
28" Squire Mini P
30" Don't have one
32" MIM Fender Mustang
34" everything else.
Yes. Longer strings mean more overtones, which may not be the best thing in a busy mix. Short scale basses became a kind of secret weapon in 60's recording studios for that reason. Less harmonics taking up valuable real estate and making things sound muddy with too much build up of certain frequencies. Middle c on a grand piano vs a spinet is still 256hz even though the strings are way shorter. But we can all hear a difference. The grand sounds more round, full, complex. The spinet still sounds like a piano but lesser so in comparison – it simply gets the work done. Sometimes, that's exactly what's needed. Cheers.
Bought the Flight Mini JB Bass. Love it….
This was the real deal for me after owning an acoustic-electric and cheap solid body – all with the silicone strings and piezo pickups. What I love the most is that the intonation is hugely better than on those other instruments. And tuning steel strings is more 'normal' compared to dozens and dozens of turns on the rubber strings. Being a strong lover of flatwound strings, I did purchase a set for the Kala solid body. I was only able to buy them from Kala in the short length. In my entire life I have never paid so much for flats or any other strings including tape wounds. Now I've got the best. The other ukulele basses never get played.
That fret noise is in your hands. I have heard them played a lot in shows (I'm in Hawaii) and they have always sounded HUGE
Ernie ball is the pioneer of the spoke wheel trust rod adjustment.
Might have been worth spending 10 minutes getting rid of the fret buzz. If flats are available I might consider it.
I want to get two, one a fretless. This way I can take them both with a Hartke Kickback Combo to my gigs in a Smart Car. ????
I've been very curious about the 5-string. Anyone own one?
I already own a GoldTone solidbody 4 with the piezo and I like it just fine, but I used to love my 34" 5 string, when I could still play it without pain….
I have Cubital tunnel syndrome in my left hand, causing loss of strength of my pinky finger (makes it hard to do scales and I end up using my ring finger do do octaves and some fret jumps). So I'm slowly getting into short scales. Just got a Squier Paranormal Rascal (30" scale) and considering Jaguars/Mustangs.
It sounded like crap
I just bought a 5 string Kala off Reverb, in shipment … my left shoulder requires less weight. My Hofner is great, this should be an excellent addition!! Thanks for the content!!
If Kala were to make 5 string version it would be interesting to try a 5 string set on this 4 string. Tune the B string to E, t he E string to A etc. The tension would be more like a standard 34" scale bass. I wonder if that would work.
What are the strings like?
I started out with short scale basses. Harmony, guild semi hollow. It was a good while before I got a 34in scale fender jazz bass. I still like playing 3/4 30 in short scale.
I bought one for my son: Put custom shop fender '62 pickups in there, sounds great/plays great
The reference to children's increased interest reminds me about the Suzuki method of music teaching. Students start out with real instruments their size and move up.
Wow. All the buzz and overtones, personally I thought that solid Kala sounded like garbage. YMMV.
I have that Kala Solid Body for half a year, as I have a Kala Journeyman for some years more now. They both are my favourite go-to basses meanwhile. Sure, my fretless Fender Precision sounds different, thats why there is still a place for it, but my first choice is the new Kala. Not only kids benefit from the small size and the light weight, old farts like me also appreciate that.
Good quality, good sound, good price, good choice.
I don't know how you have this set up, but over high-quality earbuds there is an awful lot of string rattle. I wouldn't call it an overtone. I love short scales. I rock an Ibanez mikrobass, lots of tonal options there.
I own one of the new crème coloured ones. In my opinion the best colour choice because the black guard matches the pickup colour and gives it a Yin/Yang look. Mine also came with some fret buzz but one quarter turn on the easy access truss rod wheel fixed everything. The bass can sound monstrous through a Fender Rumble especially with some EQ tweaks and amp sims. I’ve played an entire 4 hour rock gig with it right out of the box and also travelled with it by plane – carried on with no issues. I do prefer my Kala Journeyman for hotel rehearsals as they can be played without an amp and sound better through headphone amps.
Love it… and nice review James. BUT… More than other (30") short scale basses I own (Squire Jag P/J, Mustang P/J, and Musicman Stingray SS) it absolutely needs flatwounds IMHO. The overtones of roundwounds on my Squire are problematic for any type of music except for the OG punk I play exclusively on it (Buzzcocks, Clash, Ramones, et al for a 'old rockers milestone birthday parties' band) and the Kala sounds way worse. I have a Kale U-Bass with thundergut Reds and it is great for acoustic style stuff (and even soul/Motown), but the solid-body version with flats could be a very versatile all-rounder. Kala (or La Bella, or Thomastik)… some flats for this PLEASE?! Then I would buy… especially as I have a lad who is fascinated by bass but intimidated by even a 30" scale… partially weight and kinesthetics related I suspect, rather than hand span/arm reach specifically (unwieldy). How much does it weigh, btw? All my SS basses (and guitars) are < 3kg (bad back, multiple surgeries…) I play only short-scale basses now, or I wouldn't be able to play (live) at all.
Can you do a review on wah pedals for the bass. Specifically the cowboys from hell dimebag wah vs the Morley Cliff Burton
Loving my Sterling Stingray SS-4. I did some minor work-on-it ( proper set-up & fret end file with rolled edge ) and it plays like a Custom Shop. oNe LovE from NYC
Cool! got one myself but need to source some flatwounds for it, and ideas?
The Blackstar Carry-on ST Bass look a better deal to me 218 USD against 350 for the Kala. Unless you may be fortunate enough to get one as a promo from Kala of course .
I love the sound and the versatility of the thumb technique you were using, right at the 6:00 minute mark. Please do an entire video on that technique! I suspect a lot of us would find it a huge help!
Thanks for another fantastic video James!
Buzzing some what ????
Yes, quite a bit of buzz. I would dampen it with foam.
– You showed a Fender Jazz Bass when you probably meant to show a Mustang.
– That Kala bass is more of a mini bass/kids bass than a short-scale bass, I wouldn't put them in the same class
– The fret buzz on that thing is horrendous and not set up properly