pickups

bt93

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on a scale of 1-10 how hard is it to install a pickup into a concert uke? do the pickups come with an instruction guide? also, which is a good pickup for around 100.00. i dont want a preamp in it, or anything with batteries. thanks brad
 
i saw that, what kind is that...does anyone know?
 
Well the one he's installing is a piezo pickup. You can get it from www.ukulele.de
But since you're from the US it would be a waste of shipping money to get it from Germany. Try ebay :)
 
The actual installation is usually a breeze. Drill a few holes, sand down the saddle, and pop the screw on the end. It's when you have problems that it can become a headache ridden time consuming monster. I've been through enough pickup installations to troubleshoot pretty good, but there are still a few installations here and there that drive me crazy.

Keep in mind that 90% of pickup issues are usually related to the saddle seating. (For a UST style) For disc or feather type SBTs, the placement of the transducer is critical. If you have it directly on a sweet spot, it may be too hot and send a very undesirable loud and quacky signal through the jack. If it's too far away from a sweet spot, it's going to be too soft.

It shouldn't be too hard, though.
 
Cost effective pickup

I found somewhere on the internet, not sure, but I think it was the cigar box guitar nation - that Piezo Transducers work. I thought is sounded a little cheesey, but I have now built four instruments using these and they actually work great in my humble opinion.

You can get the piezo transducer from Radio Shack part no. 273-0073 for 2.99, add in jacketed wire, mono 1/4 inch jack and solder and you have a little less than $10 invested. It is simply a flat brass disc, kind of like the little dude you find inside the greeting cards that play music, or inside el cheapo alarm clocks. The beauty is that you do not have to be spot on in order for this to sound good. I place mine just behind and the bridge bracing inside the uke. Wired to a jack, no pre-amp or controls and it worked out o.k. Maybe not as good as the pick-ups designed for that purpose, but a cool experiment to try on a junker if you have one.

Not trying to drop names or anything like that, but the flying fortress that dominicfoundthemoon has is set up this way, so he might be able to give you some feedback on the sound.
 
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