Dean Markley 3001 Artist XM Transducer Acoustic Pickup ?

Wooville

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Has anyone tried this stick-on pickup with a ukulele? I'm looking for a inexpensive pickup that I can switch back and forth from my tenor uke, tenor guitar, and guitar. Seems like it does a pretty good job on guitar, but was wondering how well it works on a uke.

Any thoughts?
 
I've got one - certainly works very well, easy to move between ukes. Basically it is an enclosed piezo disk, I use low tac bluetac to stick it on. That's probably a uk brand name, but its the stuff you use to put posters upon the wall.
Seems to have reasonable quality cable with it too. I've had mine for a few years now with no issues.
 
The iRig Stage has a great sound, if $100 is in your price range, might a viable option.
It is basically a clamp on mic, so the sound is very natural.
 
I haven't tried that pickup specifically, but do own a Schatten Dualie from years ago (older model, wood casing with two piezos inside) and I've also had K&K pickups that work the same way. They're all pretty similar.
They can give you a pretty nice plugged in tone with the right amp, preamp, EQ, whatever else you might need. I think they can sound more natural than under saddle pickups.
The only possible drawback to them is that they tend to pick up everything...As in, if your arm is moving across the body of the instrument the pickup will capture that and amplify it. That said, you can use that to your advantage too if you like to tap on the top for percussive sounds.
I don't think it's any better or worse for uke than with guitar.

If you're handy at all with a soldering iron, you can build a pickup like that for cheap. There are lot of youtube videos on it, so search those. You can get the piezo discs from electronic stores, etc. CB Gitty online (instrument/crafter supply) sells quite a few different ones. Some people embed them in bottle caps, etc. surrounded by hot glue. Just be sure whatever you use to stick the pickup on with doesn't harm finishes. Schatten included some sort of putty with the one I have that doesn't mess up the finish and goes on and off easily. I've used it with all sorts of instruments just for fun. I wish I knew what that putty was, but no clue. I know some just use double sided tape. You may find all that too much trouble, and would prefer to just buy something. That's understandable too. I'm just putting some options out there.

I hope this helps.
 
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