Harley Benton Kahuna CLU-Bass Ukulele

318 Customer ratings

4.2 / 5

You have to be logged in to rate products.

Note: To prevent ratings from being based on hearsay, smattering or surreptitious advertising we only allow ratings from real users on our website, who have bought the equipment from us.

After logging in you will also find all items you can rate under rate products in the customer centre.

features

sound

quality

118 Reviews

Harley Benton Kahuna CLU-Bass Ukulele
477 AED 121,01 €
Plus 277 AED shipping
The price in AED is a guideline price only
Since we ship from Germany, additional costs through taxes and customs may be incurred
In stock
In stock

This product is in stock and can be shipped immediately.

Standard Delivery Times
1
M
Need a bass - get one of these!!
MickS 05.04.2017
I was looking for a short scale bass - maybe a Hofner or a Squire - just to mes around with. I didn't want a big lumbering heavy thing with a long scale - I tried one like that previously and it was just too much effort. I look at my favourite site (Thomann) for inspiration. I nearly went for the Harley Benton Beatbass as it fit the bill, short scale, light weight and really cool looking. I trawl YouTube for a while to see if there were any reviews of the Harley Benton Beatbass. There are, but as I was trawling I came across a uke bass, made by another company, so I took another look at Thomann to see if HB made a uke bass. They did/do! and that's when I found the Kahuna CLU-Bass Ukulele. Another half hour spent looking at reviews on YouTube and I was hooked. I sent for mine immediately and within a few days it was here with me.

I like the size, it's not as small as I imagined it could be - being a uke - the body is a sort of dreadnought shape so it sits nicely on the lap - a bit like a little travel guitar. the finish is a sort of sheen and the whole thing is pleasing to the eye and the hand. The neck is is a nice size too - much like the dimensions of a bass guitar but shorter. There is plenty of room on the fret board, it's not at all cramped. The fret ends feel ok too.

The strings are a bit strange to begin with but after a few minutes feel fine. Tuning is a constant necessity at the moment but I have read that the strings do settle in after a week or too. It's no problem tuning as there is the inbuilt tuner. The thinner strings seem to need the most attention at the moment, the low E seems to stay in tune best.

Played without amplification the bass sounds fine and is really very good for practice, just pick it up and go. Amplified it has a real thumping bass sound. It's quite amazing when you think of the size of it but it does sound very double bass like.

One thong I have found is that, as with all bass playing, you need to kill the note as soon as it's played. On a full size bass a note just rings on but on this Kahuna CLU-Bass Ukulele it sort of thudily rattles. I have also found that positioning the fretting finger back from the fret works better. Playing guitar it is usual to fret just behind the fret to get a clean note but with this Kahuna CLU-Bass Ukulele it works better to just move your finger back towards the next fret. I have also found that a clearer sound is produced with a pluck upwards with the finger (double bass style) rather than plucking down with the thumb. Maybe a leather pick would work too.

I've only had this Kahuna CLU-Bass Ukulele for a few days now but it's really growing on me and making me want to learn a few bass lines to play along to some tunes.

I would highly recommend this Kahuna CLU-Bass Ukulele as many more buyers seem to have done before me.

If you want to try a bass this is the ideal starter and I'm sure would be be ideal for bass players as a travel option.

Well made, functional, plays well and sounds great - get one!!
quality
features
sound
8
0
Report

Report

A
A lot of bang for the buck in a small package
Anonymous 14.12.2015
I?ve always been interested in the concept of Ubasses since it first came on the market. However, the first ones were quite expensive, at least for me too expensive, to just buy out of curiosity, and to fiddle with at home. By coincidence I stumbled upon a forum where they were discussing the Harley Benton Ubasses, and it got pretty good reviews. Unfortunately at the time, they were sold out. I e-mailed the thomann customer support, I got a quick response about when the Ubass would be back in stock, and so I waited! I have to admit I often checked the website to see if they were back in stock, and when they were I immediately ordered one.

I loved it from day one. When it arrived in the box, it wasn?t tuned, and it takes some time to get used to the strings, so, it took quite some playing to get the strings ?settled in?. But after that, the strings kept tune very well! The built-in tuner does what it?s supposed to do, however it has some trouble picking up the E-string. For me this isn?t a problem, I usually just tune the G-string, and then do the others by hearing.

The instrument itself feels quite solid, the tuners are light (so no neck dive) and operate very smoothly. The finish is OK, nothing more, nothing less, it?s very well built, the neck is comfortable to play, no sharp frets, the fretboard is a nice big slab of rosewood. But it kind of feels like something is missing, I guess I don?t really take to the satin finish. But, seeing as this is a budget instrument, I?m not complaining!

About the sound, acoustically, it?s louder than I expected, loud enough to use at home, perfect to play along some songs on the computer. And it just sounds great! Now amplified, the buttons of the pre-amp are quite small, and feel a bit cheap, but again, for that price, I?m not complaining. When amplified it sounds HUGE, I couldn?t believe the tones I got out of that small instrument! The tone and volume buttons do what they are supposed to do, although in my opinion, it?s best to keep the tone button somewhere in the middle stand, when it?s completely open it sounds quite shrill. But hey, whatever floats your boat!

In conclusion, I?ve had this UBass for a year now, and it still gets a lot of playtime! It?s just easy to pick up, sit on the couch and play some riffs, or play along with the music. It takes some getting used to playing it, but it is so much fun! Like stated before, there are some minor flaws, like the finish and the pre-amp, but it doesn?t really bother me, and if it would bother you, those are 2 things you can adjust relatively easily.

In my opinion you get a lot of bang for the buck! If you are interested in a Ubass, or just want one to fiddle with at home, but don?t want to spend hundreds of euros, this bass is the way to go!
9
0
Report

Report

A
Fantastic Sound
Anonymous 28.02.2015
I'd heard about the Harley Benton Kahuna bass Uke and it has good things said about it so was interested.

Having never played a Uke before I spent the weekend watching YouTube videos and decided to try one.As usual the ordering and delivery process from Thomann was second to none.4th day the Uke was here in Scotland.

Opening the box I found this tiny wee instrument,being a bass player it's something I'm not used too and the only acoustic I have is the HB-30 BK and it dwarfs the Uke.So I've got this wee thing that weighs 1Kg and has strange strings.What to make of it ?

As normal it has no flaws,just a nice satin finish,no sharp frets,tuners all work.
In short what I've come to expect from the Harley Benton range.Out of 51 basses this is my 8th HB.

Unplugged the Uke plays quite quiet,perfect for practise alone but I think with acoustic guitars it would struggle.Plugged in though it shows it's true colours.
How something so small can sound so big amazed me.Very similar to a Double Bass tone.Control-wise full bass or full treble worked best with volume full up too.

I'd like to end this with a couple of observations.I'd never played a bass Uke before so it was a new experience but here's what helped me. The silicone strings can get sticky so using talcum powder on them or on your fingers solves that issue.Another thing is the strings are thick almost twice as thick,the G is the same as a standard A string.The combination of thick strings and smaller frets meant I had to take care when fretting or the notes didn't ring true.Also the tension of the strings was a lot less than any bass I've played so a lighter attack was needed to avoid the strings bouncing off the fretboard.This was a comment I'd read from others regarding the Uke.

If you think of the Uke as a new instrument and not just a wee acoustic bass and take some time to adapt you'll get the best from it.

I'm very glad I bought one now.How long before I buy the fretless version ?
Not very long ;)
4
0
Report

Report

G
Very nice
GrindinEydun 16.08.2020
Just amazing. for the price it's just amazing
quality
features
sound
3
0
Report

Report

A
Wow! Just wow!
Anonymous 06.03.2015
Based on various reviews and opinions, I've been wanting to try a Bass Ukulele for a number of years but couldn't see spending $400 or more on a Kala sight unseen. But the cost of the Harley Benton model was more in my comfort zone so I took a shot and I'm glad I did.

It's a fun switch from my normal basses. The build quality of the instrument is much better than I expected and the sound is really good (for an acoustic bass obviously). The only minor issue is that the pickup/preamp works fine but the tuner doesn't seem to register at all. I didn't really plan on using it so it's not a big deal. Other than minor problem, the instrument exceeded my expectations in every way.

This is the most fun $150 instrument I've purchased to date (and I have quite a few) and I already have a couple of the guys I play with thinking about buying one for themselves.
3
0
Report

Report

L
Great little bass
LuckyGuy 12.11.2022
Love this thing, easy to play (for a guitar player), good sound (sounds a lot like an upright bass). Silicone strings need a little time to get used to but once you get the hang of it, it’s fine. Included pickup and tuner is definitely a plus.
quality
features
sound
0
0
Report

Report

l
The best affordable U-Bass
loki_bass 08.01.2021
Play it at home all the time, also took it to the rehearsal room a couple of times - was surprised how good it can sound with an amp. A couple of things could be better: 1) when played outside, it's not so loud, better take a portable amp with you 2) the 4th string sounds not as good as the other ones when unplugged - again, can be solved with an amp. The best thing about it is it's highly portable and you can take it anywhere with you easily. For this amount of money I definitely recommend this.
quality
features
sound
1
0
Report

Report

G
Outstanding buy
Gaf 16.02.2015
The kahuna bass is a true head turner! I bought on a whips I host open mics and often have a lot of kit to carry around. I thought this might come in handy, and boy did it!!
I'll get the negatives out the way early on. The build quality was very rough feeling, quite unfinished and rushed in terms of finishing, nothing five minutes with Polish and a cloth couldn't fix, but nonetheless there was a lot of saw dust and file marks.

The sound however is incredible! I used the kahuna to simulate double bass VERY effectively, and literally had a queue of people waiting to examine it after its first outing in public!
Later I used it in place of a jazz bass for a fast jazz funk jam, it was fine, both to play and in terms of sound. If you learn to work with it and get your head (well, fingers!) around the tight spacing it really can fill in for either electric or upright bass perfectly well .
The tone can be bright, as most piezoelectric pickups are, but the tone control is pretty wide ranging and you really can get great tones out of it!
Tuning is an experience! Takes a LOT of turning before anything happens, but you get there in the end.
A stunning buy.
6
0
Report

Report

EH
Can’t put it down!
E H. 29.12.2022
This is a great instrument, It’s the only bass small enough to keep it in the living room, it’s really quiet so I use it to jam along with whatever TV programs the wife is watching, TV doesn’t interest me otherwise! It stays in tune pretty well and I can get a TON of tones out of it! Everything from dbl bass flubber to Jazz honk. Really fun to play and sounds good plugged in too, in fact I’m going to record some live backing tracks with it for a pub gig. The small scale does take some adjustment & getting used to, but I totally recommend it, great fun!
quality
features
sound
1
0
Report

Report

CM
Impressive
Christelle Maris 15.03.2019
I was looking for an instrument that could replace a bass + amp, for jamming / songwriting session, so an acoustic bass seemed to be the ideal solution, but I don't like how big regular acoustic basses seem to be.
This is perfect, as the (acoustic) sound is impressive, and way louder than you would expect. It is very light and small to carry around everywhere.
I had my 1st gig ever with it yesterday night, so it was plugged into a sound system, and it did not disappoint at all, as the sound was very round and warm... and loud! :)

The build quality is also very nice and solid, nothing bad to say about this.

The only negative point I would have to say against bass ukuleles in general is about the strings: as they are in a different material than regular basses, they tend to grip, both on the left and right hand, so it is a bit harder to play: you can't strum too hard, and you can't really slide on the neck.
quality
features
sound
1
0
Report

Report

Harley Benton Kahuna CLU-Bass Ukulele