[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..] Was that Pencil Thin Mustache, or Five Foot Two?
[..YouTube..] would you like my help with the next one?
[..YouTube..] That’s really awesome!
[..YouTube..] cool
[..YouTube..] nice beard
[..YouTube..] cool shirt
[..YouTube..] it sounds alright, id buy it.
I seem your video on you tube. I have been looking around for some info on how to make that pre-amp cable but can not find anything like that.Most of them are some kind of circuit board. Can you give me a place to look or tell me how it all goes together. thanks
[..YouTube..] it sounds good, and the reason u say it sounds tht way is because it doesnt have frets…. u should put them on it man!!!
[..YouTube..] Ain’t she sweet!!! I love that song. my favorite to play on uke…
[..YouTube..] what a champion!
[..YouTube..] you should make threads for it n btw whats the song?
[..YouTube..] @MrJa1l What do you mean by “threads”? Also, this is not any particular song. Just playing some chords around the circle of fifths.
[..YouTube..] @rippkurlzable I was not purposely playing “Ain’t She Sweet” But you are right, the chords are very similar. Also that is a GREAT song!
[..YouTube..] @steverhein I think I am just too afraid that I will put them on slightly wrong and it will sound even worse
[..YouTube..] @lookefooster Thanks, my mom found it at Good Will
[..YouTube..] @charliemunroe113 Where do you live?
[..YouTube..] @CapnTac Not any particular song. Just playing some chords around the circle of fifths.
[..YouTube..] @billhochhaus Best. Utopia. Ever.
[..YouTube..] @ukulelebeatsguitar I would be honored! Let me know how it turns out.
[..YouTube..] @supermax125 If you do make something, please let me know! I think the part that caught me most off-guard was the mounting of the tuning pegs. Make sure you really visualize how those are going to mount, and GET INTO PLACE before you cut the wood.
[..YouTube..] @zagreen I cut the slots (not sure if they are exactly in the correct place) but I still can’t find epoxy in a tube with a narrow enough nozzle to apply the glue.
[..YouTube..] @MrShezzer Thanks! I was surprised myself.
[..YouTube..] @JordanneRene I was also surprised how passable it sounded. If you make something (or even if you fail at making something) I would love to see the results.
[..YouTube..] @thebigbadwolf96 Unfortunate, the tools I used were at my parent’s house and I don’t often spend more than a small amount of time there.
[..YouTube..] @cariboubill Well, at least you are being honest
[..YouTube..] @00zukka00 Thank you!
[..YouTube..] @trihunter00 I just bought an Eleuke, and although my $4 uke is a fun toy, it’s no instrument.
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone you now on guitars and such when there are things that stick up so you can press between so you always play a clean tone u even said it yourself at the end
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone Delaware.
[..YouTube..] it is an awesome song.. agreed!
[..YouTube..] wow thats really cool nice job
[..YouTube..] i dont think its terrible afterall you are plaring on a fretless 2×4 not to easy
[..YouTube..] not terribly elegant or creme de la creme in sound, but a billion happy geeky points for you sir!
[..YouTube..] i bet it would sound very nice with frets
but its still super cool
[..YouTube..] That is probably the coolest $4 ever spent.
[..YouTube..] for $4 it sounds a hell of alot better than most ukuleles out there.
[..YouTube..] You’re really just a little out of tune on some of those chords, but that’s mainly just because it’s fretless and you really have to be more exact in your finger placement. Other than that, it sounds really good though. Good job.
[..YouTube..] its chuck Norris
[..YouTube..] @captbaritone Delaware.
[..YouTube..] not terribly elegant or creme de la creme in sound, but a billion happy geeky points for you sir!
[..YouTube..] If you’ve got a broken car laying around, and you buy a $4 part to rebuild/fix it, it’s not really honest to say you built a car for $4. You already had the wood, knobs, pens, wood-working tools, etc.
Don’t get me wrong, that’s pretty rad.
[..YouTube..] very inventive.
[..YouTube..] This looks very well made. great job
[..YouTube..] This looks very well made. great job
[..YouTube..] Ukulele music makes me want to self harm, but this was very cool indeed….
[..YouTube..] oneee word: kickass. haha u make me wanna try to make onee except i think id prolly fail miserably. haha i hav a question tho, wht happends when the strings break?<3 thats awesomee
[..YouTube..] why cant americans say tubing properly
[..YouTube..] wait u bouht it for 4 bucks or are u sellin it for 4 bucks
[..YouTube..] oh nvm i went back in the vid and found where u said it cost u 4 bucks