Official Luthiers Forum!
http://w-ww.luthiersforum.com/forum/

Electric ukulele finished
http://w-ww.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10123&t=41089
Page 1 of 1

Author:  Phillip Patton [ Thu Aug 08, 2013 6:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Electric ukulele finished

Finally got this one done, after letting it sit on the shelf for months half finished. At least, it might be done; I may add a logo inlay to the headstock, which would mean refinishing that area...

Anyway, the body and neck are mahogany, the top is claro walnut (gorgeous stuff!) and the other wood parts are all african blackwood.

It has a single humbucker, wired for series/parallel. Sounds pretty good! I'll try to record a sample, but my recording setup leaves something to be desired...

Of course this is pretty unconventional, and I may never sell it for that reason (though I'd like to), but I have a thing about weird instruments, and I just had to make it. Now I'm thinking about making a soprano size (this one is a tenor).

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

I need to clean up the fretboard a little too...

Author:  Phillip Patton [ Thu Aug 08, 2013 6:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Electric ukulele finished

Image

Image

Image

Image

Author:  Chris Pile [ Thu Aug 08, 2013 6:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Electric ukulele finished

Darn near perfect, ain't it?

Author:  Nick Royle [ Thu Aug 08, 2013 8:20 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Electric ukulele finished

Absolutely gorgeous!
(I was desperately trying to remember the quote in your sig earlier!)

Author:  cphanna [ Thu Aug 08, 2013 8:31 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Electric ukulele finished

What's not to like? Dang! Fabulous.
Patrick

Author:  twick [ Thu Aug 08, 2013 9:04 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Electric ukulele finished

Very cool piece, bravo!.

Author:  dzsmith [ Fri Aug 09, 2013 12:48 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Electric ukulele finished

Beautiful!
The finish is impecable!

Author:  Mike Baker [ Sat Aug 10, 2013 12:04 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Electric ukulele finished

Nick Royle wrote:
Absolutely gorgeous!

+10! Very sweet.
Did you build the pickup, or buy it aftermarket. If the latter, what is it?

Author:  James T [ Sun Aug 11, 2013 6:32 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Electric ukulele finished

Outstanding , stunning work !

Author:  Phillip Patton [ Tue Aug 13, 2013 11:11 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Electric ukulele finished

Thanks, fellas, for all your comments!

Mike Baker wrote:
Nick Royle wrote:
Absolutely gorgeous!

+10! Very sweet.
Did you build the pickup, or buy it aftermarket. If the latter, what is it?


I built it myself. I did find some people selling uke pickups, but the prices were so high, I just decided to do it myself. I like to have control over all the creative processes anyway, though.

Author:  daltonbarham [ Wed Aug 14, 2013 11:31 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Electric ukulele finished

hi! i have a few questions as i'm just about to undertake a similar project myself!
firstly, how did you know when to stop winding the pick up, did you measure the number of turns, or the resistance?
and secondly, where did you get your strings!

Author:  Phillip Patton [ Wed Aug 14, 2013 5:14 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Electric ukulele finished

daltonbarham wrote:
hi! i have a few questions as i'm just about to undertake a similar project myself!
firstly, how did you know when to stop winding the pick up, did you measure the number of turns, or the resistance?
and secondly, where did you get your strings!



Howdy,
I made a pickup winder out of a fishing reel. The reel crank hits a small switch with each turn, which is connected to a calculator which then counts the turns. Then you have to multiply that number by the gear ratio of the reel to get the actual number of turns of wire. When I get close, I scrape some of the varnish off of the wire, and check the resistance with a meter, and if it needs more, paint some lacquer where I scraped, and keep winding. You can find plans for the winder online.

The strings are just regular electric guitar strings, like these:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/EXL110-3Pk/

For tenor tuning, use the DGBE strings. For baritone, use the ADGB strings. You might have to experiment with different guages.

Have fun! If you have any more questions, ask away.

Author:  klooker [ Thu Aug 15, 2013 8:27 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Electric ukulele finished

Awesome, design, execution, everything!

What's your final finishing routine - grits to level then what do you do final polishing with?

Thanks,
Kevin Looker

Author:  Phillip Patton [ Thu Aug 15, 2013 12:25 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Electric ukulele finished

klooker wrote:
Awesome, design, execution, everything!

What's your final finishing routine - grits to level then what do you do final polishing with?

Thanks,
Kevin Looker



Thanks, man!

I pore filled with Zpoxy, then sprayed with shellac sanding sealer, then sprayed with about 12 coats of fairly thin Behlen lacquer. Let it cure for a couple weeks, then level sanded with 1000 grit paper using my ROS, then buffed with Menzerna ultra fine compound with an electric buffer.

Author:  timbass [ Fri Aug 16, 2013 8:55 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Electric ukulele finished

This looks really amazing. Good job, and really inspiring :-)
It's funny, I saw this video today, and it's obviously more you can do with a ukulele than I thought :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... ylxBtEM0sI

best regards,
Tim

Author:  Bjornstad [ Sat Aug 17, 2013 5:51 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Electric ukulele finished

Nice work.

Page 1 of 1 All times are UTC - 5 hours
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
http://www.phpbb.com/