Caramel UEM48 Laminated Mahogany 30" Acoustic & Electric Ukulele Bass

If you're even considering it, go for it. I usually play acoustic bass guitar. A friend lent me this Caramel, and every musician that heard me play it was blown away by the rich tone that emulates a stand-up when it's plugged in. So, I bought my own! It's wonderful, and it comes with a pretty strap, a wrench for the truss rod, a cable (small, but would work if you forgot your good cable or something), and they even threw in a spare set of batteries for the tuner (who does that?!?).This is complete quality, especially for such a low price.I'm going to feel silly playing a UBass at gigs, but I shall sacrifice my own cool image for such great sound.The padded gig bag it comes with is a slightly higher quality than many gig bags that come with an instrument (I just bought a 5-string that came with a cheap cheap gig bag), and it even has adjustable back-pack straps, and a zip pouch for putting your odds and ends in.Obviously, I'm very happy with this purchase.

Normally, I don't like to give a perfect score and in truth if there was a 4.5 star option, I'd use that because nothing's perfect and the electronics leave a little to be desired, but for the money I definitely think this is worth more than 4 out of 5 stars so I'm rounding up.This little known brand is emulating the Kala U-Bass with this model and for the entry level price, it compares well with those Kalas, most of which sell for $250-$400. I've tried the Kalas and while they are well made this Caramel is well made also and plays well too. It comes with a decently padded gig bag and a pouch of accessories that includes a manual, truss rod hex wrench (yes, it has a truss rod!), cord for plugging into an amp, a wall hanger(!), and a strap. The gig bag has a zippered pouch for you to carry accessories and extra strings.The scale length of this is similar to the Kala and it will accept Kala strings. I've played with the rubber/poly/silicone-type strings before and while they do give a boomy upright bass kind of sound that can be quite usable, I decided to buy Kala's roundwound strings which consist of a core of nylon strands wrapped in silver plated metal windings. These strings make the bass sound more like an electric, particularly when unplugged and I really like them.Plugged in, there is some weakness in the highest and lowest strings, as some people have mentioned. The built in tuner was also finicky and I got better results with a higher end clip on, but EQ'd and processed, with either the original or aftermarket strings, this is a very usable and serious instrument for those willing to adjust their technique to accommodate the smaller size. For a bassist traveling, it's the perfect no-amp-needed partner and can do well in a small acoustic ensemble.

My background is as an electric bass player in a church band. The ubass is fun to play and the sound is easily shaped with a bass pedal (plugged to an amp or sound system). The unplugged volume is disappointing, esp. from the E and G strings. I plug it into a JBL Go2 bluetooth speaker in order to be heard in an unplugged session. When plugged in, the output from the E and G strings is also much weaker than the A and D strings. There is no truss rod (see pic) to adjust neck tension as with the similarly priced Hadean ubass. So far, this has not been a problem since the action and intonation are OK. The open tuners are cheap and needed disassembly and grease in order to turn smoothly. The nylon spacer on the tuners is weak and will shred as you use the tuners (see pic). The built-in tuner/EQ is decent and so far has good battery life (two CR2032 coin cells). The finish is OK, almost like bare wood. The trim ring on the soundhole is a mother of pearl decal. The neck is straight and build quality of the body is nice. I will be doing my own work as follows: installing strap buttons, adding side fret markers, greasing the tuners, maybe replace the sound pickup to improve the G string volume. Overall a good buy, but you will want to improve upon it yourself.Update 9/17/2019: changed review to 4 stars for customer service. The seller sent a new set of tuning keys which are much better than the original set. No issues with the new keys and they turn more smoothly than the original keys. Strap buttons are easy to install and are great for stand-up playing.

I got my solid Acacia Ubass today and it is flawless! I can’t find one thing wrong with it! Acacia is a close cousin to the highly revered koa wood, and to get a solid acacia instrument for under $200?!?! Wow! I am floored! This is an amazing incredible value! When I bought it I was under the impression becuase it is a premium wood, it would not come with the case and accessory package…BUT IT DID! Nowhere in the photo or description did it say the accesory package comes with the acacia version. But I got the case, cable, picks, wall hanger, polishing cloth and strap! if I knew that I wouldn’t have bought the Cloudmusic baritone case for $35. I may return that case.I HIGHLY recommend you spend the extra few dollars and get the solid gloss acacia vs. the unfinished mahogany version. You won’t regret it. The Thundergut strings have a nice sound as well…I am extremely happy I got this! If I could give 50 stars for value I would. This Ubass is a STEAL! Compare with a similar Kala Ubass…it would be close to $1,000.