Electric Ukulele

[luke_lee]

Hi,
For a bit of fun I made this ukulele last year, it has steel stings and a pickup.
Luke

[kiwigeo]

You could call it an electric mandolin couldnt you?

Interesting beast....would be interested to hear it in action

[Kim]

Very coooool look'in uke

Can we have a listen??

Cheers

Kim

[woodrat]

Hi Luke, That is a cool instrument

John

[charangohabsburg]

Hi Luke, I'm one more who just can say: what a cool uke!

When I look at the first picture it seems to be a flat or almost flat top "archie"... Does the top has any arching at all? How thick is it?

Cheers,

[luke_lee]

Hi
The top and back are flat, the total body thickness is about 36mm. It is 2 pieces of 18mm oak carved out and joined together, the top and back "plates" are 3mm thick no bracing. I did all the body routing on the CNC at my old work, I had free access to the CNC and want to do something more interesting than white boxes.

It sounds good acoustic, the steel stings help with the volume. When I plug it in it sounds a little harsh but not to bad, it dose not distort well.
I will try to record some sound.

Luke

[luke_lee]

Sound,
The first 15sec are acoustic (in to a mic), the next 15sec is the pickup.
Luke

[charangohabsburg]

Hi Luke,

Thanks for the information.
That's an interesting construction: almost like two charango-bowls glued together!
I know a bolivian charango-luthier who made (or still makes) hollowed out ukuleles (but with spruce top) for a US american instrument dealer.

I'm surprised: the sound sample recorded with a microphone sounds a bit like a nylon strung ukulele - maybe because it's a bit out of tune!
But anyway, it sounds nice!

[Kim]

It certainly fills up with warmth once plugged in.....Schweeet

Thanks for sharing the uke Luke.

Cheers

Kim