Uke It Up

Let's Get Ready To Rumble

Today I decided to go ahead and do it.

Mela Kani, the Magical Kala Ukulele Bass I am using to reinvent myself as a musician, called out my name as I practiced my bass scales for the 50th time.

"Billy, " I heard her whisper. "Are you going to have to carry Peg with you (my vintage Ampeg B12N bass amp weighing in at about 65 lbs.) every time you practice with that nice man Neil in his Beverly Hills (the one in Asheville, NC, not the LA Basin) man-cave studio?

Mela Kani was 100% correct, sir. Peg has a big round bottom, er, end. And she likes to throw her weight around when she "gets down" low and dirty. But am I man enough to pull her weight AND mine every time I want to rehearse with Neil?

Of course, I've heard it all before but, how many times do you have to hear the truth before you believe it.

The Kala Baby Bass was right. Time for lifting the weight from my back and move into a light and more-portable future.

I jumped into Big Red (my trusty rag-top Jeep) and headed down the pike to Asheville's own Music Center store where I picked up a lighter and younger version of my Big Mama Peg, the Fliptop. Amp.

While no lightweight in tone or handy features, my new Fender Rumble 15 bass practice amp packs a heavyweight punch with its quality constructions and cool features - and all weighing in at only 19 lbs.

So far, I practiced for three hours with Neil sawing on his tenor uke, and the Rumble 15 carried its own weight admiringly. My U Bass's throaty tone was reproduced without one crack, misplaced pop, or distorted vibro during our whole session.

The Rumble 15 is the perfect practice mate for my U Bass. Together, they can really put the "thump" on you. As my artist friend, Charlie Schmidt, says, "I like it too much".