Pick-ups or not? Ohana TK-35g vs TK-35gce.

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I currently have a mediocre laminate concert ukulele and I'm planning to upgrade. I've decided on the Ohana tk-35 (tenor, solid mahogany body).

I'm undecided about whoch model to get though. For about $70 more I can get the version with pick-ups installed and a cutaway. https://ohana-music.com/product/ohana-ukuleles-tk-35ce-all-solid-mahogany-with-cut-away-eq-tenor/

I will play this ukulele acoustically 95% of the time. The pickup would only be used occasionally for practising and performing in ensembles.

My questions are:

Will the pickup (hole) change the ukulele sound much when played acoustically?

Is it better to get a model with the pick-up already installed or to add one later on?

For infrequent plugged in performances would I be better off just using a microphone?

Your input would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!
 
Get it installed now. Then you won't get nervous when you do it later.
I have them. Do I use them? Not often. But I'm glad I have them.

Also -- mics made you stand still. Pick ups let you move around.

But do what works best for you.
As to sound? Very people really would be able to notice any difference. Really.
 
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I'm with Sukie. At one time I might have said that I probably won't use it much, but that changed. I'll not buy another uke without a pickup.
 
Hmm.... I am the opposite, when I started out I wanted pickups, after learning to play to a fairly reasonable level, I now prefer to use a mic. ;)

(I only play for myself & the Seasons, so bear that in mind when reading the above.)
 
I probably average 15-20 hours a week performing through a PA system (busking) and I use microphones. I can't stand the sound of piezo pickups so for me whatever I need to do to use microphones is what I need to do.

You really need to make your mind up about the sound of piezo pickups yourself. Can you live with them or not?
 
for me, the cutaway would be more important than the pickup, but I like to play around the 12th fret. I do have one uke with a pickup and it is really fun to wank around with fuzz pedals and compression and play some Black Sabbath; it is nice to be able to play fifth-chords and pretend like I have some erudition as opposed to being perpetually reminded that my Elizabeth Cotten picking is ridiculously inept.
 
I'm with Sukie. At one time I might have said that I probably won't use it much, but that changed. I'll not buy another uke without a pickup.

I'm with Rolli and Suki. Get it with the factory pickup installed. If your performing the ease of just plugging in and playing is a big advantge. It is much more expensive to have a pick up installed afterwards.
 
Hey Rust...y, I think you should consider how good the factory pickup will be, compared to choosing your own pickup later on. Yes, a better pickup will cost more, but my experience is that having the same pickup installed after purchase is not much more ($20 in my experience, although it might depend where you live, and who does it), and you can choose the pickup. The included pickups do not give you that choice, and I think would not give you the quality of, for instance, a MiSi or Baggs. I looked a little online, but could not learn what pickup Ohana uses. Maybe theirs is good enough. (They should make that info part of their descriptions, I think, beyond just "with on-board active pickup system" in the link you provided.)
 
Hey Rust...y, I think you should consider how good the factory pickup will be, compared to choosing your own pickup later on. Yes, a better pickup will cost more, but my experience is that having the same pickup installed after purchase is not much more ($20 in my experience, although it might depend where you live, and who does it), and you can choose the pickup. The included pickups do not give you that choice, and I think would not give you the quality of, for instance, a MiSi or Baggs. I looked a little online, but could not learn what pickup Ohana uses. Maybe theirs is good enough. (They should make that info part of their descriptions, I think, beyond just "with on-board active pickup system" in the link you provided.)

The pictures show the preamp is belcat with uk-300t marked on it.


Thanks for all of the great responses so far!
 
Does anyone know how the belcat uk-300t system is? Worth getting?

I have one. I don't have any reference points since this is my first electronic instrument. I assume it is pretty low-end since it came with my ukulele. If I had a choice, I would certainly get a LR Baggs because I prefer to get quality and not have to worry about it later. Nevertheless, I will tell you that I've never been let down with my Belcat. I am obviously not a connoisseur but when I plug into the amp, I get exactly what I expect. Most ukulele players want to know if the amplified sound is true to the original. Again, I am unhelpful here because I don't think I've ever played with a clean signal. For me, if I'm going to plug in, I am going to click on the fuzz pedal and the flanger. Patently, I do wacky stuff and the Belcat accommodates me. I assume it would work for you as well. There is one criticism I have of it, and I don't know if this is true of all pickups or if it is specific to the Belcat, but the Belcat seems very hyper-sensitive to my movements. I usually play standing up and I have to be rather still or the pickup will pick up my footfalls and the movement of my hands.
 
The preamp is in the side of the ukulele body. In the future, would it be possible to upgrade to a better pickup and preamp while still using the same holes? It looks like many of the better pick-ups (Misi, lr Baggs 5.0) don't use the preamp in the side.
 
Just an update. Thanks for all of the advice here. I ended up getting a MiSi pick-up installed into the tk-35g from Mims ukes. I haven't plugged it in yet but the ukulele has been a joy to play. Thanks for all of the advice.
 
Just an update. Thanks for all of the advice here. I ended up getting a MiSi pick-up installed into the tk-35g from Mims ukes. I haven't plugged it in yet but the ukulele has been a joy to play. Thanks for all of the advice.

I have installed the Mi-Si in 3 ukes and one guitar myself, and for me, it sounds great and is an easy install, and I love not having to worry about batteries and that it can recharge in 60 seconds. I've been able to get 12-16 hrs of time out of a single charge, but that is not all at once, but over several days...

Also, you know the charge is running low if/when the pickup sound gets a low volume, is distorted, or fades-out quickly,,, then just plug it in, and count to 60 and then unplug and you are ready for the pickup to work again.

FYI: the Mi-Si uses the same silver pickup ribbon strip under the saddle as the LR Baggs Five.O, which is in fact made by LR Baggs, so the difference between the two systems is really the preamp.

I also have several ukes with pickups that are soundboard transducers and that are passive, made by JJB Electronics, as well as K&K, and for those I use an external preamp.
 
I have installed the Mi-Si in 3 ukes and one guitar myself, and for me, it sounds great and is an easy install, and I love not having to worry about batteries and that it can recharge in 60 seconds. I've been able to get 12-16 hrs of time out of a single charge, but that is not all at once, but over several days...

Also, you know the charge is running low if/when the pickup sound gets a low volume, is distorted, or fades-out quickly,,, then just plug it in, and count to 60 and then unplug and you are ready for the pickup to work again.

FYI: the Mi-Si uses the same silver pickup ribbon strip under the saddle as the LR Baggs Five.O, which is in fact made by LR Baggs, so the difference between the two systems is really the preamp.

I also have several ukes with pickups that are soundboard transducers and that are passive, made by JJB Electronics, as well as K&K, and for those I use an external preamp.

Thanks for the MiSi tips, Booli. Your knowledge and help is appreciated.
 
Thanks for the MiSi tips, Booli. Your knowledge and help is appreciated.

I am glad to help. Also - there is an add-on module for the Mi-Si that gives a volume and tone control and mounts in the soundhole, just like the LR Baggs Five.O, but this module requires soldering of 3 tiny wires to the Mi-Si preamp, and usually costs an extra $30-40 depending upon vendor but few vendors will do the soldering work. I emailed Mi-Si a while back and they sent me the instructions for the module, but I never felt the need to use it since all EQ is usually done elsewhere for me, and for the same money, you can buy a stomp-box type pedal that acts as a kill-switch if you want to silence the output temporarily -

HOWEVER...like almost ALL active pickups with a a preamp - the preamp is ACTIVATED whenever the cable is plugged into the jack, so if you are going to set it down and not play for an hour, or overnight, you must unplug the cable from the endpin jack, otherwise you will run down the charge in the super-capacitor, and it will be dead when you pick it up, and need charging before it can be used, but again, that only takes 1 full minute....

:)
 
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