Hadean Acoustic Electric Bass Ukulele UKB-23-33 Long Scale

I purchased the 23” scale Walnut body Hadean U-Bass with Black Aquila Nylgut strings just over two weeks ago. It was delivered before the estimated delivery date, well packaged, with batteries for the Tuner and Pre-Amp installed and with plenty of charge. This is the long-scale version. The 23” scale neck is similar to the Gold Tone 23" Scale Micro bass (which I have never seen below $400). This particular U-Bass is substantially larger than the Hadean or Kala 20” scale models. It feels much more like a Micro Bass than a U-Bass, and it is plenty loud to play without an amplifier while practicing. I’ve played this for a few hours every day for two weeks and I’m VERY PLEASED WITH IT. Again, it came in around $160 delivered. It has been a task to keep the strings in tune. I have had to retune it every practice session using both the built-in tuner and GuitarTuna on my cell phone. Much of this seems to be attributable to the Black Aquila Nylgut strings which are evidently notorious for “intonation” problems and stickiness and take a long time to break in. I think it takes a few weeks of tuning and re-tuning, continually re-stretching the strings. One good tip elaborated in a YouTube entitle “Tuning a Bass Ukulele” is to pinch or gently lift the strings above the top fret to equalize the pressure between the head and the neck of the base. The strings are so fat and sticky that if you tune without equalizing the pressure, the increased tension doesn’t get translated below the head of the base. After I learned this trick, I have not had any problems with the base and it sounds great, although I might eventually replace the Aquila Nylgut strings with the Road Toad Music black Pahoehoe polyurethane strings that come on a Kala U-Bass, which are more expensive but reportedly hold their tone better and are more playable. Really pleasantly surprised by this bass, again, not so much a U-Bass as a Micro Bass. Quality so far has been fine. I realize this may just be luck of the draw, that I might have just been delivered a great individual piece of equipment. But that has been my experience. A positive shout-out is in order to Hadean and Rondo Music. 😊PS- An update after two months. This little bass has performed incredibly, being played at least an hour a day. It's not high dollar (ie...the inexpensive plastic tuning keys), but they work, the bass plays and sounds great. No buzzing or sharp fret issues. Again, a tremendous buy.

Upon receipt, I noticed the high G string was not sounding through the amp. I was a bit miffed, but these days for under $200, what the heck, right? It was useless for public performance, so I watched a YouTube video about adjusting piezo pickups and using my common sense, I fixed the problem in about a half hour. So, as a member of the working poor, I learned me sumpin' and all is now well, but still. Hand labor costs money and fine adjustments are definitely not the strong suit of overseas manufacturers.

Great little bass with exceptional sound. I love the look on people's faces when they hear me play this. You'd think it'd sound like a kid's toy, being so small, but it sounds incredible, better in some ways than my Fender Jazz bass. The only reasons I gave 4 stars and not 5 is because 1) the A string came strung so tight it messed up the tuning peg, and 2) it requires constant retuning of the strings and adjustment of the truss rod. The strings I understand, but the truss rod signals an instrument with a short lifespan. Note: I've updated this rating from 4 to 3 stars. After 3 weeks of playing, the A string was always buzzing, no matter what adjustments I did. Eventually, the truss rod snapped and I'm stuck with a buzzy bass. I should have known better than to keep tightening it, but nothing else I did was helping the A string buzz go away... I'd send it back and get a replacement but the price has increased and I don't have the extra cash.

Returning. Tried truss rod adjustment from all the way loose to all the way tight in about 2 dozen positions. No matter what seller comments on this review, the truss rod adjustment on my instrument will not eliminate A string buzz between frets 2 to 6. Unplayable because of this. Another comments points out this same problem. I tried waiting until it was broken in after 10 hours of playing and strecthcing out the strings, but it didn't help. I am an experienced bass and ukulele player, and wanted to give the U-bass a try, especially with the longer scale of this one, but will have to go with a more reputable/higher end brand I guess.

The first time tuning it up the instrument wanted to stay very flat, which is understandable for a new instrument. However the tuning peg couldn't handle tuning the A string to the proper pitch and one of the teeth on the tuning gears snapped. Now the A string tuner spins freely and my string is permanently flat. This occurred on my 2nd time picking up and tuning the instrument. I was offered a replacement or a new set of tuners immediately though, so props to the customer service.Be sure to check and make sure one of the strings isn't wound too far up the tuning peg. Otherwise this instrument is super fun and portable, with a great sound for its size.

This bass is awesome, I was a little disappointed when it arrived and one of the turning keys was missing it’s set screw. I took a very small screw and had to do it myself. But now that it’s tunable I love it