wickedwahine11
Well-known member
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.
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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