Is the carbon-fiber Lava U the most technologically advanced ukulele ever?
New uke sports mini preamp system, FreeBoost technology for playing onboard effects without plugging into an amp

We spend a lot of time here writing about new and cool electric guitars, but let's take a minute to check out Lava Music's impressive and unusual Lava U, a preamp-equipped carbon fiber ukulele.
The Lava U sports a one-piece body constructed of the company’s AirSonic carbon fiber, a low-density, high stiffness material that Lava touts as “highly resistant against extreme changing of temperature and humidity.”
Other unique features on the Lava U include a BreathNet Bionic structure soundboard, L2 mini preamp system that offers reverb, delay and chorus, and FreeBoost technology, which uses the back of the instrument as a speaker and allows for playing with effects without plugging into an amp.
The ukulele comes in six sparkle pearl powder matte finishes (red, pink, purple, black, blue and gold), as well as with an incredible cool-looking Space Case.
The Lava U is available in 23- and 26-inch versions, starting at $299.
For more information, head to Lava Music.
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Rich is the co-author of the best-selling Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. He is also a recording and performing musician, and a former editor of Guitar World magazine and executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. He has authored several additional books, among them Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the companion to the documentary of the same name.

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