$12 Under Saddle Piezo Pickup? (are these for real?)

captbaritone · Jan 18, 2010

I've been trying to find a cheaper under saddle pickup for a while now (I'm poor) and they are seem to be in the $60 and up range. Today I found a seller on ebay selling some that don't have a brand name for $12. So I bought two. What do you think? Do they look legit? What's the worst they could be? How are they so much cheaper than the others? Has anyone tried these before?

Your thoughts?

(link)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200314225057

gioconbrio · Jan 18, 2010

I installed that same pickup on my red triangle uke. For 12 bucks I think it does a good job. It does not sound like an $80 Fishman, but that's not what I needed it for. It doesn't have much in the lower range, and it will produce a little hiss if you run it through pedals, but all in all a decent, easy to install pickup. I'd buy one again for other instruments.

The seller is good, I've bought a lot of other stuff from them. Shipping may take a while as they're in Canada, but they typically have the best deals on ebay.

For reference, here's a video I did with that pickup:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbdE4Ri5R4w

kissing · Jan 18, 2010

gioconbrio said:
I installed that same pickup on my red triangle uke. For 12 bucks I think it does a good job. It does not sound like an $80 Fishman, but that's not what I needed it for. It doesn't have much in the lower range, and it will produce a little hiss if you run it through pedals, but all in all a decent, easy to install pickup. I'd buy one again for other instruments.

The seller is good, I've bought a lot of other stuff from them. Shipping may take a while as they're in Canada, but they typically have the best deals on ebay.

For reference, here's a video I did with that pickup:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbdE4Ri5R4w

Haha, I remember enjoying that video

And a lot of your other vids

experimentjon · Jan 18, 2010

gioconbrio said:
I installed that same pickup on my red triangle uke. For 12 bucks I think it does a good job. It does not sound like an $80 Fishman, but that's not what I needed it for. It doesn't have much in the lower range, and it will produce a little hiss if you run it through pedals, but all in all a decent, easy to install pickup. I'd buy one again for other instruments.

The seller is good, I've bought a lot of other stuff from them. Shipping may take a while as they're in Canada, but they typically have the best deals on ebay.

For reference, here's a video I did with that pickup:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbdE4Ri5R4w

What is this $80 fishman you speak of? I've paid about $140-$150 for the fishmans that I got.

gioconbrio · Jan 18, 2010

I just checked ebay, there are tons of Fishman pickups for all different types of instruments in the $80 range.

ricdoug · Jan 18, 2010

You can make your own including the 1/4" jack for $4 bucks with parts from your local Radio Shack:

http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/f...0-Electrify-your-uke-for-under-10-bucks/page9

Bluke · Jan 18, 2010

If it's too good to be true, then it likely isn't.

You get what you pay for.

captbaritone · Jan 19, 2010

ricdoug said:
You can make your own including the 1/4" jack for $4 bucks with parts from your local Radio Shack:

http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/f...0-Electrify-your-uke-for-under-10-bucks/page9

Yes, but if I read that correctly it's esentially a microphone inside the uke, not an element picking up vibrations directly at the saddle.

captbaritone · Jan 26, 2010

They just arrived today. I'll post again when I get them working, perhaps a video to show the sound.

jimmybookout · Jan 26, 2010

Bluke said:
If it's too good to be true, then it likely isn't.

You get what you pay for.

Truer words were never uttered.

Jimmy

To the OP: You will need to get some type of pre-amp for this (or any) piezo pickup. If you run a piezo straight into the board (or amp), you are NOT going to like the nasal, thin, sound produced.(the infamous piezo "quack")

captbaritone · Jan 31, 2010

Hey everyone! I got the pickup working with only a few problems:

1. It's too long for the soprano ukulele I want to use it on (but fits perfectly on a different soprano ukulele)

2. It seems to be MUCH too loud. It is nearly impossible to play it quietly enough to keep it from clipping.

I see two possible reasons for this:

1: The vibrations of the strings are overpowering the sensitivity of the piezo material.
2: The output of the pickup is at a higher level than my amp is expecting.

If it's the first reason, it would seem I was SOL, but if it's the latter, perhaps I could somehow lower the level before it get's to the amp? Perhaps using a volume pot? Or just a resistor? I am not the most genius electrition. Does anyone have any knowledge of how this works?

$12 Under Saddle Piezo Pickup? (are these for real?)

captbaritone

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gioconbrio

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kissing

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experimentjon

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gioconbrio

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ricdoug

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Bluke

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captbaritone

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captbaritone

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captbaritone

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