Best Electric Ukulele Reviews: Risa Telecaster Tenor

Who says that you can’t rock out on a ukulele? Get your hands on a good quality electric ukulele and you’ll be jamming with the best of them on your favorite four strings. For that reason we decided to do this Risa Telecaster Tenor Electric Ukulele Review that is one of the BEST Electric Ukuleles.

One of the best electric ukuleles that you can buy is the Risa Telecaster Tenor, which will appeal to anyone who likes a clear, crisp sound and the vintage look of classic Fender Telecasters.

It is a tenor-style instrument with steel string and two handmade Risa pickups, one humbucker and one single-coil, which give you lots of options when it comes to finding your perfect sound. It has a solid pine body and a solid maple neck which combine to give a crisp, bright sound ideal for electric mixing.

We think that Risas in general, and especially the Risa Telecaster, are among the best of the best. Read our complete, in-depth review to decide whether this is the right electric ukulele for you.

Risa Telecaster Tenor Electric Ukulele Review

We’ve awarded the Risa Telecaster Tenor Electric Ukulele five stars on our website because it is impeccable both when it comes to sound quality and coolness factor in terms of look and feel.

Product Specs

• Tenor Tele Ukulele
• Solid pine body
• Solid maple neck
• Tenor 17” (432mm) scale length
• 22 frets
• Steel-string electric
• Tuning G-C-E-A with low G
• Two handmade Risa pickups: humbucker and single-coil
• Three-way switch for pickup selection
• Volume and tone controls
• Made in Germany

This instrument is basically a scaled-down but faithful ukulele recreation of the classic Tele guitar. It looks good, and it plays like a dream.

The quality of this instrument starts with the wood, which matches a solid pine body with a solid maple neck and fretboard, all with a gloss finish. Together these produce the kind of clear, crisp, and bright sound that you want from an electric instrument. The gloss instrument also feels satin-smooth in the hands while you are playing.

A standard tenor size, the classic telecaster shape means that you can access all 22 frets all the way down the neck. The Telecaster look is carried on with the black design details on the body and the headstock design with the four tuners on top. These are geared diecast tuners that can help you get the perfect pitch. Style it the way you want, choosing from butterscotch (our favorite), seafoam green, and traditional black.

Unlike most ukuleles, you’ll be playing on crisp steel strings that are tuned to G-C-E-A with wound low G. This makes the setup perfect for country, rock, blues, or folk music. You can order yours with different string options if you wish. Choose high G or baritone tuning to low D if you want a more guitar-like sound.

The instrument has two handmade Risa pickups. The one at the base of the body is a humbucker, which uses two single-coils. This helps eliminate the hum that you get with many single-coil pickups. On the neck, you then have the standard single-coil Risa pickup.

The controls on the front of the body have aluminum knobs and give you a lot of options in terms of how you actually play the instrument. Adjust the sound and tone with separate controls on the front. There is also a switch to easily choose how you use your pickups.

Use just the humbucker to really define the treble, use just the single-coil pickup to make that classic Telecaster sound, or choose both for a full and rich electric guitar sound.

The instrument sounds fantastic with many of the special sound effects that you can achieve with a good amp setup. But don’t take our word for it; you can hear the Risa Telecaster Tenor Electric Ukulele in action below.

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

Buying Options for your Risa Telecaster Tenor Electric Ukulele

Get your Risa Telecaster Tenor Electric Ukulele in the Uke Like the Pros store, the number one ukulele shop. We currently have the black, seafoam green, and the butterscotch options available on sale with a 15% discount. Don’t forget to add the Risa hardshell case, available in black or grey, to protect your instrument.  

We ship worldwide and offer a seven-day return policy, plus you can customize your setup (we’ll adjust your string height, fret level, polish the frets, and more) so that your instrument arrives in the best condition and ready to play. You can also add essentials such as a humidifier, strap, gig bag, and more.

When you buy with us, you also get a free month of our premium membership at ukelikethepros.com that lets you access all of our over 20 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.

Electric vs Acoustic-Electric Ukulele

If you are considering getting an electric ukulele, you might be trying to choose between an acoustic-electric and an electric option.

An acoustic-electric ukulele is basically a standard ukulele that has a pickup installed to detect sound and allow it to be detected and amplified by the amp.

Meanwhile, an electric ukulele is a solid-bodied ukulele designed specifically to integrate with your amp. You won’t get much sound out of it if it’s not plugged in.

These pure electric ukuleles are often the best choice when you are playing in a band and you need to mesh well with the rest of the instruments. This is because it is less likely to produce feedback than acoustic-electric options or interfere with the overall sound of the band. Solid body electric ukuleles also work great with various effects pedals such as overdrive, delay, reverb, and wah-wah pedal. 

Some people note that it is also a bonus that the electric ukulele doesn’t make much sound when it’s not plugged in. This is because it doesn’t have the resonant body to produce sound without the help of the amp, so you can practice without annoying your neighbors. That doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy the sound yourself, as they often have a special port for headphones so that you can practice. But an impromptu little show around the sofa for friends might be out of the question.

And that is one of the other things to consider when choosing a pure electric ukulele. It does tend to lose some of the sound of the traditional ukulele. This is especially true of an example like this Telecaster, not least because it is tuned with a low G instead of a high G on top.

So whether or not you should be considering an acoustic-electric or a pure electric ukulele depends on you, where you’ll be playing, who you’ll be playing with, and what kind of sound you want to achieve.

Don’t Forget Your Amp

Playing an electric ukulele? You’ll need an amp as well. If you are playing in a professional band, you probably have this covered. But if you are looking for something good-quality for individual use, we suggest the Fishman PRO-LBT-500 Loudbox Mini Bluetooth Amplifier.

Your Risa Telecaster will sound great, and the amp also delivers fantastic sound when paired with acoustic-electric instruments.

It has two channels, so you can connect both your instrument and your microphone when performing. It produces great sound with 60 watts of clean power, coupled with ¼ inch and ⅛ inch auxiliary input and balanced XLR D.I. output. Connect wirelessly via Bluetooth and take this lightweight and portable amp with you on all your adventures.

It’s currently available in our online store and we are offering a 35% discount on this great little product.

The Verdict

If you are looking for a top-quality electric ukulele that will sound perfect when mixed in with the band and just look damn cool while you are playing, you won’t find many better options than this Risa Telecaster Tenor Electric Ukulele.

This is one of our favorites to play with the amp and it sounds perfect when you are jamming with the band. While all the instruments look good, the butterscotch color with the traditional Telecaster design definitely makes an impression.

The solid pine body and maple neck offer the perfect electric sound when combined with the steel strings. The combination of the humbucker pickup on the body and the single-coil pickup on the neck also make this a versatile instrument for working with all of your favorite music styles.

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.

Learn More: How to Play the C chord on your Ukulele?