Those os U who play solid body electrics

If you play a solid body electric, would you mind telling me what are some things that you look for?

What are the most important features you like to see?

Do you want steel string with magnetic pickups or nylon with piezo?

Thanks

Michael

Nylon strings and a piezo pickup

A good soft setup

good quality electrics

a headphone jack

it must look a bit rock and roll or jazz

must be able to take a strap and hang straight from the strap, i.e. no wrestling with the ax.

good finish quality, attention to detail

I would prefer to see Steel string, as opposed to nylon with a magnetic pickup. Just like a telecaster ukulele (with pickguard)!

I don't know much about the technology, but I'd heard good things about eleukes so I bought one. I haven't used it with an amp yet, but it works well with a headset and it's fun to play.

I have a Risa tenor steel string/solid body/single coil pickup and a Jupiter Creek baritone steel/solid/dual coil (with single/dual switch). Love them both. Play them through a Boss EBand JS8 amp.

I have owned an Eleuke tenor nylon/solid/piezo. It was good, albeit not as hot sounding as the steel string ukes. You don't get any pickup squeal at all with nylon, and string bending is limited compared with steel. Sound was fair - nylon strings are a bit dull sounding on a solid body and need amp compensation to have any depth or colour. Earphone jack for quiet practice was fun, but without any internal effects, rather limited.

Still, I'd get another if they have adjusted the string positions in later models. I found the A string was much too close to the fretboard edge and I was constantly dragging it off the edge with pull-offs. Very annoying and affected my playing enough that I sold it to someone for whom that was not an issue.

In the Steel department, I have two Risa electric tenors tuned DGBE and a Stratocaster style 8-string tuned DGBE in octave tuning.
I have a Nylon string Eleuke Tenor tuned in re-entrant GCEA.

I've owned the Risa nylon string uke-sticks (Soprano and Concert) and 2 other Eleukes in the past as well.

I like both steel and nylon string electrics. You get a different kind of sound from each, and they feel different too.
Steel string is a lot more fun when it comes to high gain solo's, and the longer sustain helps it blend better as an accompanying instrument too. As mentioned earlier by ichadwick, nylon string electrics generally aren't as hot sounding as the steel. However, I feel that Eleuke (at least their latest models) have done well to compensate. The pickup and preamps boost out such a strong signal signal - more stronger than I've seen in any other electric stringed instrument. The sustain is also fairly decent. It doesn't quite have the sustain of my Risa Les Paul's humbuckers, but its quite sufficient.

I really do love the uke, but I often find that its nature of short sustain sometimes makes it hard to fit in with more conventional music, such as playing along with guitar in church music.
For me, this is where electric ukes can fit in better than traditional ukes. When we want to apply the uke to music without necessarily making everything sound like Happy happy beach scene.

Nylon strings feels easier to finger pick than steel strings. I also mostly finger pick my steel strings, but I can see why a pick would come in handy.

I make these. Got a burr maple tenor for sale at present. Will put it up on my website when I get back from Canada next week I also have a swirliy walnut front one that has yet to be finished and a maple top one with a blue stain. These last 2 are concerts and I'm putting them up for sale as is next week - I have a limited edition to complete with burr redwood tops and don't have the time to see these project through.

Here's a good way to go: http://www.westhillswood.com/for-sale.html

OK, it's one I have for sale, but I can tell you from a generic "I think I want an electric ukulele" standpoint, electrics are different from acoustic in a few obvious ways. First off, they look more like small guitars than ukuleles. Next, they don't sound much like an acoustic instrument because they're not acoustics. An acoustic uke with a pickup can sound like a loud acoustic, but an electric uke will have a lot of trouble getting that same sound. Next, the strings make a big difference (true even with acoustic instruments). The electric ukulele I have for sale via the link has steel strings, which work best when played through an amp, using a pick.

If you are looking to add something to the musical arsenal, an electric ukulele will provide you with an eye-catching scene stealer. The playing techniques are similar, but different in the way an acoustic guitar is different from an electric, so give yourself some time to adjust.

First, decide why you want one. Then figure out what you want it to do for you. Then find one that fits the need and don't look back.

I own a risa soprano stick.
Good: small and compact
Bad: No volume or tone, hard to hold with out strap

Reviewed a Eleueke concert:
Good: Internal electronics that had volume and tone. the headphone jack was very nice
Bad: Felt big, and it was a cheesy sparkle blue

I don't know how much I dig the steel string thing, but it has its place. I would love to see an 8-string solid body if I could dream of anything.

I have a Stagg Les Paul style solid body electric. It's been enjoyable, but I am switching to playing acoustic baritone. Find that I like the acoustic sound better and that I like the larger fret layout on the bari.

The Stagg is concert scale and going between it and the electric bass (which I usually play) is too big a jump. It is a piezo pickup and nylon strings.

I tuned it low G, but I actually prefer it reentrant.

The uke seems better suited to a lead-guitar style of play and I'm not good enough to play it that way. I'm still learning to chord and the acoustic seems to fit the "sitting on the front porch lazing the afternoon away" style of player better.

Pete Howlett said:

I make these. Got a burr maple tenor for sale at present. Will put it up on my website when I get back from Canada next week I also have a swirliy walnut front one that has yet to be finished and a maple top one with a blue stain. These last 2 are concerts and I'm putting them up for sale as is next week - I have a limited edition to complete with burr redwood tops and don't have the time to see these project through.

Click to expand...

Clicked that link - it's gorgeous. Would love to hear it.

I would love to see an 8-string solid body if I could dream of anything.

Click to expand...

Here!
http://ukulele.de/shop/product_info.php?info=p352_RISA-Electric-Ukulele-Mandolin.html

I have a Risa Semi-hollowbody red tenor with twin lipstick pickups. Unlike Eleuke, has no uke sound at all. I bought it because I thought it was just too cool. Sounds like a little electric guitar. Eventually I want a Micro Pod octave pedal so I can raise or lower an octave, and if I choose, make it sound like a mandolin or whatever. A real quality peice. I got it for just under $300 around 5 or 6 years ago, sell for about $650 now. I'd say if I were buying a solid body today, I'd want it to sound at least a little "ukey."

I own two solid body electric ukuleles. Both baritone. An Eleuke Bari with nylon strings and piezo pickup and a Jupiter Creek steel string Telecaster Style. Here's a shot of the Tele...



Mike

I have two tenor RISA electric (steel string) ukuleles. I have a black one tuned GCEA and a baritone sunburst tobacco one tuned DGAD.



Here is a video of me playing with my band and using my black Risa uke with my Fender Princeton amp.