Cheap $6 buck ukulele amplifier...

ricdoug

ricdoug

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I plugged my Eleuke soprano and Stagg tenor into a $6 buck pair of computer speakers, using the headphone jack. With a headphone adaptor from a dollar store this will also work from a 1/4" jack, but will only play through one of the speakers. The result was surprizingly good sound for the money! Of course it's not a premium quality acoustic instrument amplifier, but it will allow many to experiment with amplification on the cheap. For singers like me who have naturally loud vocals, these speakers boost the level of the ukulele to match the vocal level. Ric

http://shopping.yahoo.com/search;_y...Ft0A?p=computer+speakers&view=g&sortby=priceA

EleukeAmp.JPG


StaggUkeAmp.JPG
 
Aloha ricdoug,
Very intresting, does the computer speakers have a built in amp?? How did you figure this out anyways...I know you have alot of experience with amps and you say it comes out mono....MM Stan..
Thanks For sharing.....
 
Yes they do, Stan. They are plug in to the wall's AC power kind of computer speakers. How did I figure it out? Since I knew the computer speakers worked on the headphone output of a computer, I assumed that they would work on the headphone output of an ukulele. Ric
 
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It's no big surprise since computer speakers can amplify anything that you can plug a pair of headphones into.
A computer's headphone jack is for use for both headphones and speakers.
I too have fiddled around with plugging in Eleukes into computer speakers lol.

You don't even need to go out and buy speakers - just use your current ones and plug it in as you would a headphone jack.
It's not a great sound though - an amp sounds much better :p

That said, I'm interested to know how the Stagg and Eleuke compare to you.
Do the pickups differ in characteristics a lot? How does the factory setup compare between the two (intonation, action, etc)?.

I've had Eleukes in the past, and now I'm going for a Stagg. So I'm quite curious :D Thanks!
 
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They both have nice intonation and action, Kissing. Both of mine came with a case. The pickups on both are active piezoelectric, so there's an onboard battery. I'm able to get a nice, pleasant sound on both, with tweaking of the tonal controls.

I agree that an amp produces better sound, but their prices are not even close to $6 bucks. Weve read from those with tight budgets that are scraping pennies and nickles from their seat cushions saving up to even buy a cheap amp :D :

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Rogue-G10-10W-1x3.5-Guitar-Combo-Amp?sku=430834

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...or an entry level acoustic amp:

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/...RACOUSTIC-AT108-Acoustic-Combo-Amp?sku=480781

708050.jpg


Ric
 
I've been seeing these things for mp3 players, they are battery powered and have stereo speakers. Some are the size of a small ball, some are square like a base for an I-pod. I bought a square one for $5.00. They can get pretty loud. And they are portable.
 
I just wanted to jump in and say that I love this thread... using what you've already got, Magyver would be proud
Macgyver-stuff-300x208.jpg
 
Very interesting thread, it's like you're reading my mind! I got a Lanikai O8-E a while back and have been itching to try it amped, do you know if this speaker set up will work with the pickup in my Lanikai? I've also been looking at the Rogue G-10 and the Danelectro Honeytone amps and was wondering what those who own or have tried them think of them.
 
kenikas said:
I've also been looking at the Rogue G-10 and the Danelectro Honeytone amps and was wondering what those who own or have tried them think of them.
Click to expand...

The Rogue has a larger speaker and more wattage, along with more tonal control, however, the Danelectro runs on battery and you can clip it on your belt. It eats battries quickly, too. If you buy the AC adaptor for the Danelectro, you will be at the same price as the Rogue. I own a couple of the Danelectro amps and have played through an older version of the Rogue. Ric
 
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