LeftyBassist.com

Just saw this on Rondo Music's site. Not technically a lefty, but a relatively simple conversion ( think). I don't see the bridge saddle angled in any way so with a new lefty nut added, drilled bridge holes, maybe have to flip the saddles (can't tell if they're grooved or not), and your willingness to have electronics on underside of bass, it might be a decent deal for $149.95 ($300 less than a U bass):

http://www.rondomusic.com/ukb22.html

Edit: Rondo has several models to choose from. The cheapest is a mahogany body @ $129.95. Scroll down page to see other finishes/options:

http://www.rondomusic.com/bassguitars4.html

I also e-mailed Kurt to see how strings are mounted/secured inside bass, as I don't know if that might present a challenge for a lefty conversion or not. I'm guessing they're just knotted right under the bridge, so if you had to drill smaller holes larger the pre-existing later holes might be too large for your thinner strings and you might have to double/triple knot those strings to get them to hold. (Or you could create some smaller holed wood strip to hold them in place). Will post his response when I get it.

The strings look like Ramen. Yum!

I bet that would be a fun campfire toy. It seems like it would fill out the sound of a regular Uke or stand on it's own pretty well.

I have placed only one order with Rondo Music, but all I can say is A+ customer service. I also dealt with Kurt for that order. Does he run the whole show?

Those look nice.

I've been jonesing for a GoldTone 25" scale Microbass. They come in a lefty model.

Well false alarm folks, and I apologize if I got anybody's spirits up. Just heard back from Kurt:

Hi peter,
Thank you for your message. I spoke to our technician and he indicated that it would not be a simple conversion. The saddle tilt (angle) would be wrong and the intonation would be off. The saddles are glued so it would require a new bridge and saddles. Also any modification to an instrument voids the warranty and make the item non-returnable.
WArm regards

Yeah, couldn't tell from the pix if the saddle was angled or not (It's barely evident at all in the pix), as I've already done a lefty conversion of a straight saddled Ashbory bass and a uke with success/acceptable intonation. Oh well. At that price, it might be worth it anyway, as the intonation might not end up being terribly egregious. (Who plays up passed the 12th fret on one of these anyway unless you've got pencil-tipped fingers. ). I might take the plunge anyway and see what happens.

Yeah, I've had my eye on those as well, Andrew, and I suspect they sound/play better than the Kala U Bass. But something about the smaller size of the Kala appeals to me more. I guess I like the portability aspect better.

Forgive the thread revival here. I've been curious about the Goldtone M-Bass and did a search, which lead me to this thread. Curious about the Hadean, I checked Rondo knowing that they're very lefty friendly. It looks like they do now offer the Hadean for lefties, although sold out at the moment.

http://www.rondomusic.com/ukb22nmlh.html

I subscribe to the Rondo email/newsletter, and have been seeing lefty Hadeans come up off-and-on over the past four months or so. I already own a Kala, otherwise I would have picked one up... I like the fact that they have the EQ and built in tuner, which Kala does not have.