ukulele as starter bass???

[devnulljp]

Go get a Kala U-Bass. I take mine camping and travelling with me, and I even gigged with it once because I just coulsn't be bothered hauling the standup for the $50 I was getting paid.

It's a real instrument (in the right hands of course).

 

[Captain Chaos]

Get him a super mega ukulele instead.

 

[Nev375]

Seems pretty real to me.

 

[Thaibassman]

I think any cheap ukulele will suffice. The key consideration is the action and how easy is it for a 4-year-old to hit a fretted note and be satisfied so as not to lose interest (or you, a pile of $$ if it all gets too hard)
Basic piano training to establish finger strength and dexterity is probably more important at this age IMHO
We're into phase 2 of this process now and have our daughter playing a 25" scale custom bass - which is basically a strat neck fret spacing & scale.

 

[Hevy T]

Hadean Bass Uke UKBE-22 33" Blue - RondoMusic.com

 

[dxb]

Something like this would be a good uke for a kid, currently on sale for only $40 too:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DK723AY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

If at some point there's specific interest in playing bass guitar, the Ibanez Mikro is pretty small and about as affordable as a bass uke.

 

[Hevy T]

Go get a Kala U-Bass. I take mine camping and travelling with me, and I even gigged with it once because I just coulsn't be bothered hauling the standup for the $50 I was getting paid.

It's a real instrument (in the right hands of course).

Is that a Warmouth build? Looks like their Geco inlay! Cool

 

[tlc1976]

At four?

If your kids are anything like mine, four is so young that getting ANY instrument into their little paws is great. I wouldn’t get hung up on the number of strings, nor the type of instrument. If they’re willing to play it, go with it.

I agree, just getting into music in general is a blessing and there's a lot to learn regardless of instrument. Learning to feel the beat, to recognize pitch and intervals, a lot of finger coordination. Or read music if going that route.

One of my 1st grade classmates could play the violin. She moved away a few years later, wonder how she turned out.

 

[devnulljp]

Is that a Warmouth build? Looks like their Geco inlay! Cool

Looks like Ortega, as discussed here: Kinga Glyk's Uke Bass
What a great player!

 

[Watchootognbout]

ukulele as starter bass???
No.

For a four year old?
Yes.

 

[cnltb]

For a four year old?
Yes.

I'd always go for it as a starter instrument.
Not as a starter 'bass' though.
A U-bass perhaps, as said a few times already?

 

[Watchootognbout]

I'd always go for it as a starter instrument.
Not as a starter 'bass' though.
A U-bass perhaps, as said a few times already?

A Kala U-Bass is quite expensive compare to a Rondo Hadean Bass Uke.

 

[cnltb]

A Kala U-Bass is quite expensive compare to a Rondo Hadean Bass Uke.

Go for the Rondo then .
The point is not kala or rondo, the point is the tuning and the lower register than that on a ukulele.

 

[dxb]

Go for the Rondo then .
The point is not kala or rondo, the point is the tuning and the lower register than that on a ukulele.

Remember we're talking about a 4 year old. The chances he'd even care or be able to tell the difference in tuning between a regular uke and a bass uke is slim at best. Also, his interest in "playing bass" may not be more than just a momentary fascination with an unfamiliar object. I still say get a cheap regular uke and see if he's into playing music. If not, at least its not $200-400 wasted on a bass uke.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say just buy a the smallest bass you cab find, like a Squire Bronco bass, and let the kid bang around on that.