"Niche" (Electric, sopranino) Ukuleles

I'm sure niche isn't the right word to use, but it's the best I could think of!

I'm specifically interested in what some good electric ukuleles (not acoustic/electric) and sopraninos are.

For electric, so far I've come across the Les Paul, Risa and Voson (but Risa is definitely out of my price range).

For sopraninos, I've been eyeing the Caramel (cause of the price) and Ohana sopraninos but also know of the John Daniels, iUke, and Kala Pocket Uke.

I'm just hoping for some feedback on which brands and types are good.

And if people want to discuss other types of "niche" ukuleles like long neck sopranos, that's cool too!

Thanks!

I have a Vox Ukelectric and I love it. http://www.voxamps.com/ukelectric I can play it on the couch next to my family and I get no complaints. Or I can flip the switch and get a nice amplified sound. I never thought I'd play it as much as I do. I love acoustic ukuleles and if I lived alone, I'd never pick up a solid-body ukulele. But this Vox has helped me play at home without the looks. I never mention it when someone asks what kinds of ukuleles I have, but I probably play it 75% of the time.

The only other Niche ukulele I have is a Kala Travel Soprano. If I'm travelin', I bring the super slim, arched back, spruce top, case fits like a glove Kala Travel Soprano. It's about as good as it gets for taking on the road.

I picked up a Koaloha Noah from this board's marketplace a couple months ago. The Noah is smaller than a soprano and bigger than a sopranino. I got it 'cause it felt niche.

Overall, I highly recommend it. Know that smaller instruments require better technique. Physics is kind of mean like that. For example on the Noah, I had to re-learn to press straight down on the strings on the fretboard. Turns out I was bending strings just a tad. Like "this much" tiny. On my soprano and concert, it didn't change the pitch. On the Noah, it did.

If you're thinkin' Niche for travel reasons, I don't know that you need to worry too much. My full size soprano and crossrock 800 case fit great pretty much everywhere. It's my go-to when I fly because I know it fits under the seat in front of me. (Even better than my laptop bag.)

I have a Caramel sopranino, which for the price is surprisingly good, but given how cheap it is, it's not surprising that actually it's not great - in particular the frets are not finished well so are rough all along the edge of the fretboard, and it's not loud at all (which might be a good thing depending on what you want one for). Intonation and setup are quite ok though, so it's quite fun to play.

If I were looking for a sopranino now, I'd be looking at one from DJ Morgan: http://djmorganukuleles.co.uk/portfolio/mini-pineapple-ukulele/

I like the idea of a solid-bodied uke, but I haven't yet seen one I like the look of enough to buy one. If Fluke did a soprano I'd probably be tempted though: http://www.magicfluke.com/Fluke-SB-Electric-Ukulele-p/fluke-sb.htm

The two I have that fit closest to the theme here are the RISA stick and the Effin UkeStart.

The RISA stick (have the concert scale model) is the more versatile. It's quiet when unplugged, allowing for play without disturbing others. It can handle anything when amped. It can go anywhere, as the instrument in its gig bag (including mini amp and cable) barely takes any room in the suitcase.

The Effin UkeStart (Butler Music is main seller) is a solid-body electric which also plays quietly when unplugged. I got it as an inexpensive experiment which, after a little work, has become a keeper. It's a rocker, by image as well as sound, and an attention-getter by appearance.

Thanks for the feedback! I've really been thinking of getting a Caramel for the price, but maybe I'll wait until I can afford something nicer.

jimavery said:

I have a Caramel sopranino, which for the price is surprisingly good, but given how cheap it is, it's not surprising that actually it's not great - in particular the frets are not finished well so are rough all along the edge of the fretboard, and it's not loud at all (which might be a good thing depending on what you want one for). Intonation and setup are quite ok though, so it's quite fun to play.

If I were looking for a sopranino now, I'd be looking at one from DJ Morgan: http://djmorganukuleles.co.uk/portfolio/mini-pineapple-ukulele/

I like the idea of a solid-bodied uke, but I haven't yet seen one I like the look of enough to buy one. If Fluke did a soprano I'd probably be tempted though: http://www.magicfluke.com/Fluke-SB-Electric-Ukulele-p/fluke-sb.htm

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I've owned quite a few sopraninos in the past few years...the Kala pocket uke, Ohana sopranino, John Daniel Pixie, Koaloha Noah, Black Bear, a custom Dave Talsma pineapple, and a cheap eBay Bruce Wei.

They're a lot of fun especially when you start playing around with alternate tunings. But I've found that sopraninos vary in size and scale length more so than sopranos/concerts/tenors. From smallest to largest (if I remember correctly since I've sold a couple early on and then later acquired different ones) goes: Bruce Wei, Kala, Dave Talsma, John Daniel, Ohana, Black Bear, Koaloha.

I felt that the Kala was overbuilt and subsequently sounded very muted. The Ohana was very easy to play and sounded much better than the Kala but I wasn't happy with the finish...they were only minor imperfections and didn't affect the tone or playability but I just prefer something more polished. The John Daniel Pixie is handmade and while it looks and plays great, it just wasn't a good fit for me...the body depth felt thinner than the other sopraninos and was hard for me to hold. Also, I didn't care much for the tuners on the Pixie but that would've been an easy swap if I had kept it.

To me, the best sounding is the Koaloha. It really is a sound canon and is loud despite being a sopranino. The Black Bear and the Talsma are both very well made, perfect fit/finish, and sound amazing as well.

If you wanted to save up money and get a great sopranino, I'd recommend Koaloha, Black Bear, or Dave Talsma. If you were on a budget I'd recommend the Ohana. There's other brands I haven't tried but this is just my take on the ones I've owned.

idxxoutoftheblue said:

..... want to discuss other types of "niche" ukuleles like long neck sopranos, that's cool too!

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I've bought quite a few ukes this last year trying to find the right one(s) for me, & in amongst my collection, I have a RISA Solid concert & a RISA Uke Ellie tenor electric, which are certainly 'niche' ukes to my mind, they are good for quiet practice & loud playing amped up.

But, my interest seems to lie with 'long necks', I bought a Kala KA-SLNG (concert scale laminate mahogany soprano) eleven months ago, & it has been my go to uke, I always seem to pick this one up when I'm trying to learn something.

I then decided to get myself a solid wood mahogany uke, & went & bought an Ohana SK30L (tenor scale soprano), & then I found out they did a CK35L (tenor scale concert) as well, so they both joined my collection.

I have two Clearwater solid body electric ukes. They sell for under 100 pounds in the UK. One with nylon strings, one with steel strings. Both sound great thru a Roland Cube 30x guitar amp. Nice for quiet practice unplugged. Mine have decent action and even sound from the strings. Made in China and might be the same as the Vorsan. Good fun.

Here's one they are selling now. http://www.rumc-ltd.com/ukuleles/b-...ster-guitar-shape-in-black-by-clearwater.html

I have the Kala Pocket in acacia, the Ohana SK-21 in mahagony, and the Ohana O’Nino also in mahagony.

The Kala has the best finish, but the Ohanas play way better in matters of response and sound. They feel very alive. The O’Nino is better finished than the SK-21, which also was reflected in the prices.

My favourite is the O’Nino, which I tune in E with a high B natural. I like it well enough to have ordered its same size, different wood, fellow O’Nina, where I will experiment with reshuffling the strings for a G tuning with low D & E. That is: the D, G, and B strings are an octave above the equivalent guitar strings, whereas the E string is the same as the top E on the guitar. The outer strings will be swapped with their inner string neighbours. I hope the sound level will be sufficiently even between the strings.

Klaus

Btw. I also have the Epiphone Les Paul, which is in concert size.

The sound is warm, but it has one very bad flaw: the 1st fret is too long, so that the open strings are too flat compared to the fretted ones.

I have made it useful by an alternative tuning. Low G and the E and A strings tuned up a semitone to F and Bb. That way i can use it as kind of a high bass tuned in all fourths. Practical for me, as I learned scale playing on a bass guitar, not on uke or on guitar, so the third between the inner strings prevents me from playing melodies intuitively.

As I don’t use open strings on the bass, that helps me avoiding open strings on the Les Paul.

The low price in a webstore kind of hinted, what I had to expect from the Les Paul uke, but I also have the Epiphone Les Paul guitar in the Black Beauty version and that instrument is better in all aspects to a degree that betrays the shared name.

Klaus

I have bought two Rubin/Caramel Sopraninios, a Butterfly one I gave my granddaughter, and a Zebrawood one I keep as part of my collection. Neither were excessively loud but both were chimy after setting them up. I found them too small to play easily, but I'm more Tenor or Baritone oriented. They were well woththe $25-30 I paid for them even after considering the set up charges my local shop charged me ~$15.

Fremont blackline (hards) they make for Sopranos make the stings not so floppy on the small ones and sound real nice on the little ones.

Here is a review I did on the RP-100. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-kcglTWklk

You got to get the ohana sk21. So worth it. Let me take delicious pics soon

I've been more into pretty traditional ukes over the years. I've had a few reso ukes and banjoleles.

The one electric uke I had was an Applause soprano that was styled on the Ovation roundback guitars.

I never got on with the rounded back on that one, but it was fun running it through a bunch of guitar effects pedals into a big amp.

Also, that was one uke that even unplugged never impressed me much sound-wise until I tuned it up to ADF#B. That really made it sing compared to GCEA.

I don't think that uke is in production anymore.

Best electric Uke EVER- Risa Kidney bean. I love this thing. I don't know why they stopped making them...

Same tune on a Bohemian Oilcan. Took me a few hours to set up, but it was worth it. Not sure what they cost (it was a gift), but it is fun to play for sure.

TCK, you just did the evil thing to me by telling about the Bohemian Oil uke. I will have to get one.

But first I will have to feign some sanity by asking these questions:

To me your sound reveals the use of one or more pedals. Is the clean sound the one we hear right after the attack?

I can’t really tell the size of the scale. To me 17 frets would point towards at least concert?

Which strings are used? I would assume ball-end guitar strings. I have just about all unwound Addario strings from .008 and up.

Which set-up details did you carry out?

If there is a truss rod, I have some wrenches for adjusting it. I also can adjust individual saddles for the best compensation. I have nut files, but lowering the strings at that end is somewhat risky.

I am in DK and prefer buying from within the EU. Found this one in the UK:

http://www.jhs.co.uk/brands/bohemian/bohemian-oil-can-ukulele-moonshine

Is that the same one as yours?

Klaus

Here 4 links for pages about the Bohemian Oil ukuleles. Oddly enough I couldn’t find a homepage for the maker. This is not shilling for a brand, but pre-research for a possible buy:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemian_Guitars

http://www.cultofmac.com/420415/bohemian-electric-uke-review/

http://www.ukulelemag.com/stories/news/bohemian-guitars-introduces-line-of-ukes

http://ukulelego.com/articles/a-different-kind-of-ukulele/

Videos from a French maker of alternative oilcan ukes:

http://ukubidon.weebly.com/videacuteos.html

Klaus

Let me try and answer all these...best I can. I got the uke as a birthday present, so I have no idea what strings are on it. Going to assume D'addario- and yes, ball end. No pedals at all...tiny modeling amp, 10 watt. At no point did I play this clean. I have designs on getting some pedals because that would be cool, but for now I just play straight through the amp. It is indeed concert scale, and I had to adjust every string. The Uke came with adjustable saddles, but I had no idea what to do with them...so it took me a while, the nut was easy and now that I know how the saddles work, that was easy too. No truss rod. And yep- the uke you posted is the same.

imperialbari said:

TCK, you just did the evil thing to me by telling about the Bohemian Oil uke. I will have to get one.

But first I will have to feign some sanity by asking these questions:

To me your sound reveals the use of one or more pedals. Is the clean sound the one we hear right after the attack?

I can’t really tell the size of the scale. To me 17 frets would point towards at least concert?

Which strings are used? I would assume ball-end guitar strings. I have just about all unwound Addario strings from .008 and up.

Which set-up details did you carry out?

If there is a truss rod, I have some wrenches for adjusting it. I also can adjust individual saddles for the best compensation. I have nut files, but lowering the strings at that end is somewhat risky.

I am in DK and prefer buying from within the EU. Found this one in the UK:

http://www.jhs.co.uk/brands/bohemian/bohemian-oil-can-ukulele-moonshine

Is that the same one as yours?

Klaus

Click to expand...

They are definitely Chinese in origin, but once they are sorted seem solid and are ton of fun to play

imperialbari said:

Here 4 links for pages about the Bohemian Oil ukuleles. Oddly enough I couldn’t find a homepage for the maker. This is not shilling for a brand, but pre-research for a possible buy:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemian_Guitars

http://www.cultofmac.com/420415/bohemian-electric-uke-review/

http://www.ukulelemag.com/stories/news/bohemian-guitars-introduces-line-of-ukes

http://ukulelego.com/articles/a-different-kind-of-ukulele/

Videos from a French maker of alternative oilcan ukes:

http://ukubidon.weebly.com/videacuteos.html

Klaus

Click to expand...