Bluetooth EleUke LSPT Baritone Steel string electric Ukulele (Baritone)

Usually, when I review an item I start with the positives and then go on to list any negatives or niggles. For this review I'm going to start with the niggles, of which there are many which is a shame because, at heart, the EleUke has the potential to be very successful.How important my concerns might be for you, is up to you to decide. BUT FIRST .... my initial rating was 3 stars for reasons explained in the review but I have now deducted an extra star because despite the seller claiming to cover all export & import taxes I was hit with a FedEx bill for £19 a few weeks after I took delivery of the EleUke. This is unforgivable and I now strongly advise fellow uke-players against even considering the EleUke. There are other makers of excellent alternatives and they don't use rechargeable batteries which is something I refer to in the main part of my review ...... what follows now is the bulk of that original review:-(1) The EleUke arrives without any form of manual or notes. There is no guidance to suggest what type of steel strings to buy as replacements Most people will assume guitar strings are OK and to use strings 4321 (DGBE) … I found that to be true. But there is nothing to help you, especially as regards recommended gauges. That could be critical. There are several other reasons why a manual is essential. I'll come to those in due course.(2) Nor is there any guidance as to how to uprate the rechargeable battery if that's what you eventually want to do. (Much more about that in a moment).(3) The action, upon arrival, was horrendous at the 12th fret. The uke had clearly not been set up before despatch. Fortunately, the bridge can be easily adjusted using one of two allen keys that come with the instrument. (The other is for the truss rod).(4) The underside of the end of the neck nearest the pickup is unfinished and there is a blemish on the fretboard which is resisting being removed. I suspect that this is glue residue.(5) Where the strings pass under a bar between nut and tuners, the 1st and 4th strings end up being forced into the very sharp threads of the screws which support the bar.(6) Cosmetically speaking, the cover plate on the back is as nicely grained as the body – but it looks ugly because the grain on the cover is at right angles. You wouldn't expect a perfect match – but an attempt at having the grains aligned would have shown good attention to detail.(7) The frets seem slightly rough when playing and could have done with being better smoothed and polished.Now back to the rechargeable battery and what lies beneath the backplate cover. There are several really serious issues here:(a) The battery was meant to be attached by double sided tape but had come adrift.)b) As to how you change the battery – heaven alone knows. The leads seem to be held in place with some form of yellow transparent tape. There is no guidance about what connections have to be made or even what types of connections they are.(c) There is no guidance about what type, makes or output ratings of battery that you could look for if you need to change or want to uprate it.(d) One pair of leads had bare wires simply taped off with masking tape and then left free to float above the circuit board. That's not just VERY shoddy but downright unprofessional. As for what those leads are for …. who knows? Again, nothing is explained.(e) The Eleuke has Bluetooth capability but – once again – no guidance is given.The majority of those issues are illustrated in the attached annotated photographs.------------------------------------------------------------------I think you'll agree that's a substantial collection of objectively-described concerns and niggles. So let me now move on to the positives.Aside from the issues I've just raised, the EleUke is well made. The neck is bolted on and firmly attached. It is perfectly set because when I adjusted the action there was no problem with buzzing or rattling and intonation remained good. The wood is nicely grained and feels pleasantly heavy when playing. The tone and volume controls work smoothly and easily without any sudden increases or decreases in output. Indeed, they are two of the best controls on an electric string instrument that I have experienced for quite some time. The two strap buttons are good quality and sensibly positioned. The generic tuners also work well but two of them did need tightening to ensure that tuning stayed true.So what does it play and sound like? After lowering the action and refitting with my own preferred make and type of strings (D'Addario Chromes ECG24 flatwound, gauges 11-50), the Eleuke is a joy to play. The overall sound and tone is that of an electric guitar which is understandable, but fitting a high D string would incline it more towards sounding like a ukulele. To do that I suspect you would have to experiment with different gauges to find a string that could be tuned to high D without being too loose or having to be tightened too much – especially as it would have to pass through the threads of that screw which supports the bar!The EleUke is sold as a baritone. Size-wise it has the body of a tenor and the neck of a baritone. This is an excellent combination and works well. It is a very nice looking instrument and has the potential for all round success – but despite its playability, that initial list of issues has inclined me to award a maximum of 3 stars.------------------------------------------------------------------Personally, I feel that the move to a rechargeable battery is a terrible idea that will put off a LOT of potential buyers. A far better option would have been to use standard batteries in an easily accessible compartment. For anyone who gigs, there will always be justified nervousness about using an instrument with a rechargeable battery. You may forget to recharge – or you may not remember how recently you did charge it – or you may simply be too nervous and full of “what ifs” to risk using the EleUke in a live, public performance. Those problems would go away if you could simply carry spare batteries and change them in a matter of seconds. Changing to rechargeables is, in my opinion, a terrible retrograde step. Switching back to easily replaceable batteries would make this a truly attractive and very affordable steel-strung, solid electric uke.Personally, I would also worry about those floating wires inside that bit of folded masking tape … what happens when the tape dries out and falls off, as it certainly will in time, and the wires float around and touch terminals on the circuit board? What are they for? Why are they there? Are they a leftover from the days of EleUkes using replaceable batteries? There is absolutely no way to know. I posted an enquiry into the relevant section for this item on Amazon and got an initial answer but when I asked what would happen if the bare wires touched the circuit board there has not so far been any response!!!!!So – three stars is, I think, being both fair and maybe overly generous.------------------------------------------------------------------For anyone interested in solid electric ukes, there are several other makes available using both nylon or Fluorocarbon strings as well as steel – although the former are easier to find and far less expensive. Risa, Mahalo and Pono are three examples of steel ukes. I am currently awaiting arrival of a Pono solid wood baritone steel strung uke. NONE of them use rechargeable batteries …......... !