Epiphone Les Paul Ukulele vs. Other Electric Ukulele

Hey there, so I've been reading a lot into the Epiphone Les Paul Ukulele. I think the general consensus on it has been that there are quality issues but given the price ($100) , it a good deal. Now I'm in the market for a electric ukulele and I especially like how the Les Paul is both acoustic and electric...but I'm wondering are there better electric (or electric/acoustic) ukuleles out there? My price range is $150 and under. Any help/suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks

My preference is the Ovation/Applause UAE20 acoustic/electric soprano. The adamas holes allow more gain before feedback when played through amplification. The passive pickup does not require you to have a battery and the onboard volume and tone controls allow you to tailor your sound, without stooping down to the amplifier controls. The Lyracord back makes it very durable and the solid spruce top:

http://www.ovationguitars.com/applause/product/Ukelele_uae20

produces very sweet tone. I replaced the factory strings with Aquila Concert strings on both of mine, as the factory strings were weak and spongie:



I've performed with my stain black one on the South China Sea, with surf mist splashing on it. It's definately a performer's uke. Ric

other than looking really cool, the epiphone les paul uke is a fairly typical acoustic electric. It certainly aint the first of its kind. If you want more electric zing, its better to try a solidbody electric uke, like eleuke or risa

Personally, I think the LP is the best deal out there for an electric uke. 100 bucks shipped in the US from musicians friend. I'm waiting on an Eleuke/Kala solid body that I bought on EBay, but was also thinking about the Epiphone.

From the reviews I've read online it seems like a mistake to think of the LP as an acoustic/electric. It's basically a hollow body electric. Heavy wood on top bottom and sides. The hollow body probably helps the sound when plugged in, especially since it's a piezo pup. I think that Tudorp has already had a few pass through his hands. He can probably speak to what it sounds like when amped or not.

allanr said:

Personally, I think the LP is the best deal out there for an electric uke. 100 bucks shipped in the US from musicians friend. I'm waiting on an Eleuke/Kala solid body that I bought on EBay, but was also thinking about the Epiphone.

From the reviews I've read online it seems like a mistake to think of the LP as an acoustic/electric. It's basically a hollow body electric. Heavy wood on top bottom and sides. The hollow body probably helps the sound when plugged in, especially since it's a piezo pup. I think that Tudorp has already had a few pass through his hands. He can probably speak to what it sounds like when amped or not.

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That is quite a good point.
However, it still is an acoustic-electric in my view (I own one too).
If it was a hollow body electric, then it should do something that a typical acoustic-electric does not.
In this case, it doesn't. Plugged in, it behaves just like an acoustic electric. At higher gain, it does feedback.

However, I do like your point about it being built like a hollow electric. The top is somewhat heavy and the body is slimmer than normal concerts.
I really like that concept, though to live up to that, Epiphone could've installed more sophisticated electronics with active pre-amps, etc. But I guess for the cost, they've already outdone themselves. Very very good value. I'm absolutely happy with mine.

That said, I like its acoustic properties better than the electric properties. While it's not a loud uke, it is a very much alive sound. It has a warm, mellow tone that I find rather pleasing, and it's a nice break from hearing so much treble on ukes.
With D'addario Pro-Arte concert strings on mine, it's an absolute bluesy/jazzy acoustic uke sound. And of course, this sound is replicated when plugged in also.
The electronics are fairly clean connected to my Microcube, which is quite good for a passive piezo.

I'm currently look for a uke with electrics as I need to for gigs so I don't have to capo up my baritone tuned uke to get to c. Anyway I have not found anything for the same price. Originally I looked at a solid body eleuke particularly the tenor jazz but to me it sounds like a guitar when amplified. Then I found eleuke acoustics which have the same electrics as the solid body's but look different due to the sound hole placement they are still fairly cheap 180 euros shipped (sorry I'm not in the usa) the eam-t looks lovely. The Lanikai lu21te is also good