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Items by CircuitsAndStrings

Electric Ukulele Land » Articles

• 

  Bass Ukulele Build : part 02 – Body and Neck

  Posted: April 20th, 2012, 6:10am BST by CircuitsAndStrings

  

  The body is made of ash.  The neck was made with three pieces of maple.  The headstock was scarf jointed to the neck and the fretboard was glued to the top.  I got the specialized tuners and nut from [https:]] .  They provide replacement parts for Ashbory Basses.   The bridge is a knockoff “Hipshot A Style” bridge.  This type of bridge allows for the mounting of the thick “Road Toad” strings.

  

  I sealed and primed the body. I drilled a larger hole by the the bridge to allow a rod piezo pickup to be mounted by the back of the bridge.

  

  With a drill and a chisel, I hollowed out a cavity for a 9V battery holder.  This bass ukulele will have an active pre-amp to boost the low output of the piezo rod.

  

  The neck was given a nitrocellulose lacquer finish after side markers were installed.

  Next, the body will be given a beautiful orange finish.  Once the color and clear coats have cured, it’ll get a good buffing and polish.  Finally, my favorite steps will arrive.  That is assembling and playing the instrument.  There is something almost magical about the first tune on a brand new instrument.

   

• 

  Telecaster uke build : part 08 – Complete!

  Posted: April 17th, 2012, 3:16am BST by CircuitsAndStrings

  After waiting for the clear coat to cure, the time came to wet sand, apply the polishing compound, and polish the body.  I used 1000 grit sandpaper to wet sand the body.  I then used a rag to apply “fine” and then “swirl remover” polishing compound to the finish. “Meguiar’s Mirror Glaze #7″ is what I used to give the body a final polish.  It’s a car glaze, but I’ve seen it mentioned on a lot of guitar forums as a guitar polish.  It’s worked well so far.

  I used this wiring diagram as a base:  One pickup, one volume, one tone.

  I tweaked a few things to adjust for the higher frequencies of a electric ukulele.  250K ohm potentiometers were used instead of the 500K ones.  A 0.020 microfarad capacitor was used instead of the .047 microfarad one.  In addition, a 0.001 microfarad capactor was added between the center and right lugs.  (Okay, so I “tweaked” everything.)

  Now, the Telecaster Ukulele is ready to assemble and then play!   In this video, I give a demonstration of the uke in action, and show it being assembled in real time (I work fast).

  

  It’s been fun making this ukulele and sharing the details.  It was a lot of work, but now I have a custom instrument that plays beautifully and looks great.

• 

  Ammo Box Ukulele

  Posted: April 16th, 2012, 2:35am BST by CircuitsAndStrings

  Sometimes the desire to ROCK is tempered by a lack of tools.  To make a regular solid body electric ukulele, you need a scroll saw (or a band saw) and a router along with some other basic tools.  However, a hollow enclosure can be used for the body, which eliminates the need to cut and rout a wooden body.

  

  For my ukulele, I used an ammo box that I purchased at an army surplus store.  This same kind of thing could be done with any type of sturdy wood, metal, or plastic box.

  

  The neck was made with two pieces of mahogany scarf jointed together. Less expensive and more readily available wood could also be used.  In fact, other types of wood would probably be more congruent with the “DIY spirit”.

  

  In keeping with the ammunition theme, many of the hardware appointments were made with spent bullet shells.  One the most difficult parts of this build was cutting a hole in the thick metal box for the single coil pickup.  I used a hacksaw blade and a file to do this.  A jig saw would have been much easier.

  

  The bridge was made with a 30.06 shell.  A shotgun shell top serves as the volume knob.

  The wiring schematic is pretty basic:  One pickup, One volume schematic

  

  Spent .22 shells serve as fret markers.

  Here is a demo of it in action!

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJwUR12x1Ig

• 

  Win the Guitar Hero Ukulele!

  Posted: March 27th, 2012, 9:51am BST by CircuitsAndStrings

  There is less than one week to enter to win the “Guitar Hero Ukulele”.   The contest ends on March 31, 2012

   

  Three easy ways to enter.  Details here:

   

• 

  Bass Ukulele Build : Part 01 – Planning

  Posted: March 14th, 2012, 12:19pm GMT by CircuitsAndStrings

  I want a bass ukulele.  After building a few dozen instruments, the thought of simply buying one from store seems very boring.  I will therefore expend the time and money to make a custom bass ukulele that will fulfill my desire.

  

  Before I build, I make a paper mock-up of the instrument. (I included a concert sized acoustic ukulele for scale)

  Here are the elements that I want to have:

  • 20 inch scale length
  • Black Road Toad polyurethane strings
  • Maple neck/headstock/fretboard
  • Under bridge piezo pickup
  • On board Preamp
  • Black Hardware
  • Orange Paint for the body

  The combination of orange, black, and maple should make for an interesting looking instrument.  I hope that I don’t live to regret making a bright orange ukulele.  Hopefully, a funky color will look good on a funky ukulele.

• 

  Telecaster uke build : part 07 – Primer, paint, and clear coat

  Posted: March 5th, 2012, 10:31pm GMT by CircuitsAndStrings

  

  I applied a nitrocellulose primer to the sealed wood body. 2-3 coats were needed. Any slight bumps were sanded flat with 1000 grit sandpaper.

  

  The “Midnight Wine” color coat went over the primer.  This color started to worry me.  I said to myself, “I don’t want a plum colored electric ukulele”.   I pressed on, knowing that if I hated the color, I could always repaint. I did about two coats, then noticed that my overzealous painting had cause a couple of sags on the back.  After letting it dry for a day, I used some 320 grit and then some 1000 grit sandpaper to reflatten the surface.  I sanded just enough to correct the sags, but not enough to sand through all of the color coats.  Once I was pleased with the surface, I did two more color coats.

  

  Next came about 6 or 7 clear coats.  Clear gloss nitrocellulose lacquer was used. After the clear coats were applied, I noticed that the color had changed slightly.  It had become much closer to the dark, rich “Midnight Wine” color that I was expecting.  This pleased me exceedingly.

  Filling the grain, sealing the wood, applying the color coats, and then putting on the clear coats, makes for a nice finish.  Even if you are using spray cans (like I do), you can get great results.  I follow the Stewart-MacDonald Nitrocellulose Finishing Schedule.

  The next step is the most agonizing for me.  Waiting.  It is recommended that you allow 10-14 days for the finish to cure before wet sanding and buffing the finish.  I’m planning on waiting two full weeks before touching the body again.  It will be hard, but I will be strong.  Hopefully my patience will yield a beautiful, glossy finish.

• 

  Telecaster uke build : part 06 – Bridge and first assembly

  Posted: March 2nd, 2012, 8:36pm GMT by CircuitsAndStrings

  

  My four string bridge arrived in the mail, so I was able to drill the holes for the screws and strings.  The holes for the strings go all the way through the body.

  

  I used a long drill bit to drill a hole from the bridge to the control cavity.  I will run a wire through this hole to ground the bridge.

  

  A long drill bit is nice to have.  It’s difficult to use a regular length bit and still get the desired angle without rubbing the wood with the drill.

  

  On the back side of the body, I countersunk holes for the string ferrules.

  

  The cutting, shaping, and drilling are now complete.  Before painting, I like to assemble the major components on the instrument.  This gives me confidence that all of the parts will fit together.  If something needs to be adjusted, it’s much easier and cleaner to do it now.

  Now that the body has been sealed, it is ready to be primed, painted, and clear coated.  Midnight Wine paint will look great on this.  (I’ve already given the maple neck a clear nitrocellulose finish, so it’s ready to go)

• 

  Telecaster uke build : part 05 – The neck (frets and such)

  Posted: February 17th, 2012, 4:42pm GMT by CircuitsAndStrings

  

  I used my recently acquired drill press to drill holes for the fret and side markers.  The side markers were made by drilling shallow holes, pushing thin plastic rods into the holes and then flush cutting the rods.  The fret markers were made by gluing the premade hard plastic dots into the holes.

  The frets were pounded into the slots with a plastic tipped hammer.  Excess fretwire was trimmed off with a fret cutter.

  

  I use t-nuts to attach the neck to the body.  I feel that this makes the connection stronger.  The neck will have a lot of tension on it, so I want it to be securely fastened.  Small screws help to hold the t-nuts in place.

  

  I took a chisel and cut out the area for the t-nuts.  This will make the top of the t-nuts and screws flush with the bottom of the neck.

  

  I will use an oval jack plate for the neck plate.

  

  The neck is ready to be clear coated.  I think I’ll do about 6-7 coats of clear laquer.

• 

  Telecaster uke build : part 04 – Routing the body

  Posted: February 15th, 2012, 10:04am GMT by CircuitsAndStrings

  

  The major shaping and routing were done with a round-over bit and a straight bit.   I used the round-over bit around the edge.  The straight bit was used for the pickup and control cavities, along with the neck pocket.

  

  The body is now routed.  The routing for the control cavity isn’t my best work, but the control plate will easily cover everything.

  

  Timbermate wood filler is great stuff.  Even though alder is considered a non-porous wood,  I’ve found that spreading wood filler all over the wood (I rub it on with a gloved hand) makes sanding the wood smooth much easier.

  Since I’m painting this body, I didn’t worry that my wood filler stained the wood a little.  If you wanted a natural finish on your instrument, you would use a wood filler with a hue closer to the wood’s natural color.

  

  I penciled in the pickguard on the body.  (Remember that if you are painting the body, then you can mark out the various parts with impunity.  If you are running out of paper, you could even use it to do long division.  If your finish will be transparent, mark in a way that can easily be erased.) I then traced the pickguard shape on some tracing paper.  This is a great way to get a template for the scroll saw cutting.

  

  The pickguard is now ready for holes.  I think I’ll use 8 screws to attach it to the body.

  The body is ready to be to be sealed.  Applying a clear coat and then sanding it as smooth as possible is critical in order to have a nice, flat surface for the paint.

  The bridge hasn’t arrived yet.  Normally, I’d drill all of the holes before I sealed the body, but that’s not critical.  I’ll just give the laquer time to cure, and then finish drilling.

• 

  Telecaster uke build : part 03 – Cutting the neck

  Posted: February 12th, 2012, 3:28pm GMT by CircuitsAndStrings

  

  This neck started out as a .75 X 3 inch maple board.  I traced out the headstock and figured out how long the rest of the neck needed to be.  The overall scale length will be 15 inches.

  

  

  Once again, a scroll saw was used to cut the wood.

  

  I marked the nut and fret positions and then used the “waste” piece to keep the neck square as I cut the slots with a thin bladed saw and a miter box.  Once I get a drill press, I’ll  drill the tuning machine holes.  I will use black dots as the fret markers.  These will contrast nicely with the maple wood.

  

  I used a roundover bit on my router to rough out the profile of the neck.

  

  A spoke shave is an awesome tool for carving necks.  With it, I was able to transform the bulky, squarish board into a smooth and comfortable neck in a relatively short time.  Some 100 and 220 grit sandpaper also helped to get rid of the rough edges.

  Once I drill the holes, set the frets, and inlay the dots, the neck will be ready for a clear coat laquer.