December 30, 2009 

[Video] I Made a $4 Electric Ukulele

While I was home for Christmas, I was watching lots of ukulele videos on Youtube. Somewhere in my wanderings I came across the Risa Uke Solid and my mind was blown. It’s a small electric ukulele made out of a single solid piece of wood and some hardware. The simplicity of the design made me think: “Hey, I could do that” and so I began thinking about how I could make a simple electric ukulele myself. Two days later, with lots of help from my dad and his tools, I have a working electric ukulele made from stuff I found around my parent’s house and a set of $4 ukulele strings. It’s currently fret-less and the pickup leaves a lot to be desired but my goal was really to create a mock-up so that I would know what I was doing when I built the actual thing.

Epilogue:

Possible improvements on this model:

  • Frets
  • Deepen groove on back

Things to learn before building next model:

  • Are there shorter tuning pegs so that I can avoid drilling the extra hole?
  • Are there better pickup solutions for my price range?

Improvements for next model:

  • Less space between tuning pegs
  • Harder wood
  • No taper
  • Strings further apart at nut
  • Narrower holes for strings at nut
  • Standard G-C-E-A strings

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794 Responses to “[Video] I Made a $4 Electric Ukulele”

  1. mrsub360 December 10, 2011 at 6:01 pm #

    [..YouTube..] Some great craftsmanship on such a rustic instrument!

    Reply
  2. mrsub360 December 10, 2011 at 6:01 pm #

    [..YouTube..] Some great craftsmanship on such a rustic instrument!

    Reply
  3. mrsub360 December 10, 2011 at 6:01 pm #

    [..YouTube..] Some great craftsmanship on such a rustic instrument!

    Reply
  4. mrsub360 December 10, 2011 at 6:01 pm #

    [..YouTube..] Some great craftsmanship on such a rustic instrument!

    Reply
  5. mrsub360 December 10, 2011 at 6:01 pm #

    [..YouTube..] Some great craftsmanship on such a rustic instrument!

    Reply
  6. mrsub360 December 10, 2011 at 6:01 pm #

    [..YouTube..] Some great craftsmanship on such a rustic instrument!

    Reply
  7. shimanchunutakara December 24, 2011 at 1:31 am #

    [..YouTube..] u paid too much

    Reply
  8. shimanchunutakara December 24, 2011 at 1:31 am #

    [..YouTube..] u paid too much

    Reply
  9. shimanchunutakara December 24, 2011 at 1:31 am #

    [..YouTube..] u paid too much

    Reply
  10. shimanchunutakara December 24, 2011 at 1:31 am #

    [..YouTube..] u paid too much

    Reply
  11. HighViewStudios December 29, 2011 at 3:46 pm #

    [..YouTube..] @dasteve1987 give up

    Reply
  12. HighViewStudios December 29, 2011 at 3:46 pm #

    [..YouTube..] @dasteve1987 give up

    Reply
  13. HighViewStudios December 29, 2011 at 3:46 pm #

    [..YouTube..] @dasteve1987 give up

    Reply
  14. GhassenAthmni January 10, 2012 at 10:25 pm #

    [..YouTube..] how much measures the piece of wood, and what kind of would is it?

    Reply
  15. GhassenAthmni January 10, 2012 at 10:25 pm #

    [..YouTube..] how much measures the piece of wood, and what kind of would is it?

    Reply
  16. GhassenAthmni January 10, 2012 at 10:25 pm #

    [..YouTube..] how much measures the piece of wood, and what kind of would is it?

    Reply
  17. GhassenAthmni January 10, 2012 at 10:25 pm #

    [..YouTube..] how much measures the piece of wood, and what kind of would is it?

    Reply
  18. GhassenAthmni January 10, 2012 at 10:25 pm #

    [..YouTube..] how much measures the piece of wood, and what kind of would is it?

    Reply
  19. GhassenAthmni January 10, 2012 at 10:25 pm #

    [..YouTube..] how much measures the piece of wood, and what kind of would is it?

    Reply
  20. GhassenAthmni January 10, 2012 at 10:25 pm #

    [..YouTube..] how much measures the piece of wood, and what kind of would is it?

    Reply
  21. GhassenAthmni January 10, 2012 at 10:25 pm #

    [..YouTube..] how much measures the piece of wood, and what kind of would is it?

    Reply
  22. GhassenAthmni January 10, 2012 at 10:25 pm #

    [..YouTube..] how much measures the piece of wood, and what kind of would is it?

    Reply
  23. GhassenAthmni January 10, 2012 at 10:25 pm #

    [..YouTube..] how much measures the piece of wood, and what kind of would is it?

    Reply
  24. GhassenAthmni January 10, 2012 at 10:25 pm #

    [..YouTube..] how much measures the piece of wood, and what kind of would is it?

    Reply
  25. GhassenAthmni January 10, 2012 at 10:25 pm #

    [..YouTube..] how much measures the piece of wood, and what kind of would is it?

    Reply
  26. GhassenAthmni January 10, 2012 at 10:25 pm #

    [..YouTube..] how much measures the piece of wood, and what kind of would is it?

    Reply
  27. GhassenAthmni January 10, 2012 at 10:25 pm #

    [..YouTube..] how much measures the piece of wood, and what kind of would is it?

    Reply
  28. jakependergraph January 23, 2012 at 3:27 pm #

    [..YouTube..] Coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time, guy. Awesome job.

    Reply
  29. jakependergraph January 23, 2012 at 3:27 pm #

    [..YouTube..] Coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time, guy.  Awesome job.

    Reply
  30. jakependergraph January 23, 2012 at 3:27 pm #

    [..YouTube..] Coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time, guy. Awesome job.

    Reply
  31. jakependergraph January 23, 2012 at 3:27 pm #

    [..YouTube..] Coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time, guy. Awesome job.

    Reply
  32. jakependergraph January 23, 2012 at 3:27 pm #

    [..YouTube..] Coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time, guy. Awesome job.

    Reply
  33. jakependergraph January 23, 2012 at 3:27 pm #

    [..YouTube..] Coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time, guy. Awesome job.

    Reply
  34. jakependergraph January 23, 2012 at 3:27 pm #

    [..YouTube..] Coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time, guy. Awesome job.

    Reply
  35. jakependergraph January 23, 2012 at 3:27 pm #

    [..YouTube..] Coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time, guy. Awesome job.

    Reply
  36. jakependergraph January 23, 2012 at 3:27 pm #

    [..YouTube..] Coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time, guy. Awesome job.

    Reply
  37. jakependergraph January 23, 2012 at 3:27 pm #

    [..YouTube..] Coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time, guy. Awesome job.

    Reply
  38. jakependergraph January 23, 2012 at 3:27 pm #

    [..YouTube..] Coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time, guy. Awesome job.

    Reply
  39. jakependergraph January 23, 2012 at 3:27 pm #

    [..YouTube..] Coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time, guy. Awesome job.

    Reply
  40. tcraiford February 2, 2012 at 1:03 pm #

    [..YouTube..] That is awesome!

    Reply
  41. tcraiford February 2, 2012 at 1:03 pm #

    [..YouTube..] That is awesome!

    Reply
  42. tcraiford February 2, 2012 at 1:03 pm #

    [..YouTube..] That is awesome! 

    Reply
  43. tcraiford February 2, 2012 at 1:03 pm #

    [..YouTube..] That is awesome!

    Reply
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Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Irving Berlin’s “Blue Skies” on Eleuke electric ukulele | ClassicalCode - September 21, 2010

    [...] have been dreaming about electric ukuleles for years now, and have been dreaming with a passion ever since I found the Eleuke on Youtube. [...]

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