So, I noticed Aldrine has a jazz eleuke. I don't really like the look of them, but love the sound ! I like the other one's... i WAnt it, and it isn't too expensive either. But , is there much difference?
The main difference between the
100 series and the
Jazz series is the shape and size of the body. I'm going to link up to pages on the EleUkeUSA site throughout my reply with descriptions and pictures.
The Jazz Series are much larger (more wood, more cost) than most other EleUkes. The
Koa will also be a larger size.
The
100 series has two cutouts or monkey grips in the body. Whereas the
K series only has the top monkey grip. I only point this out here because I have a bad habit of strumming fairly low on the strings and I catch my finger in that bottom cutout. If your playing style lends itself to strumming higher up on the lower part of the fretboard, you won't have this issue.
Other than body style, shape and finish/color, the only major difference in the EleUke models is the wood. All
"new model" EleUkes have similar electronics (
pieso pickups [link goes to wiki]), hardware (geared tuners) and builds (all neck-through bodies, etc), but come in mahogany, koa, rosewood, etc. This is mainly aesthetic, unless you have an audiophile's super ear, then you'd hear variations in tone with different woods, just like you do in electric guitars. Sound is just vibration and different woods vibrate differently.
I'd also like to second the comment about the durability. Thick chunk o' wood.