Electric Uke or ElectroAcoustic Uke?

okiks

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Please give me comments on what will you choose among the two. thanks! :D
 
Most seriously, one of each. :music:<- acoustic/electric :music:<- electric

It is very important to have an acoustic uke, because that is the primary method of playing uke, around the house, in the backyard, at the beach, in the mountains, and with friends.

However if you are a musician playing in a 'loud' band or a solo performer who performs at large venues, then I would recommend a solid body electric uke as it doesn't feedback. However, there are numerous uke players who perform with acoustic ukes through microphones for large audiences.

If I had only one choice, it would be the acoustic/electric uke. :)
 
Well when we restrict our options to nylon-string ukes only.
The basic difference between an acoustic-electric and a solid-body electric is that a solid-body electric can handle higher gain levels through amplification without feedback.
This also means if you want to use electric-guitar-like overdrive and distortion, it is better done with a solid-body electric.

An acoustic-electric is best for producing clean sound through amplification. You can experiment with distortion on it, but it is not the optimal setup of doing so.
An acoustic-electric does give you the option of having both acoustic sound and plugging in to amplify.
An electric does give you the feature of being quiet not to disturb others, and plugging in only when you want to make sound.

As a player of steel-string electrics as well as nylon-string acoustic-electric ukes, to me the two are very different kinds of instruments, giving me variety.
Strictly nylon-string electrics and acoustic-electrics behave too similarly for me to be worth keeping both.
 
thanks for enlightening me, but f you only have one choice what will it be? electric or electroacoustic?
 
it depends on what you want to use your uke for. what do you plan to do with your uke? imho, if you're only going to buy one, get the acoustic/electric.
 
Although I have several solid-body electric ukes, all with nylon strings, if I had to select just one type of instrument, I'd have to pic an Acoustic-Electric primarily because I'm a singing uke player.

I'm fortunate to have a regular gig at a local Hawaiian-style restaurant and I'm currently using a Rolan MicroCube for vocal amplification while playing my newly-acquired (Aug 2010) Tangi soprano-sized, concert-scale, violin-shaped uke. (How's that for hypenation!)

The set up works well for me for now since the restaurant is not that large and I'm able to be heard as background music throughout the place. As I mentioned, I'm a singing uke player vs an instrumentalist. So Acoustic Electric seems to work best for me.

I hope this helps.

Keep uke'in',
 
Just a reminder: with an electric 'uke, you can practice w/o disturbing others.
 
but f you only have one choice what will it be? electric or electroacoustic?

That's a hard question. I'm one of those people who are incapable of owning just 1 uke.
If for some reason, I could only have 1 ukulele, it would probably be an electric. I like electric ukuleles a bit better than acoustic and acoustic-electric in the same way some people prefer electric guitars over acoustic guitars. I find there is more variety to what I can do with amp and effects.

But it is purely up to preference.
 
@arashi - i want to practice more, if i want to be in a band which will you prefer?

@uncle rod - i'm envious of your uke. :D thanks for the advice. but if i want to be an instrumentalist or pure uke player?

@kissing and ingrate- will the electric uke sound good eventhough i don't use amps to play it silently? :))

thanks for enlightening me!
 
@kissing and ingrate- will the electric uke sound good eventhough i don't use amps to play it silently?

That's an extremely pertinent question! They do not sound like a "real" 'ukulele. In my experience, they have more sustain, and a more "electric guitar" sound.

Some electrics (Eleuke, et. al.) have a built-in pre-amp, so you can plug your earbuds directly into them. Some (RISA, et. al.) have no built-in amplification, so you need something external, such as an amPlug to use earbuds.

If you want amplification and authentic 'uke sound, get an electric-acoustic.
 
I'd go for an acoustic-electric. I own both, and my Kala arch top sound more like a uke plugged in than my solid body eleuke. I use the solid body only when the stage volume level is going to be very loud to avoid feedback or when I need to practice silently with headphones.
 
@kissing and ingrate- will the electric uke sound good eventhough i don't use amps to play it silently?

Well you hear the sound that comes from the strings with no hollow body.
So it's not a sound you would use to perform, but it's just loud enough for you to hear in your room. And it does sound like a uke, just very quiet.
Ever strum an unplugged electric guitar? It's the same thing.

Eleuke (and Stagg) have a nifty headphone input which allows you to listen directly from the uke without an amp.
Many amps have headphone jacks to plug in, which would allow you to listen silently - maybe it's a feature to make sure your amp has when you go purchase.
 
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