Eleuke Concert Full Review
37March 23, 2010 by Tim
Full Front View
Imagine if back in the day when Led Zeppelin was forming and Jimmy Page decided that his main instrument would be a ukulele!!! If that did happen, and Eleuke was making these ukuleles, he would have played it. I think Led Zeppelin would have been even bigger than they were!…….. Maybe not, But it would have been cool to see.
When someone says ukulele most think of the standard design of a 3 inch deep hollow box with a wood neck, with the wood grain showing, and friction tuners. They don’t think of a 1/2″ thick solid sparkle blue ukulele with a cut away body, geared tuners, no sound hole, and 3 jacks in the end. But why NOT! Uke players can rock out with the best of them gosh darn it!!! (Gotta keep it family friendly) And with the personal MP3 player input you can rock out along with the best of them without disturbing the whole house when you use the built in amp with your headphones plugged in
Eleuke was nice enough to send me a concert sized eleuke a few weeks ago and below is the full review, enjoy.
Specs:
Full Rear View
Model: CCK100BL-MP3
Concert : 19 Fret
Bridge & Saddle : Rosewood
Nut : Rosewood
Pickup : Eleuke original
Output : 1/4″ Phone Jack, H/P output
Input: MP3 Input with connection cable for your MP3 player to play along with backing track.
String : Aquila
Peg : Closed Gear chrome
Bag : Softbag Included
Looks
First look: (4) Its Bright blue, you can’t miss it. My 2009 Honda Civic is the same color (Atomic Blue) I like it because it makes a statement. For some it may not be to their liking, but you can get these in a pineapple, natural wood (Really cool looking since they do strips of different wood), and they also come in purple and red. One of the details that is really hard to photograph is the sparkle in the paint. It looks like car paint, which is not uncommon and means that it is a really sturdy finish. With the mother of pearl binding around the edge of the body and fret board it makes it look like a well made instrument that people took care in making.
My only real turn-off is with the headstock. It has mother of pearl inlay around the body and the position markers, but the headstock logo and design is screen printed on in a flat gold. Just takes away from the overall look.
Headstock
Close-up of the paint
Fit and Finish: (5) When making and instrument there are telltale signs that it is quality. One of them is smoothness of the edges. Every edge has been rounded (Except the bridge where you want it to be crisp). The paint is perfect with no weird blotches. I will say at first I was worried about the paint because it will look kind of dark at the edges when you look at it at an angle. I think this is a two part thing with the sparkle and major thick gloss finish they use.
Other things like the fret board are also just great. The frets are filed back with no edges to catch on. Every joint and part that is not suppose to have paint on it was handled very well. You can tell that it was taped because you can see a small micro space around the fret board at the body from the tape. Not noticeable unless you A) have your face an inch away looking for it , or B) just too picky and expecting a sub $200 ukulele to not have any tiny finish flaws. Either way top notch.
Sound
Sound Type : Depends on where you have the tone knob. All the way down it is mellow and muted, all the way up sharp and tinny.
Intonation: (4) The intonation is not perfect, but I have yet to find a ukulele that is perfect from the factory. With a professionals help it would take a little time to shape the saddle to make it perfect. The only people that would notice are those who are crazy sensitive to pitch. No matter where you play on the fret board it will sound really awesome and right.
Regular Jack, Headphone, MP3 Player in
Volume: (NA) How big is your amp? Unplugged you can hear it, kind of, it is a solid body electric. If you plug this baby into a Marshall double stack and crank it, you could level a house, if that is how you roll. Don’t forget that this has one really unique feature, A built in personal amp. Just plug in some headphones and turn the volume up to make it as loud as you want without disturbing anyone else.
Sustain: (5) Beside the fact that it is an electric, and you can hear the sound as it degrades for longer, it has really good sustain. The Aquila strings have a lot to do with the sound and sustain.
Feel
String Height: (Medium-High) Both the nut and saddle are higher than I would like. Not slide guitar high. The nut could come down a mm or two, and the saddle has room also to come down a bit.
String Height
Neck Radius Depth: (3/4″) Average radius depth for a C shaped neck.
Frets: (5) I measured the fret spacing and found that they are perfect. Along with the frets they are very well dressed with no issues. For the price I was surprised to not to be able to feel the frets from the side of the neck. This is something that shows that great care was taken on the fret board.
Tuning: (4) I know I will get flack for this, but I think ukuleles should come with friction tuners. The ukulele stays in-tune after the strings have settled. Tuning it is very easy with the geared tuners. Perfect ratio for tuning a ukulele. small turns make small changes.
With a Strap
Comfort: (5) The rounded edges, no frets sticking out the side, and the fact that it is very small makes it very comfortable to play. It can sit on your knee while you are sitting. Also has a strap button/amp jack lets you put a strap on it, you just need to tie it to the head on the other side. Very comfortable to play and nothing gets in the way with the cut-out in the body so you can hit the highest notes.
Final Thoughts
I own a Risa solid soprano, so this is not the first electric uke I have played. I love the volume and tone knobs. Very useful when you are playing and need to adjust the sound. The Eleuke is bigger and less compact, but it comes with a great padded clothe case (No kidding at least 2 inches of padding on both top and bottom) and also easier to hold if you don’t want to strap it on. Just a really well made instrument for anyone who wants to play on stage, practice without having others hear it, or just being loud for loads sake.
IF this was my instrument I would take it in to have the action lowered. The way I got it was totally playable, I just am really picky. I would also buy some more fun knobs like these that got to 11. The last thing I would do is put a strap button behind the neck where it meets the body.
If anyone asks me what solid body ukulele to buy, I would say that this is my top choice.
All Rating on a scale of 1-5
Click here for an explanation of reviews
| First Look | 4 |
| Fit and Finish | 5 |
| Sound Type | Depends |
| Intonation | 4 |
| Volume | NA |
| Sustain | 5 |
| String Height | Medium-High |
| Neck Radius Depth | 3/4″ |
| Frets | 5 |
| Tuning | 4 |
| Comfort | 5 |
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Ukeeku.com 
Good one Tim. We have to get a cheap one strung for me. Check out Jonah’s blog. He’s singing now. Maybe it’s time to get a family group together. Jonah singing lead with you and Chris as backup. Now THAT’s a utube moment!
Good article.
Mark
Giving this puppy away
One of the amazing things about the ukulele “community” is that people are very generous about sharing their enthusiasm and experience online (very much like two other “communities” I belong to – physics teachers and amateur astronomy). It was great to read your review and to see that I am far from alone in my new quirky enthusiasm (I recently shifted from six-string guitar, which I have played in open tunings for 15+ years, to the ukulele, eight or so of which I own – including the RISA tenor solid electric uke). Rock on!
First got a Uke over 30 years ago but couldn’t get use to the sound over my guitar. Fast Forward 20 years & working in a music store I slowly got used to it. Recently I got a Tenor Uke & it made a big difference, quality instrument. Never see a solid body electric Uke in person or heard one but I love to play; I Wanna Be Sedated on my Uke, so electic is the ticket. Keep me in mind. Like that you can play with headphones or earbuds too. Way Kewl! Jerry
Very informative review- I like the fact that you can just plug headphones in! Sure my neighbours would appreciate it!
My wife sure does!
Hello, this looks like fun. Thanks for the review and the giveaway opportunity. Can you tell us what the scale length is? I know it is a concert scale but sometimes the length isn’t a standard 15 inches. My concert, for example, is 15 1/4″ and a Flea is 15.5″, if I recall correctly. Thanks. I hope this puts me in for the give away.
Oh, by the way, regarding the giveaway: my husband also plays but we share the same email address. Is it cheating for him to respond using our shared address? No worries, if yes. I haven’t told him about this yet! Ha!
Yes, you are entered. I believe it is a 15″ scale. Feels like any other normal concert
Sure, I assigned you 2 entries. Best of luck
This looks like SO much fun! Sign me up for the contest please and I would love to show it off to my rock-band friends and impress them.
Sweet ukulele. i had a tenor eleuke, sold it last year because i didn’t like the tenor size. the ukulele was great.
that is one beautiful ukulele. i would to own
Thanks for this wonderful gesture, Tim.
Your review was excellent, more detailed than most, and quite balanced.
Best,
I love you.
I’m new to the ukulele, and the best one I can afford at the moment is a 26-dollar My First Ukulele…
which is way better than No Ukulele At All…
But I still really hope you’ll draw my name when the end of the month comes…. 🙂
Cheers!!!
Well, if the only problem is a less than inspired headstock and the action’s a little high….well that ain’t bad!
Not a bad price either. I love the blue. I’ve been looking for an electric. I’ve only played acoustic. This could be the one! Thanks for the review.
Ellen
Eleuke, sounds kinda cute.
Thanks for the review. I found it very helpful. Interesting looking instrument.
greg
I’d love to rock that uke!
I’d rock that!
I need one, to match my Atomic Blue, Ukettes-mobile…for sure!!!
Great Review. I would kill for an electric uke. Which is why it would just be better if I got it through a giveaway.
Nice review shame about the colour, same colour as my PT Cruiser, but not the best for a ukulele. still a nice shape and I am sure an even better sound. Dave
Hi – please add me onto your possible list to win the electric uke. I already own a little soprano (not a person with a very high voice … actually, that’s me!) and I take it into schools when I’m singing with the children and they absolutely love it. I reckon they’d be pretty wowed with an electric one. Thank you!
Kaz x
This thing looks pretty sweet, especially the headphone jack, I haven’t seen that before. Getting one of these would definitely inspire me to practice as much as I tell myself I should…hint hint.
This is a cool little number, and I like the review. However, I am curious to know your thoughts on the overall action of the strings. I know you stated they are a bit high for you tastes, but how was the action? Granted, this can vary depending on the strings used. From the photos, these are nylon strings. Makes me wonder how it would sound with steel wound. Just a thought.
Steel strings might break it. The action issue is due in part to the nut being high.
Thanks for this review. I’m thinking of getting one of these, and I appreciate your opinions.
Great Ukulele thinking about getting one of these but stuck with a regular mahalo.
Cool! I’ve been tossing around the idea of getting one of these so having a first hand review has been very helpful.
thats awesome that there can be headphones. means you could plug it into anything that takes headphone jack. i could use my tv out cables and play uke on the tv. so many possibilities
It is a beautiful Ukulele. Have heard nothing but great things about them. The only concern is what happens when friends drool gets on them as they are admiring it. Shock?????? *grin*
Have a Great Day,
Jim
I’ve always wanted one of these.
Awesome idea!
Thomas
I think these are great ukes, and would love to win one for my kids!
This is a cool Ukulele. I’m picking up the Ukulele for my band.
Looks like a great uke my small soprano and my strumming occasionally cause my landords distress as I try to learn a new tune. I love the idea of a personal amp and a set of headphones.
Thanks for the review.
Just a newbie here but I need this uke to practice in my rabbit warren of an office! I do not want to disturb my office neighbors. I just began a faculty uke group called “Ukebox” and I need to stay a week ahead of them. They are rabid fans of ukuleles now! Thanks for the review! I am impressed!
this is amazing
imagine if bob dylan walked out with this puppy !!!!