Ohana USA Custom 28 Solid Body Figured Maple Electric Bass w/gigbag

Brad Kahabka from the Ohana USA custom shop is constantly pushing the envelope, designing, developing and refining better and better instruments from the California workshop. Notably the Ohana solid body electric tenor ukulele which made out top ten ukuleles of 2025.

This, however, is a brand new branch of the Ohana USA family tree, with their first release of the Ohana Custom 28 short scale bass. Now I don't want to call this a ukulele bass, it doesn't share the same scale length as other ukulele basses you may already be used to, however it is shorter than your average bass at 28 inches (hence the name). 

Brad's original prototype featured a flat top, but he decided it simply wasn't special enough and proceeded to build this one with a carved flamed maple top more closely reflecting the style of the Ohana electro tenors. Stained in a striking red the grain absolutely POPS! Framed with gorgeous abalone purfling which also finds its way around the flamed maple headplate and even onto the adjustment nobs, this bass is oozing with flash.

It's not all aesthetic with the Custom 28 however. The active and powerful single coil pickups are built and hand wound in house at the Ohana shop with custom 3D printed pick-up covers, with a solid 4-saddle barrel bridge. They opted for Japanese made Gotoh bass machine heads, which was a great shout, you can't go wrong with Gotoh, for precise and secure tuning.

This short bass is an absolute beast. Somewhere between a bass guitar and a ukulele bass it really bridges the gap between the two, extending a hand to those looking to dabble from either side of the chain. It would be comfortable in the hand of a seasoned bass player who's after an extra special space saver, but equally would take a die hard uBasser up a few inches in scale, possibly if you find yourself a little cramped on a standard uBass.

Images show the actual instrument, including the padded gigbag.

• Size: 28" Short-scale
• Top: Solid Figured Maple, Carved Top
• Back: Solid Mahogany
• Neck: Solid Mahogany 
• Fingerboard: Rosewood
• 36mm nut width with 26mm string spacing
• Purfling: Abalone
• Headstock Inlay: Abalone
• Logo Inlay: Mother-of-Pearl
• Fingerboard Inlay: Mother-of-Pearl
• Headplate: Figured Maple
• Controls: Volume, Volume, Tone
• Neck Pickup: Ohana Custom Single Coil
• Bridge Pickup: Ohana Custom Single Coil 
• Bridge: 4-Saddle Bridge with Barrel Saddles
• Top Finish: Polyurethane, Gloss 
• Back Finish: Polyurethane, Satin
• Truss Rod: Dual Action, Head Adjust with Cover Plate
• Machine Heads: Gotoh
• Strings: S.I.T. 45 - 105
• Tuning: EADG
• Nut Width: 1-1/2"
• Scale Length: 28"
• Total Length: 37-1/2"
• Body Width: 10-3/4"
• Body Depth: 2-1/4"
• Case: Soft Case Included

Design Features

• Carved Top
• Contoured Bevel Edges on Back 
• Ohana Custom Hand-wound Pickups
• Ohana Custom Trapezoidal Fretboard Markers
• Bolt-on Neck with Plate 
• 9.5" Radius Fingerboard
• Custom 3D-printed Pickup Covers
• Headstock Volute
• Side-mounted Input Jack
• Top and Bottom Body Strap Pins