Ava electric ukulele by Novako

Was browsing Instagram and came across an ad for a new electric uke, coming soon to Kickstarter.

Looks interesting to me. A RISA stick with arm rest and speakers basically, though can't compare in terms of sound, electronics or build until it's available. No price point yet.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bi5nhP6FDQ8/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=ffmt9on9l607

Their Facebook page has the full promo video. Just thought I'd share.

Haha yeah.. Some more info from their email:

Retractable forearm rest for compact storage (extended for ergonomic strumming)

Onboard speaker delivers sound comparable to an acoustic ukulele

Piezoelectric pickup amplifies vibration from high quality nylon strings, playing warm chords and clear, bright individual notes

Turnkey Tuner System (patent pending) saves valuable headstock space.

Resilient exterior made of a high-performance polymer blend resists scratches, scrapes, and warpage!

Rechargeable battery via micro-USB port lasts up to 6 hours on a single charge

Volume control for practicing quietly or jamming out with friends

Indicator LED for low battery or charging complete
1/8" audio output for earphone usage

patent pending??? Huh? Good luck with that.

Looks like standard Zither pins to me, which are as old as ancient Greek and Egyptian harps.

As such, this would be no-go for me due to the Zither pins.

Either standard geared tuners or Gotoh UPT tuners for me.

Their last email promised more details on the tuners so I guess we'll find out Will post back if I hear anything interesting.

I don't have an electric uke yet so I'm quite intrigued. Still depending on the price point, but I care most about the sound and how comfortable it is to hold. The lack of headstock or soundhole rules out most types of straps.

This page mentions an all-or-nothing Kickstarter campaign launching the second week of June. They ask for $1 pledge to help boost visibility.

https://medium.com/@candacechen/3-avas-launch-7294409ef78

Ok got more info about the tuners. Screenshot on my phone from their email. I can see how to tune it but not sure how the magnetic part works exactly.



Edit: better upload link: https://ibb.co/ha3708

Also... Prices! The early bird price is quite tempting, though it's a gamble with something untested. What does everyone think?

Projected MSRP = $389
Kickstarter Price = $299
Early Bird Kickstarter Price = $269 (Limited)

jzzlvr said:

Onboard speaker delivers sound comparable to an acoustic ukulele

Click to expand...

I thought that looked like a little speaker. I hope they put a grill over it. It looks awfully vulnerable there.

Campaign is live now on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/688504158/ava-ukulele-by-novako-music

Seems to be nearly 50% there already.

Daniel made a video with it...he doesn’t really review or rate instruments...he simply shows the instruments and talks features...and plays them a bit.

https://youtu.be/ihpIParP90g

That's a nice informative video. Thanks for posting!

I didn't go for it as I prefer concert/tenor scale. They mentioned if the campaign is successful they will consider adding tenor scale. Looks like they're doing just fine on Kickstarter, just less than $5K left to go at this point.

Looks like the Kickstarter campaign reached their goal in no time. In case anyone's interested, the makers have a form to gauge interest in concert/tenor/leftie/guitar versions of the Ava. FYI...

https://goo.gl/forms/kHFr1RH51oV4BuPE3