Risa soprano stick question

whistleman123

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 25, 2015
Messages
229
Reaction score
0
Location
Cleveland, ohio
I just bought a used soprano Risa stick uke. My first electric. I put a set of low G Reds on it. The g, c, and a strings are loud and clear. But the e string sounds dead.

Do I have a dud string? Should I try different strings? Or might something else be the problem.

I love the size and design of this uke, but I want all the strings to sound the same.
 
Sounds strange, is the E tuned to the right octave?

I have a 'Red' low G on my concert scale RISA stick/solid & it sounds out OK. :)

P.S. These ukes usually come fitted with fluorocarbon strings nowadays.
 
Last edited:
Sounds strange, is the E tuned to the right octave?

I have a 'Red' low G on my concert scale RISA stick/solid & it sounds out OK. :)

P.S. These ukes usually come fitted with fluorocarbon strings nowadays.


Yes, it's tuned to the correct octave. This is strange!
 
It sounds more like there is uneven contact between the rod piezo pickup and the bottom of the saddle.

Being that it was used, you do not know if it was manipulated by the previous owner, however it is easy to see what is going on.

If you slacken the strings enough, you will be able to remove the saddle (white plastic-looking thing that the strings ride over before the turnaround at the butt-end, after which the strings go to the tuners...

Once you remove the saddle you can inspect it to see if the bottom is perfectly smooth and even.

Then continue on, and use a toothpick or something similar and you should be able to gently pry up and out the rod piezo, but be very careful not to bend it much at all at the end where the cable goes into the bottom of the saddle-slot in the bridge, for this is easy to break if you pull it out incorrectly, the best way is to actually pry it up from the end that has the tiny cable, but you need to fiddle with it to see...

Then inspect the rod piezo element, make sure that the top is even, or if it has 4 'bumps' on it, that they are all the same height (digital calipers can help)...

After checking the above, both SADDLE and ROD PIEZO, if you can report back what you find, BEFORE re-assembly, further advice can be given...

Please write back with the details, and also closeup photos can help if you see anything odd.
 
It sounds more like there is uneven contact between the rod piezo pickup and the bottom of the saddle.

Being that it was used, you do not know if it was manipulated by the previous owner, however it is easy to see what is going on.

If you slacken the strings enough, you will be able to remove the saddle (white plastic-looking thing that the strings ride over before the turnaround at the butt-end, after which the strings go to the tuners...

Once you remove the saddle you can inspect it to see if the bottom is perfectly smooth and even.

Then continue on, and use a toothpick or something similar and you should be able to gently pry up and out the rod piezo, but be very careful not to bend it much at all at the end where the cable goes into the bottom of the saddle-slot in the bridge, for this is easy to break if you pull it out incorrectly, the best way is to actually pry it up from the end that has the tiny cable, but you need to fiddle with it to see...

Then inspect the rod piezo element, make sure that the top is even, or if it has 4 'bumps' on it, that they are all the same height (digital calipers can help)...

After checking the above, both SADDLE and ROD PIEZO, if you can report back what you find, BEFORE re-assembly, further advice can be given...

Please write back with the details, and also closeup photos can help if you see anything odd.

Thanks Booli, I probably won't be able to get too it till early next week. Lots going on right now. Life sometimes gets in the way of ukeing!
 
Sometimes, after a string change, it just takes some time for things to settle back in and balance improves. That is especially true if you changed all strings at once. Anytime you have an under-saddle pickup, it's best to change only one string at a time and keep tension on the saddle and pickup.

Also, unless something has changed, that pickup doesn't sit in a standard wooden saddle slot. It sits in a plastic piece with a built in slot made for the pickup and saddle to sit on/in and all that goes in a metal piece. There is no wood there, so no adjusting to the slot is possible. I think the saddle might not have a solid bottom to it either, but rather some slots. I can't remember for sure. It's a Shadow system. Fit (whether it's too tight or too loose) can come into play too.
 
Last edited:
Good luck with the low G red on a Risa stick. Ive had no luck with mine although it loves reentrant reds.

My soprano is what I believe to be a 2nd gen, it has geared tuners and a saddle that is slightly curved not angled from the low g string down.

Did you change the strings one at a time or take them off all at once. Perhaps something just isn't seated right. I would just loosen the strings a bit and see if everything is good but if you want to really get in there the strings can just be taped out of the way.
 
Well, I Finally got my Risa Soprano Stick working. As I said earlier, I bought it used. It's a first gen model with friction tuners. I think at some point someone put steel strings on it because the bridge had grooves worn in it that the strings sat it. The groove under the E string was so deep it was dampening the string. Once I moved the string over a little out of the groove the problem cleared up.

Should I remove the bridge and dress the grooves out? Or should I try ordering a new bridge from Risa? Do they even sell replacement parts?
 
What did you wind up doing?

Did you get a new saddle from Risa?
 
Well I did get a new saddle from RISA.

But a thought - the tech has changed a bit since mine was made- has anyone thought of replacing the pickup with a new one, or maybe even an active pickup?
 
Top Bottom