[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
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone i see. i might have got you wrong there then. but to be honest: the title is a little misleading, isnt it?i mean: i could make an ukulele for $0. just take the one lying around in my room
anyhow: did you fret it already? if you wanna keep it @4bucks you could use toothpicks as freds. they work suprisingly well and you might find them in your kitchen.btw: didnt mean to offend you, man. i think its cool to tinker musical stuff.
[..YouTube..] Some great craftsmanship on such a rustic instrument!