Information on the EleUke TCF-TMHP/TB?

So I'm at my local music store looking for a hard-shell case to protect my Kala KA-TEM on an upcoming roadtrip, but instead I find a used EleUke TCF-TMHP/TB, circa 2008. Looks like just the thing for playing at the airport and hotel during the trip, with minimum hassle getting it on the airplane.

It seems to be a little more up-scale than alot of the other EleUkes I've seen -- looks like a mahogany body/neck with striping down the middle, with a dark brown wood layer on the top and headstock (rosewood??). Nice inlay vine pattern and logo on the headstock (mother of pearl??), and a lighter striped wood (maple??) for the fretboard.

As you can tell, I'm guessing what kind of woods the instrument is made of. Is anyone familiar with this model and can identify the actual woods used? Detailed specifications would be great -- anybody have a brochure for this model? I tried googling but nothing came up for this specific model. Any info would be appreciated!

Thanks,
Bill Erickson

It sounds like it may be one of the older model Eleukes.
Some things worth checking are,.. does it have the words "Bugsgear" anywhere? Does it have an mp3 input/output?

If it says "Bugsgear" and has no mp3 input/output, then it's the older style Eleukes made in the old factory.

If it doesn't say "Bugsgear", and has an mp3 function build in, it's the newer style of Eleukes made in the new factory.


Other than that, there isn't really much point going into details. Eleukes all sound the same - the rest is looks. The type of wood is somewhat unimportant as long as it looks good.


As for the old vs new Eleukes, there is a difference in the electronics.
The older Eleukes sound mellower with more mid-range than the newer Eleukes, which have more treble and sound a bit more brittle.
I prefer the tone of the older Eleukes, but the newer Eleukes have better quality control.

So if it's the older model Eleuke, make sure you plug it in and make sure all the strings sound balanced in volume. Then it's fine!

I knew going in it was the older model -- "Bugsgear" embroidered on the gig bag, no MP3 input, and an entry in the unused warranty card that listed late 2008 as the date it was inspected and providing the model number. I researched EleUkes and knew about the different generations. I checked it over pretty carefully based upon what I had heard, and it seems pretty solid in spite of the earlier generation's reputation..

> Other than that, there isn't really much point going into details.

Humor me. I'm still interested in knowing exactly what type of woods are used in it's construction and knowing about it's details, if only for my own edification.

Huh. Well, after doing further research I'm not so sure this is a TCF-TMHP/TB. I managed to find some pictures of related TCF-TMHP models on remnants of the old www.eleuke.com site (working my way around all the broken links), and the body shape doesn't match. In terms of body shape, this guy most closely matches the current series 100 line.

I sort of suspected something was off when the warranty card that I've been using for the model info didn't exactly match -- the serial number listed on the card was off by 1 from the number listed on the headstock.

I'm not even sure if it's a tenor -- the scale appears to be between the length of the concerts and tenors that were available for comparison at the store.

I'll have to do some measurements and post some pictures when I get home from work....

Bill, I currently have the same type you are refering to in the marketplace. Here's the link:
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?64871-FS-Early-Eleuke-Concert
There is a sale pending right now. Mine is from around 2006 I believe. Nice little practice uke!

OK, I've uploaded some pictures of the mystery EleUke into an album here at http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/album.php?albumid=1679. If folks knowledgeable about EleUkes could take a look and let me know what model this is, I'd really appreciate it!

[EDIT] I just noticed that the pictures are awaiting Moderator approval, so if you can't get to them just yet, please try again a little later! [/EDIT]

I measured the scale and it's about 15 inches (about 380mm), so it's really a concert.

Thanks for any feedback!

Bill Erickson

The pictures have been approved. Sorry for the wait.

What I meant is, Eleuke had so many different models that aren't listed anywhere.

Once I had an old generation Eleuke which was a bit of an enigma too - it was not listed in any catalogues or websites. It was just.. some sort of Eleuke that sounds and feels the same as any other of its period. Didn't really bother me, it looked pretty and sounded good.

But hey, maybe I'm just talking rubbish, as I've only owned 5 Eleukes.

kissing said:

What I meant is, Eleuke had so many different models that aren't listed anywhere.

Once I had an old generation Eleuke which was a bit of an enigma too - it was not listed in any catalogues or websites. It was just.. some sort of Eleuke that sounds and feels the same as any other of its period. Didn't really bother me, it looked pretty and sounded good..

Click to expand...

You make a pretty good point -- I've not been having any luck finding anything further about this model. Oh well, I'll just accept it for what it is. Thanks for your feedback.

Bill.

If you are still interested...

BillErickson said:

So I'm at my local music store looking for a hard-shell case to protect my Kala KA-TEM on an upcoming roadtrip, but instead I find a used EleUke TCF-TMHP/TB, circa 2008. Looks like just the thing for playing at the airport and hotel during the trip, with minimum hassle getting it on the airplane.

It seems to be a little more up-scale than alot of the other EleUkes I've seen -- looks like a mahogany body/neck with striping down the middle, with a dark brown wood layer on the top and headstock (rosewood??). Nice inlay vine pattern and logo on the headstock (mother of pearl??), and a lighter striped wood (maple??) for the fretboard.

As you can tell, I'm guessing what kind of woods the instrument is made of. Is anyone familiar with this model and can identify the actual woods used? Detailed specifications would be great -- anybody have a brochure for this model? I tried googling but nothing came up for this specific model. Any info would be appreciated!

Thanks,
Bill Erickson

Click to expand...

Bill, I have an older version of the Eleuke, as well. I haven't picked the thing up in years (I have since realized that I'm more in woodwinds than strings), but yesterday, I decided to open up the case and take a look. I had apparently forgotten how beautiful it looked!

Since the purchase was made in 2008 on Ebay, the site no longer has a record of the listing, so I cannot identify the model. I spent hours doing Google web/image searches with little luck until I came across what I think is the main Eleuke site: http://www.eleuke.com/picture_achive.html

All of the links are dead because the extension is ".zip" and truncating the link so that all that remains is "http://www.eleuke.com/data/" just confirms that the links are, indeed, dead (the only images in that directory are for live links on the site).

I was disappointed, of course, but I continued to try search queries with different parts of the original listing title, which was the only clue I had ("SALE $$ Bugsgear Flamed Maple brown Soprano UKULELE"). I also tried the query "identifying old eleukes." That's where I came across your post, as well as this one: http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?22791-Harley-Benton-Eleuke-SC100-PHP/page2

The latter post proved especially fruitful because someone had provided a live, albeit stray, link: http://www.eleuke.com/product/026.html

THAT, my fellow Eleuke owner, WAS WHEN IT HIT ME. I replaced the number 026 with other numbers and was able to find the listing for my model, which turns out to be the EKG-BR Soprano! YAY! I can now tell people that my Eleuke is solid mahogany with "Tiger maple" top. (http://www.eleuke.com/product/034.html)

So, going back to the issue at hand, I recommend that you try the same thing. According to Eleuke's picture archive link (the first link I provided), the model TCF-TMHP/TB doesn't exist; the TCF-TMHP models are either /BL (blue), or /RD (red). Perhaps your local music store mislabeled it?

Anyway, try "http://www.eleuke.com/product/" and go down the index until you find your model. You should be able to locate it unless it happens to be a specially-ordered custom model, but I think the chances of that are rare.

I don't know if you ended up buying that ukulele (I am aware that your inquiry was made all the way back in May), but if you did or are still curious about this, I'm confident that the index link will help.

Cheers!