WhenDogsSing
Well-known member
Mi-Si pickups do not use a battery. How do they work? I thought I had read somewhere that they used a capacitor somehow but I am not sure and that is why I am asking.
Mi-Si Pickups - How Do They Work?
- Thread starter WhenDogsSing
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Croaky Keith
Well-known member
I do believe they use capacitors for storage. I have one, a Trio I think, fitted into one of my ukes, plug in, charge up, swap over to a cable/lead, & away you go. 
Inksplosive AL
Well-known member
Using firefox I simply highlight your question "Mi-Si Pickups - How Do They Work?" I right click and hit search google in the drop down list.
First site on the list and BAM! http://mi-si.com/products/
First site on the list and BAM! http://mi-si.com/products/
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WhenDogsSing
Well-known member
I appreciate your reply but I did that myself initially. They don't tell "how" it works and doesn't answer my question.
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WhenDogsSing
Well-known member
I do believe they use capacitors for storage. I have one, a Trio I think, fitted into one of my ukes, plug in, charge up, swap over to a cable/lead, & away you go.
That's what I thought I had read somewhere. I'd like to know for sure how it works.
Pueo
Well-known member
A battery and a capacitor both essentially do the same thing - they are capable of storing electrical energy for future use. Typically, a capacitor dumps all the charge that it has stored as quickly as possible, and a battery sort of drains out its charge over a longer time.
Think of an older camera flash.
A camera flash has both a capacitor and a battery. The battery stores the electrical energy long term. When you turn on the flash, you would wait for the capacitor to charge up, and once it was charged, the "ready" light would glow and the flash was ready for use. When you activated it, the capacitor would dump all the stored energy into the flash bulb, making a super bright light but only for a very short time. Then you have to wait for the battery to charge the capacitor again.
For the Mi-Si pickup, they use a capacitor but one that is capable of draining much more slowly, more like a battery. The advantage is that it has a (theoretical) much longer lifespan than a battery and more consistency from charge to charge than a regular battery does. Capacitors are also able to accept the charge much more quickly than a battery, so that is why it only takes a minute to charge.
This works because the amount of current needed to run the preamp is very small. So in a regular guitar/ukulele that 9V battery may last for a year or two before needing to be replaced. This capacitor takes a minute to charge, and works for 8-12 hours. More than enough to last any gig I would imagine.
I have one myself.
I like the technology.
Think of an older camera flash.
A camera flash has both a capacitor and a battery. The battery stores the electrical energy long term. When you turn on the flash, you would wait for the capacitor to charge up, and once it was charged, the "ready" light would glow and the flash was ready for use. When you activated it, the capacitor would dump all the stored energy into the flash bulb, making a super bright light but only for a very short time. Then you have to wait for the battery to charge the capacitor again.
For the Mi-Si pickup, they use a capacitor but one that is capable of draining much more slowly, more like a battery. The advantage is that it has a (theoretical) much longer lifespan than a battery and more consistency from charge to charge than a regular battery does. Capacitors are also able to accept the charge much more quickly than a battery, so that is why it only takes a minute to charge.
This works because the amount of current needed to run the preamp is very small. So in a regular guitar/ukulele that 9V battery may last for a year or two before needing to be replaced. This capacitor takes a minute to charge, and works for 8-12 hours. More than enough to last any gig I would imagine.
I have one myself.
I like the technology.
Pueo
Well-known member
+1 for what Pueo said
I have Mi-Si in 3 instruments that I installed myself. I hate to waste batteries so this was a no-brainer for me.
The main thing to remember, like many preamps, is that when you insert a cable's plug into the 1/4" jack of the endpin, this effectively acts as a switch and TURNS ON the preamp in the Mi-Si, so you need to remember to UNPLUG the cable when you are finished, otherwise, if left overnight, the charge will likely have been run down flat.
Even so, 60 seconds on the charger, and you are good to go. Mi-Si also recommends to charge up for 2 mins the first 2-3 times you use the device when new, something about conditioning the chemistry inside the capacitor (yeas there is a chemical goo or paste inside just like most batteries, and all the electrons need to get trained to lined up, just like clumsy new recruits on the first day of boot camp)...
I think the Mi-Si is great. Also, if you purchase it from Mainland Ukulele, they sell the version that has the little volume and tone (V/T) thumb-wheel controls that you can place in the sound-hole, otherwise you can buy the V/T board from Elderly for $38 and solder the wires yourself...if you get the preamp without the V/T controls
http://shop.mainlandukuleles.com/product.sc?productId=94&categoryId=2
http://www.elderly.com/mi-si-volume-tone-control.htm
I have Mi-Si in 3 instruments that I installed myself. I hate to waste batteries so this was a no-brainer for me.
The main thing to remember, like many preamps, is that when you insert a cable's plug into the 1/4" jack of the endpin, this effectively acts as a switch and TURNS ON the preamp in the Mi-Si, so you need to remember to UNPLUG the cable when you are finished, otherwise, if left overnight, the charge will likely have been run down flat.
Even so, 60 seconds on the charger, and you are good to go. Mi-Si also recommends to charge up for 2 mins the first 2-3 times you use the device when new, something about conditioning the chemistry inside the capacitor (yeas there is a chemical goo or paste inside just like most batteries, and all the electrons need to get trained to lined up, just like clumsy new recruits on the first day of boot camp)...
I think the Mi-Si is great. Also, if you purchase it from Mainland Ukulele, they sell the version that has the little volume and tone (V/T) thumb-wheel controls that you can place in the sound-hole, otherwise you can buy the V/T board from Elderly for $38 and solder the wires yourself...if you get the preamp without the V/T controls
http://shop.mainlandukuleles.com/product.sc?productId=94&categoryId=2
http://www.elderly.com/mi-si-volume-tone-control.htm
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WhenDogsSing
Well-known member
Thank you very much for the explanation.
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WhenDogsSing
Well-known member
+1 for what Pueo said
I have Mi-Si in 3 instruments that I installed myself. I hate to waste batteries so this was a no-brainer for me.
The main thing to remember, like many preamps, is that when you insert a cable's plug into the 1/4" jack of the endpin, this effectively acts as a switch and TURNS ON the preamp in the Mi-Si, so you need to remember to UNPLUG the cable when you are finished, otherwise, if left overnight, the charge will likely have been run down flat.
Even so, 60 seconds on the charger, and you are good to go. Mi-Si also recommends to charge up for 2 mins the first 2-3 times you use the device when new, something about conditioning the chemistry inside the capacitor (yeas there is a chemical goo or paste inside just like most batteries, and all the electrons need to get trained to lined up, just like clumsy new recruits on the first day of boot camp)...
I think the Mi-Si is great. Also, if you purchase it from Mainland Ukulele, they sell the version that has the little volume and tone (V/T) thumb-wheel controls that you can place in the sound-hole, otherwise you can buy the V/T board from Elderly for $38 and solder the wires yourself...if you get the preamp without the V/T controls
http://shop.mainlandukuleles.com/product.sc?productId=94&categoryId=2
http://www.elderly.com/mi-si-volume-tone-control.htm
Thanks to you also for the information.
Rllink
Well-known member
I don't have much to add, except that I have one on my Mainland, and I really like it. I do not have the optional buttons inside the sound hole, and instead just adjust everything at the mixer, or the amp. The one thing that I like about it is just that, it doesn't have anything stuck in different parts of the ukulele, like a battery box and whatever else. It is a clean setup. I've never run mine out of juice. I don't think that I use it enough during practice, and I throw the charger on it for a minute or two before I go out somewhere with it to play.
No worries, glad to be able to help.
Also, just in case anyone is wondering, here is a video where Aldrine visits with Joe Souza of Kanile'a and Joe installs a Mi-Si in one of their ukes.
However, I have done the installation a bit differently, in that I do not route the saddle slot deeper as Joe does, but rather either use a SHORTER saddle or shave down the BOTTOM of the existing saddle, and only IF and only AFTER testing that the existing saddle being raised about 1mm by the pickup ribbon element is causing a problem either with intonation, the strings being too high, or causing MORE than 50% of the saddle itself to be ABOVE the front edge of the bridge.
I.E. >> I test is FIRST before doing any modfications. On 2 instruments so far the 0.6mm increase in saddle height at the 12th fret was NOT a problem FOR ME, but on other instruments where I did the install for friends, the saddle needed to be shaved down a bit to make things right for that player, and THAT instrument.
But here is the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ypj_mhXhss
Nickie
Well-known member
I must be missing something. Is the pickup charging the whole time it's plugged into the amp? Or would it lose charge during playing?
RichM
Well-known member
The pickup is charged by using a charger to plug it into a wall socket. It can also be charged, somewhat McGyver-style, with a 9-volt battery. Once charged, it can be used for several hours before requiring another charge.
Inksplosive AL
Well-known member
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WhenDogsSing
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