thinking about bulding an electric uke in the summer

sailboats

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Hey,

I have been considering building an electric uke during the summer months. This would be the first instrument i have attempted to build.

anyone have any suggests for sites on the topic? or just suggestions in general?

I was thinking about making a Tenor. and I am also hoping to have mine look similar to fender guitars. (much like seen here)
46%20Concert%20Tinycaster.jpg

- http://www.theukerofoz.com/about4.html
 
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Well...beyond this site there's the Official Luthiers Forum or the MIMF forum. Both have good electric guitar sections and some uke info.
You should probably see what's available for pickups, wiring, and hardware first. The body and neck wouldn't be too hard if you can find the electric parts to put in it
 
Thanks,

I am hoping, since I am not planning on construction until the summer, I will have enough time to track down the right electronics for the job.
 
That's my big question, too - where do you get the four string pickups and bridges?
 
I am building an steel string electric uke, I purchased my pick up, bridge, pots, switches and caps from moongazer. The members of this forum have been very, very helpful, answering all my questions. Good luck with your build. As I have probably already faced many of the problems you are now facing feel free to private message me with any questions.
 
The absolute best tool that you can get to build an electric solid body is a copy of Melvyn Hiscock's book "Make your own guitar." It will walk you through the whole process from design to finishing.
 
A luthier near me built this electric uke. His son asked for one, then I saw it and had him make some more. Our group guys bought three of them, I bought another three. Chip (Bennett, www.chiptone.com) winds his own pickups and does a fine job of it. It is a special skill. That's part of why "everybody" isn't making their own—it takes time and effort. Kudos to you for giving it a shot.

The body on this uke is walnut.
 

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Nice job, but they desperately need some more appropriate sized control knobs!
Personally, I would stick to nylon strings and use a piezo pickup on a solid body, rather than steel strings, to keep that Uke sound.
 
I am making one right now. I plan to use a Moongazer bridge and hopefully a neck size rail pickup. Wanted it to look more Uke-y so I went with these plans
( http://www.michaeljking.com/electric_ukuleles.htm ) and so far have the body cut out of a nice piece of ambrosia cherry (it was cheap- I plan to have a few hiccups). Just finished a lap steel and I was surprised how easy it was to wire everything and have it work.
Wiring diagrams can be found for any configuration of PUPS and knobs with a simple google search
Good luck on it- I plan to post some pics of mine once I get going in full swing
 
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