Kala Metal Round Wound U•BASS® Strings

I put these on my Kala Ubass to replace the fat polymer strings. I really like the sound, feel and tunability.

There is no doubt that these strings are 100% better than the stock rubber strings.Pros- tone is simply incredible, sounds a lot like acoustic bass guitar a la Violent Femmes- feel of the strings is very close to normal bass guitar round wounds, just a little easier on the fingers- these strings don't require special technique and fast playing is easy- sounds great with a pick or fingertipsCons- the A and D strings have very long string ends, but barely enough usable string to get a full wrap around the tuners. The string ends are very long but very thin, and don't provide much grip around the tuners - the solution is lots of wraps of the leader material on A and D strings. The attached photo shows this.- loud playing causing a little bit of a string buzz in the A and E strings

Hello, I've been playing a Kala U-Bass for 2 years now off and on. I just started playing with a group that this instrument fits into very well. As I started with the stock strings (big fat rubber bands), I loved the deep tubby sound that reminded me of upright bass. It was more of a novelty than something I would use regularly. After playing with a new group I wanted some more clarity and a better feel so I upgraded to Aquila Silver Rumblers. I did notice a slight improvement in clarity but still hard to tune and they get sticky. On the elusive quest for tone I decided to try the Kala Silver Plated Round Wound Set. BOOM! What a difference. The tone is well defined and the notes are clear and cut through like never before. They don't have the tubby sound of the polyurethane strings (which I love) but for my current situation these metal wound strings work perfectly. Added bonus is the ease of tuning. With the Poly strings you crank and crank and the pitch doesn't change then you fly right passed your target. You have to crank and stretch to dial it in. The metal wound strings tune up to pitch with quick response. No more bow and arrow stretching to hit pitch. The metal wound strings do change the sound to a more traditional electric bass sound but that's what I was looking for. I recommend these strings for clear note articulation and ease of tuning for this super cool instrument.

I replaced the silicone strings on my Ashbory Bass. They are a much smaller diameter but they have great tone and more sustain. needed to make a new nut to accommodate these string but it was worthwhile. I never really like the silicone strings, they sounded muddy and they always felt sticky. Next set I get will be the flat wounds. Thrilled with my purchase.

For now, I would say that these Metal Round Wounds would be my string of choice for the Kala U-Bass but that is strictly just my own personal preference. I bought these to replace the factory polyurethane strings. The rubbery strings were fun to experiment with and quite a novelty but in the end, seemed a bit muddy for my taste and they were more wobbly on the fingers than I preferred. A nice experiment but I want more of a rock and roll sound to my bass as opposed to the upright tone that the polyurethane strings deliver. The Metal Round Wound strings gave the Kala a much brighter sound, with harmonics. Played thru a decent amp, these were more reminiscent of my Fender Precision and Jazz basses. They were very easy to put on and "settled in" much faster than the rubber strings. The one negative is that the Metal Round Wounds are far more sensitive to finger/string noise compared to the polyurethane. I will keep these over the rubber strings for now but I think I am still searching for maybe a "taped" metal string to experiment with next. Still looking for that "brighter" sound but with less finger/string noise. Would love to hear back from anyone who has been experimenting with strings for the Kala U-Bass.

These make the Kala Ubass sound and feel SO MUCH BETTER than the rubbery default strings. Volume between strings is much more even. Volume is much louder, tone is clearer. PLEASE NOTE: You will need a new nut installed to fit these strings if your Ubass came with the rubbery strings! For best results (avoid buzzing, etc), this will require sanding the new nut down to an appropriate height, so you will need to learn to do this, or get a guitar tech to install. Even with the original nut, this is much better than the priginal strings.

Great alternative for rubber strings… eapecially if you want higher string tension

For real it makes my u bass sound so much better. Yes you do not get that upright bass but you do get an awesome electric bass guitar sound and the feel is a lot more familiar than the rubber bandsAs a bass player with over 20 years playing these strings are a great upgrade for this form of Bass