Quiet uke for practicing.

rorym

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I’m looking for advice on a very quiet uke that I can connect a set of headphones to. I doubt if I’d ever need it for performances, which are rare.

I used to have a Risa solid tenor stick, and I am not interested in that form factor. It sounded nice, and was great for travel, but it just didn’t suit me.

I like the looks of a Fluke SB, but it is on the expensive side.

I’d consider an Eleuke, but it seems too much like the Risa in form.

What else is out there?
 
Maybe a Mahalo Surfboard, if you can get one somewhere, it came in both soprano & concert scales, & steel or nylon strung.

I have a nylon strung concert scale, being a solid piece of wood, very little noise without amplification.
 
Going the cheapest route possible, I ordered a solid concert Ammoon from ***mart.com. The order was promptly cancelled by the vendor "ecause of the system BUG, there is a difference between the product and the web page description."

I'd probably live to regret that purchase anyway.

I am hesatent to try muting the strings of an acoustic ukulele. For strumming only, I could see it working just fine, but for fingerstyle and slack key tunes where the notes best ring out as long a possible, I can't imagine it working out to any degree. I'm not a singer - I try to make the ukulele sing (emphasis on 'try').

So at this point I think the choice is down to an Eleuke and a Risa stick (concert this time, rather than the tenor I once had). Other quality options get expensive quickly - e.g. Fluke SB, Pono TE.

The used market is hit or miss. There was a used Teton on FB locally several months ago. I passed on it, unfortunately. A used Mahalo surfboard is getting up there in price - on Reverb there is one selling for more than the cost of a new Risa.

Reviews for the Risa are universally more laudatory than for the Eleuke; at over twice the price I would expect nothing less.

Last thoughts - I could see stuffing an electro-acoustic uke with batting and then using headphones through an amp. I'd rather not do this to my two ukes that this would work with, but I could do an experiment. If that works I could purchase a relatively inexpensive uke just for this purpose.

Cost comparisons:

Eleuke $130
Risa stick $290
Fluke SB $420
Pono TE $720
 
Practice mute out of the question? It keeps the feel of the uke, and very effective at reducing the sound. Takes only a minute to make and costs less than $1.



Without practice mute and since you aren't singing or anything with the uke, you can try to capo it to make the strings shorter. This, combined with softer picking, means less energy and less sound.
 
If you want to buy a soprano Ammoon, e-mail me...I could let it go for $35 shipped. It's red. I had to do some work on it (the original pickup was bad) but it's fine now. I made a video on it some time ago (Don't judge too much...I've changed a lot of the videos since then). https://youtu.be/ETTXITpkZF8

I'm open to selling it because I bought the EleUke Peanut as a Kickstarter. The Peanut comes in concert (my preferred size). It, too, had some issues. (Another video showing how much I have changed things: https://youtu.be/3rv6O_8vLEk).

If you can't afford a Risa Stick, which I think is the current ultimate "silent" ukulele, I'd send you to the EleUke Peanut.
 
Thanks for he offer, ChoirGuy. I’ll probably pass on the offer though, as I almost never play soprano. I hardly play my concerts, either. My (tentative) plan is to save up for a Risa. Though I may first sell my two concerts and get another tenor, so as to give me a complete set tuning-wise (high G, low G, and low D) for my needs.

I do much appreciate your review videos and have already watched the two you mentioned several times.
 
What are you trying to accomplish? Your pickiness is severely limiting for no apparent reason. Maybe there's a different solution for your goal?
 
If you want to buy a soprano Ammoon, e-mail me...I could let it go for $35 shipped. It's red. I had to do some work on it (the original pickup was bad) but it's fine now. I made a video on it some time ago (Don't judge too much...I've changed a lot of the videos since then).

I'm open to selling it because I bought the EleUke Peanut as a Kickstarter. The Peanut comes in concert (my preferred size). It, too, had some issues. (Another video showing how much I have changed things: ).

If you can't afford a Risa Stick, which I think is the current ultimate "silent" ukulele, I'd send you to the EleUke Peanut.

Did you sell jt?
 
Unlike the Risa Stick, the EleUke Bluetooth Peanut Soprano has an earphone jack, can connect via Bluetooth and I believe the new ones can play through your cell phone as well. They are also much more refined in construction and quality compared to their older version(s).

I believe I have seen sound hole covers that dampen the sound on acoustic ukuleles (and guitars).
 
The only thing I can play when my wife's asleep is an electric 4-string cigar box guitar which I play without plugging in. I string it with the 4 bass strings of a guitar tuned to E A C# F#, a parallel tuning to GCEA. In my situation it isn't only the volume but the pitch. That's why I use bass strings; they pierce the walls less.
 
the EleUke Bluetooth Peanut Soprano has an earphone jack, can connect via Bluetooth and I believe the new ones can play through your cell phone as well.
Wow, I'd never heard of these before! They look amazing!

images


Product page here.

I'd previously had my eye on the Risa, but now, here we go! Thanks so much, Kenn!
 
If you're handy, and have the time, why not make one? Necks, bridges and piezo electronics are readily available, and are inexpensive on Ebay. Just a thought...
 
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