J bought me a Kala ukelele bass for my birthday

Undertoad · 11-15-2019, 11:07 AM

Flint · 11-15-2019, 12:35 PM

Those urethane strings are wild. Lower vibrations on a short scale, I guess?

It sounds amazing. Do your fingers have room?

Undertoad · 11-15-2019, 12:51 PM

The string spacing is definitely tighter than a typical bass. It's about halfway between bass spacing and guitar spacing. With that, and the fact it's fretless with a whole new length, it's a nice challenge.

Yeah and the strings are all wobbly, cos right, that's how it gets the low notes out, by being all loose.

I'll take it to open mics, because suddenly I play an instrument that's wildly light and portable. Never had that before.

Flint · 11-15-2019, 01:24 PM

Light, portable instrument. I'm jealous. I've experimented with minimal setups, but I really can't be useful without an instrument attached to both feet--so, a bass drum and a hi-hat stand. The two most clumsy, least portable things.

Interesting that the strings are wobbly. It's like tuning a drum lower and it changes the rebound.

lumberjim · 11-15-2019, 01:45 PM

neat! happy birthday!

Gravdigr · 11-15-2019, 01:55 PM

Whut Jim said.

Undertoad · 11-15-2019, 02:29 PM

Quote:

It's like tuning a drum lower and it changes the rebound.

Exactly that! People wouldn't expect it to make any difference, but it's huge! Musician nerd alert

I was just watching Jaco Pastorious video from long ago, where he said, when I want to play fast, I pluck the strings down near the bridge. And I'm like, OMG, I never thought of that, but he's completely right. Down at the bridge, where the strings are anchored, they hardly wobble at all. At the middle of the string, they really move a lot. You have to fight all that, because you are actually forcing it to move a different direction.

With a drum, you're actually fighting with a lot of moving air, trying to get it to move differently...

Flint · 11-15-2019, 02:40 PM

*nerd alert*

18" bass drums don't just sound different than 22" ones-- it's a completely different instrument. 22 inches of diaphragm can "absorb" the kinetic impact of the beater, 18 inches cannot, and the beater "bounces" back at you. This is regardless of tuning, type of heads. It's just a physical characteristic of a that-sized object.

lumberjim · 11-15-2019, 02:44 PM

The sound of a pick is brighter when you pick near the bridge too. Conversely, if you want a softer lighter sounding chord, strum above the 20th fret. Jimmy page does a kind of swirling motion on some songs if you watch for it.

Flint · 11-15-2019, 02:49 PM

Jimmy Page parts *sound* swirly, didn't know they literally were.

What y'all are saying about playing near the frets is exactly like playing closer to the edge of a snare drum-- tighter, pluckier, better action, more articulate.

lumberjim · 11-15-2019, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flint

Jimmy Page parts *sound* swirly, didn't know they literally were.

What y'all are saying about playing near the frets is exactly like playing closer to the edge of a snare drum-- tighter, pluckier, better action, more articulate.

nearer the bridge would be tighter like the edge of drum.. the fret side is more in the middle of the string, so more rebound and less sparkly.

Flint · 11-15-2019, 03:02 PM

eh--bridge --yes, my oops

Griff · 11-15-2019, 03:27 PM

That, my friend, is damn cool.

11-15-2019, 11:07 AM	#1
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	J bought me a Kala ukelele bass for my birthday

11-15-2019, 12:35 PM	#2
Flint Snowflake Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dystopia Posts: 13,136	Those urethane strings are wild. Lower vibrations on a short scale, I guess? It sounds amazing. Do your fingers have room? __________________ **************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio**

11-15-2019, 01:24 PM	#4
Flint Snowflake Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dystopia Posts: 13,136	Light, portable instrument. I'm jealous. I've experimented with minimal setups, but I really can't be useful without an instrument attached to both feet--so, a bass drum and a hi-hat stand. The two most clumsy, least portable things. Interesting that the strings are wobbly. It's like tuning a drum lower and it changes the rebound. __________________ **************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio**

11-15-2019, 01:45 PM	#5
lumberjim I can hear my ears Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 25,571	neat! happy birthday! __________________ This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality Embrace this moment, remember We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion ~MJKeenan

11-15-2019, 01:55 PM	#6
Gravdigr The Un-Tuckian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: South Central...KY that is Posts: 39,517	Whut Jim said. __________________ These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, EPA, FBI, DEA, CDC, or FDIC. These statements are not intended to diagnose, cause, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. If you feel you have been harmed/offended by, or, disagree with any of the above statements or images, please feel free to fuck right off.

11-15-2019, 12:51 PM	#3
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	The string spacing is definitely tighter than a typical bass. It's about halfway between bass spacing and guitar spacing. With that, and the fact it's fretless with a whole new length, it's a nice challenge. Yeah and the strings are all wobbly, cos right, that's how it gets the low notes out, by being all loose. I'll take it to open mics, because suddenly I play an instrument that's wildly light and portable. Never had that before.

11-15-2019, 02:40 PM	#8
Flint Snowflake Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dystopia Posts: 13,136	nerd alert 18" bass drums don't just sound different than 22" ones-- it's a completely different instrument. 22 inches of diaphragm can "absorb" the kinetic impact of the beater, 18 inches cannot, and the beater "bounces" back at you. This is regardless of tuning, type of heads. It's just a physical characteristic of a that-sized object. __________________ **************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio**

11-15-2019, 02:44 PM	#9
lumberjim I can hear my ears Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 25,571	The sound of a pick is brighter when you pick near the bridge too. Conversely, if you want a softer lighter sounding chord, strum above the 20th fret. Jimmy page does a kind of swirling motion on some songs if you watch for it. __________________ This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality Embrace this moment, remember We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion ~MJKeenan

11-15-2019, 02:49 PM	#10
Flint Snowflake Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dystopia Posts: 13,136	Jimmy Page parts sound swirly, didn't know they literally were. What y'all are saying about playing near the frets is exactly like playing closer to the edge of a snare drum-- tighter, pluckier, better action, more articulate. __________________ **************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio**

11-15-2019, 03:02 PM	#12
Flint Snowflake Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dystopia Posts: 13,136	eh--bridge --yes, my oops __________________ **************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio**

11-15-2019, 03:27 PM	#13
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	That, my friend, is damn cool. __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

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