Difficulty: Advanced
Cost: $$
I’ve made quite a few solid body electric ukuleles. One of the most common questions about them is: Can you make plans for them??
My answer (until today) was: Well, they are complicated enough that it is hard to distill the process into a step-by-step plan.
Some of my electric ukuleles. Which one is your favorite?
After a lot of planning and thinking, I can finally release the plans to this electric ukulele. I tried to make the design as simple as possible. This ukulele can be made without a router, and it doesn’t have an angled headstock. The slot in the headstock provides the needed downward string angle. I opted to not have an onboard volume control. The volume is controlled on the the amplifier.
These plans, just like my other ones, can be modified to suit individual tastes. Some fun alterations to try would be having a different body shape, or adding volume control.
After you build your own, share your creation with me.
Learn more about the build process:
Circuits and Strings 
what is this about a grounding wire to the bridge? what is the purpose of it? and do i need it if i am going to build with a wooden bridge and piezo pickup? also any ideas of a capable band saw to buy that wont cost me too much this will be my first build and money is real tight. thanks for making these plans, the hard work you put into them is really appreciated!
You don’t need to ground the bridge for a piezo pickup. You can probably pickup a band saw for around $100, although I actully just use a scroll saw. I use a harbor freight one that is around $70.
but from my research my limited knowledge at the moment is telling me that a scroll saw will work for this project but will be very limiting. is this true? and could you provide specific places where you found these prices? what tuning gears did you use to build in this video?
Tuners I used: https://www.cbgitty.com/cubecart/6pc-chrome-3l-3r-sealed-gear-tuners.html
Every tool has different benefits and disadvantages. I don’t even own a band saw. All my instruments have been built with a scroll saw.
you saqid you got one for $70 that you have used for all your instruments. can i know what it is? thanks.
http://m.harborfreight.com/16-inch-variable-speed-scroll-saw-93012.html?utm_source=direct/not+provided&utm_medium=mobile_redirect
There are better ones out there for more money, but it’s done a lot of work for me.
you said you got one for $70 that you have used for all your instruments. can i know what it is? and have you used it on hard woods? thanks.
also am i able to use a piezo pick up with the kind of bridge that you used (sorry i dont know how to call that kind of bridge)?
For a metal bridge like this, a magnetic style pickup is best.
in the instructions one of the tools you mention is a thin bladded saw. how thin should it be?
.023 inches. Something like this: http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special_tools_for_Fretting/Adjustable_Fret_Slotting_Saw.html
will a .020 blade do it if not do you know of a place where i can get a blade with .023 inches that wont cost me more than $10 (i find it kind of crazy that stew macs is charging $30 for a saw)
That .020 blade should be fine. For a long time I used a harbor freight Japanese flush cut saw.
the second to last tool in the tools list is Trim”router”and”flush”trim”bit”. what is this and what is it used for?
Oops. That’s not supposed to be there. Disregard it. 🙂
I’ll fix it later.
It’s all fixed now. Thanks for pointing that out.
i asked you by your travel ukulele build how far apart are the strings by the nut and by the saddle. how far apart are they in this build? and how do you deecide how far apart you want them?
what are the clamps that you use in the video?
what are the clamps that you use in the video when gloing the two boards that make up the body together?
They are some homemade spool clamps. http://ukeonomics.blogspot.com/2013/04/ukulele-repair-tools-diy-spool-clamps.html?m=1
i asked you by your travel ukulele build how far apart are the strings by the nut and by the saddle. how far apart are they in this build? and how do you decide how far apart you want to make them?
28 mm at nut. 33 mm at bridge. That’s the measurements of the premade nut and bridge.
I got the bridge and nut from eBay. For the frets, just worry about rounding off the sharp edges with a file.
where do you get your premade nuts and bridges from? also i have been sseeing a lot on ukulele underground about fret dressing and its starting to scare me and make me think that i will need a lot of tools and money to get this thing playable. is this true?
you write in the parts and supplies list “Tru Oil and wax finish (or other finish)”. do you really need both a tru-oil and a wax finish? if yes wood “renassaince wax” work for this?
I use this wax: https://www.birchwoodcasey.com/Refinishing/Wood-Finishing/Gun-Stock-Wax.aspx
Dan – for the uke you show here, what kind of wood did you use? It looks way soft. Do you have any trouble with it getting dented easily?
All the wood on this one is maple, so it’s actually pretty hard.
in the instructions there isnt much detail on how you used the tru oil and gun wax to finish the body. how did you do it?
https://www.birchwoodcasey.com/Refinishing/Wood-Finishing/Tru-Oil%C2%AE-Stock-Finish.aspx
so ishouldnt worry about all this talk about fret leveling or crowning?
As long as you hammer in the frets with a plastic or brass hammer, you should be fine.
what is the width of the neck when finishedat the part that goes into the body?
42 mm
anything i need to know about if i plan to use a plain glooed on block of wood for the bridge with a piezo under saddle pick up? (on one of the threads on ukulele underground you did mention something about bridge/ saddle compensation which i didnt fully understand.)
The main thing is to make sure that the crown of the saddle is exactly 17 inches from the nut. My plans already factor in the compensation.
i am trying to print the a4 version of the body part of the print outs and i keep on ending up with the body being 128 mm across. any idea why that might be?
You did it right. It should be 5 inches across.
also 42mm seems a bit thin for the width of the neck part as it is when it meets the body. are you sure that that is the right width?
That is right. I measured my prototype to get that spec.
i also just noticed that no where in the tools list do you list that you need a hammer for the fretting. is there any that you can suggest? i need something cheap.
i just noticed that no where in the tools list do you list that you need a hammer for the fretting. is there any that you can suggest or the requirements needed for a hammer to work as a fretting hammer that way i can find one myself? i need something cheap.
You can use any hammer with a hard plastic, or brass head. Using a regular hammer can deform the frets.
this is considerably smaller than my tenor acoustic ukulele that i have. i assume that just like electric guitars its standard practice when making a solid body version to make it a lot smaller. if i am correct, is there a standard ratio when shrinking down to make a solid body? should i just make the body part the size of a soprano?because i plan on using your instructions but make a solid body version of my acoustic tenor instead of making it rectangular.
You can make the body any size you want.
how is it that the strings of the back tuning machines (of the 2 middle strings) aren’t touching the rods from the front tuning machines(the 2 outer strings)?
I don’t think that I understand the question.
i will change one word to try and make it more clear (the question might just be really stupid though, i will have think about it more). how is it that the strings of the back tuning machines (of the 2 middle strings) aren’t touching the rods of the front tuning machines(the 2 outer strings)?
The strings connected to the back tuners come off the nut with angle that keep them away from the front tuners. If the headstock was angled, then they might touch, but it wouldn’t be a problem.
is there a certain distance that i should keep the rods of the tuning machines from each other?
They can be as close as you want them to be, as long as the tuner knobs can still turn.
What kind of fret wire do I need?
I used medium/medium fretwire.
BTW, I saw you comment on YouTube. I got my parts from C. B. Gitty, and Rockler. C. B. Gitty just got the right bridges. With some luck, i might make a post about it in the next week or so.
The electric ukulele I have was converted from a makala tenor ukulele by adding a pickup.
Cool. Do you have a picture of your uke?
The blueprint for the fretboard, which size is that? Concert, tenor?
It’s a tenor.
It’s a tenor size.
How do you make sure that the taper of the neck is straight. Im concerned about cutting it out and not being able to stay on the line exactly
I’d say practice on some scrap wood. Also being familiar with the tool. I use a scroll saw.
I know im a little late to the party, But what are some modifications i would have to make this into an sg uke
Mainly just modifying the headstock and body. For the body, find a picture of an SG online and shrink it down to a size you want. Use that as a cutting template.
An SG Guitalele would be interesting.
can you tell me whereyou buy you pickups at? thanks, Tim
Just about to start my build using two bits of 19mm mahogany and some lovely red beech for the fretboard. I’m tempted to go for better sustain by making the body top & neck from a single piece – is there a good reason to stick with the bolt-on neck?
You don’t have to do a bolt-on. It just makes it a little easier.
Good luck. I’d love to see what you make.
Yep, now I’ve tested my band-saw skills I’m glad I stuck with the bolt-on plan. Before I glue I’m thinking about shifting the fretboard one fret towards the body – so it’s the 15th @ the neck/body join – to give more room for my hand at the nut. I’ll move the bridge back accordingly & I’ll help high fret access with a little cutaway. Do you foresee any other issues with that? Most importantly I can’t help noticing your 12th fret isn’t halfway between nut & bridge: is that deliberate?
Thanks for the plans and inspiration.
I made this based on your video:
That is really great. It looks so nice. Awesome work!
Awesome job. Thanks for sharing.
Do you see any reason that a set of titanium strings for a ukulele wouldn’t work on this instrument? I do not quite understand how a set of guitar strings would work on it?
To use a magnetic pickup, you need to use metal strings. The d’addario titanium ukulele strings are not metal.
Pingback: Don’t Let Me Down – The Chainsmokers – ft. Daya – Ukulele and Omnichord Cover | Circuits and Strings
Where do you get your supplies for this build? I am having issue finding a single coil pickup that isn’t enclosed. I can find other 4 pole pickups but all pre-wired with tone, volume and jack. Would you ever consider making a parts list for us beginners from cbgitty.com?
This is one of my favorites pickups to use:
https://www.cbgitty.com/guitar-electronics/pickups/black-ice-single-coil-electric-guitar-pickup-by-foundry-tone/
It has 6 poles, but it works great for a 4 string electric ukulele.
The strings on your electric ukuleles are the top 4 strings from an electric guitar string set.
Do I have to make plans for a 6 string Guitalele that is modified from that 4 string version ?
I’ve noticed you made several electric ukuleles. So I was thinking could I come up with plans for an electric guitalele someday in the future? I’d like you to see me make electric guitaleles that are modified from the electric ukuleles you built.
Plans can be hard to make, but it would a great goal for you to make an electric guitalele, along with the plans to make it.
The poles are a type of magnet used as a mic that work with metal wire strings. Would it be interesting to see strings made out of titanium wire?
OK Daniel hulbert, again it’s tuned a 4’th higher than a standard electric guitar due to a short scale length.
In order to make an electric guitalele, would I have to modify the plans a bit to make a neck that can hold 6 strings?
An electric guitalele would be like using electric guitar plans & shrinking them down. Turning the jag stang ukulele into a jag stang guitalele would require a lot of parts that aren’t available yet.
Didn’t the acoustic electric ukulele with a headphone jack give us the idea on upgrading the jag stang ukulele?
Would the guitar with a built in interface be an expensive?
Can you try to modify the plans to make an electric guitalele?
Can you try to make me a jag stang electric guitalele?
Saw this and thought about doing the same thing but with a hot rail pickup instead of single coil. Would that work?
Yep. That would work great. Good luck.
I was wondering, can this support the steel strings without a truss rod?
If you use a solid wood like maple, you don’t need a truss rod on an electric ukulele.
Hi Daniel,
I love your work and your site. You are extremely generous to share so much with us. I made your backpacker uke (but not electrified) to take with me on a 3-week trip that was later canceled due to Covid-19. I had so much fun making it, that my sister and I made two others for her and another friend. Here’s a little album with photos of two of them: https://photos.app.goo.gl/8cCQAA227iVqxNRB6
A couple of months ago I decided that I wanted to have an electric one so I downloaded your plans for this one and then (rather stupidly) made my own Frankenstein creation by modifying it to a headless with turnaround design like your backpacker. I’m not so sure that was wise of me. I’m a rank novice and I think I may have bit off more than I can chew. I just can’t get the tension right on the metal strings and I’ve struggled with intonation. I’ve tried numerous weights and makes of strings, then thought maybe I should try an electric guitar adjustable bridge/saddle. I couldn’t find one with 4 strings that would be spaced correctly for the magnetic pickups, so I thought “gee, I’ll use a 6-string bridge and only use the 4 inside saddles.” (you can see now why I call it a Frankenstein). Still I have have issues with tension. I’m wondering now if I should change out metal strings, magnetic pickups and bridge for nylon strings and piezo pickup. Here is a photo of this uke that I’m struggling with. It doesn’t have strings or the nut in this photo, but it gives the general idea: https://photos.app.goo.gl/9PL8Rf5Gtcrb1eVD9
Thanks so much for your time and your wonderful site. Any advice or thoughts you may have I’d love to hear. But, if you are too busy to respond, I understand completely.
Sharon Constant
Hi Sharon,
First off, I love the instruments that you made. They are all so cute and unique.
I am sorry to hear about the struggles you are having with the electric uke. Believe me, I know how annoying those problems can be. How is your string height over the frets? That style of “tune-o-matic” bridge is sometimes hard to get right unless the neck is angled down slightly. Another thing to check is how easily the strings are sliding around the “turnaround” IF the strings are binding, that will cause some issues.
Thanks so much Daniel,
I changed the bridge out to one where the saddle sits lower and it made a big difference. I have one offending fret wire that is high under the center two strings, but I think once I fix that, I should be mostly good. The strings sit closer to the magnetic pickups now and the sound from my little mini Yamaha practice amp is so much better. I may swap out the pegs. They are geared, but they are inconsistent in their action. Sometimes I can turn them a half turn with no result at all and then a tiny fraction of a turn and it will jump three semi-tones. The great thing is that with your help, I have a playable instrument and I only had to make the one change. I can change the pegs out later if I find the tuning too cumbersome. Thank you again so much! I will continue to follow your fun and exciting projects.
Sharon, I am so glad to hear that you were able to figure out a solution to your bridge problem. I hope that you keep building cool stuff. Let me know if you have any other questions. Have a great day!