Which Pickup should I get?

bellgamin

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I have decided to have a pickup installed in my oversized Pono baritone. I bought the barry from HMS, here on Oahu, & I will take it to them for purchase & installation of the pickup.

The only time I will "plug it in" is for playing in a relatively small room (150 max seats). I will usually play alone or (rarely) in a trio with guitar & bass. I will play 90%+ of the time acoustic-only, so I do not want any pickup where installing it might detract from this Pono's superb acoustic sound.

Of the following pickups, offered by HMS, which do you recommend?
K&K BI Spot
Pono Pickup
MiSi Trio
LR Baggs 5.0

NOTE 1: The Baggs has a battery inside the uke, so the strings must be loosened to replace it. The MiSi has an externally-rechargeable battery. If your suggestion comes down to Baggs VS MiSi, I would prefer the rechargeable MiSi unless the Baggs has advantages that substantilly outweigh the minor convenience of MiSi's externally-rechargeable battery.

NOTE 2: I am NOT familiar with pickup technology except that I know enough to prefer an active pickup rather than a passive. If any of the above pickups is passive, I don't want it.

Hey, this forum has never steered me wrong. I truly truly value your suggestions.

Aloha from Hawaii,
Bill
 
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HMS also offers the aNueNue Air Air pickup that incorporates a microphone with the piezo to give more of an acoustic sound. I know several people who feel that this a terrific pickup. Going so far as to say it's the best they have ever used.

Here's a link to a comparison of five pickups offered by HMS TheUkuleleSite.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I8LKDpnYZU
 
Given your notes, the answer is the MiSi.

The K&K and Pono pickups are passive, so if you don't want passive that leaves you with Baggs vs MiSi and you prefer the MiSi. The MiSi uses an L.R. Baggs pickup so the difference between the two is the pre-amp. I don't think I've read anything from anybody unhappy with the MiSi Trio.

If you don't plug-in often then I'd lean towards the passives (I had the Pono Pickup on a baritone in my cart, but was too slow and somebody else bought the uke) and get an external pre-amp. I've found that my (rarely used) active pickups tend to run out of batteries when I do want to use them. You could also just make sure that you keep extra batteries or the MiSi charger in your case.

Listen to the sound comparisons HMS posted of all of these at at https://vimeo.com/63940107 to see if you have a preference.
 
HMS also offers the aNueNue Air Air pickup that incorporates a microphone with the piezo to give more of an acoustic sound.
Here's a link to a comparison of five pickups offered by HMS TheUkuleleSite.com.... ...
I have listened to the comparison several times but my ear is not great (I wear a hearing aid & it is not hi-fi).

I am aware that HMS carries the Anuenue. At my main venue, a friend uses the Anuenue & has to go through a "balancing act" to get rid of feedback every time he plays there. Half the time he hasn't got time to mess with it so he just turns the mic off & goes with the piezo.

I don't have time to tweak knobs -- when I'm on, poof! I'm on, then & there -- no time to fiddle with feedback issues. That's why I excluded it from the list.

I do appreciate your suggestion. Please give me your thoughts concerning which of the 4 listed might be best.
 
I owned a Pono UL4-20 which is the big baritone but in steel string. I am not sure if you have the UL4 series or the larger Nui. I bought it from HMS and asked Andrew which pick up to install, he immediately said the Baggs 5.0. I have that in 5 other ukes (I have 2 with Misi) so the Baggs was a no brainer. It did a great job as they always do. The Anunue air was not available then, ask Andrew his preference for a pick up in this instrument.

The Pono pickup as well as the K&K that you mentioned are both passive. For the most part you need a pre amp to boost the signal and then some EQing to make it sound good
 
I like the Baggs 5.0 that HMS installed in a Pono. I liked the way it sounded over the Misi from the comparison videos. And I don't have to recharge it. Though the recharge time is short, I'm sure I'd forget and it would be dead if I had to plug in. (But that's rare for me.) You will have to loosen your strings to get to the battery. Make sure they install it where your fingers can reach. The volume dial will be installed at the edge of your sound hole.

The Pono passive is a very good pickup as well. So if your amp has a built-in pre, or you have a separate pre-amp, it works very well. I think it has a very balanced acoustic sound to it and you don't have to fiddle with a volume knob or batteries. Since you have a Pono bari, the floating saddle and deep slot is ideal for it.

If you play electric regularly you may prefer the Misi. No battery to replace once a year. Just plug in for a few minutes to recharge. I think the sound is pretty close tot he Baggs 5.0.

I'm not sold on the K&K bi-spot. As they said in the blog video, it's pretty sensitive to thumps and bumps because the transducer "spots" are mounted to the underside of the soundboard not under the saddle. I think I've read that it is pretty susceptible to feedback as well.
 
Ah so! It seems the majority favors the Baggs. That's the one I'll go for.

Many thanks to all!!!

P.S. for DuDave-- My darlin' is the UL4N (nylon strings). Her name is Amy. Amy glows in the dark.
 
I've had MiSi in three ukes & love it. No battery to change. The recharge takes 60 seconds. I play plugged in every Sunday at church for about an hour total playing time. I recharge the battery ever other month (write it on my calendar to remind myself). In over a year, I've never run out of juice. But just in case, the charger goes with me. Mine have all been in concert ukuleles. I'm plugged into the sound board / PA system. Sounds great.
 
I favor the Misi Trio pickup because I detest changing batteries. If you do decide to go with the MiSi, you can have an optional volume and tone control installed near the sound hole.
 
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