Harley Benton Kahuna CLU-Bass Ukulele

I was looking for a short scale bass - maybe a Hofner or a Squire - just to mes around with. I didn't want a big lumbering heavy thing with a long scale - I tried one like that previously and it was just too much effort. I look at my favourite site (Thomann) for inspiration. I nearly went for the Harley Benton Beatbass as it fit the bill, short scale, light weight and really cool looking. I trawl YouTube for a while to see if there were any reviews of the Harley Benton Beatbass. There are, but as I was trawling I came across a uke bass, made by another company, so I took another look at Thomann to see if HB made a uke bass. They did/do! and that's when I found the Kahuna CLU-Bass Ukulele. Another half hour spent looking at reviews on YouTube and I was hooked. I sent for mine immediately and within a few days it was here with me.

I like the size, it's not as small as I imagined it could be - being a uke - the body is a sort of dreadnought shape so it sits nicely on the lap - a bit like a little travel guitar. the finish is a sort of sheen and the whole thing is pleasing to the eye and the hand. The neck is is a nice size too - much like the dimensions of a bass guitar but shorter. There is plenty of room on the fret board, it's not at all cramped. The fret ends feel ok too.

The strings are a bit strange to begin with but after a few minutes feel fine. Tuning is a constant necessity at the moment but I have read that the strings do settle in after a week or too. It's no problem tuning as there is the inbuilt tuner. The thinner strings seem to need the most attention at the moment, the low E seems to stay in tune best.

Played without amplification the bass sounds fine and is really very good for practice, just pick it up and go. Amplified it has a real thumping bass sound. It's quite amazing when you think of the size of it but it does sound very double bass like.

One thong I have found is that, as with all bass playing, you need to kill the note as soon as it's played. On a full size bass a note just rings on but on this Kahuna CLU-Bass Ukulele it sort of thudily rattles. I have also found that positioning the fretting finger back from the fret works better. Playing guitar it is usual to fret just behind the fret to get a clean note but with this Kahuna CLU-Bass Ukulele it works better to just move your finger back towards the next fret. I have also found that a clearer sound is produced with a pluck upwards with the finger (double bass style) rather than plucking down with the thumb. Maybe a leather pick would work too.

I've only had this Kahuna CLU-Bass Ukulele for a few days now but it's really growing on me and making me want to learn a few bass lines to play along to some tunes.

I would highly recommend this Kahuna CLU-Bass Ukulele as many more buyers seem to have done before me.

If you want to try a bass this is the ideal starter and I'm sure would be be ideal for bass players as a travel option.

Well made, functional, plays well and sounds great - get one!!

I?ve always been interested in the concept of Ubasses since it first came on the market. However, the first ones were quite expensive, at least for me too expensive, to just buy out of curiosity, and to fiddle with at home. By coincidence I stumbled upon a forum where they were discussing the Harley Benton Ubasses, and it got pretty good reviews. Unfortunately at the time, they were sold out. I e-mailed the thomann customer support, I got a quick response about when the Ubass would be back in stock, and so I waited! I have to admit I often checked the website to see if they were back in stock, and when they were I immediately ordered one.

I loved it from day one. When it arrived in the box, it wasn?t tuned, and it takes some time to get used to the strings, so, it took quite some playing to get the strings ?settled in?. But after that, the strings kept tune very well! The built-in tuner does what it?s supposed to do, however it has some trouble picking up the E-string. For me this isn?t a problem, I usually just tune the G-string, and then do the others by hearing.

The instrument itself feels quite solid, the tuners are light (so no neck dive) and operate very smoothly. The finish is OK, nothing more, nothing less, it?s very well built, the neck is comfortable to play, no sharp frets, the fretboard is a nice big slab of rosewood. But it kind of feels like something is missing, I guess I don?t really take to the satin finish. But, seeing as this is a budget instrument, I?m not complaining!

About the sound, acoustically, it?s louder than I expected, loud enough to use at home, perfect to play along some songs on the computer. And it just sounds great! Now amplified, the buttons of the pre-amp are quite small, and feel a bit cheap, but again, for that price, I?m not complaining. When amplified it sounds HUGE, I couldn?t believe the tones I got out of that small instrument! The tone and volume buttons do what they are supposed to do, although in my opinion, it?s best to keep the tone button somewhere in the middle stand, when it?s completely open it sounds quite shrill. But hey, whatever floats your boat!

In conclusion, I?ve had this UBass for a year now, and it still gets a lot of playtime! It?s just easy to pick up, sit on the couch and play some riffs, or play along with the music. It takes some getting used to playing it, but it is so much fun! Like stated before, there are some minor flaws, like the finish and the pre-amp, but it doesn?t really bother me, and if it would bother you, those are 2 things you can adjust relatively easily.

In my opinion you get a lot of bang for the buck! If you are interested in a Ubass, or just want one to fiddle with at home, but don?t want to spend hundreds of euros, this bass is the way to go!