Uma UB-1 Solid Spruce Top Ukulele Bass w/Gigbag

Uma are such an interesting ukulele brand and it's fair to say they are on a bit of a roll right now with this stunning solid spruce top ukulele bass.

The history of the name UMA doesn't translate perfectly from Portuguese to Taiwanese to English but it is still interesting and poignant from a ukulele perspective. The UMA name means Unidentified Mysterious Animal and it is based on a story of Portuguese heritage describing a mythical island and the ancestors that live there singing songs and lullabies that people can hear near the island but not see.

Indeed, having met UMA the past five years at the NAMM show we already liked their ukuleles and the forward thinking nature of their designs but had only recently found an avenue in which to stock them here at SUS in the UK.

Why is this relevant? Well I'll tell you... This UMA UB-1 bass snuck up on us like an Unidentified Mysterious Animal. It's brilliant and its noticeably cheaper than the popular solid top ukulele basses currently on the market from Kala and other noteworthy brands. I suppose it could be argued the finish on the Uma is not on the same level as the Kala as some small cosmetic niggles can be found but it is important to weigh up whether a slightly improved cosmetic is worth the extra £150 and people will understandably fall either side of the fence on that.

The UB-1 has a solid spruce top with laminate ebony back and sides. It has a conventional ukulele bass scale length of 20 inches and performs in my humble opinion on the same level as the popular Kala Ubass 2 made of the same woods.

The pickup is dynamic and although we found it could be a bit bright sounding through some bass amps, it is within any players reach to get a nice warm, thumpy bass sound out of it by rolling back the EQ. The machineheads are an unbranded version of the popular Hipshot tuner, it has a built in chromatic tuner and even comes with a gigbag. What a bargain! What a find - well done UMA, more of this please in the future as more models find their way to the UK.

Specification:
Solid Englemann spruce top
Laminate mahogany back and sides
Pahoehoe black stretchy Ubass strings
Side mounted preamp with built in tuner
Die cast machineheads
Composite wood fingerboard
Gigbag included
Satin finish
20 inch scale
Bone nut with integrated piezo plastic bass saddle

Listing shows a typical example.