Earnest Instruments Tululele

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-Emma-

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What do you all think about the tululeles from Earnest Instruments?

Does anybody own one?

I'd love to hear your opinions on them :) .


http://www.earnestinstruments.com/tululele.html

tululele2.jpg


tululeles3.jpg
 
they got that tele look, intresting thin body and would like also to hear how they sound...seems this design has been around before though..
second look really drab colors and satin finish does not appeal to me....sorry..
 
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I like them a lot, and I'd be all over it, except for:

- Price not impressive for an instrument like that
- I think they killed the look with the pickguards
- No baritone

Taking a second look, as I was typing: I would have preferred the bridge not matching the body. It would have looked more
professional. Almost looks like a plastic toy with the matching color.

I Do think there's a significant market for instruments like that. I don't see that many - especially affordable ones - like that.
The Stagg is one good example.
 
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Joel makes really great playing ukes with superior build quality, in general. I had a mahogany Palomino of his that was a great player and looker.
Anything he makes and sells should be an excellent uke.
 
Ron Gordon, who runs the Electric City Ukulele Club has one - it is versatile, and sounds great.

I played one for about 30 minutes last year at the Electric City Uke Fest, and it had a great feel, nice sound acoustic or electric. Joel builds them by hand, one at a time, and does a great job on all of his instruments, and stands by them 100%. The first time I ever heard of Joel Ekhaus, Jim D'Ville was talking about the Stradelele he bought from Joel - with his wife's encouragement.

I think that you can't get the experience of an Earnest Instrument from looking alone - you really have to play it, and then determine for yourself if it is worth the money. I particularly liked the feel and tone of the Padelele. If I hadn't been broke, I would have bought one.


-Kurt​
 
I've never actually held one - they might be fine instruments for all I know - but I can't get past the look, honestly. Ukuleles that try to look like electric guitars just come across as goofy, to me (ditto for ukuleles that try to look like juke boxes, etc.). Ordinarily I'm very much a "function over form" kind of guy but when something is so obviously "form first" I can't get close enough to see if the function is going to win in the end.

Just my $0.02 but you did ask... ;}

John
 
On first blush, it seems like a lot of money for what looks like just another gimmick you can get elsewhere. But, after reading ksiegel's post, I would really like to see one. Thank goodness for the UU and its most reliable members.
If this is what I was looking for, I'd get one. I think you can take Kurt's word that Joel stands behind them.
 
This looks very much like the Kiwaya K-Wave from around 2007. The pickguards on both this and the K-Wave are made to look like the one on a Telecaster. Maybe the pictures on the Earnest site weren't taken so well, but to me the bridge, finish, and available colors on the Tululele don't look as good as the K-Wave, and the K-Wave only cost about $230.
 
Thanks everyone for your opinions so far :) .

mm stan said:
they got that tele look, intresting thin body and would like also to hear how they sound...seems this design has been around before though..
second look really drab colors and satin finish does not appeal to me....sorry..
Click to expand...

Eddie Vedder is playing a customised Tenor Tululele in this clip :) if you are interested in listening to the sound... :)
 
The Risa LP ukes are a completely different animal from the Tululele - they are steel string with magnetic pickups. That makes a huge difference especially when one starts talking about playing overdriven rock and heavy blues stuff. You aren't going to get real "ukish" sounds from them even played clean, but if you are wanting to play overdriven rock they are probably a better choice than any nylon-string uke. The reason is the difference in the way they make sound and interact with an amp. A steel-string instrument with magnetic pickups has a natural roll-off of the highest harmonics while a piezo under-saddle pickup (as used with nylon string instruments) does not. Thus, when overdriven, where many harmonics are generated, it is very tricky to EQ a nylon string instrument not to be painfully harsh while EQing a steel-string instrument is much easier.

As a (maybe former? - seems like I haven't touched them lately) guitar player with almost as many electric guitars as ukes I don't really have much use for a steel-string electric uke but I can see how they would be great for a non-guitar player.

John
 
I have never really been attracted to the Telecaster aesthetic, (nor the Jaguar or Jazzmaster) so it is doubtful that I would purchase one of these. However, having met Joel a couple of times now, he strikes me as a really good guy who meticulously builds instruments that fall pretty far out of the “me too” category. Being a former student of Roy Smeck, Joel has a ukulele pedigree that is unquestionable – and his instruments are far from toys or gimmicks.

As for the price… $600 for a hand-made ukulele made in the States is well within the envelope of reasonable.
 
Wicked said:
I have never really been attracted to the Telecaster aesthetic, (nor the Jaguar or Jazzmaster) so it is doubtful that I would purchase one of these. However, having met Joel a couple of times now, he strikes me as a really good guy who meticulously builds instruments that fall pretty far out of the “me too” category. Being a former student of Roy Smeck, Joel has a ukulele pedigree that is unquestionable – and his instruments are far from toys or gimmicks.

As for the price… $600 for a hand-made ukulele made in the States is well within the envelope of reasonable.
Click to expand...


Bingo! Joel is a great person, player and builder. IMO, $600 is too cheap. I have seen the Kalas, not even close to the real thing.
 
I find it to be a cool alternative to other ukes. Knowing that Joel is a thoughtful and talented builder tells me that the $600 price tag is a bargain. Looking at the fret board in that Vedder video, it looks to be clean and probably feels great to play.
 
I have one of Joel's tele ukes. It's very nicely made, sounds better than I imagined it would unplugged, I have a small amp, and I think it is really best sounding plugged in, but I don't play plugged in very much. Mine is purple. It used to belong to Prince... Just kidding.

Honestly, I think $600.00 is a low price for this instrument given the build quality. You have to be into the look though.
 
Just an aside, sort of. I know nothing about electronics or strictly electric instruments (even though I have a Risa Uke Solid). But, I did play an Epiphone Les Paul. I expected it to be a crummy toy at best. I liked it. Sounded every bit as good as Eddie Vetter's uke on the clip posted on this thread.
 
hmgberg said:
I have one of Joel's tele ukes. It's very nicely made, sounds better than I imagined it would unplugged, I have a small amp, and I think it is really best sounding plugged in, but I don't play plugged in very much. Mine is purple. It used to belong to Prince... Just kidding.

Honestly, I think $600.00 is a low price for this instrument given the build quality. You have to be into the look though.
Click to expand...

Thanks hmgberg :) , do you have any pictures of your uke?

On the tululele page it says the price is $600..."Tululele acoustic/electric – $600
" (http://www.earnestinstruments.com/tululele.html)

But the prices on the price list are actually higher than $600:

TULULELE acoustic/electric Uke
Concert, clear satin finish - 850
Gloss, satin lacquer - 950
Blonde tint - 1000
Custom colors - 1050
Tenor - 1250
 
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