My needs have changed since ordering the East-Start Alida arch-top electric.

KohanMike

KohanMike

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After the long four month wait, adding the new tailpieces, new steel strings, new nut, new knobs, doing the finish stain of the f-hole edges, I've came to the conclusion that my needs have changed and I'm going to sell my East-Start Alida arch-top electric uke.

At the time I was deep in the throws of UAS, and when seeing the arch-top online, I instigated the group buy. During the long wait time, I've learned so much more about playing the ukulele, about what and how I want to play, that I'm sorry to say, this Alida electric is just not it. So I'm going to sell it for what I paid $254 (even though I put in about $50 additional).

Please see my post in Uke Marketplace if you would like to buy it.

http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com...tring-East-Start-Alida-Uke-with-Hard-Case-254
 
Good luck finding your "groove" I bought mine pretty much as a "toy" or......a sow's ear with great potential. I still think it's worth the money if someone enjoys tinkering with it and getting it up to it's full potential. Cigar box builders would love some of those replaced parts. To them, (read old chicken commercial) "parts is parts." LOL. If I didn't have one, I'd buy it.
 
Hey Mike, I think maybe you're running up against the thing that has left me never tempted to try a steel-string uke no matter how pretty they might be. I've got umpteen gazillion electric guitars (that I never really play any more). A steel string uke is basically the same sound as playing an electric guitar well up the neck, with the added detraction that you don't get the sweet "round" sound that you do from playing a guitar around it's mid point on the string.

I can understand somebody who hasn't played guitar being attracted to a steel string uke, but for those of us who know (and perhaps have more or less abandoned) the six of strings the steel string acoustic uke just don't make much sense.

John
 
I have a Fender Telecaster and an Ibanez AF85 archtop hollow body, which are perfectly fine as they go, but I too haven't played them much, even before starting ukulele last July, now not at all. I've definitely been swayed by the nylon string, standard body sound of my ukuleles.
 
Chalk it up to a learning experience man...what is initially perceived may not be your preference...that is why in the uke world I always say,
Try before you buy.....never buy sight unseen or unheard if buying for the first time from an unreliable source, even if the price or looks sound nice.
rely on your good instincts and not hype.... there is a good lesson here
I made alot of mistakes too out of impulse and or excitement..
 
I actually have no regrets overall, in fact, I'm glad I was able be instrumental in so many others getting something they will enjoy. It's a pretty nice instrument, especially for the price, just needs some tweaking. I'm sure I'll still be compulsive, but tempered to a degree with each experience.
 
I'll take my tinkering only so far, then pass it on to my luthier. I'm not interested in the process of dressing frets or fine tuning each groove in a nut or routing out a bridge to fit a pickup, but I'll carve out the side of my uke to fit a preamp, drill and install strap buttons, and even add a tailpiece.
 
Skrik said:
Something like this?
Click to expand...

Actually, I meant to say steel string electric ukulele.

If I remember right the thread you reference was talking about "is it still a ukulele" or "is it legitimate" or something like that. What I was talking about here is a bit different...I'm not saying that it's not legitimate to call it an ukulele just because it has steel strings and a magnetic pickup...I'm just saying that for anyone who already owns and plays electric guitar a steel string electric ukulele doesn't open any new territory, especially if strung with linear strings as most seem to be. I.e. I can play exactly the same things and with better tone using one of my electric guitars than I can on an electric steel-string ukulele.

For someone who doesn't play guitar and doesn't want to put in the time to learn...a steel-string ukulele might make good sense.

John
 
Wondering how any or all of the factors discussed in this thread affect the air uke?
 
OldePhart said:
Actually, I meant to say steel string electric ukulele.

If I remember right the thread you reference was talking about "is it still a ukulele" or "is it legitimate" or something like that. What I was talking about here is a bit different...I'm not saying that it's not legitimate to call it an ukulele just because it has steel strings and a magnetic pickup...I'm just saying that for anyone who already owns and plays electric guitar a steel string electric ukulele doesn't open any new territory, especially if strung with linear strings as most seem to be. I.e. I can play exactly the same things and with better tone using one of my electric guitars than I can on an electric steel-string ukulele.

For someone who doesn't play guitar and doesn't want to put in the time to learn...a steel-string ukulele might make good sense.

John
Click to expand...


Just to add a different dimension to this topic, I went from ukulele to steel-string electric... got rid of my steel string electrics... got into guitars... played electric guitars...


And now I find myself getting back into steel-string electric ukuleles.


At some point, I completely agreed with your perspective.
However, I do see the appeal of steel string electrics again. Something about them is just so quirky and hipster in a fun way.
Even though I can play the same songs on an electric guitar, something is just so much more fun and different playing it on a miniature "electric ukulele".

I got myself a really nice Gibson Les Paul electric guitar for my birthday in November last year. Love it to death and thought I would never need an electric ukulele again.

But for some peculiar reason, I found myself really really missing electric ukuleles.
Just recently I bought a Risa steel-string soprano and a Risa nylon string Uke-solid. I've been having a blast!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkpn5bN2l1M

^Sure, I can play this piece on my Les Paul electric guitar capo'd... but it wouldn't have been as fun for me :)
 
kissing said:
...Something about them is just so quirky and hipster in a fun way.
Click to expand...

Heh, heh. At my age if I do anything because it's hipster just shoot me and bury me out in the back yard. LOL

Nah, it's all cool. I've got no use for 'em but that doesn't mean somebody else is "wrong" for thinking differently. If they blow yer skirt up then go for it!

John
 
Admittedly, part of it is aesthetics.

Jee do I wanna appear as another electric guitar player; or do I want to be "seen" playing something out of the ordinary?

Electric ukes have a certain unique appeal. Its "function" is just part of the equation.

That being said; a capo'd guitar is actually still a "guitalele" in number of strings. Having 4 strings has its appeal.
 
Last edited:
I think that I may have cross threaded and lost my way a bit here...I started out looking at a thread about someone wanting rid of a steel strung 'leccy uke and ended up in a big dust up about what are or is not are or is ukey lalalays...? I abandoned the uke in favour of the big six string buggers about 30 years ago ...I picked up my little buddy again about five years ago on and off......Now never having played a 'leccy (electric) uke with steel strings I would hesitate ,but imagine that it is as different an art as acoustic guitar is to electric ('leccy) guitar....but ...as I play the acoustic Uke better than I play the acoustic guitar...then maybe I would play the LeccyUke better as well.....I find that the shorter scale length suits me and I have more control over the strings and sounds that I can make.....also techernickies honed on the geetar transfer back across to the uke so it was not an entirely wasted period of time shagging about hopelessly with six strings.

What I say is I seem to have lost the thread and rambled into a side turning again......but no I think that steel string ele-ukes have a rightful place and I now damned well want to try one ........
 
I hope someone that likes this style uke steps up, in the mean time I'm having a mahogany mandolele made.
 
kohanmike said:
After the long four month wait, adding the new tailpieces, new steel strings, new nut, new knobs, doing the finish stain of the f-hole edges, I've came to the conclusion that my needs have changed and I'm going to sell my East-Start Alida arch-top electric uke.

At the time I was deep in the throws of UAS, and when seeing the arch-top online, I instigated the group buy. During the long wait time, I've learned so much more about playing the ukulele, about what and how I want to play, that I'm sorry to say, this Alida electric is just not it. So I'm going to sell it for what I paid $254 (even though I put in about $50 additional).

Please see my post in Uke Marketplace if you would like to buy it.

http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com...tring-East-Start-Alida-Uke-with-Hard-Case-254
Click to expand...

If you can accept that a steel string solid body electric uke (of all sizes) is basically a uke designed for ukers who want to get into the rock guitar set up
with out having to learn guitar or for those like me who play guitar but feel their better at uke and have more advantages but want to utilize the possibilities
of the electric world (effects, sustain, distortion , volume etc etc). Playing an acoustic ukulele is a totally different world.
When i pick up my electric uke I approach it as it's own thing, and it serves a huge role in the music I make.

But maybe the electric world in general just isn't for you.
 
Bill1 said:
These days you can buy an electric guitar that is not much bigger or more expensive than an electric baritone uke. However, a common difference is that for a similar price you get a much better sounding baritone ukulele, than the learner model small guitars.
While you can twiddle with an amp and make them both sound the same, each has advantages, the uke is good for compact travelling, the guitar has a lot more bass notes etc.
I actually bought my Jupiter Creek because I liked the maker, and it was there on eBay for a great price. It arrived and it played well out of the box. He paid the postage in Christmas stamps (55c each) so the box was covered with stamps. It was a nice experience so I like my uke. Then after the buying experience, there are the times and people around when you play it. I think that could be what really matters, the experiences that go with a similar sounding instrument.
Click to expand...

My konablaster was a little over 300 bucks. As a steel stringed baritone ukulele, it would be hard for people
to noticed much of an audible difference in tone, clearly it has more treble and less bass notes. But it's more
about that size that I'm comfortable with, and the chord shapes I'm much better at on the uke which gives me
an advantage over guitar (those extra 2 strings have always been harder for me). I also have a much better technique
playing with my fingers with my uke style strumming vs guitar pick (i hate playing with picks that clicking sound makes me
want to break the guitar). Anyway good point with a quality electric baritone ukulele you will get a custom made instrument
with a uker in mind, designed for those who play the instrument, a small scale guitar still has those dreaded E and A strings
and won't be suited for a uker like a specially made electric uke.
 
OldePhart said:
Actually, I meant to say steel string electric ukulele.

If I remember right the thread you reference was talking about "is it still a ukulele" or "is it legitimate" or something like that. What I was talking about here is a bit different...I'm not saying that it's not legitimate to call it an ukulele just because it has steel strings and a magnetic pickup...I'm just saying that for anyone who already owns and plays electric guitar a steel string electric ukulele doesn't open any new territory, especially if strung with linear strings as most seem to be. I.e. I can play exactly the same things and with better tone using one of my electric guitars than I can on an electric steel-string ukulele.

For someone who doesn't play guitar and doesn't want to put in the time to learn...a steel-string ukulele might make good sense.

John
Click to expand...

It opened up new doors for me. I can play about 20 chords on the guitar
and at least 200+ chords on the uke so it opened up new possibilities for me.
I sold my electric baritone guitar, and got an electric baritone ukulele and couldn't be happier.

Hopefully one day I'll be able to make enough money for a RISA LP style electric uke.
 
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