How does a microphone sound compared to a pickup?

evanL777

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I went to a music shop yesterday and the guy told me to go with a mic instead of getting an internal pickup. He said that external stickon pickups were total crap. Does anyone use a mic on their uke? If so, are you pleased with the sound and performance of it?
 
In most cases, a microphone is going to sound better than a pickup. There's a reason in-studio recordings use mics on guitars and ukes instead of internal pickups.

Of course, pickups are more convenient--you're more free to move around, they isolate better, etc. It's for these reasons that pickups tend to be more popular for live, onstage performances, where you have less control over your sound environment.

JJ
 
I usse the stereo condenser mics built in on the zoom h4 digital recorder. Absolutely beautiful. I've also use a homemade piezo contact mic so I can pump my uke thru some guitar effects, that one works good but watch out for the feedback!
 
All environmental things being favourable (which isn't always!), I vastly prefer playing into a mic - even on stage. There is no doubt that a decent condenser mic captures the natural sound of your instrument much better than a pickup.

I have a couple of pickups. I have a Washburn ROMP mini-condenser mic which screws into place inside the uke on an endpin jack. I took that out recently and fitted an under saddle piezo. The undersaddle is more feedback resistant, so overall is more practical than the internal mini-mic, but neither of those pickups can match the natural sound and the versatility of a proper microphone so I only use the pickup when I have to. But as JJ says, there are reasons that pickups are more popular on stage - feedback being one of them.

I find that a pickup requires me to use a 7-band EQ to reduce playing noise and to bring the tone close to natural, whereas the plain 3-band EQ on my mixer's mic channels is enough to get everything sounding good when I use the mic instead.

With a mic, not only is the sound good, but you can really make the most of your playing dynamics, and move on and off mic as required to vary your level for backup or solo playing.

The very best solution is to have both pickup and mic. That way you are as prepared as possible for any situation, and you always have a choice - or a backup! :)
 
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thanks. I only have experience with acoustic ukes, so can you guys recommend a brand of mic and tell me around how much they cost. How do they work also. (do they just clip to the sound hole or....?)
 
I agree that the external pickups are pretty much rubbish. However, I do like internal pickups, and if you pay for a decent active one like an LR Baggs Element or Fishman Matrix, it will sound pretty good. However, if you want to go with the microphone route, the standard seems to be the Shure SM57, and it is a good mic, and goes for about $100. I've got two of them that I bought used, and they were in terrible shape (metal case was literally split in half and shattered and was held together by electric tape), but the mic still worked great, a testement to Shure reliability. But thee are also a lot of other condensor mics out there that are good for recording. I haven't tried any of them personally, but I'm sure someone else here has.
 
I went to a music shop yesterday and the guy told me to go with a mic instead of getting an internal pickup. He said that external stickon pickups were total crap. Does anyone use a mic on their uke? If so, are you pleased with the sound and performance of it?

You're talking about three separate amplification methods here.

  1. Internal pickup - These pickups are installed inside the instrument. You plug a standard 1/4" instrument cable into a jack in your uke to access it. There are varying degrees of quality with these pickups.
  2. External pickup - These pickups stick onto the outside of the instrument. I have yet to hear one that I like.
  3. Microphone - A good condenser mic will sound more like the actual acoustic sound of your uke than either an internal or external pickup, IMO.

thanks. I only have experience with acoustic ukes, so can you guys recommend a brand of mic and tell me around how much they cost. How do they work also. (do they just clip to the sound hole or....?)

I haven't seen a microphone that clips to the sound hole. I would think that would totally get in the way of my playing.

You would just put it on a microphone stand and put your ukulele close to it while you play.

If you go with a microphone, I would get a condenser mic as opposed to a dynamic mic. In my experience, I've gotten much better response from condensers for amplifying instruments.

I've heard good things about the Behringer C-1 condenser microphone. It's only $40 at Amazon.
 
My experience with pickups & mics is at the very basic amateur consumer level. I found that my Lanikai tenor w/Shadow pick up sounds much better recorded with my Zoom H2 recorder (lifelike)rather than its built in pickup (artificial & harsh)

Using the Shadow pickup through my Fender Acoustasonic amp isn't so bad because I can easily tweak the sound.
 
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mics bring out the high end and presence, making a more natural sound.

pickups tend to boost the bass to sound mellow, will improve the sustain, and sound a little artificial.

with a uke you'll probably also hear your breathing through the pickup if you set the instrument against your chest. With a mic you'll hear your arms brushing against the top and try not to bump it.

Best bet is to use both a mic and a pickup, and get yourself a small mixer. You can then tailor your sound to the room, different rooms sound different and they sound different full vs. empty.
 
I know that for guitars Fishman makes a blender pickup which allows you to blend the sound of a mic in the soundhole and some sort of pickup combination (undersaddle? not sure.) I think you might even be able to get all-mic if you blend all the way to the mic side.

And I've heard only excellent reviews of this pickup (when used in a guitar context.) I suspect that if you bought the narrow bridge version of this, it'd work in your uke, just like a regular Fishman Matrix. It's going to cost you though...220 for the unit alone, so you're probably looking at a little under $300 installed.

http://www.fishman.com/products/details.asp?id=86

http://www.zzounds.com/item--FSMEMB
 
I've been quite pleased with a Joe Meek JM37DP that I got in a special package deal a while back with some other goodies. It seems to have a decent bang for the buck. I already had an ART tube preamp to handle the phantom power needs and warm it up and the two together have been great for our live performances. Plus it does equally well picking up my vocals at the same time.

I think it really helps having a little bit of air between the uke and the mic to get a good sound and knowing where the sweet spot is to point the mic at.
 
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For recording, a mic rules. You want a condenser mic, and it's worth spending a good $150 or more on it. For live work, you want to get an undersaddle piezo pickup fitted. It's no problem to retrofit them if your uke didn't come with one. I can't recommend Headway pickups strongly enough.
 
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