Pickup install endpin or not?

Davoravo

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Hi team

I want to install a passive pickup. I play amplified only very rarely but want it to be easy. I initially was going to buy a pickup with endpin for a strap but I Am worried about the endpin loosening over time.

Do most people install pickups as end pin or in the side of the instrument?
 
I've seen, and have, both. Generally I prefer the combo jack but I guess it's personal preference. If it's going to worry you, put it on the side.
 
Having seen, first hand - a ukulele with a side mounted end pin get the cable snagged and pulled - ripping a hole in side of the uke... I prefer the end pin! Through the tail block.
 
Think about all the guitars with end pins jacks using straps, you don't hear about a loosening problem. Sure it could happen but very unlikely. I have 8 ukes with pickups and endpin jacks, I use a strap 100% of the time and never had an issue.
 
I must say though - following up on the loosening thing - I HAVE had that happen. No real biggie though - on one occasion it it actually went inside the uke!

Easy to rectify though and didn't happen mid gig.

Reach in sound hole and retrieve the jack - feed a thin jack socket into the hole and retrieve that from sound hole too. Plug into the jack and pull back out through the end pin hole having adjusted the washer to give you enough to work with. Tighten and replace the button cap. Easy.

Other times it just works a bit loose - remove the button cover and tighten the hex bolt.
 
If one is that worried about it, put a drop of locktite on it. My jack itself has never loosened. The nut with the groove for the strap has, and I tighten it up finger tight. I actually give it a twist before I put my strap on every time. It has never been an insurmountable issue, or even an issue at all for that matter. Of course, I'm a mechanic by trade, maybe for some people tightening something is more difficult than I think. But I would rather have an end pin from my pickup to hook my strap over than a button sticking out there a half inch to catch on everything. But Locktite blue 242 is the thing, the blue allows for disassembly, Loctite red you sometimes need heat to get it loose. Use blue. Just one drop will do. You don't have to put a lot on.

Note. I see that Loctite is pretty expensive. I've also used superglue for a thread locker in a bind at home, but it is not FAA approved and I have Loctite in my toolbox, so I use it. But superglue is a lot cheaper than Loctite. Just a drop of it. I've been an airplane mechanic for so long that most everything I do, aviation related or not, is FAA approved.
 
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Thanks, I had read lots of guitarists comments about loosening jacks, they seem to be forever jamming the hole with matchsticks and toothpicks. But I have found everyone’s input (pun intended) so will go ahead. Thanks again
 
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What passive pickup will you go for?

I've done a topic a while back talking about having problems with most undersaddle passive piezos. They tend to be susceptible to a background hum in some amps.

After trying a fair number of different pickups, out of the passives I've found this brand to be the best in terms of sound quality, build quality and no hum issues!

https://www.peterman.com.au/music3/Acoustic_Guitar_Pickups


If you want something cheaper, search for an "Artec ukulele piezo". They are well made undersaddle piezo, but I find that they hum a bit when used as a passive. Fantastic when used in an active system though.

An external preamp would be recommended - you can go cheap (eg: Joyo, Behringer) or expensive (LR Baggs, etc).

Avoid no-name cheap generic pickups that cost just a few dollars. They are sometimes not worth installing at all, due to shoddy quality (uneven tone output between strings, harsh sound, etc)
 
Darn, based on piezo crystal technology being very simple I just bought a cheap shoddy no name disc piezo pickup with endpin. I was going to coat it in hot glue gun glue as a cushion to reduce the quacky vibration. Not installed so maybe I will save that for my $5 Mahalo ukulele.

Tbh the peterman looks very expensive, my other choice was jjb which looks good quality and reasonable at about us$30.

I have an external Behringer Di box and preamp already, highly recommended except for its ability to chew through batteries. If I were starting again I would probably just get the irig acoustic stage but they seem to have doubled in price since I last looked nine months ago.
 
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Those JJB pickups looks like they're pretty good.

I know it's a bit more than a $5 generic one, but I think the ones made by reputable makers tend to perform better.
Especially if you're going to permanently modify an instrument, it's worth doing the drilling and stuff for something that'll give decent results :)
 
especially since you don't often play amplified you might decide, in the future, that you no longer want the pickup. In which case, it's easier to replace an endpin pickup with a standard endpin than it is to repair a hole drilled in the side of the lower bout.
 
I play plugged in weekly using a MiSi end pin pick- up. I had one uke that the end pin loosened a little, but that was when I first got it. I think it needed to be tightened. I hand tightened it on the outside and never had another problem with it. Now I check the end pin on all my pick-ups when I plug in out of habit. No issues. I use a product called a Strap Keeper to secure my strap to the end pin. It locks it on so it ever slips off, but it’s easy to take off when you want the strap off. Made by Tapastring.com
 
Thank you everybody. Saved a bad mistake.

Ditto, thank you everybody for saving me from putting the jack in the side or lower bout. Having stepped on a cable more than once with my guitars I can see it really doing serious damage to a fragile beautiful ukulele. Thank You All!!
 
I play my tenors using a strap. I have had several endpin jacks come loose because of the strap moving around on the endpiece. In the groove. I then tried several solutions to allow the strap to rotate without loosening the jack. The best solution I have found is the Strap Keeper by Tapastring Guitar Care. Works great.

www.tapastring.com

Strap Keeper.jpg Baggs Locked.jpg
 
I have fitted K&K passive PUs to several guitars, mandolins and banjos and always secure the end piece with a drop of the wife's nail varnish on the threads.

Vintage
 
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