NUD - RISA Solid Concert

SteveZ

SteveZ

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Have been spending this afternoon having a ball with a new RISA Solid Concert. Used to have the soprano version and traded it a while back - silly mistake!

RISA Solids ("Sticks") are special, and take some getting used to. There is no headstock. The sound (unless amped) is muted. The size makes holding it a bit trickier than other stringed instruments. However, now that I have another one, this one is not getting away for any reason. At 19.5"x3.5"x1.5" it's the perfect traveller - will fit any suitcase or carryon with ease. Also, being a solid, there's no worry about a body getting crushed.

Being somewhat unconventional, have retuned the RISA to C4-G3-D4-A4, "reentrant C" CGDA to match with the rest of the stable. The intonation is spot on. the "zero fret" needs no adjustment and action height couldn't be better.

The hardest part of the purchase was waiting for delivery. The seller did everything right (insured priority mail, signature confirmation), but USPS misdirected to another locale (despite a clean and perfect address label). That added six additional transit days.

Well, back to the new stablemate.

image.jpg
 
Congratulations, these things are so cool!
 
aquadan said:
Your ex-soprano is still happily getting played here!
Click to expand...

Glad to know that. They are fabulous instruments. Have you found a particular portable amp you like with it? I have a Joyo plug-in that I was using with my Effin. Just ordered a "Smokey Amp" to try with the RISA. Would like to have one that fits in the RISA gig bag.
 
Congrats Steve. I just picked up a RISA Tenor Stick and am really happy with it as well. Fits almost invisibly in the suitcase. What strings are on yours? I haven't changed mine which are some sort of flouro.

As far as amps, I am playing with a Blackstar Fly3. It is small, has 3 watts which is plenty, and doubles as an MP3 type speaker which I always bring with anyway, so I now I have one speaker for two jobs. I wish it had bluetooth but they have devices that will make them BT compatible, so I will be checking into that. The color of mine is black, but they do have decorator colors. It won't fit in the gig bag, but it will fit nicely in the suitcase. If you find one that you like, please let me know. I have another week or so before I must return it.

Use it well.
 
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Congratulations. They're great! Definitely one of the best if you travel a lot/ stay in hotels/ have easily-annoyed neighbors with thin walls who don't "appreciate" the late nite uke'ing. Quality instrument. I got rid of mine awhile ago and wish I'd had kept it.
 
Congrats! I love the look of Risa sticks. I'm hoping I get to fondle one at some point so I can see if we're compatible.


That added six additional transit days.

Yikes!! That's like a month in ukulele time. :)
 
Rise concert stick was my very first uke. Probably sold it too soon.

@photoshooter - another one just popped up on the market place. I think it has your name on it. :shaka:
 
rappsy said:
Congrats Steve. I just picked up a RISA Tenor Stick and am really happy with it as well. Fits almost invisibly in the suitcase. What strings are on yours? I haven't changed mine which are some sort of flouro.

As far as amps, I am playing with a Blackstar Fly3. It is small, has 3 watts which is plenty, and doubles as an MP3 type speaker which I always bring with anyway, so I now I have one speaker for two jobs. I wish it had bluetooth but they have devices that will make them BT compatible, so I will be checking into that. The color of mine is black, but they do have decorator colors. It won't fit in the gig bag, but it will fit nicely in the suitcase. If you find one that you like, please let me know. I have another week or so before I must return it.

Use it well.
Click to expand...

Did not change all the strings out. I replaced the high-G with a wound low-G, switched the C and G, detuned the E to D and left the A alone. That gets me the CGDA pattern with reentrant C. I'll keep a set of Aquila 31U strings in the gig bag as just-in-case since the RISA is planned mainly as a traveller.
 
I almost never plug it in, it's my office uke/travel uke, so I'm usually happy that it's so quiet.
 
Jim Hanks said:
Rise concert stick was my very first uke. Probably sold it too soon.

@photoshooter - another one just popped up on the market place. I think it has your name on it. :shaka:
Click to expand...

It's funny, last night I went from this thread right to that one. I wondered if it was fate... (my wife is certain it is NOT).
If it was a tenor scale it would have interested me a little more. My concern with the stick is that it's such a unique form factor I'd really love to handle one at some point to see if I like it. I haven't run across one yet.
 
Oh damn! - I thought I was over wanting one of these....................

Checked out some Youtube videos of them & they just sound so good - & what with people regretting getting rid of theirs - plus they're back in stock at a well known supplier here in the U.K. - I just had to put in an order for a concert stick before they all go.

(Reckon I'll be on bread & water for the next month....... :) )
 
Congrats Steve.

One day I will have a tenor version of the RISA stick uke, actually I need 2 of them, one for re-entrant GCEA, and another for CGDA fifths tuning.

Just need to sell enough blood to come up with the ~$800 to accomplish this task.

I have those Aquila 31U CGDA string sets on one of my tenor Fleas and they work really well.
 
uke1950 said:
Oh damn! - I thought I was over wanting one of these....................

Checked out some Youtube videos of them & they just sound so good - & what with people regretting getting rid of theirs - plus they're back in stock at a well known supplier here in the U.K. - I just had to put in an order for a concert stick before they all go.

(Reckon I'll be on bread & water for the next month....... :) )
Click to expand...


Good for you!
And if it helps you can limit the bread to every other day...
:)
 
I've had one of these on my wants list for a while now. Hopefully sometime in the next couple of months I'll be able to indulge my UAS again. Good to see another positive review :) How is restringing? Also, what amp are you using with it?
 
jollyboy said:
I've had one of these on my wants list for a while now. Hopefully sometime in the next couple of months I'll be able to indulge my UAS again. Good to see another positive review :) How is restringing? Also, what amp are you using with it?
Click to expand...

Restringing is quite simple. Until the "Smokey Amp" shows up I'm using a Joyo Plug-in mini-amp. The Joyo fits comfortably inside the gig bag, keeping the physical profile small.
 
I didn't like the way my hand would fall off the neck when playing around by the nut. I guess it's another case of practice practice etc.
 
uke1950 said:
Just unpacked mine & gave it a trial. :D

(Going to take me a little time to adjust to how small it is compared to a standard sized concert.) :cool:
Click to expand...

There are times I feel it's easier to wear the strap with it. That seems to allow more left-hand freedom.
 
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