kissing
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2009
- Messages
- 4,364
- Reaction score
- 597
A while back, I made a post about how I was plagued with hum issues on my Risa Uke Solid.
The usual solutions offered were:
-Shielding issue?
-Problem with your mains power?
-Use an external preamp or DI box?
-Noise gate pedal?
The problem appears to affect all passive piezo pickups similarly, at least in the setups I am exposed to.
Interestingly the hum disappears when I use any battery powered amplifier. However, I don't think it is practical for me to only use battery powered amplifiers.
I recently setup a pedalboard to use with my various electric instruments (including electric guitar), and this was the dealbreaker for me. When I plug any passive piezo instrument through them, the hum would be unbearably bad.
And then I plugged in my really cheap Mahalo electric ukulele, with that really cheap Mahalo Chinese preamp. And guess what?
Perfect signal, no hum.
How can such a cheap active option outperform relatively expensive passive systems by so much?
Even if I use an external preamp, the moment the external preamp then connects to an amplifier that is connected to mains power, the hum is back!
After hours and effort, I just made an executive decision for myself.
No more passive piezo instruments.
I've listed all my guitars and ukuleles with passive piezos on the local community sales website (Gumtree Australia). The hell with them!
I will only buy active systems from now on.
The usual solutions offered were:
-Shielding issue?
-Problem with your mains power?
-Use an external preamp or DI box?
-Noise gate pedal?
The problem appears to affect all passive piezo pickups similarly, at least in the setups I am exposed to.
Interestingly the hum disappears when I use any battery powered amplifier. However, I don't think it is practical for me to only use battery powered amplifiers.
I recently setup a pedalboard to use with my various electric instruments (including electric guitar), and this was the dealbreaker for me. When I plug any passive piezo instrument through them, the hum would be unbearably bad.
And then I plugged in my really cheap Mahalo electric ukulele, with that really cheap Mahalo Chinese preamp. And guess what?
Perfect signal, no hum.
How can such a cheap active option outperform relatively expensive passive systems by so much?
Even if I use an external preamp, the moment the external preamp then connects to an amplifier that is connected to mains power, the hum is back!
After hours and effort, I just made an executive decision for myself.
No more passive piezo instruments.
I've listed all my guitars and ukuleles with passive piezos on the local community sales website (Gumtree Australia). The hell with them!
I will only buy active systems from now on.