Recommendations for electric concert uke?

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Joyful Uke

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Still thinking about trying electric.
I like the look of the Luna Dolphin uke, but that's not the most important feature, so what might you all recommend?

Here are what I'd be hoping for:
1 3/8" (35mm) nut width
Radius preferred, (am I getting too picky?)
Concert size
Good intonation
Low action
Sold by one of our trusted sellers who would set it up well

I won't be able to try before buying, so hope you all can offer suggestions for me to investigate.
 
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Assuming you’re looking for acoustic/electric rather than solid or chambered body, pick one you like acoustically and have the vendor add a pickup.
 
A RISA solid/stick would fit your criteria. :music:

A Mahalo Surfboard might suit, if you could find one, (I have one & it's nice).

Otherwise you'll be looking at a electro acoustic - any of the regular brands should have one; I have Kala & Baton Rouge.
 
The Luna you are considering is a laminate-top ukulele; and I don't think it's going to have very good electronics.

Given that, I'd recommend getting a piezo pickup for your current ukulele and play around with that (note: a piezo pickup will need a preamp, which most amps have, but you should still check). Or, if you want a better sound, mic your current ukulele and then run the signal thru whatever you planned to use with the electric.

Any of the above will cost much less and give you the same (worst case) or better results (most likely) sonically.

It'll just not as portable as the Luna.
 
Thanks. I'll read up on the suggestions, and see where it leads.

I don't know one pickup from another, (as I mentioned in a previous thread, I'm in the "for dummies" level), or a preamp from an amp, but will read up. Maybe I'm in over my head, and will have to give up on the idea.

I was thinking that I wouldn't want to harm any of my current ukuleles, and it seems to me that adding a pickup would do that? Ukulele would have to be modified in some way? Not something I could do myself. Don't know anywhere around here that would do it.

But, thanks for the info on the Luna. I'll cross that off my list.

How did you all learn about all the electronic stuff? Any particular resources you'd recommend?
 
At it's simplest, installing a piezo pickup generally means drilling one small hole in the saddle slot (which gets totally hidden by the saddle), and replacing the endpin/strap button with an endpin jack (or installing the jack if there's no button to replace now). It's definitely a "modification," but it's very common and not something that most people would consider harmful (assuming it's done right!). You can also get piezo pickups that just clamp into the soundhole, although those aren't common on uke sized instruments (with good reason). If you've got $300 to spend and want a quality result, adding a pickup to a quality uke you already have is going to turn out better than buying a $300 uke that already has a pickup in it. If you're not handy with this stuff, you should take the instrument to a good tech or send it off to one. That alone may be a limiting factor - if you don't have access to a good tech, shipping two ways and also paying for labor could put the cost of adding a good pickup within range of the Kala you mentioned above. The Kala isn't a high end instrument, but it's a recognizable brand name, and would be a fine starting place if you're just looking for something to try out.
 
Determine your price range, then look at what HMS or Mim have available. All my pick-ups are MiSi. Sound great, no pre amp needed, no battery to change, simple to use.
 
In spite of my obvious total ignorance on the topic, I'm learning bit by bit, and enjoying the learning process.
Thanks to all who are patient enough to help out.
 
hendulele said:
This. Clips on the sound hole of any acoustic uke. No drilling or modifications needed.

https://www.gotaukulele.com/2017/05/irig-acoustic-stage-review.html
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'll definitely look into this more. Looks like the one device would allow me to move it from ukulele to ukulele, so if I get into playing with this, I don't need separate pickups for each ukulele. (I'm fortunate enough to have a few.)

With Black Friday sales coming up, I hope I've got things sorted out quickly in case there is a good sale. :)
 
If I were going to buy an electric uke, my first and only choice would be a RISA. I don't know if they come in concert size; I've only seen them in tenor. And they aren't acoustic/electric. They are solid body, all-electric.

Another option which hasn't been discussed yet is the cigar box guitar. They are inexpensive, unique, and fun. I have a four-string cigar box guitar that I keep in D minor tuning for playing slide and pentatonics. Patently I am using DGBE strings, however you could get strings that would allow a GCEA tuning. The scale is a bit tricky. Cigar box guitars don't come in standard sizes like ukes. You would have to search around until you found one that had a concert scale. I know it is probably a bit more trouble than you're willing to undertake. I just offer the suggestion in the interest of covering all the bases.
 
RISA does seem to come in concert (and soprano) size. One more thing to investigate! Thanks.

And I'll look into cigar box options, too.

I've been watching YouTubes on the Zoom that was mentioned in a different thread, and that was a good suggestion, too. I think that would be fun to play with, but would need a pickup, so maybe the IRig needs further investigation, too. The posted review made it look good.

This should all keep me busy over the holiday weekend, and maybe a Black Friday sale will pop up at the right time. Lots of things to look into and learn about.

Thanks!
 
HMS has a Kala concert with a pick-up on sale for $149 & free shipping. Might be a good one to “dip your toe” into an electric uke. HMS will set it up nicely.
 
RafterGirl said:
HMS has a Kala concert with a pick-up on sale for $149 & free shipping. Might be a good one to “dip your toe” into an electric uke. HMS will set it up nicely.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I just got off the phone with Sweetwater, and took advantage of their Black Friday sales, (if you call, you can get deals on things not listed as on sale otherwise, which is how it worked out for me.) I went with the suggestion of the IRig, so I can use any of my existing ukuleles without modifications, and the Zoom G1 Four that was mentioned in my other thread about the electronics. I've already got headphones that should work with the Zoom, and can use this set up to decide if I want anything further. At least, I think this should work. LOL. When you don't know what you're doing, sometimes you just have to give it a go and see what happens.

But...I think I'll go take a peek at the Kala right now anyway. LOL.
 
Joyful Uke said:
Thanks. I just got off the phone with Sweetwater, and took advantage of their Black Friday sales, (if you call, you can get deals on things not listed as on sale otherwise, which is how it worked out for me.) I went with the suggestion of the IRig, so I can use any of my existing ukuleles without modifications, and the Zoom G1 Four that was mentioned in my other thread about the electronics. I've already got headphones that should work with the Zoom, and can use this set up to decide if I want anything further. At least, I think this should work. LOL. When you don't know what you're doing, sometimes you just have to give it a go and see what happens.

But...I think I'll go take a peek at the Kala right now anyway. LOL.
Click to expand...

I'm anxious to hear how you like the Zoom. I keep thinking about getting a looper/effects pedal. Can't decide. I'm not a tech type person & hate fiddly things, so that holds me back.
 
RafterGirl said:
I'm anxious to hear how you like the Zoom. I keep thinking about getting a looper/effects pedal. Can't decide. I'm not a tech type person & hate fiddly things, so that holds me back.
Click to expand...

I'm not a tech type person either, but after watching some YouTubes and looking at the manual, I think I should be able to play around with the Zoom. Probably won't ever use it to its fullest capabilities, (but you never know), but at least try out electronics & see what I think, and hopefully have some fun.

I'll try to remember to update this once I get it and have some time to play with it.

Here is the link for the manual:
https://zoomcorp.com/media/documents/E_G1FOUR.pdf
 
To my surprise, the IRig and Zoom have arrived already. In a very quick session, I had them both up and running, and ran through all the effects on the Zoom. Some I'll likely never use, but others do have potential. Haven't tried the looper yet, but RafterGirl, I think it's going to be relatively easy to use overall. I thought I'd post my quick first impressions, in case you wanted to try to catch a Cyber Monday sale, (though I suspect the sales will be going on for a while anyway.)

I'm using headphones, the IRig, and the Zoom, so there seem to be lots of cables and things all over the place, (especially since I'm new to using any of this), but it's a good way for me to get started. The devices are small, so that's a plus, too.

I already have a project in mind, so this will be a good winter/pandemic era activity.

Thanks to all who offered some suggestions.
 
Seems you got the iRig already.
I had one, along with more electric ukuleles and gadgets i can remember.

The sound quality and functionality is good. What I didn't loke was that it's quite cumbersome. You have wires sticking out and an electronics box you gotta clip on your pants or place somewhere securely. A bit if a hassle to setup each time you play, whereas a uke with built in pickup can just plug and play (no loose wiring and equipment).

The iRig obviously has the advantage of being able to be used in most guitars, ukes and other instruments where the clip would fit.

If you want a decent electric or acoustic-electric, just avoid the ones that come with generic pickups. This includes virtually all Luna, Kala, Lanikai, Mahalo, etc which come with generic or "Belcat" systems that never seem to have proper volume balance between the strings.

Those *can* be made decent if you purchase a better quality piezo undersaddle unit and replace it (eg: Artec). But that requires some tinkering know-how.

Best to stick to reputable brands of pickup (Shadow, Fishman, Mi Si, LR Baggs, B-Band, etc) or electric instruments (Risa, Enya, Eleuke are pretty good now too)
 
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The Zoom unit is (in my opinion at least) the best place to start if you want to try effects and don't really have any idea where you want to start. Zoom does very well as a brand at digital multi-effects units. They do a TON of stuff, most of it pretty OK in terms of quality. The controls are consistent. They are reasonably priced, reasonably easy to use, and popular enough that you can sell it on if you decide you don't like it. If you know exactly which effects you want, and you need the best quality, you'd be better off buying quality, individual pedals. But if you just want to learn and try things out, a digital multi effects pedal is the way to go for sure.

Think of it as the guitar electronics equivalent of an all you can eat buffet. Sure - the food isn't super fancy, but it's cheap, pretty good, and you can try anything you like instead of getting locked in to a particular cuisine.
 
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