NUD; Vorson solid body electric steel string Telecaster style uke

Received the Vorson FTLUK-3 Flame Maple T Style uke today (was expecting it tomorrow). Here are my first impressions:

It seems to be built well, and is weighty since it's a solid body. Finish has a few flaws, one along the upper curved corner that looks like something rested there before the gloss dried. I'll try and buff it out with guitar compound I have. The sunburst color is a little darker than the photos online, but it is very pretty. I already changed the knobs to black Fender Stratocaster style.

First thing to do is change the strings to the fatter ones I ordered, these do not sound good. It also needs a proper setup, the intonation is off, but it has a truss rod, came with an allen wrench, and the bridge has proper electric guitar individual adjusters, so that should not be a problem.

I had to adjust the height of the pickups because amplified the volume balance was off, louder G and quieter down to the A. I have a feeling the pickups will ultimately have to be changed to better quality, but it's OK for now.

The pickups seem rather simple, judging by the few electric pickups I've looked at closely. They're adjusted with screws in the middle rather than on the ends like I've seen. I wanted to rotate the pickup flip switch to be logical forward flip for the front pickup, back flip for the rear pickup, but when removing the cover plate on the back, the space in there would allow rotation.

A couple of the frets near the 12th might need adjusting, but most all are good. The tuners are very sensitive, the slightest turn is all you need, and they are very smooth.

I'm still not sure which gauge strings I'm going to use. I made a chart, but still have to decide how heavy to go, I have so many combinations I can use, any input would be appreciated. A soon as I do, I'll post a video playing it.

D'Addorio:---12, 16, 24, 32, 42, 52
makes hi G:--12, 16, 24, 16
or heavier:--16, 24, 32, 24
also low G:--12, 16, 24, 32
or heavier:--16, 24, 32, 42

Thomastik:---13, 17, 21, 28, 39, 53
makes hi G:--13, 17, 21, 17
heavier:-----17, 21, 28, 21
low G:-------13, 17, 21, 28
or heavier:--17, 21, 28, 39

On my 19-inch scale steel string in linear GCEA I use gauges .010, .013, .017, .026W and am very satisfied with the sound.

Thanks Doc_J, good info.

My 19" steel string is linear DGBE. I could find the gauges but they probably won't translate to 17".

Overall, it sounds like a serviceable uke given the price point. I have to say I'm "glad" to hear there are some issues with it. Makes me feel better about spending more on the Konablaster and not having deal with these issues out of the box. But hey, if you're willing to do the DIY, this looks like a good platform to do that and gets you into the electric uke game for a lot less initial outlay.

Here's a photo of it. More to come.

kohanmike - That is an interesting take on "ukulele" and would open a world of possibilities with effects, looping, and whatever else you may want to plug into. The UAS thread was some interesting conversation too.

Tony

I have a Risa tenor, here are Risa's and D'Addario's recommndations:

heavy gauge (about 20 lbs tension):
high g - .014"
low-G = 0.030" wound
C = 0.023" wound or 0.020" plain
E = 0.016" plain
A = 0.012" plain

light gauge (about 15 lbs tension):
high g = .012
low-G = 0.026" wound
C = 0.017" plain
E = 0.014" plain
A = 0.010" plain

A 0.018" for C is is okay. You can buy a standard electric guitar string
set 0.010" and take the first four strings of this set.

With kind regards
RISA Musical Instruments

And D'Addario's Recommendations:

Unit Weight Scale Length Frequency Gauge Tension
(Lb/in) (in) (Hz) (in) (Lb)
.00001601 19.00 466.20 A# = PL0085 13.00
.00001794 19.00 440.00 A = PL009 12.98
.00003190 19.00 329.60 E = PL012 12.95
.00004984 19.00 261.60 C = PL015 12.75
.00009184 19.00 196.00 G = NW022 13.18
.00001999 17.00 466.20 A# = PL0095 13.00
.00002215 17.00 440.00 A = PL010 12.83
.00004037 17.00 329.60 E = PL0125 13.12
.00006402 17.00 261.60 C = PL017 13.11
.00010857 17.00 196.00 G = NW024 12.48

Thanks Phil, that really helps.