Need pickup advice for my kala

joshsimpson79

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I only own one uke right now and it's a concert Kala solid wood acacia that cost me about $350. from Mim.

I've decided between church and public, I want a pickup after all.

Before I even talk about type, I guess my question is do you think this worth spending the extra $200?

I'm guessing you might say if I'm happy with the sound and enjoy uke, then do it.

The pickups I'm most interested in would be the LR Baggs Five-O or the MiSi.

Thoughts? Thanks in advance.IMG-1140.jpg
 
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I only own one uke right now and it's a concert Kala solid wood acacia that cost me about $350. from Mim.

I've decided between church and public, I want a pickup after all.

Before I even talk about type, I guess my question is do you think this worth spending the extra $200?

I'm guessing you might say if I'm happy with the sound and enjoy uke, then do it.

The pickups I'm most interested in would be the LR Baggs Five-O or the MiSi.

Thoughts? Thanks in advance.View attachment 102569

Hmm. I think about a couple things about you situation. Do you want to expand your uke collection or want to keep it just at one uke? If you just want to keep it at 1 uke and you love it, do it! I have used MI-SI trios on most of my ukes but I have been loving the fullness of the LR Baggs from watching them on the videos. Another thing that I like about the LR Baggs is that it has a volume nob. The volume knob isn't always nessary but it is nice sometimes if you are not super close to the amp or mixer. Not sure where you getting the pick-up installed but most places charge about $100 bucks for the labor. So the MiSi ($115 from mainland ukes) or the LR Baggs ($150 Amazon/Music stores) + Labor would exceed your projection. Just putting it out there.

If you want to expand you collection and pick up a uke (probably tenor because there are more with builtin electronics) you could get Kala STG-C for around $275 new.

Just stuff to consider. I just bought a KALA KA-ZTP-CTG a month ago and love it. So I'm going to get the LR Baggs installed when I have time.
 
I love collecting, and I've bought and sold guitars for years. For now, I'm looking to pay off all debts, so I plan on sticking to one uke for the time being.

I'm a music minister, so some sound guys or gals are much better than others, so the volume knob might be a big plus.

I appreciate your thoughts very much.
 
I think you've already answered your own question.

A lot of people would cringe at spending $200-250 for a pickup to put in a $350 uke. That's why you typically see a $25 pickup in a $250 uke as deznuchs pointed out. Nothing wrong with that if you fits your needs.

The pickups you mention are top shelf, so it sounds like you want the best amplified sound you can get. If you're happy with the acoustic sound and playability of your uke, and you want the best amplified sound, then go for it. You should be very pleased.

The only down side is that if you ever decide to sell it, realize that you will not get that money back.
 
I will give it some more thought. It might make more seen sense to get a cheaper pickup to get plugged in and then get a higher end uke later. I have two boys and will likely give them a uke someday anyway.
 
I have 3 concert electro acoustic ukes, one with a MiSi, & to be honest they all sound about the same plugged in playing through my Micro Cube amp.
Maybe you don't need such an expensive pickup, maybe you'd be better off buying another uke already fitted with a pick up system, even pre used.
A Kala KA-CEME might suit your needs.
 
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The Island Big Spot price looks right and I could probably install it myself or get a friend that has done several on guitars...not that it is exactly the same.

Thanks for all the feedback. I appreciate it.
 
I have used both the big spot and the twin spot in ukes. Mya Moe's use twin spots.
Very easy install.
 
Thanks guys. Got a big island spot. The price was good online, and I can do a self install. So I won't be spending a huge amount on a lower end instrument.
 
Probably a good choice at your price ratio and a good spot to start learning. Thereʻs only so much advice you can solicit from a forum before you just have to waste some money trying things out. Sometimes they work, sometimes they donʻt. If youʻre not playing super loud, the K&K will probably be fine, though a preamp of some sort would go a long ways towards making your life better on stage.

Keep in mind that your install location will change the tone a lot. I had one for years and thought it sounded terrible. Had someone move it and it was much better. You might have to experiment a bit.
 
Probably a good choice at your price ratio and a good spot to start learning. Thereʻs only so much advice you can solicit from a forum before you just have to waste some money trying things out. Sometimes they work, sometimes they donʻt. If youʻre not playing super loud, the K&K will probably be fine, though a preamp of some sort would go a long ways towards making your life better on stage.

Keep in mind that your install location will change the tone a lot. I had one for years and thought it sounded terrible. Had someone move it and it was much better. You might have to experiment a bit.

I'm definitely going to play around a bit with the location before securing it more permanently. I should be able to get a pre amp pretty inexpensively at some point.
 
Well, I ordered one on Saturday and got it today. I have painter's tape holding it in a temporary position, but I'm pretty pleased. Next week be getting a preamp. Other than the one k&k sells, do you have any other recommendations? Something simple. A57FF51E-1B50-4DAD-A8D9-C78866D40773.jpg
 
Well, I ordered one on Saturday and got it today. I have painter's tape holding it in a temporary position, but I'm pretty pleased. Next week be getting a preamp. Other than the one k&k sells, do you have any other recommendations? Something simple.

There are hundreds of QUALITY options for external preamps, most popular on UU, as well as used daily by professionals around the world:

Budget preamp: Behringer ADI-21 $29-39 everywhere
see: https://www.amazon.com/BEHRINGER-V-TONE-ACOUSTIC-DRIVER-ADI21/dp/B000KITQK2/
81vuZpDIoyL._SL1500_.jpg


High-end preamp, considered one of the best: LR Baggs Para DI $189-199 everywhere
see: https://www.amazon.com/LR-Baggs-Para-Acoustic-D-I/dp/B001E95KEC
51JUAyijdtL._SX425_.jpg


With either of these, you can't go wrong, just depends upon your budget and how discriminating your hearing perception is, but most folks that are not audio engineers will be hard-pressed to tell the difference between these two units in a blind test.
 
I am a believer in the Baggs Para DI. It might be more expensive, but it will last a lifetime and be worthy of any setup.
 
The reason for using a preamp is not only volume boost, nor fiddly knobs to modify the eq but for IMPEDANCE MISMATCH between ALL piezo pickups under the sun, and what they plug in to.

This is not my sole opinion, but instead it is proven scientific fact.

The page linked below in my signature has links that detail all of these issues and how to remedy them, from the technical explanations I've previously written here on the forum, as well as the suggestions of others, some of whom have even more experience doing professional audio than I do.

It would not only save time and frustration to read these threads, but also help to manage one's expectations for each given level of budget.

I'd strongly recommend that anyone wanting to get IMPROVED sound from a pickup and NOT the typically 'quacky', thin, and brittle tone that piezos offer when going direct without a preamp or DI box, to actually make time to educate themselves.

Otherwise, 'just plugging it in' is going to punish the audience, who will not hear the music you are playing because the tone of it is drastically impaired due to the IMPEDANCE MISMATCH of piezo pickups going direct into an amp or PA without proper additional add-ons, which do NOT have to be expensive at all.
 
Dean - some amps, especially if designed as an 'acoustic amp', will already have an impedance matching 'front end circuit' within it's preamp which is usually wired up as it's output feeding the input of the 'tone stack' which is your bass/mid/treble/notch-filter section, and the output of the tone-stack then feeds the input of the 'power-amp' which then goes to the speaker.

If your amp has an 'active' input as well as a 'passive' input, using an additional preamp may be redundant when using the 'active' input, however, as long as you have 'unity gain' from your external preamp or effects, either going into the active input or via an effects loop on the amp itself, the sound should at least be passable...

But remember, as kekani said above, there are lots of variables involved, and without looking at the schematic diagrams of the amp's circuits and technical data sheets from the amp maker, it's near impossible to predict the end result.

I am glad it is working for you. Maybe try and set the eq and notch filter 'flat' or everything at 12-o'clock, and leaving the volume and gain also mid-level, plug into the active input and have a listen, and the passive input and have a listen - if you active input has impedance compensation or a piezo 'buffer' circuit, the active input should have more low-mid and bass frequencies and the passive input should sound brittle and thin in comparison.

The very short reason for this is that 'uncompensated impedance', or 'unbuffered input' from a piezo manifests as a 'high-pass' filter, which usually omits ALL sound below about 500hz, and this is electrically caused by the piezo's nearly 10 million ohm impedance going into an input that expects magnetic pickups that put out from 1.5k ohms to 10k ohms, or on a PA system an XLR mic channel that expects a mic output from 150 ohms up to about 1k ohm.

A preamp, DI, or piezo buffer reduces the ratio of the 10M ohm down to something closer to the amp or PA's input channel's design, and by doing so, flattens out the frequency response so it is closer to what your natural ears hear as resonance in the air from the acoustic sound of the instrument.
 
Everything of valid technical merit, based upon field-tested and studio-proven experience, has already been said, and explained, therefore, I'm out and un-subbed from this thread once I post this.

Further questions will not receive my attention nor my answers here, so please feel free to carry on without me.
 
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