Best Electric Ukulele Reviews: Risa Stratocaster Tenor

One of the newest ukulele trends that we are pretty excited about is solid body pure electric ukuleles capable of producing a very funky rock and roll sound. For that reason we decided to do this Risa Stratocaster Tenor Electric Ukulele Review that is one of the BEST Electric Ukuleles.

We’ve just got three new models from Risa in our store, and we are very excited about them. We’re willing to say that they are the best of the best when it comes to pure electric ukuleles (as opposed to acoustic-electric).

In this review, we are going to look at the Risa Stratocaster Tenor Electric Ukulele based on the classic 1950s guitar by Leo Fender. This is a faithful ukulele reconstruction of the classic instrument that both ukulele and guitar players will enjoy playing while also feeling cool as hell (and of course that matters).

Jump into our complete review to help you decide whether this is the right ukulele to electrify your music!

Risa Stratocaster Tenor Electric Ukulele Review

We’ve awarded the Risa Stratocaster Tenor Electric Ukulele five stars on our website because not only is it one of the coolest things that we have seen in a long time, but it produces great sounds and has lots of nice features that make it stand out.

Product Specs

• Tenor
• 17” (432mm) scale length
• Strat style
• Solid alder body
• Solid maple neck
• Maple fretboard
• Two handmade Risa pickups (humbucker and single-coil)
• Three-way switch for pickup selection
• Steel string
• Made in Germany

We love the Risa tenor ST432 Stratocaster. It is built to look exactly like a traditional Stratocaster guitar on a smaller ukulele style. Choose between a very Jimmy Hendrix white option, classic black, or sunburst. All are embellished with classic Strat decoration that makes it immediately recognizable.

It matches a solid alder body with a solid maple bolt-on neck. Together these produce the kind of clear, crisp, and bright sound that you want with an electric ukulele. They also come with steel strings as standard, which are strung through the body. It is tuned with wound low G, which gives it a little bit more of a guitar feel. However, if you choose to customize at checkout, you can have it strung up with a classic ukulele high G or even as a baritone. It’s up to you.

It has a 17-inch scale neck, and you can get at all of it thanks to the shape of the body. The satin finish on the neck means that it also feels great as you slide your hand down the neck to reach those higher chords.

The headstock also has the classic Strat look, with four geared tuners across the top and a cool Risa original style shape.

In terms of the mechanics of getting the electric sound that you want, it has two pickups: a humbucker down near the bridge and a single-coil pickup near the neck. The humbucker has two coils that offer a much cleaner and more powerful sound, while the single-coil on the bridge gives the sound its essential “fatness.”

It is simple to play the instrument the way you like with easy-to-use controls. There are aluminum volume and tone switches on the front, as well as a pickup switch that lets you choose between using just the humbucker, just the neck pickup, or both. It sounds great with all the effects that you get through your pedals.

There are a few other nice features that really help you get the sound that you want on this instrument. There is an adjustable bridge so that you can adjust the string height and intonation of each individual string. There is also a nut zero fret to help maintain the ideal intonation.

But you don’t have to just take our word that this instrument sounds great. Hear it in action in this Risa Stratocaster Tenor Electric Ukulele Review…

Love this ukulele but looking for something a little bit different? Check out our reviews of the Risa Telecaster Tenor Electric Ukulele and the Risa Les Paul Tenor Electric Ukulele, neither of which will disappoint.

Buying Options

Get your Risa Stratocaster Tenor Electric Ukulele in the Uke Like the Pros store, the number one online ukulele shop. We currently have the black, sunburst, and white option available.

Buy risk-free with our worldwide shipping and seven-day return policy. We also recommend that you take advantage of our custom setup service rather than receive your instrument with the factory setup. We can get it tuned, strung, leveled, and polished for playing perfection. We even do special setups if you have specific requirements, such as low action for playing with arthritis. 

When you buy with us, you also get a free month of premium membership at ukelikethepros.com that lets you access all of our courses and live QA sessions. So hit the ground running if you are a new player, or if you are an experienced player, choose targeted courses to help you master your new instrument. You also get access to our extensive song library.

Pedals For Your Ukulele

If you want those classic electric guitar effects when you are playing your electric ukulele, you are also going to need some effects pedals. But if you aren’t familiar with electric guitar pedals, you might not know what your options are, so let’s take a look.

To be clear, effects pedals allow you to create effects using electronic circuitry, which you operate using a foot pedal since your hands are already full with your electric uke. The pedal does more than just on and off, and you can create a range of different sounds with a single pedal box.

There are literally hundreds of different effects that you can apply, though some are more popular than others.

Distortion

This is a generally heavy and obvious effect that provides a good amount of sustain and crunch to your sound. Because it heavily distorts the sound, it can sometimes hide the actual tone of the instrument. It can be described as making everything sound more “aggressive.”

Overdrive

An overdrive pedal is very similar to a distortion pedal, but it retains more of the original sound of the instrument. It pushes your amplifier a bit more subtly. It is often used in classic rock and blues.

Fuzz

A fuzz pedal is a bit more extreme than a distortion pedal. It provides a bass-heavy and noisy guitar tone. It can be used to create very heavy “attacking” sounds.

Wah-Wah

As the name says, this pedal produces a “wah” sound, adding a lot of reverberation after the note. The more you press down on the pedal, the more obvious the sound, so you can emphasize different parts of the music.

Delay

This one delays your signal by varying amounts and creates a doubling effect, and you can control exactly how long it is with the pedal.

Chorus

The chorus effect makes it sound like hundreds of other guitarists are playing exactly the same thing as you, each just a millisecond later, even though you are all on your own. It produces an “underwater” sound, think “Come As You Are” from Nirvana.

Flanger

The flanger is very similar to the chorus effect, except it creates more of a whooshing effect in which the sound rushes up in pitch and then comes back down. It can sound a bit like a plane rushing past.

Phaser

The phaser creates a sweeping sound that peaks and troughs in the guitar tone. You can alter the heights of these peaks with the pedal controls.

Tremolo

This makes it sound like your volume is going up and down very quickly after you play a note, but it blends together to create a nice wobbling sound. Again, you can control how big the volume change is with the pedal.

Looper

This is more of a utility pedal, letting you record a segment of your playing which will then be played back through the amp. This is used in live shows to play two guitar parts when there is only one guitarist.

Reverb

This is basically an echo, and you often get this with a standard amp, but a pedal can give you more control. With a good pedal, you should be able to add a light echo or a large amount of atmospheric depth.

Compressor

These even out your sound and make you sound more professional. It normalizes the volume of your guitar, so if you pick a string lightly and the next heavily, they will sound the same.

And there are many more, but these are the most important for beginners to know.

The Verdict

The Risa Stratocaster Tenor Electric Ukulele is one of the most stylish and best-sounding electric ukuleles on the market today. You’ll feel like Jimi Hendrix as you transform your favorite ukulele tracks into classic rock hits.

This is a faithful replica of the classic Stratocaster guitar on a ukulele scale, and it produces a powerful sound, just like the original instrument. Make use of the dual pickups to get exactly the sound that you want. There are also lots of nice personalization features, such as a fully adjustable bridge to get each string exactly the way you want it.

Are you a fan of the electric ukulele? What’s your favorite electric ukulele to play and why? Let us know in the comments section below.