Kala U-Bass Zebrawood Acoustic-Electric Bass Guitar - Natural Satin Reviews
Get ready for a huge bass sound in a not-so-huge package with the Kala U-Bass Zebrawood. Owing to its compact 20-inch scale, this Kala U-Bass Zebrawood is a perfect travel companion that’s ideal for playing around the campfire, busking in the streets, and bringing on vacation, so you don’t have to miss a single day of playing! Featuring an eye-grabbing zebrawood body and top, a mahogany neck, and a walnut fingerboard, the Kala U-Bass Zebrawood is exceptionally balanced with a room-filling sound that belies its diminutive size. And, when it’s time to plug-in, you’ll be blown away by its natural-sounding U-Bass electronics. Bass players at Sweetwater sure were! For a unique bass with a tone that doesn’t quit, check out the Kala U-Bass Zebrawood.
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Highest Rated Reviews
True Joy
Most fun I have had with an instrument in years! Still amazed at the sounds this thing can make. So far I have run it through both my full stacks, the Peavey TNT that hangs out in the house, a Crate from the 80s or 90s, and even a Roland Bass Micro-cube and it is a blast with each rig. Going to have to get a fretless Kala U-Bass next and try the Aquila Thunderbrowns I picked up. I can't wait. This zebra wood U-Base has a wonderful warm tone and is gorgeous as a frivolous benefit.
Fun instrument
Few instruments I have owned are as fun to play as this U-Bass. I've had mine for over a year. Sweetwater service is second to none; I had an issue with the pickup on mine and they sent me another one, no questions asked. The Zebrawood is very attractive and it's easy to move around on the little fretboard. It's also nice to be able to practice without an amp.
Having played electric bass on and off for years, the U-bass took me some getting used to. You must have a very light touch and it magnifies any sloppiness in your technique due to the Piezo pickup and rubber strings. I struggled for a while with getting a good recorded sound out of mine until I tried the fretless effect on my Korg effects box. This doesn't make it sound fretless, but it does a great job of eliminating the string noise inherent in the Ubass. I also use a little compression and cabinet emulation to get a big fat sound with a bit of an upright bass character. It shocks the hell out of people when I play it with a small band through my little Fender Rumble 40. As a middle aged player, this rig is easy on my old back, and I can carry the works in one hand.
Almost great.
This thing is really well made, and it's very good looking. The sound is amazing. It sounds more like my string bass than my fretless bass ever did, and that's just through my practice amp. It does have two minor problems that are apparently very common on ubasses. First, the volume is not balanced between the strings. The D string is quite a bit louder than the G string. It's not as noticeable below the fifth fret, but gets very noticeable higher up. There is a fix for this that I came across online, but it involves sawing the saddle into four separate pieces, and I'm not sure I have the skills for that. The other problem is some serious fret buzz on the E string, bad enough to affect the clarity. The other three strings are clear, but the E is off. If I press down hard halfway between the frets, the buzz is reduced a bit. In my extensive shopping, I did come across a number of reviews that were glowing, so I imagine some of these instruments don't have these flaws, but I'm 0 for 2 at this point.
