Which pickup would you install in a Kamaka or Kanile'a tenor?

Which pickup would you choose to intall?

  • Mi-Si acoustic trio with preamp and AC adaptor charger.

    Votes: 20 60.6%
  • Fishman Active Matrix Infinity with 9V battery charger.

    Votes: 8 24.2%
  • Fishman AG series Passive with LR Baggs Acoustic preamp Paracoustic DI box.

    Votes: 5 15.2%

  • Total voters
    33

wickedwahine11

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I want to install a pickup into my Kamaka tenor (or alternatively, my Kanile'a). I've searched through tons of posts, and now I'm more confused than ever, some people say passive w/ LR Bagg's pre-amp, some people say active Fishman, some say Mi-Si. It is driving me crazy because each post seems to contradict the others.

I know the first rule of the ukulele: it is what I like that matters, but unfortunately I haven't heard most of these in person. At the Cerritos Ukulele Festival yesterday, I heard Dominator play and I think he has the Mi-Si, and it sounded great. I have heard Aldrine's Mika and her Fishman active sounded great. So I'm totally confused.

Bear in mind a couple of things:
1) I'm never going to be Aldrine or Jake or Dominator. My playing is usually limited to just in my house. But I do have a friend who is using my old electric guitar and I would like the ability to play electric alongside her on occasion. So my needs are not a performer's needs, more like a garage band needs.

2) I'm a worrywart, so minimal installation is a plus. I would prefer to take it to Kamaka and have them do it, but to avoid shipping costs, I was planning on having a local reputable luthier install. But if one option is more difficult than another to do properly, that is worth noting.

3) I am not worried about the advantages between battery or charger, if I choose an active pickup. Especially since the Mi-Si has the 9 volt workaround. But I am interested in the convenience factor of active versus carrying a preamp around with me. Though since I'm really primarily doing this at home, this isn't a huge factor.

4) Finally, sound quality. If you were putting in any of these three options, which would sound the best. This is under best case scenario, so assume that the passive would be played with the LR Baggs preamp.

Thanks for any input. I'm hoping to order one this week, to get it installed before a trip at the end of this month. Since I'm a noob at amplification, I'm curious to see the general consensus.
 
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Hmm, I don't know anything about DI boxes, but I know that they're just another thing to carry, and at one point, I had a pair of Countryman DIs that I got from a Craigslist seller who was moving and liquidating his live sound stuff and basically gave them to me for super cheap. I turned them for $100 each on ebay since I had no use for a pair of bricks. So I don't like the DI option b/c it's extra luggage.

I personally have a Fishman Matrix Infinity installed in my Kanilea. Did not take it to the Kanilea factory to install though, b/c their price was $280. I believe they use LR Baggs pickups anyway. (I love my onboard Element in my Rainsong Guitar though...great pickup, could easily substitute for my Fishman.) Anyway, Kamaka does installations for $250 if you want a Matrix Infinity in there, when I checked last. But that was still too much for me. And I ended up buying my Matrix at a guitar shop ala-carte, and getting it installed for free by a friend at another ukulele factory which is highly regarded on these boards...and for good reason. Let me tell you, they did a damn good job there. Everything was nice and neat, and the wires were even nicely tied up. Plus they weren't even servicing their own uke. 10/10 job.

The thing is that all you have to do is drill two holes to install a pickup, and other than that, it's hard to go wrong. And it was just the hole drilling that concerned me, otherwise I'd have just installed it myself, especially since the Matrix doesn't require any soldering. So if you take it to a local luthier they probably won't have any trouble.

As for pickup choices, I'd go with the Matrix or the Mi-Si, just because I wouldn't want to have to lug around that DI box and all the extra hassles that come with it: extra cables, finding the box, extra weight in the case, etc.
 
All i know is that Fishman will be a better quality than the Mi-Si or whatever else you might want to install. I had a Mele with the Fishman and I just never used it. I have played ukes with the mi-si and they sound good as well but not as well as the fishman. I think it will all come down to cost maybe. Look at all the better ukes and see what type they install. I know KoAloha installs fishman and taylor used too until they went with their own brand.
 
Finally, sound quality. If you were putting in any of these three options, which would sound the best. This is under best case scenario, so assume that the passive would be played with the LR Baggs preamp.

First answer for the poll: None of those.

As for sound quality, you need to define "best". Personally, the MiSi that I've heard in Tenors sound too much like a Fishman, even though it uses a Baggs UST. Fishman is easy to install, Baggs is on the other end being more finicky. Fishman's battery lasts longer (due to switching off when there's no signal, so I've heard - don't quote me), Baggs does not.

If you're accustomed to "quack" to the point you look for it, then Fishman is the direction (this is what I mean when a MiSi sounds like a Fishman). I know some players that do, and cannot stand the sound of a Baggs.

Personally, thanks to Paul, I like the LR Baggs Element Active, especially since I've learned to install it "without incident".

If you really want the best, talk to Rick, and get a D-TAR. Best in this case, for me, is excellent balance between natural sound (vs amplified/electric), consistency between low volume and high volumes, and the ability to absolutely BANG away if you wanted, without it sounding muddy or overworked (I think they call this headroom).

-Aaron
 
Personally, thanks to Paul, I like the LR Baggs Element Active, especially since I've learned to install it "without incident".

i recently found out Herb Ohta Jr. doesnt like the LR Baggs element, even though he drives a honda element.
 
I had a couple of ukes with Pono passive pickup and a few with Mi-Si acoustic trio. Both sounded pretty good to me and I would have no reservations using either setup in, say, a church worship setting (and I have). Since we're not Jake or Aldrine, who are performing to paying audiences, I wouldn't sweat the sound quality of any of these setups you're considering. For what it's worth, Gerald Ross, who is a pretty good ukulele player, speaks highly of the Mi-Si acoustic trio for his live performances, so it figures to be at least pretty decent.
 
I'd look into an LR Baggs gizmo called the 'Radius.'

Apparently designed for small, high-pitched string
instruments like mandolin & violin. A 'could-be' for
uke? Too many other projects for me lately but thought
I'd mention it; you might give them a call. Good luck!
 
I vote D-TAR
 
My tenor fluke has a basic passive Fishman and it sounds awesome through a cheap Behringer ADI-21 V-tone preamp/pedal.
 
Thanks for the input everyone. I stopped at Sam Ash to check out the LR Baggs pre-amp and even though it is quite small, the heavy weight dissuaded me a bit from wanting to go that route. So I bit the bullet and ordered the Mi-Si acoustic trio. I know a couple of people told me it doesn't sound quite as good as the Fishman, but I'm no Aldrine/Jake so it probably won't matter for my playing ability (or lack thereof).

I like the ability to avoid batteries or the heavy pre-amp. Now if I can just not lose the charger!

I'm still nervous about having someone drill into my Kamaka, but I have a week to get up my courage before dropping it off at the luthier.

If anyone knows anyone who installs in the LA area, I'd appreciate a PM. I am planning on going to McCabe's next Monday (the 12th) but if there is someone closer to me (they are about 30 miles away) that would be cool...:)
 
I like the ability to avoid batteries or the heavy pre-amp. Now if I can just not lose the charger!


If anyone knows anyone who installs in the LA area, I'd appreciate a PM. I am planning on going to McCabe's next Monday (the 12th) but if there is someone closer to me (they are about 30 miles away) that would be cool...:)

See, that's the beautiful thing about 9V batteries. Yes they are heavier, but they're so simple to swap. Just carry a spare in your case. And if you lose it, you can go by any convenience store and pick one up for a few bucks. But cool choice with the Mi-Si. I've never had any experience with it, but a relatively high-cap battery with a super-short charge time sounds cool.

And holy cow, 30 miles... I'm grateful I live in Honolulu where I've got two major guitar stores within walking distance of home, and my favorite uke factory within a 10 min drive... Living on this island makes your perception of "far drive" really distorted. Even the Kanilea factory in Kaneohe is too far away for me to visit (maybe a 20 mile drive). Then again, I'm glad MGM is out of convenience-commute distance from me. :p

But back to the pickup, all you need is an acoustic amp now. :)
 
If you do, let us know how much they charge for install on that.

They said it would be $75 for the install. But don't buy the pickup from them. When I was thinking about the Fishman passive he said they had one in stock and I took it to have him install it last night. But instead of the $72-$76 you can get it for online, he said it was $120 with 20% off. By deciding to order it myself, I ended up convincing myself to do Mi-Si instead.

And hey experimentjon, I was actually rounding down, it is technically 34.39 miles from my house to McCabe's. You are lucky for living in Hawaii, but that is certainly the reason that is least persuasive for me. The ocean, gorgeous green mountains, friendly people, ono food, great weather, I could keep going forever. :)
 
dont forget to post up after you get it installed. ive been looking for a place in socal to get a pickup installed, but i dont just want to go to anybody.

was this the one that you ordered?

http://elderly.com/new_instruments/names/mi-si-acoustic-trio-guitar-system--MSAT1.htm

Yep, that is the one I got.

I'm sending out emails to a bunch of shops, including World of Strings in Long Beach, the place Guitar Center uses in Pasadena, and I'll compare their prices and reliability to McCabe's and let you know which I end up using. :)
 
They said it would be $75 for the install. But don't buy the pickup from them. When I was thinking about the Fishman passive he said they had one in stock and I took it to have him install it last night. But instead of the $72-$76 you can get it for online, he said it was $120 with 20% off. By deciding to order it myself, I ended up convincing myself to do Mi-Si instead.

And hey experimentjon, I was actually rounding down, it is technically 34.39 miles from my house to McCabe's. You are lucky for living in Hawaii, but that is certainly the reason that is least persuasive for me. The ocean, gorgeous green mountains, friendly people, ono food, great weather, I could keep going forever. :)

So you went down once and now are going back again? Lets see, 34.39 x 4 = 137.56 miles!
 
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