Best Bass Ukulele Reviews in 2024: Buying Guide

The best bass ukulele, a super hybrid instrument, has gained much popularity among musicians over the past few years alongside traditional concert, soprano, tenor, and baritone ukuleles. This ukulele-sized bass produces a surprisingly big tone, making it a fun alternative to bass guitar and upright bass.

Today, we are about to review all about the bass ukulele. In our list below, we’ve highlighted our top ukulele bass picks. If you’re interested in classic uke sounds, you’ll probably want a modern instrument from the list. So, let’s begin to find the best bass ukulele for you.

If you have any idea about the ukulele market, you probably know about the Kala ukulele brand. Their instruments are top-of-the-range for quality, performance, and popularity. So, it is no surprise the Kala U-BASS-SSMHG-FS Bass is one of the best bass ukuleles.

Kala Bass gives additional visual options for the player. With mahogany back and sides, it adds a mid-range punch to the solid spruce top U-Bass. It has a mahogany neck.

Kala has used dark brown binding around the top and back of this uke, making it look unique. Moving on to the neck, we get a standard rosewood fretboard with 16 frets on a 21-inch scale.

Further, the electric U-Bass features a new custom-designed Shadow pickup system acclaimed for its massive low end. You can connect it to your amplifier to increase the volume and improve the sound quality. After connecting, you will get a sound like an upright bass instrument.

Finally, many bass players choose Kala’s UBass-EM-FS because of its performance. Despite the slightly higher price, players can consider it for its quality.

Benefits:

• High-quality bass uke
• Nice look
• Includes a gig bag

Disadvantages:

• Quite expensive for some

Hadean is not a well-known brand in the ukulele market. Still, they produce quality instruments at affordable prices. Indeed, the Hadean UKB-23 is one of the best-selling bass ukuleles on Amazon.

The body consists of the walnut instead of the more common Koa. The walnut will create a warm sound, not produced by any other wood. Consequently, it differentiates itself from other instruments. Likewise, its look also creates a different dimension.

Also, the UKB-33 includes a rosewood neck with a simple inlay truss rod. When you pick up this device, it feels pretty good, which indicates it’s a well-made component.

Also, this bass ukulele features a rosewood bridge with four individual saddles and four die-cast tuners on the headstock. They don’t look glamorous but do their job accurately. It offers a small package preamp with treble, bass, mid, and volume controls, a tuner, and a three-band EQ.

Ultimately, in terms of sound, this is undoubtedly an outstanding device. True, this 30-inch instrument will give you a stunning feel for less.

Benefits:

• A well-built machine
• Eye-catching design
• Tremendous electronics with tuner and EQ

Disadvantages:

• No case or gig bag

Kala U-Bass Fretted is another product of the Kala brand. We mention it because it is easily portable, and anyone can move around taking it.

Kala makes their ukes with fantastic quality. This instrument is no exception. In general, the mahogany body is renowned for providing a fuller sound. Also, it has a slightly smaller body but produces a warm resonance in the deeper notes.

Kala uses higher-quality wood to inlay the walnut fingerboard. The bridge comes from walnut and individual saddles for each string for a beautiful setup. The top end has diecast tuners.

This U-Bass has a Piezo electronics pickup that gives the bass some power. Active EQ helps shape your tone with bass, middle, and treble controls. The control panel is equipped with an onboard tuner once again.

If the bass uke forms an instrument that looks like an upright bass, they’ve succeeded. The wood selection is quite good, producing a warm, deep sound. This bass offers a custom padded gig bag that adds value to the purchase.

Benefits:

• Rich materials and fantastic structure
• Sounds like a full upright double bass
• Perfect device for travel

Disadvantages:

• Some say it’s expensive for a small-scale bass uke.

Oscar Schmidt is best known for his production of acoustic guitars. This time, it has produced a high-quality bass uke.

Oscar Schmidt uke uses mahogany for the top, back, and sides. Mahogany is loved by all for its natural color but is also famous for its resonance. Therefore, this wood is an ideal choice. Also, the satin finish makes it spectacular.

This series features rosewood, which provides an extra level of comfort for your hands. Also, it has a rosewood partial cutaway for access to the upper frets. It has 16 frets with dot inlays.

They finish the body design nicely by tying it around the main body up to the top, giving it a great look. The quality of the structure is commendable. Hence, it has become an eye-catching device.

The sound of this professional uke is incomparable. The preamp tone control gives you extra room to generate a sound. On the contrary, when you amplify an instrument, its resonance is never lost.

Eventually, we can say that you will get better service at a reasonable price by using one of the best bass ukuleles.

Benefits:

• Beautifully built
• Use rich materials
• Elegant sound

Disadvantages:

• No accessories

It is another ideal bass ukulele from Kala. The Kala UBASS-JYMN-FS features a bass ukulele built by the brand’s high standards featured in these instruments.

First, you can notice the size and design of this instrument. It has a stunning feel and tends to be too cello or steep for its look. It’s not a bad thing at all. Even the ‘F’ hole and the Venetian cutaway substantiate its class.

The body of this uke is mahogany, and the back, top, and sides are the same. Mahogany is renowned for producing warm tones and deep resonance. Therefore, this wood is a good choice for building a quality bass ukulele with a flawless tone. Also, they apply a cream binding to make the ukulele look spectacular.

The Journeyman brings a mahogany neck and a rosewood fingerboard with sixteen frets. The acoustic-electric U-Bass features a piezo pickup with an active EQ to give it an amplified sound.

All in all, you can add this beautifully designed instrument to your collection as a bass ukulele.

Benefits:

• 20.875-inch scale mahogany neck
• UK-500B piezo pickup
• Offers a padded gig bag

Disadvantages:

• Not enough accessories

The Hilo Acoustic Upright Bass is another deluxe mahogany uke that’s good enough to grab the attention of any ukulele fan. It is slightly larger than a typical ukulele and enhances the bass sound. With a light mahogany finish, this bass uke is composed of top-notch mahogany wood.

Importantly, this uke brings authentic frets on its wooden fingerboard. Hence, it becomes a beginner-friendly device. This 4-string acoustic upright bass offers the finest-quality geared machines that lend authenticity to its sound quality.

In short, this is one of those luxury ukuleles that can fulfill your wishes. Most importantly, it is better for a reasonable price. We can say that this uke is affordable compared to other mahogany ukuleles. In this price range, it’s one of the best bass ukuleles.

Benefits:

• Made of high-quality wood
• Produces a rich and thick bass sound
• Quite affordable

Disadvantages:

• Craftsmanship is inconsistent
• Tuners need further improvement

A bass ukulele is a modern addition to the musical instrument, inspired by the traditional ukulele and bass guitar. The concept of the bass ukulele was first expressed by a small company called Road Toad when founder Owen Holt designed the Bufo Bass.

It gained popularity, but the problem with Big Buffo was its high price, which was out of reach for most players. So, in 2007, Rod Todd teamed up with renowned ukulele manufacturer Kala to find a viable solution. Together, they introduced the U-Bass, known today as the bass ukulele.

From the name, we understand this instrument has a particularity in producing bass sounds. So, it’s the instrument of choice if you have a penchant for low-end tones.

They not only cover much lower registers than other ukuleles but are attractive. These devices become durable as the materials used are of high quality.

You already understand from the reviews above how light and small this device is. As a result, you will not face any challenge to move with it. It is small but makes a great loud sound.

A bass ukulele is built with sound amplification in mind and generates the best sound with an amp. You require a large body to resonate and project the vibrations of the bass strings, which a ukulele doesn’t inherently have. So, it requires an amp for the bass ukulele to get the best sound.

We see that two types of this instrument need to be known.

• Bass ukulele: This type is slightly shorter (about 30 inches) and is playable with the same open notes as the standard bass guitar (EADG), except one octave higher.
• Contrabass ukulele: The type is slightly larger (about 32 inches), and is playable using the same standard bass ukulele tuning.

Based on their body type, bass ukes are available with a solid body (like an electric bass) or a hollow body (like a ukulele or acoustic guitar). Body type plays a significant role in sound generation.

• A solid-body bass uke generates more sound than an electric bass guitar.
• A hollow-body bass ukulele provides a sound that gets more like an upright bass.

So, your music style will contribute to choosing the perfect body type.

Yes, bass strings usually get tuned in a lower register than guitars. Strings are thicker and under less stress. Sometimes, the neck gets longer. Strings also get longer.

None of these bass factors work in any ukulele shape. Thick strings appear dead and lifeless. You cannot elongate the neck. You can’t lessen the tension, or the strings will come loose.

The approach is that ideal strings should be dense instead of thick. Several types of high-density polyurethane blends with nylon cores are available. Others contain a metal wound similar to a typical bass guitar string.

Now, it is a matter that depends on personal preference. Frets become helpful for inexperienced players who want to learn to play the instrument without constantly looking at the neck.

If you have any previous experience playing at least one other non-fretless instrument, you can choose one. Some players feel their instruments are just an extension of themselves because they only consider what they are playing. Consequently, fretless models are a fantastic choice for them.

You will find no magic formula for picking the best bass ukulele. Indeed, the bass uke is still a new musical instrument as it started its journey almost a decade ago. This device still requires a lot of development.

From the early days, bass ukuleles’ original owners have dominated the top end of the market. As a result, most of the products on the market at this moment are not very different from each other.

We advise you to choose the same as other similar devices. Therefore, you opt for the best tonewood, considering your budget. After all, to choose quality options, do a lot of research and find out what you want.

It is difficult to remain impartial, however, the Kala models that we observe at present serve as the benchmark bass ukuleles.

If you’re considering buying the best ukulele, this review will help you. Finally, our reviews and guides will help you choose the best bass ukulele.

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