LeftyBassist.com

I got another Gold Tone ME Bass lefty fretless. The new one has the updated preamp with separate bass and treble which makes a HUGE difference from the first one which had only the single tone knob. So I sent back the first one to be retrofitted with the new preamp as well and just got it back today. The rubber strings are finicky enough that one of the basses will be down to D. Other changes I made to both were painting over the in between side dots and adding my own on-the-line dots, rounding off the piezo bridgepiece so that the strings won't catch so much and start thinning out, and adding Dunlop Straploks. I really like these uke size basses. They are small and easy to carry, lightweight, really fun to play, and there are no dead spots. The only thing I still need to get used to are the numerous string issues, but I have my Status Graphite basses on the block now.

They look cool. I have a Kala U bass but have fancied one of these too.
I contacted the UK dealer here and they said that any mods I want can be done in the factory. For me this would be a right-hand bridge and nut fitted to a lefty model as I play with strings in reverse order. I have read of other people sayingvthey don’t like the factory strings. Are there any other string options available for this model?

I have one of the Rondo uke basses, and while it's not bad, it's not great, and I kinda wish I had gone for a fretless one of these instead.

Though it is nice to have an actual acoustic sound, it's not loud enough to be played with hardly any other accompaniment. A pair of laptop speakers can drown it out.

Yeah, like any ABG, they aren’t really meant for non-amplified playing (at least when other instruments are involved).

Same here. I bought the cheap Rondo one as well. Fret buzz is horrendous on the A string, and I've tried raising the nut slot and bridge slots (with little paper shims) to no avail. I'll next attempt to fill the nut slots or install a higher nut and see if that helps. If it doesn't, my next move will be to yank the frets completely. I wish they came with a truss rod to adjust the relief.

Those 25" scale Goldtone Micro basses look pretty cool.

I don't have any buzzing problems but the intonation on my uke leaves much to be desired. Hence why I regret not going fretless.

D'Addario makes flatwound steel strings which fit the GT. I tried them and made a post with photos somewhere on this forum. They are substantially narrower than the rubber strings so the nut would have to be replaced. I tune to D a lot and the steel flats tuned much quicker like a normal bass unlike the rubber strings which take about a dozen twists. I also tried D'Addario rubber strings that I believe were for 21" scale uke basses. There was plenty of string to fit my GT but the string seemed to 'thin out' when brought up to tune. So I just use the Aquila strings that are standard with these basses.

Update on mine: I yanked the frets and filled them with a rosewood/wood glue mixture I made. Turned out way better than I expected it would. I also put a shim in the bridge to raise it up (strings are about 6mm at the 12th fret now), and it plays great. Helped with the floppy string tension too.

Penguin, are the flatwound steels a higher tension than the usual rubber strings? For me, the hardest part about playing these things is the tension.

They're definitely higher tension and don't move around as much as the rubber strings so you can play faster. I did worry that the different tension might affect the neck and possibly wear on the piezo bridge more, but I didn't have them on for very long due to the nut issue.