First Uke Build

Posted by The Capo Kid on June 24, 2014 at 4:21pm

 Hi Guys

            I've a couple of small cigar box's that are a bit too small for my usual CBG builds so I thought I'd have a go and make couple of Uke's , the widest timber I have left over is 1 1/2 x 3/4  so it would be a straight neck I see most of the uke's on here have tapered necks , I've got a couple of sets of 09 - 46 electric guitar strings so I'm thinking the top 4 DGBE , a 17in scale would seem to fit these boxes and they'll have a rod piezo bridge fitted straight to the jack .,

 So what I'd like to know is will these strings be ok and what sort of tuning would be good the this scale of uke .

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Replies

  • The Capo Kid June 25, 2014 at 4:15am

     Thanks for the reply's  , the reason I want to use  DGBE strings is I don't want to have to learn a new set of uke chords I can just use guitar chords like a baritone uke but using a tenor uke scale , so if I used nylon strings GCEA  would they tune to DGBE or would they be to loose , or I could just build a baritone uke .

  • gary sheldon June 25, 2014 at 1:30am

    Straight neck ukes work fine.  Electric guitar strings are steel and are made for magnetic pickups.  With piezo you can use bronze or nylon.  Anything that vibrates.  Will it be a tenor uke?  I would use uke strings.  

  • Richey Kay June 24, 2014 at 4:29pm
    That's a tenor uke scale I believe. You might get on better with nylon strings. The tuning would be the same as other ukes but you have the option of making the 4th string a low g rather than high.

    Width sounds fine, and the taper is definitely do-able. have a look at the 4 string mandolin I just finished, I did a taper from 32mm at the nut to 37mm at the end of the fretboard.

    I think what I'm saying is go for it and make a tenor uke rather than a short scale guitar! :-)
    • Richey Kay > Richey Kay June 25, 2014 at 2:58am

      #20 Cigar Box 4 string Mandolin

      This is the one. This is a 15" scale. The taper makes it nice and easy to play, and I only used rasps and files to do it.

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