Ukulele pickups and amplification

Abztract

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Hi everyone, I have an all solid mahogany tenor that I am going to install a pickup in but have to decide on which pickup. The contenders are the LR baggs 5.0, the misi and a k&k aloha twin. I have a few questions if anyone can help me, has anyone got any experience with these pickups? I am particularly interested in the K&K because I have heard it has a very natural sound but the output level is important to me with it being passive as I would not always have a preamp available. Is it loud enough to just plug into an amp without the external preamp? Beyond this, any recommendations you guys have or any advice would be massively appreciated.
 
Use the search feature and you will find enough material to read for days.
I like the K&K's, very natural ukulele sound. The "Big Spot" and the "Aloha Twin".
I have both and they work well. I also have a Misi Air, my favorite sound, but is feedback prone in a live setting.
I use a Baggs Gigpro preamp for a little more of my uke instead of the sound man.
 
I like the sound from my MiSi Trio - but it is fitted in a solid spruce concert. :)
I will second that one, and mine is fitted on a mahogany concert.
 
I have a Baggs in my 4 string tenor (Ojai) and will be putting a K&K into my 6 string Kamaka as the saddle slot is not wide enough for a Baggs.

K&K guitar pickups are very loud without a preamp, and I'm hoping for the same from the Aloha Twin.

The Baggs pickup needs the preamp. I use the Baggs Para DI
 
I have a Baggs in my 4 string tenor (Ojai) and will be putting a K&K into my 6 string Kamaka as the saddle slot is not wide enough for a Baggs.

K&K guitar pickups are very loud without a preamp, and I'm hoping for the same from the Aloha Twin.

The Baggs pickup needs the preamp. I use the Baggs Para DI

Can anyone confirm or deny the K&K being loud enough without a preamp? I mean can I get away with just the uke and amp in, say, a busking situation? My amp is fairly decent, 15 watts.
 
I have tried both the MISI and the K&K Twin. I GREATLY prefer the sound of the K&K. And, regardless of whether it's active or passive, I ALWAYS run my uke through a pre-amp. Pickups w/o pre-amps tend to sound "thin", regardless of the output they produce.

If your amp is designed specifically for acoustic instruments, you will likely be fine ... even without a pre-amp as the amp itself is handling it. I often use a Fishman Mini, with that amp, no pre-amp is needed.
 
Can anyone confirm or deny the K&K being loud enough without a preamp? I mean can I get away with just the uke and amp in, say, a busking situation? My amp is fairly decent, 15 watts.

Please understand that 'loud enough' is a misconception and not the whole picture. It's a matter of impedance mismatch between the output of the passive piezo pickup and the input of an amplifier/PA system/recording-interface...

Please search the forum for 'impedance' as I have previously written tomes worth of explanation on this topic over the past 3 yrs here on UU, all of which is based upon my combined experience as a sound engineer, and my own personal use.

Volume level and tone problems are avoided by impedance matching, otherwise, even though it may be loud enough, you are effectively getting a 'high-pass filter' with a passive piezo, i.e., it's like setting an EQ with all the frequency bands from 400hz and below, ALL THE WAY DOWN, and even on a soprano uke, you are still going to be losing a bandwidth of about 325hz from 400hz and down, so no bass, very tinny and quacky sound, and very low signal-before-feedback, even with your amp volume cranked all the way up...

Please search - top right of every page on UU, and put in the word - impedance. :)

Having said that, I have installed MiSi Trio pickups in 3 ukes and like the sound and ease of use in that it does NOT use a battery, but instead a 'super-capacitor' that you recharge on 60 seconds and get 8-16 hrs of play time, and thus you save on the cost and hassle of the batteries...

if passive pickups are your purpose, you might also want to look at the JJB pickups which are similar to the K&K, but about half the price and have gotten good reviews. I plan to pick up at least one of these single-head and one double-head pickups for testing, and of course will be using them with an external preamp. see here: http://jjb-electronics.com/our_products.html
 
Please try a search. This same question was answered up and down last week: http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?124854-Please-Explain-Pickups-To-Me

The stock search feature here sucks so you're better off to search Google with: "site:ukuleleunderground.com [search term]" in the future.

I did try a search. I couldn't actually find anything which answered my question exactly so I just assumed people who were sick of questions being asked "up and down" would simply move on without commenting...
 
Please understand that 'loud enough' is a misconception and not the whole picture. It's a matter of impedance mismatch between the output of the passive piezo pickup and the input of an amplifier/PA system/recording-interface...

Please search the forum for 'impedance' as I have previously written tomes worth of explanation on this topic over the past 3 yrs here on UU, all of which is based upon my combined experience as a sound engineer, and my own personal use.

Volume level and tone problems are avoided by impedance matching, otherwise, even though it may be loud enough, you are effectively getting a 'high-pass filter' with a passive piezo, i.e., it's like setting an EQ with all the frequency bands from 400hz and below, ALL THE WAY DOWN, and even on a soprano uke, you are still going to be losing a bandwidth of about 325hz from 400hz and down, so no bass, very tinny and quacky sound, and very low signal-before-feedback, even with your amp volume cranked all the way up...

Please search - top right of every page on UU, and put in the word - impedance. :)

Having said that, I have installed MiSi Trio pickups in 3 ukes and like the sound and ease of use in that it does NOT use a battery, but instead a 'super-capacitor' that you recharge on 60 seconds and get 8-16 hrs of play time, and thus you save on the cost and hassle of the batteries...

if passive pickups are your purpose, you might also want to look at the JJB pickups which are similar to the K&K, but about half the price and have gotten good reviews. I plan to pick up at least one of these single-head and one double-head pickups for testing, and of course will be using them with an external preamp. see here: http://jjb-electronics.com/our_products.html

Thanks mate. So I guess the K&K produces this tinny sound with no lows if used without a preamp? As in have you heard the K&K without a preamp? I only ask because I have heard it said that they are quite good without one so I am trying to ascertain whether I can use it. If the preamp is absolutely needed then it would mean I would just install a misi which has a preamp. Thanks everyone for the replies.
 
Abztract: what type of amp do you have? It's important to know. As someone previously stated, he has had good success matching his K&K with a Fishman Loudbox mini amp.
 
Thanks mate. So I guess the K&K produces this tinny sound with no lows if used without a preamp? As in have you heard the K&K without a preamp? I only ask because I have heard it said that they are quite good without one so I am trying to ascertain whether I can use it. If the preamp is absolutely needed then it would mean I would just install a misi which has a preamp. Thanks everyone for the replies.

Happy to help. However, I'm not wanting to repeat all the text I've typed on this subject previously.

There are over 100 previous threads here on UU that contain my explanations regarding piezo pickups, impedance, pre-amps, etc...

I'll wager that your previous searches did not include the term 'impedance' and thus your questions are unanswered and understanding of the matter remains incomplete.

Again, to answer your question of the K&K, might I suggest you to remain open about the fact that some more research and education about the physics of sound and electrical properties of a piezo pickup, which I've documented in great detail here on UU, will help you to answer your questions.

Mind you, I'm not intending to be rude nor offend, but some effort applied in the correct direction as I and others had previously advised will go a long way towards getting exactly the sound you want, while spending your money wisely.

However, if you prefer not to do any research and blindly follow recommendations from strangers on the internet, then by all means the easy way out is either an LR Baggs Five.0 or a Mi-Si Acoustic Trio, and accept that you have some 'magic beans' in your ukulele that makes it amplified...LOL

No judgment here, but if it were me, I'd like to know exactly the details of how it works before I give my money for something, rather than to buy it and have my expectations ruined by failure and an empty wallet.

Good luck! :music:
 
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I did try a search. I couldn't actually find anything which answered my question exactly so I just assumed people who were sick of questions being asked "up and down" would simply move on without commenting...

Not sick of anything. We're here to help. Sorry if I came off as snotty. It's just that a lot of people don't know about the Google search which often turns up much more useful archives. Carry on...

For the record though: We need a sticky Booli thread! This guy is a gem and his generous posts should be put all in one place.
 
Not sick of anything. We're here to help. Sorry if I came off as snotty. It's just that a lot of people don't know about the Google search which often turns up much more useful archives. Carry on...

For the record though: We need a sticky Booli thread! This guy is a gem and his generous posts should be put all in one place.

No, its me who should apologise. Not been well lately and I can get grumpy as hell sometimes...sorry buddy. I will try a search again with yours and Booli's (thanks Booli, by the way) suggestions as, you were certainly correct Booli in that my search words did not include 'impedance'...cheers guys
 
I have a Baggs in my 4 string tenor (Ojai) and will be putting a K&K into my 6 string Kamaka as the saddle slot is not wide enough for a Baggs.

K&K guitar pickups are very loud without a preamp, and I'm hoping for the same from the Aloha Twin.

The Baggs pickup needs the preamp. I use the Baggs Para DI
I think the LR Baggs 5.0 is an active pick up, so it has a built in preamp, and has one of those coin batteries. It also has a small volume wheel that sits behind the sound hole. I have used it in combo with a Loudbox mini amp and am very satisfied.
 
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No, its me who should apologise. Not been well lately and I can get grumpy as hell sometimes...sorry buddy. I will try a search again with yours and Booli's (thanks Booli, by the way) suggestions as, you were certainly correct Booli in that my search words did not include 'impedance'...cheers guys

No worries brother. We are all trying to help and pay forward from our own experience.

Often times newbies to this forum (and others) desire quick answers, but then realize that the shallow end of the pool is lacking (in depth or detail that is satisfying) and many topics have been covered previously, as we were all newbies at the start, either to our new-found hobby, or to the existing culture of when joining a new-to-us forum for the first time...

Tolerance and forgiveness both come easy here on UU.

Please enjoy yourself here and do not hesitate to persist with future questions, none of which are silly, and all of which are how we can learn together as a group and improve ourselves.

:)
 
Abztract: what type of amp do you have? It's important to know. As someone previously stated, he has had good success matching his K&K with a Fishman Loudbox mini amp.

I have a hiwatt 15 watt amp. Its a rechargeable amp for busking and sounds quite good. I use acoustic guitars through it regularly and they sound really great.
 
What is a fair price for a luthier to install an under saddle pickup like a MISI Acoustic Trio. I installed one on an okay uke but I think I will have a pro install one in my Kiwaya.
 
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