Getting the best bass ukulele for your sound and playing style isn’t easy. There are a bunch of bass ukes out there that have good tone and great features, so how are you supposed to choose between them all?
That’s why we wrote this buyer’s guide. We reviewed all of the most popular bass ukuleles, so you can compare their tonewoods, shapes, features, and pros to determine which one is right for you and if you want a fretted vs fretless bass ukulele. Bass uke is a cool instrument because it takes a higher register instrument, the ukulele, and turns it into a grooving machine. It’s so awesome having a small, travel bass like this to play around with.
That being said, let’s compare the top-rate bass ukuleles on the market right now, so you can find the best one for you.
Compare the Top 5 Bass Ukuleles in 2020
Contents
Here’s a list of the best bass ukes out there that have great tone and will make you sound better!
- Kala UBASS-EM-FS U-Bass Fretted Uke
- Oscar Schmidt Bass Ukulele
- Luna Guitars Bass Ukulele
- Hadean Acoustic-Electric Bass Ukulele
- Donner DUB-1 Electric Bass Ukulele
Kala UBASS-EM-FS U-Bass Fretted Uke
Specs, features, and benefits
Kala UBASS-EM-FS model is a beautiful bass ukulele. Its back and sides are made of mahogany, while its neck, fingerboard, and bridge are made of fine rosewood. The design itself is very nice, shaped to be comfortable in hands, which is important for both beginners and experienced players.
What makes this ukulele really great is its ability to create excellent sounds, which is possible because it features custom die-cast tuners and proprietary polyurethane strings. Along with that comes superb Kala electronic system, which has built-in active EQ and tuner.
Each string has its separate compensated saddle. Apart from all that, this ukulele features custom deluxe U-Bass, which adds to tone quality.
Pros and Highlights
- Beautiful design – from the material to colors, everything on this ukulele looks absolutely gorgeous. But it is also very well-shaped, so it is very comfortable to play it;
- Top-quality sound – high-quality strings and all extra features make sure that the sound that comes out of this ukulele is absolutely amazing;
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Price – this ukulele is not for everyone, but if you can afford it, it’s well worth the money.
Bottom line
As for the conclusion, Kala UBASS-EM-FS model is very high-quality ukulele, capable of producing excellent tones, and, despite being a bit pricy, I recommend it if you are experienced ukulele player and have enough money to sink into buying a top-quality instrument.
Oscar Schmidt Comfort Series Bass Ukulele
Specs, features, and benefits
Oscar Schmidt Comfort series ukulele is a very neat-looking ukulele. Its back and sides are made of Koa, while the top is made of spruce, which makes it look very elegant. What makes it even more comfortable is the rosewood comfort rest on the lower side, which helps to increase comfort for your forearm and helps you access the upper frets easier.
But, this ukulele is not just about looks. With electronics that are integrated into it and premium Aquila strings specifically made for bass ukuleles, this ukulele is capable of delivering very high-quality sound, which makes it an ideal choice, because it offers both comfort and great tones.
As a nice addition, it features great tuner, preamp, volume, and treble controls and comes with a limited lifetime warranty.
Pros and Highlights
- Very nice and elegant design – the combination of Koa base, mahogany neck, and rosewood, it looks very classy and feels good in hands;
- Beautiful tones – a combination of top-quality strings and included electronics gives very positive tones.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Tricky to setup – it can be a bit tricky to set up the sound to be the way you want it, due to some fret buzzing sounds on E and A strings.
Bottom line
All in all, Oscar Schmidt Comfort series ukulele is very nice bass ukulele, which both looks and sounds good, despite having to spend a bit more time to set it up to the way you want to. But when you do, it’s a perfectly fine bass ukulele.
Luna Guitars Bass Ukulele
Specs, features, and benefits
If you are into black color, then this is ukulele for you! With its top made of spruce and sides made of mahogany, along with flat wound strings and baritone body, Luna Guitars Bass looks absolutely amazing. The fretboard is made of rosewood and there is very nice maple binding with rosette, shark teeth fret markers.
Apart from that, it features a gloss black finish. Since it features flat wound strings, it is capable of offering very acoustic and robust tones, even without amplification kit, which is very amazing characteristic. It weighs around 4.2 pounds, which makes this ukulele very portable, compared to other bass ukuleles.
Pros and Highlights
- Beautiful design – very nice unique design, with a focus on black color, which is not so common amongst ukuleles makes this ukulele a bit more popular;
- Great sound – high-quality flat wound bass strings make sure this ukulele is capable of delivering very nice tones;
- Value for money – combination of unique look, great performance and not so high price makes this ukulele well-worth the money.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- It can be a bit difficult to set up because in some cases, you might notice that it is an octave higher than usual bass instruments.
Bottom line
With a very unique design and very high-quality tones, this ukulele is a very good choice for beginners and players who like non-traditional looking instruments, which are capable of having a great performance.
Hadean Acoustic-Electric Bass Ukulele UKB-23
Specs, features, and benefits
Hadean UKB-23 model is very good ukulele, which may look a bit different, because it has a bit wider body, made of walnut, which, along with other top-quality materials makes it very pretty.
It features everything you may need to control the tones. Preamp so you could amplify the sound if you wanted too, as well as complete control over volume, bass, mid and treble. All that, along with premium quality Aquila Nylon gut strings, which are used to make sure that fret intonation is very accurate during tweaking the tuning, help this ukulele deliver excellent sound.
Also, it comes with a truss-rod neck, which is adjustable, as well as with completely integrated tuner, makes the tuning faster and easier.
Pros and Highlights
- Beautiful design – very well-crafted ukulele, made of the finest materials, which makes it very pretty and comfortable to play;
- Extra features – adjustable neck feature can be very useful;
- Price – it is very affordable compared to other bass ukuleles on the market.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Might need some repairs – some parts might not be properly taken care of, so you may need to give them some love, by fixing them.
Bottom line
Though it is a bit cheaper than the rest of ukuleles on the market, Hadean UKB-23 is a very well-crafted instrument capable of delivering high-quality tones, and is probably one of the best choices for beginners, since it is the most affordable.
Donner DUB-1 Electric Bass Ukulele With Case
Specs, features, and benefits
Donner DUB-1 comes from the Limited Edition professional series of bass ukuleles. It is made mostly of the highest quality mahogany, which makes it very beautiful and comfortable to play.
It features EQ, which, along with integrated preamp, used for amplification, and volume, bass, mid and treble controls, as well as an integrated tuner for easier tuning, makes this ukulele produce very high-quality tones. Premium quality Aquila Nyglut strings contribute to that a great deal as well.
DUB-1 has 18 brass frets with marked fret positions at 5th, 7th, 10th, and 12th frets on the neck and on top of the fingerboard, which makes it a perfect choice for beginners and people who are used to having marked the position on their ukulele.
Pros and Highlights
- Great design – very-well shaped and decorated ukulele, with every part being of top quality;
- Free case – it comes with a free case, to make it easier for you to carry it around;
- Price – considering it is a limited edition item, it is fairly cheap and affordable.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- A bit tricky to setup – it could be a bit tricky to set up the low string, so you may encounter some buzz sounds until you figure it out.
Bottom line
Limited edition item that is of such high quality at this price, what is there to wait for? Despite having a few setup issues, this ukulele is just a must for all bass ukulele lovers, especially since it is very affordable and capable of producing great tones.
What We Recommend and Why
After considering all 5 bass ukuleles presented here, we have decided to point out Donner DUB-1 as our hearty recommendation, because it is very high-quality ukulele, made for both newcomers and experts. And it is part of a limited edition, so that is something real ukulele lovers will consider as well.