KalaBrand Music Co., 4-String Ukulele, Natural, Ubass WNDR-FS

This small bass is light and very easy to take anywhere. Unplugged it makes enough volume for practice without a headphone amp, so if you need a portable bass for unplugged practice, this one can do the job.When first plugging in, the tone sounded harsh and picked up a lot of string noise. Clicks, clunks and squeaks from pushing and moving the fingers on the strings was quite pronounced and kind of ugly and distracting. I was thinking the U-bass was going to be useful for unplugged practice, but not much else. I assume the excessive treble is due to the Piezo-style pickups.However, adjusting out most of the treble and half the mids on the built-in EQ made all the difference, producing a surprisingly deep, warm tone and killing most of the annoying finger noise. After bumping up the gain on the amp for a little more sustain, this tiny instrument sounds very much like my full-size, vintage, Peavy, T-40. I almost found myself looking around for whoever was playing the "real" bass.In addition to being light, easy to transport, and great-sounding, the Kala U-Bass is easy to play with a nice low action and light string tension. Also the short scale makes for less hand-stretching when playing runs and walking bass lines. I've been enjoying playing this bass on weekly gigs for several months now. I've gotten a few jokes and comments when setting up (did you borrow that thing from Tiny Tim, or did it shrink from being in the dryer too long-- or left out in the rain, and etc), but the critics tend to change their tune when the hear the deep, rich tone.If you are looking for a tiny instrument for practice or travel that also sounds surprisingly big when plugged in you can't go wrong with the Kala U-bass.

This is a great little ubass! I never tried or ever seen a ubass in person. I was kind of afraid to buy a bass online that I never tried, but it is a great investment! I was really surprised with the low booming bass sound that it really has. If you play bluegrass music as I do, this bass sounds very similar to an upright bass, for being electric. I was playing my ubass, with my dad all evening. He thinks it sounds great as well. It has a built in tuner, and the batteries already comes with it. (Two CR2032 batteries) It has the steel round wound strings on it, they sort of buzz, if your fingernails hit the string, and you can hear your calluses rubbing on the strings. I was already planning on ordering the rubber strings, because a lot of people recommend the Aquila thunderblack strings. All in all, this is a great ubass! I love it!

Great looking Ubass, ugraded to flat wound strings, sounded nice. A couple of months ago the preamp began not working. Consistently has gotten totally unreliable. Not playable. Return period was only 30 days from purchase. I have had this Ubass less than 120days. Extremely disappointed. How do I begin warranty service

Very solid piece. I've never been disappointed by Kala and this is a great piece to add to my instrument collection. Only thing of note that I'm not knocking any stars off for is that the u-bass that arrived to me came with the incorrect strings on it out of the box. Instead of the rubber Aquila Thundergut strings, mine had some steel round wound strings. It's not necessarily a bad thing since some people prefer rounds, but I wanted the pure tone of the rubber strings and I have my full size bass if I needed the punch sound of rounds. Luckily, the Amazon customer service rep I chatted with was able to comp me for the cost of the Thundergut strings since I don't mind having to replace them myself. It's a great u-bass, just be aware that yours may not have Thundergut strings out of the box.

I have a couple electric basses that I love, but it can be a hassle to take them out, plug into the amp, and mess around to practice. This I can just take out and play along to TV or whatever, and I don't need an amp to practice. It does have an option to plug into the amp but I haven't tested that yet - that's next.

I contacted Kala Brand about wrong strings and I was told Kala is not the seller although it has their website and support number as contact. So who is the seller? Very strange to me

If you can afford to, I suggest you get the more expensive kala instruments. Feels well put together but cheaply made, very thin wood all around the body. When it arrived the E string (thickest string) had come undone from within the instrument, easy fix as they are all held with zip ties, which was unexpected but made it simple. Tuning was a breeze and I was playing scales and simple bass lines within a few hours. Has very good sound and the option to play unplugged is nice for bedroom practice late at night. I’d give 5 stars if not for the string on arrival.

In my opinion, incredible value for a beginner to get a quality product. While you are learning, you do not need amplification as the acoustic sound is plenty good. It has been about a week since being delivered and the strings need very little tuning.The instrument came well-packed, though it might not look it at first. But once you start unpacking, it becomes clear how well the item is protected.

Surprised that it didn’t come with the silicone strings.

Although it's a great little instrument - advertised with Thundergut strings, came with steel ones, defeating the object of ordering this model. Contacted seller - apologetic but 'unable to help', referring back to Amazon, who clearly don't have any way of distinguishing the strings fitted in the warehouse. Another £35 required to get the strings I need, plus the effort of fitting them. Don't buy if you care which strings you get.