The very reason i went for the solid Rob Collins custom above is because I could never find a reliable cheap one out there. The reason is simple - a solid body uke of whatever scale has to do ONE THING well - and that is to sound half decent plugged in. I played many many and owned a few like Eleukes and every one was a massive let down on the pickup quality.
Seen everything from mismatched volume between strings to buzzes, hums and general muddy tone. As I say, they need to do one thing well and I could never find that holy grail. The uke Rob built me is just sublime. (Surprised he didnt come back to you - I would try again as he is usually pretty good at communications). I dont regret ordering with him one bit - it answered my problem.
Sorry to sound so down on all the others, but at the cheap end I was only ever massively disappointed on tone. Sound ok through a small battery amp I guess, but when you stick an Eleuke through a large PA when performing on stage, you start to notice the shortcomings!
Re prices though - the Risa Uke Solids can be had for under £200 and they are the exception to the above - I own one and they are SUPERB quality (build AND pickup).
As for reasonable prices - well I suppose you get what you pay for - but when a half decent passive pickup can cost you close to £100 just for the piezo - £200 for a whole instrument doesn't leave much for the ukulele itself. As such, the cheaper brands (in order to avoid creating something that is just inherently unplayable) tend to cut corners on the pickups. For a solid body that is exactly where I DON'T want corners cut - they are key to the whole concept!
Seen everything from mismatched volume between strings to buzzes, hums and general muddy tone. As I say, they need to do one thing well and I could never find that holy grail. The uke Rob built me is just sublime. (Surprised he didnt come back to you - I would try again as he is usually pretty good at communications). I dont regret ordering with him one bit - it answered my problem.
Sorry to sound so down on all the others, but at the cheap end I was only ever massively disappointed on tone. Sound ok through a small battery amp I guess, but when you stick an Eleuke through a large PA when performing on stage, you start to notice the shortcomings!
Re prices though - the Risa Uke Solids can be had for under £200 and they are the exception to the above - I own one and they are SUPERB quality (build AND pickup).
As for reasonable prices - well I suppose you get what you pay for - but when a half decent passive pickup can cost you close to £100 just for the piezo - £200 for a whole instrument doesn't leave much for the ukulele itself. As such, the cheaper brands (in order to avoid creating something that is just inherently unplayable) tend to cut corners on the pickups. For a solid body that is exactly where I DON'T want corners cut - they are key to the whole concept!
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Good luck!
