WTB RISA Uku'Ellie Tenor .. and now for something completely different.

rappsy

rappsy

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I like unusual. This looks unusual.

RISA Uke'Ellie-Tenor

ukeellie.jpg

https://www.ukulele.de/shop4/en/risa-ukeellie-tenor


I am interested in getting one if I can get some decent reviews on it. It looks like it would be something I would like. I have a RISA stick and love it.

Has anybody played this or own one and want to re-home it?

I can also trade for it.

Thanks for reading.
 
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cool looking. the Risa ukes are top notch. this has a shadow piezo though. I didn't like that in my Kala.
 
strumsilly said:
cool looking. the Risa ukes are top notch. this has a shadow piezo though. I didn't like that in my Kala.
Click to expand...

Having owned several Risas and several Kalas that used the Shadow nanoflex system, the way the two instruments work are nothing alike.

The sound output on the Risa instruments are amazing - mindblowingly great.

Shadow make good products... but for some reason, the same pickup has never sounded very good on the Kala's for me... sounding a bit muted and lacking in sustain and tone. This is interesting, as the Kala uses the Shadow piezo with the active onboard preamp.. which one would think should improve the tone over the passive, not hinder it.

It may have something to do with the Risa's solid body nature giving better tone/sustain as well as superior engineering and design to maximise the transfer of vibrations onto the pickup.



And in case of confusion, all of Risa's nylon-string electrics use the same Shadow nanoflex piezo (the Uke-Sticks as well as Uke-Ellie).
Shadow piezo's bought on their own are quite expensive, and I consider them very high quality.
 
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kissing said:
Having owned several Risas and several Kalas that used the Shadow nanoflex system, the way the two instruments work are nothing alike.

The sound output on the Risa instruments are amazing - mindblowingly great.

Shadow make good products... but for some reason, the same pickup has never sounded very good on the Kala's for me... sounding a bit muted and lacking in sustain and tone. This is interesting, as the Kala uses the Shadow piezo with the active onboard preamp.. which one would think should improve the tone over the passive, not hinder it.

It may have something to do with the Risa's solid body nature giving better tone/sustain as well as superior engineering and design to maximise the transfer of vibrations onto the pickup.



And in case of confusion, all of Risa's nylon-string electrics use the same Shadow nanoflex piezo (the Uke-Sticks as well as Uke-Ellie).
Shadow piezo's bought on their own are quite expensive, and I consider them very high quality.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the explanation. I am very happy with the Stick and figured I would be with this one as well.

Rigk told me that the volume is the same on the Stick and the Ellie when not used electric. I thought that since it had a hole, there would at least be a little more volume acoustically, which is what I was hoping for. Did you find this to be the case?

Thanks in advance.
 
rappsy said:
Thanks for the explanation. I am very happy with the Stick and figured I would be with this one as well.

Rigk told me that the volume is the same on the Stick and the Ellie when not used electric. I thought that since it had a hole, there would at least be a little more volume acoustically, which is what I was hoping for. Did you find this to be the case?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...


The hole in the Uke-Ellie does nothing to produce acoustic sound.
It is a plank of solid wood, just like the Uke-Stick is. The hole is there for looks, more than function (reduce weight?)

The difference is that the Uke-Ellie is structured more similarly to a regular ukulele, with a conventional headstock, saddle and bridge.
But in heart and soul, it is the same instrument that will sound pretty much the same as each other.

Years ago, the Risa Sticks and Uke-Ellie both only came with friction tuners.
Risa have upgraded the Sticks so that they come with geared tuners, which makes tuning a whole lot easier.

As far as I know, the Uke-Ellie models still come with friction tuners only.
I'm not a fan of friction tuners..
 
kissing said:
The hole in the Uke-Ellie does nothing to produce acoustic sound.
It is a plank of solid wood, just like the Uke-Stick is. The hole is there for looks, more than function (reduce weight?)

The difference is that the Uke-Ellie is structured more similarly to a regular ukulele, with a conventional headstock, saddle and bridge.
But in heart and soul, it is the same instrument that will sound pretty much the same as each other.

Years ago, the Risa Sticks and Uke-Ellie both only came with friction tuners.
Risa have upgraded the Sticks so that they come with geared tuners, which makes tuning a whole lot easier.

As far as I know, the Uke-Ellie models still come with friction tuners only.
I'm not a fan of friction tuners..
Click to expand...

uke1950 said:
That's what put me off the Uke Elle - friction tuners - at that price! :eek:
Click to expand...

Thanks again.

Friction tuners are not a problem for me, so I'll see if I get anyone willing to sell me one of these Ukes.
 
I got an email from Risa. If you buy a new uke direct from them at https://www.ukulele.de/shop4/en/en-RISA and have it shipped to the US, you get the 19% VAT removed. It won't show up that way in your cart till you setup an account. That's new high quality Risa stuff at used prices.
:)

I may end up just buying that new LP model afterall
 
John Sargent said:
I got an email from Risa. If you buy a new uke direct from them at https://www.ukulele.de/shop4/en/en-RISA and have it shipped to the US, you get the 19% VAT removed. It won't show up that way in your cart till you setup an account. That's new high quality Risa stuff at used prices.
:)

I may end up just buying that new LP model afterall
Click to expand...

That's a great way to stimulate direct sales. I'll see if I get any offers here before deciding.

Thanks for passing on the info.
 
I have an Uke'Ellie soprano bought directly from Germany that RISA's luthier upgraded for me to geared tuners at an added charge. Sounds like the Stick but more comfortable/familiar for me to play. No added volume over the Stick non-amplified. The VAT is not required to be charged on exports out of the EU. I was not charged any customs duty on the shipment into the US.
 
I have bought all my Risas from ukulele.de
Great service, international shipping rates are not too bad.
 
I bought a Stick from the same ukulele.de website. Shipping was reasonably priced to Arizona and was fairly quick (I think 10-14 days). I think another member was going to buy one of these (I forget who) - but the Uke'Ellie looks easier to hold due to it having a normal headstock. I'd be interested to hear what others have to say. I loved the stick/solid for what it did; I just didn't care for the headless design. A wonderful travel instrument.
 
igorthebarbarian said:
I bought a Stick from the same ukulele.de website. Shipping was reasonably priced to Arizona and was fairly quick (I think 10-14 days). I think another member was going to buy one of these (I forget who) - but the Uke'Ellie looks easier to hold due to it having a normal headstock. I'd be interested to hear what others have to say. I loved the stick/solid for what it did; I just didn't care for the headless design. A wonderful travel instrument.
Click to expand...

I like the headless design for travel as it fits in the long side of my suitcase. My wife sewed a pocket onto the thin canvas case so I can carry a few small things right in/on the case. For what it does, it's great. The Ellie, on the other hand, is just so unusual looking that it fits in with my personality. I just wish it had even a small amount of sound, but it still should be enough for quiet places as it it supposed to be just like the Stick. The Stick for me is a keeper. Maybe I can find an inexpensive Ellie... If I can't, I'll consider new....
 
uke1950 said:
That's what put me off the Uke Elle - friction tuners - at that price! :eek:
Click to expand...

KoAloha's sopranos, longnecks, and concerts all come with friction tuners, too. There is nothing wrong with friction tuners if they are of good quality. Now, if I bought a sub-200 instrument, I'd not want friction tuners either, but I suspect RISA use decent quality tuners and not junk.
 
Mivo said:
KoAloha's sopranos, longnecks, and concerts all come with friction tuners, too. There is nothing wrong with friction tuners if they are of good quality. Now, if I bought a sub-200 instrument, I'd not want friction tuners either, but I suspect RISA use decent quality tuners and not junk.
Click to expand...

My feeling exactly. I won't let the tuners get in the way if I like a Uke. Most can be replaced if we really want to and in the long run, they're not that expensive, but I have never replaced them and would have to have a real good reason to do so... but I never say never...
 
I saw a used Uku'Ellie at a local guitar shop in Seattle Yesterday and remembered this thread. Let me know if you are still looking for one.
 
Yes please. Please PM me the details of price, tenor scale, etc and I can follow up. I appreciate your letting me know about it.

Thanks so much.
 
I took a closer look today and it looks like it is actually a soprano - they want $320 with tax.

Sounds like it is the wrong size for you, but if you still have interest I am happy to help out.
 
Much appreciated. I wonder if this is the one on Reverb. You are right. It's too small, but thanks so much for thinking of me and this thread.



Liquidayno said:
I took a closer look today and it looks like it is actually a soprano - they want $320 with tax.

Sounds like it is the wrong size for you, but if you still have interest I am happy to help out.
Click to expand...
 
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