The 7 Best Electric Ukuleles (Reviews-2022) (2023)

Looking for the best electric ukuleles? Then you are in the right place.

A ukulele has long been the most fascinating miniature of a guitar. They are compact and portable, and unlike electric and acoustic guitars, they come in four classic shapes. They are soprano, concert, alto and tenor, with the largest ukulele being a baritone.

With smaller size comes smaller volume and the ukulele is limited to a live setting. In addition, they are not easily heard by the audience and other instruments and are too small to be able to microphone effectively.

To solve this, electric ukuleles were invented to connect ukes to amplifiers to open up a new world of sonic possibilities.

Best Electric Ukulele - Comparison Chart

Image	Model	They are received
	Luna Tattoo Koncert Acoustic-Electric Ukulele (Top Pick)	Check the price
	Cordoba 15CM-E acoustic-electric concert ukulele	Check the price
	Cordoba 20TM-CE Acoustic Electric Tenor Ukulele	Check the price
	Vorson FLPUK2QM Electric Ukulele	Check the price
	Epiphone Les Paul acoustic-electric ukulele	Check the price
	Aileen SG Style Electric Ukulele	Check the price
	Vorson FSUK1BK Electric Ukulele	Check the price

Luna Mahogany series tattoosConcert Acoustic-Electric Ukulele (Editor's Choice)

It is available at a low price and looks great with a Hawaiian style mahogany top. The rest of the ukulele is laminate wood.

Barley

Build quality is reasonable and seems light but relatively solid. The top has an attractive design that gives it a visual distinctiveness, but it is a cheaper model and the bridge sacrifices a lot of quality. The bridge is partially glued and has been known to come loose - nothing more that can't be fixed with glue, but not great.

The ukulele has sawtooth fretboard markers, but no side markers. The neck is smooth and thin. Playability is easy and the ukulele fits nicely in the hands and body.

Tuna fish

However, the tone is ultimately flat and somewhat muddy. It is what you would expect for the price, although it is very reasonable indeed!

If you want to experiment with electro-acoustic ukuleles, then this is a great first choice, but even then, the consensus is that other models in this guide play better.

Advantage

• Original appearance
• Reasonable sound for the price

Disadvantages

• Poor quality bro

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Cordoba 15CM-EAcoustic-electric ukulele concert

Back to Cordoba now. Less expensive than the 20CM-TE, the 15CM-E is a concert-sized ukulele with similar features to the 20CM-TE. However, it also has onepassive piezo pickup.

Barley

It has mahogany construction, except for the neck, and has an ivory-style rosette to add to its neat appearance. Cordoba guitars generally look good and this ukulele is no different.

It has a warm wooden construction, which is well varnished and looks soft and shiny. It is comfortable to play in its classic 8 shape and is light and flexible, making it ideal for smaller players.

The bridge is rosewood and pairs well with the mahogany body to create a warm instrument with some fantastic full tones. The week is well put together and the seals are of good quality.

Tuna fish

The piezo pickup is passive, meaning you don't need a battery. The trade-off is that there are no treble and gain controls, and you won't find this ukulele effective for high-gain playing.

The pickup emits a warm but sometimes somewhat muddy tone, and you'll need to play quietly to keep the ukulele at the right dynamics for enhanced playing. But the bands are even and smooth. There is no rubbing sensation when you run on the fretboard.

Overall, it puts a lot of effort into the budget range of electric acoustic ukuleles and will be easy to play while remaining functional and beautiful.

Advantage

• Cheaper than the 20TM model
• Great looks and solid construction
• Aquila biased

Disadvantages

• The passive pickup has a flatter, softer response

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Cordoba 20TM-CE Acoustic-Electric Tenor Ukulele

Cordova has longed to make the acoustic guitars they are usually associated with, but has a large line of ukes and electro-acoustic ukes that fit low to mid-range budgets.

Barley

20CM-TE is a standard shapetenor ukulelewith solid mahogany construction that feels hard and durable. The huge wooden board is made in two parts and has a pleasant grain. Overall, the Cordoba Ukes feel good with hardwood constructions that offer value for money.

With nylon strings and Aquila tuners, the 20TE-CM is nicely equipped and features an active pickup that uses a 9V battery to power it. The guitar is weighted towards the body, which some will like.

The pickup control panel is located on the body and you can easily adjust the treble and bass next to the battery compartment. The week is well connected throughout.

Tuna fish

The tone this week is pretty good. It's warm and sweet instead of muddy and flat. Picking the strings results in poppy sounds coming out of the mix. It's a great little electric ukulele that looks and sounds great at a great price.

Advantage

• Good wood construction with few pieces for warmer tone
• Aquila biased
• The warm and sweet tone is pleasing in the price range

Disadvantages

• Body weight can cause problems for some

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Vorson FLPUK2QMElectric ukulele

Moving from an electro-acoustic uke to an electric uke, we have the Vorson FLPUK2QM. It's a tenor length electric uke and some think it looks cool! However, it's part of a relatively small selection of compact electric ukuleles on the market, and its niche form factor has some unique offerings.

The action is smooth and elegant - it will please electric guitarists and ukulele players alike.

Barley

It's a classic LP style with laminate wood and two single-coil pickups with a 3-way switch. It gives you great control over your tone.

Unusually, they came with high G stretched and unwound steel strings, which are not big and many replace the strings with a low G. You need steel strings and many uke players won't get used to it! They will feel very sharp if you haven't adjusted to playing steel strings before.

Tuna fish

While not suitable for any traditional ukelele-style playing, it's a thoroughly reliable little ukelele that can handle itself when boosted with its two-pickup setup. The pickups aren't bad - not much hum and noise, but a warm amp will get the most out of the guitar.

Advantage

• The design is undoubtedly original and cool
• Capable of high profit

Disadvantages

• Untraditional and has a high G

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Epiphone Les PaulAcoustic-electric ukulele

It's a great product from Epiphone and for a Les Paul style uke the Epiphone brand name combined with the low price makes it an attractive product.

Barley

The top is made of good quality maple and the tuning heads are well made with a 1:14 tuning scale. The rest of the uke is mahogany, and the ukulele isconcert sizefor a slightly deeper and fuller sound than a soprano. Opinions differ on how the Les Paul uke looks, some think it's tacky and others think it's great - after all, it's not a serious uke, but more of a novelty.

Like it or not, this ukulele has some attitude and the Epiphone brand offers quality hardware for a price. It has a piezo pickup that is passive and requires no battery. However, the sound quality is ultimately not great when amplified.

The neck is thin and super slick and you can play the guitar quite thinly which is a lot of fun.

Tuna fish

However, the tone is a bit one-dimensional and you don't want to mention that when playing other selections on this list. But on the other hand, it may lean towards the novelty side of miniature guitars and ukuleles.

Its passive pickup is as cheap as it gets and looks - which is a shame as it doesn't allow for a big, bold sound.

Advantage

• Very cool little Les Paul design
• The hardware is above average
• With modification it has the potential to be an excellent uke

Disadvantages

• The tone of the stock is below average
• Some sticky elements out of the box

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Aileens SG StyleElectric ukulele

This sure looks great - SG style, solid body and no pickup insight. This is because Aileen drives a passive pickup. It's very cheap and SG owners will probably see it as something to add to their collection, especially at a price.

Barley

It has nylon strings, unusual for a solid body, and has volume and tone knobs. The pickup is passive and low gain. It's hard to get a good amped tone out of it without a perfect amp.

Tuna fish

It has enough clarity to articulate at practice volume, but the intonation with this ukulele generally leaves you wanting. Additionally, the boost creates some unwanted artifacts, and the tone is generally muddy and tinny.

This ukulele looks very original and whimsical. It doesn't weigh as much as a real musical instrument. So many buy it as a novelty or as a gift.

For the price, it's what you'd expect it to be - a fun instrument that's great for beginners and kids. The tone is quite bright, but has a lot of overtones and unwanted noise.

Advantage

• It has its quirks. some sound better than others - some of them arrive with many flaws.
• Too cheap

Disadvantages

• The nylon combined with the solid body and passive pickup means minimal definition to the tone

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Vorson style FSUK1BKElectric ukulele

This ukulele is reasonably priced and Vorson is known for creating products that hit the spot for the money. This is no exception and for an extremely cheap electric ukulele, it's well worth checking out.

Barley

The front is made of gorgeous maple and has flat bands. The intonation is excellent and easy to tune. Some people like to lower the bridge action and say it brings this cheap little ukulele to life. The Strat shape is great and familiar. With decently adjustable receivers, it keeps its tuning longer than many expect.

Tuna fish

It has two single-coil pickups with a 3-way selector and when cranked it sounds like an electric guitar with plenty of treble tones to match the riffs they dish out and pick playing. It has steel strings so it adds some energy to its tone, although it will be hard to get used to if you are a nylon stringer.

Advantage

• Vorson excels in these electric uke models and ticks similar boxes as the FLP QM.
• The build quality is particularly good for the price

Disadvantages

• None really - it feels good to play and sounds decent for the price

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How to choose the best electric ukulele

Types of electric ukuleles

Electricukes allow us to connect our ukulele to amps, which solves the volume problem and gives us an output for recording and effects. There are two types of electric ukulele:

1. Electro-acoustic ukulele. These, like electro-acoustic guitars, have hollow bodies and either passive or active pickups for amplification.
2. Electric ukulele. These have solid bodies and look like mini electric guitars. These will more often have active pickups.

Which body is best for an electric ukulele?

When shopping for any guitar or ukulele, the different traditional woods greatly affect the sound, and so does the price!

For the ukulele, Koa, Acacia or Mahogany are the most common. Again, solid wood construction has the best resonance, and the fewer pieces there are in the body of your guitar, the better it will often sound.

Mahogany is a great place to start. It has excellent tuning quality and is durable. Over time, moisture will warp hardwood, but wood often ages well and the sound can improve.

Laminate or plastic wicks are also popular as they are durable and inexpensive. Plastic is rarely a better choice than wood, however, for musical instruments. The sound properties of plastic are not as good as hardwood and plastic can still warp.

All of the ukes in this review and the vast majority under $200 are mahogany based builds. However, much more expensive than it is. A huge wood for making instruments. will give the warm tone of the wood to cheaper and more expensive ukuleles.

The big thing that affects tone is how the mahogany is put together and how well the pieces fit together. It often affects the tone of a ukulele, although many are made of mahogany - cheap and expensive.

What strings are best for electric ukuleles?

As for strings, steel strings are rarely used on an electro-acoustic uke, but more often on an electric one. On the other hand, nylon is traditional and provides a fuller sound that better complements the small body of a week.

Tenor uke players sometimes choose to change the high G string to a low G to increase the scale depth of the instrument. Aquila Nyglut strings are the traditional match and ship with many ukes.

Geared Tuners ή Peg Tuners;

1. Tuned tuners pick up the string better than peg tuners. As a result, the strings are less likely to slip. They have a ratio of 1:14 to 1:18, which means they are more accurate and make it easier to tune in conventional intonation.
2. The Plog tuner is more traditional but is less linear for tuning to conventional tones.

For custom settings, the stick is more suitable and more sensitive.

Most ukuleles use instrument tuners for efficiency and ease of tuning.

Electric or electro-acoustic ukulele?

The two types of electric uke are different from each other. First, the electric uke is a tough instrument. There is no hollow body like a conventional electric guitar.

These will more often use active pickups and the solid body allows you to play quite aggressively if you want. Shredding on a ukulele is just casual and fun for any guitarist!

You get less body noise and more accurate, high-gain electric sound with a compact electric uke.

The electro-acoustic uke is what most people think of when they think of a uke that you plug into an amp. It has the same construction and body type as a standard uke, but has pickups and outputs for amplification.

You will often find electric tuners and treble and bass settings. Additionally, you will find either active or passive pickups on an electro-acoustic uke. Active pickups require a 9V battery and are "hotter" than passive pickups as the signal is pre-amplified, meaning high intensities can be achieved when amplified. Passive pickups do not require a battery and are more relaxed pickups suitable for lower volume amplification .

So now we've rounded up a few points about different types and parts of the ukulele, let's move on to the conclusion.

Conclusion: the best electric ukulele

We have quite a variety of electric and electro-acoustic guitars here. They range from incredible replica-like models based on the Fender Strat, Gibson SG and Gibson Les Paul to more traditional electro-acoustic real ukuleles.

Your choice will of course depend on what you want in this range, but Cordobas are recommended for more traditional options.

They are made in good faith in traditional designs and tones, they are attractive, come with Aquila strings and you have the choice of a Tenor with an active pickup for warmer playing or a Concert with a passive pickup for softer playing.

Out of the copy pile, the Vorson pair are making a splash in the cheap electric ukulele market. Their build quality is quite remarkable and they are bold little machines that pack a real punch at mid-high volume.

We'd recommend them over Epiphone, who rate more as a novelty addition to a collection than a serious instrument. Aileen SG, where the lopsided build can't compensate for her lackluster tone.