I would love to be able to practice on long car trips, etc. but don't want to bother others. Is there a uke out there that can be used with earphones so that only I could hear it? Would welcome any suggestions that you knowledgeable people have! I'm trying to rein in my UAS, but this is one that I might consider...
Get a solid body...I think Pono and Kala make them and Eleuke. They won't be completely silent, but, very low volume. I'm sure other people will have more ideas and maybe even something they would sell!
Thank you for your suggestions! One more question: If I wear headphones, do I hear how it would sound normally? I'm assuming a don't need any other electronic equipment, like an amplifier. I'm not familiar with electric ukes at all. Appreciate your help!
Seriously though, there are no silent ukuleles. Even when my other uke is respectfully listening to me play his brother uke, if I get close to the other uke's sound hole I hear him humming along.
Thank you for your suggestions! One more question: If I wear headphones, do I hear how it would sound normally? I'm assuming a don't need any other electronic equipment, like an amplifier. I'm not familiar with electric ukes at all. Appreciate your help!
As others have mentioned, this is a case for using a solid-body electric uke. Some of them have an earphone jack and a built-in, battery-powered amplifier, so all you have to do is plug in your earbuds and you're good to go. The current Eleukes, I believe, all come with this. (I had an early Eleuke that didn't, but I don't think they make that kind anymore.) Others don't have that built-in amplifier, so you have to buy a couple of extra pieces: a small portable amplifier that you can plug your earbuds/headphones into, and a short instrument cable for connecting your uke to the amp. I currently use a Risa Stick concert uke that doesn't have the built-in amp. Instead of using headphones, I just play it acoustically (all of these solid ukes will make a little noise that you can hear in a quiet setting) and use it to practice my fretting-hand fingering, strumming patterns, etc. while the family watches TV. I can hear just enough to know if my practicing is going well. But if you're practicing in the car, you probably will want to use headphones to overcome the road noise. So you just need to find out if the uke you're considering buying has the built-in amp or not.
As for the sound, none of these ukes will sound like a regular acoustic uke. It's a different sound, but one that's very "adjustable" if you're running it through a full-sized amp. If will give you other options in your sound palette, if you're looking for that.
Lastly, I believe I heard about an option for using your smart phone as a headphone amplifier, but I have no knowledge of that product. Maybe someone else will chime in on that. Good luck.
I have a Sojing Concert electric uke. It has a headphone jack which sounds very good. It uses a 9v battery to power the electronics and the battery seems to last forever. It's not silent but for nighttime practice I find it more than sufficiently quiet. I would have preferred an Eleuke Peanut but they are only available in soprano size.
You could try a Teton uke... I have one and it works with headphones. I got mine from Mim's Ukes. Don't leave the headphones plugged in when your not playing... it will drain the battery. There is no power switch, so the power is activated when you plug in. It will not be completely silent, since it has real strings and a solid body, there will always be some sound. I haven't tried a RISA, but the body-less design should make it quieter than one with a body. The only really silent uke I know of is a uke without real strings, like on an iPad app. That would not give you much real technique practice (and it really doesn't sound like a real uke), but you could make music that only you can hear with headphones. You could use it to figure out chords, or write songs.
In fact I have two, one a concert and one a tenor. I will part with my concert for a reasonable price. I will always have one Teton for quiet practice. I love the neck, fast and smooth. I had a Risa but preferred the Teton.
I have the Pono solid baritone and while it's a fantastic instrument, it's far from quiet. I've heard people say that they are "silent," but in my experience it has a thinner, more focused sound that almost makes it seem louder than other ukes.
Lori is right in post #11: the Risa sticks, when unplugged, are as quiet as I've ever owned because they have no body. True. (Note: Neal has it plugged and amplified in the video). I would use my Risa in a car (but no experience with headphones).
As Brad says in post #16--and I own them and agree with him--the Pono and Koolau chambered ukes are not too quiet. Certainly not as quiet as Risa.
I have no experience with the other brands.
Might putting foam in the soundhole and /or simply under the strings by the bridge of a small uke quiet it? I do not know.
Note: SteveZ has a red Konablaster in the Uu Marketplace for a superb price. Don't know if it takes nylon strings as an option (I'd guess it does) when nonamplified, and that may be just your ticket.
I have a Sojing Concert electric uke. It has a headphone jack which sounds very good. It uses a 9v battery to power the electronics and the battery seems to last forever. It's not silent but for nighttime practice I find it more than sufficiently quiet. I would have preferred an Eleuke Peanut but they are only available in soprano size.
@ UkerBabe - the Sojing models will likely be less expensive than anything else available, but if your electronics work ok out of the box, and you are ok with the somewhat 'plasticky' and dry sound (like all solid-body ukes), this might be an option for you, otherwise if you like to tinker as I do, and do not mind spending a bit more on 'upgrades' as detailed in my thread above, which will give you MORE control over the sound in your headphones than any other option that I have seen available, while also costing significantly less for this privilege than an Eleuke or Teton without the need to spend as much for a RISA stick, Godin Multi-Uke, Pono or Ko'olau solid-body model.
Also, This link below starts you at my post, which is #7 in the thread: (but make sure you also read further down the thread, as I reveal more details in subsequent posts to that thread), where I have some more photos as well...
This modified/hacked Sojing setup works great as a 'silent' practice uke, and also sounds great into an amp with NO FEEDBACK and IIRC, they have them for sale in soprano, concert and tenor scales, with the tenor being priced @ ~ $165 shipped from the NJ seller on Amazon/eBay as per my posts above.
