What is a Ukulele Bass?

This is a fairly new instrument, that have taken the size of a baritone ukulele (the biggest standard type of ukulele) and added thick heavy strings that are tuned as low as a bass guitar.

Meaning you literally play it like a bass, but with the convenience of a small portable instrument with much closer spacing of the frets etc.

The strings themselves are in most cases made of a very thick rubber/plastic material which may take some time to get used to.

They feel very different from standard guitar or bass strings of metal. And very different from the thin nylon strings of an ordinary ukulele.

It has built-in pickup, often a tuner, and you connect it to an amp to play it, or to your audio interface of your computer.

Is the Bass Ukulele Hard to Learn?

For the most part it is easy and straight-forward to learn how to play the bass ukulele. Mainly due to the small size and close frets.

It has 4 strings like a standard bass guitar, and playing bass lines does not take that long to figure out. 

What may take a while is getting used to the extremely thick strings, and unusual material, which feels very different to play.

Now as with any instrument, going beyond the easy parts to add expression, emotion on your own groove and style will take time.

But overall, the ukulele bass is fairly easy to learn to play, at least basic parts.

How does a Ukulele Bass Sound?

Playing bass lines on a bass ukulele has a very different sound from a standard electric bass guitar. Many players compare it to the upright acoustic bass. It is semi-acoustic after all.

Plus the rubber/plastic strings softens the sound and make it more mellow and dark in tone, and you mainly play it with your fingers which helps to give that organic and acoustic sound as well.

Have a listen to this demo of bass ukulele playing: