My RISA Travel Uke Story - Perhaps the most interesting thread EVER.

rappsy

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Okay, maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but I thought this has the possibility of being an interesting one at the very least.

I travel a fair amount and like to bring my Uke with me, but wanted something small.

The RISA Tenor Stick is the one that I have and really enjoy it. It does not have a traditional headstock and it has a much thinner overall body than a traditional Uke so it fits nicely on the side of my suitcase. It is virtually silent so I can play it without disturbing anyone, but can be plugged into a small amp which I keep in the case.

My issue with this Uke is that has a squared off thick neck. I decided to find out what my options were in making this have a thinner more comfortable neck. I knew I wouldn't be getting rid of this anytime soon, and if it worked out well, I would have a Custom RISA, a one of a kind Uke, and it would be worth a GAZILLION $$$. :cool:

I took "before" pictures and sent it on it's way to Todd Mylet at Portland Fretworks in Portland, Oregon. I have worked with him before when he did a beautiful repair on a high end Uke that had been damaged in transit. I was extremely happy with the correspondence with him, the the time it took, and it's return to me, so I was thrilled when he accepted this job. I also asked him to photograph his work as it was being done as I wanted to put together this thread on the process.

The following link will take you to the "before" pictures, which I took. These show various angles of the Uke and you can see the thickness of the body, including the neck. The "during", and "after" will follow soon.

https://goo.gl/photos/z4m5NzBEQ8jAoayE9

I hope you enjoy this and remember to consider Portland Fretworks when you require any kind of lutherie work. He did not ask me to do this. I wanted to do this as I thought it would be interesting to the readers here and I wanted to give Todd the credit for a well done and reasonably priced job.

Portland Fret Works
todd@portlandfretworks.com
Todd Mylet

I hope everyone enjoy this.

Lenny...
 
kewl!

I had no idea the neck was like a 2/3 baseball bat...

I cant wait to see the aftermath :drool:

Thanks for bringing out Todd Mylet as a good source of lutherie work...:)
 
The anticipation is killin me! :nana:
 
Love the RISA Sticks, but I can see how that would be a definite upgrade.
 
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you had me laughing before I could even open the post :)
 
Looking forward to this :)
 
kewl!

I had no idea the neck was like a 2/3 baseball bat...

I cant wait to see the aftermath :drool:

Thanks for bringing out Todd Mylet as a good source of lutherie work...:)
Yeah, but can you hit a slider?!
Look forward to the updates Lenny.
 
Yeah, but can you hit a slider?!
Look forward to the updates Lenny.

Lenny's got skills........he can slide from 1st to 3rd........fret that is :p
 
I've been interested in a Risa Stick Tenor for awhile now, but have been put off by the tuning difficulties and the neck profile. I remember thinking that if the neck really bothered me, how hard would it be to simply take a rasp to it and make it thinner. So I'll be very interested in seeing your outcome, especially since you're having a professional do the work.

One question though. Would anyone have concerns that maybe a thinner neck would be more likely to warp? Most ukes don't seem to have truss rods and they do fine, so it seems likely that the stress just isn't that much to worry about.
 
I love my Risa stick for travelling too. Just throw it in the suitcase. I also like the way it sounds with a slide.

I pulled it out and played it after reading this thread, and it doesn't seem too terribly thick to me, although bar chords hurt my thumb a bit. Interest in seeing the results though.
 
Anxious to see how the modification went! Portland Fretworks knows their stuff. If I'm not mistaken, I may have referred you to them for the previous repair. Keep us posted Lenny!
 
I love my Risa stick for travelling too. Just throw it in the suitcase. I also like the way it sounds with a slide.

I pulled it out and played it after reading this thread, and it doesn't seem too terribly thick to me, although bar chords hurt my thumb a bit. Interest in seeing the results though.

Just wait till you see the pictures on the difference in the thickness. If you don't think it's thick now, you'll soon see the difference. Here's a small taste of the pictures that are coming...

https://goo.gl/photos/ru8wKLDfPcoaH1qH7
 
oooh!

wood splinters flying!!!

oooh! I can't look!!!!

You are brave, rappsy!
 

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:) can you say 'spokeshave', say it with me spoke, shave, spoke, shave - funny name but much faster than a rasp or file as a hand tool for removing/shaping wood

lots of effort and like peeling a carrot with a knifey thing that's got two handles w/one each side w/the blade in the middle

makes a nice big mess on the floor too

Like Simon...super eager for the final result. :)
 
Do Risas use metal strings or "standard" uke strings?

Short version:

Yes, normal uke strings

Long version:

RISA solid 'stick' ukes do not use metal strings that I've seen, only nylon/fluoro/etc non-metalcore/metalwound strings. However I see no reason why you could not use a wound C or wound low G if you like but those are classical guitar type strings with a metal-wound outer wrap around a non-metal, nylon, fluoro, silk-strand or composite core, and that metal winding is usually brass-plated copper wire, or silver-plated copper wire, or plain aluminum wire.

:)

[edit] the RISA LP and RISA Bean electric ukes with magnetic pickups both use electric guitar strings in specific gauges that are some variation of steel, nickel, or other all-metal composition.
 
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