Ukulele Bass

First developed by Road Toad and subsequently bought out and made incredibly successful by the Kala company, the Ukulele bass works on a principle first used by the Guild Ashbory bass, with elastic polyurethane strings amplified by piezo pickups.  Using a Baritone uke body the acoustic versions have just enough volume to practise with in a quiet room acoustically, but make a huge bass sound amplified.  They have become popular in Hawaiian bands, cabaret bands, wedding bands – any lineup playing long gigs where a double bass or heavy solidbody bass guitar becomes hard work.  My design uses a couple of extra measures to enhance the tone profile.   Small soundholes or ports maximise bass air resonance and bamboo/rosewood tine resonators simulate the air resonance of a double bass.  There are also solidbody and 5 string versions of this instrument, but I stick to the acoustic ones.