Ukulele amp???????

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cherry413

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Hey Uuers! i am a beginner ukulele player and i am trying to get a Concert oscar schmidt ou2e. this Uke has a pickup on it and amps are pretty expensive. So i was wondering if i could use my karaoke machine for an amp. its a pretty big karaoke its about 2 and a half feet tall and the speaker takes up most of it. oh...and i know like nothing about amps....thanks in advance!:rock:

Here is a link to the Uke,
http://www.instrumentalley.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=OU2E&click=35
 
The quality of the sound is directly linked to the amp. I would wager that the sound through the karaoke unit will be poor. That isnt to say your karaoke is poor - its just that to get a good sound from an acoustic instrument, you are better with an acoustic amp.

I use the following two - the first one for home practice, or just to get a lift when playing against guitars, and the latter for gigging solo
http://gotaukulele.blogspot.com/2010/10/what-amps-do-i-use-for-ukulele-playing.html
 
I agree. You're almost certainly better off with any amp designed for acoustic guitar.

This is a bit technical, but the pickups built into acoustic instruments are usually *extremely* high impedance. For your purposes, you can think of impedance as resistance (bad word...resistance is similar but not the same thing) to the flow of electrons. The signal (or sound) goes where the impedance is. So if you have a high impedance output from the instrument and a much lower impedance input (as you're likely to find on a karaoke machine designed with a microphone in mind), there won't be much transfer of signal to the karaoke box. You'll likely get a thin, shrill, crappy sound.

Guitar amps are designed with high impedance inputs to better match the pickups of the guitar. Acoustic guitar amps are usually designed with even higher impedance inputs. That's what you want.

The other factor is that musical instrument amp speakers are usually a lot heavier duty than what you'd find in a karaoke machine or even a decent home stereo. Cranking an instrument through a karaoke machine is probably a bad idea most of the time, assuming you'd like to keep your speaker coils where they belong.

That said, you can always try plugging it in and see what it sounds like. Keep the volume very low so you don't blow anything up. :)

-Pete
 
I heard that a keyboard amp works for an acoustic/elec. too. Is this true?
DAP
 
It should. The voicing would likely be a little different, but that's true of any two different amps anyway. If it makes the sound you like, use it!

Personally, I like the uke through this old VibroChamp I have, and that baby was built years before anyone ever heard of an "acoustic amp."
 
ah, but the vibrochamp is a real all rounder like the dont make no more - you are a lucky devil owning one dude!
 
DAPuke said:
I heard that a keyboard amp works for an acoustic/elec. too. Is this true?
DAP
Click to expand...
Keyboard amps are the best secret going for acoustic/electric guitars and ukuleles. They work every bit as well as acoustic guitar amps though usually with a little less bells and whistles in the preamp. The power amp and speakers, etc., are almost identical. What you get with most acoustic guitar amps is more control over the preamp (gain, eq, feedback control and sometimes effects like chorus and reverb). However, probably 90 percent of acoustic guitar players don't use all that stuff, and an "acoustic guitar" amp of a given power and speaker configuration will typically cost 50% to 100% more than a "keyboard amp."

John
 
The Marshall I recommended is staggeringly good.

50watts twin speaker
two input channels, including an XLR balanced input for microphone
Chorus and reverb
Brilliant ant feedback features.

in fact - its all you need to gig from scratch in one box, plus with the gold trim and brown tolex, it really looks the business
 
How about a portable amp, battery powered for street corner use? Anyone have one they like, with a mic combo?
 
Check out the Roland Micro Cube. Can use batteries, handles a mic, plenty of sound range and can be had for $129.
 
Is this an amp for peforming live or tinkering at home? For the former I recommend a Roland Cube series amp or a Fender GDEC amp. For the latter, consider a Boss JS-8 eBand. It has tons of effects, amp sims, and backing tracks. Plus it can read a USB flash drive and play MP3s so you can create or load your own tracks to play along with. It's okay for low-volume performing, too, but the speakers are small, and you'd want to get external speakers to do more.
 
Personally - I dont like the tone of the Roland Microcube. I play a pignose for practice / busking. Great amp. No features, great tone
 
I received a Roland Mobile Cube last week and, on first impressions, I'm really impressed with it. It feels very solidly built and is designed as an all-in-one solution with electric, acoustic and keyboards in mind. I think the Micro Cube is not really aimed at acoustic instruments?

It sounds good with my Risa Solid Soprano at lower volumes, at higher volumes the sound seems to lose a bit of warmth but I've not had a chance to really play with the settings and try to get the best out of it yet as I caught a cold/flu just before it arrived! :(
 
You're correct, the Micro Cube isn't made for acoustic instruments. I have one, it works fine with the electrics but not with my travel guitar which has an under-saddle piezo pickup (and the Micro Cube's input impedance is set for the magnetic pickups, so just to plug in a piezo means to push it through a DI box first - but it is pretty pointless anyway). It does have a line input for e.g. a CD player, but that's just meant for having something to play along to - its frequency response is set up for electric guitar.

I'm not familiar with the mobilce cube, but it sounds interesting.
 
Tor said:
You're correct, the Micro Cube isn't made for acoustic instruments. I have one, it works fine with the electrics but not with my travel guitar which has an under-saddle piezo pickup (and the Micro Cube's input impedance is set for the magnetic pickups, so just to plug in a piezo means to push it through a DI box first - but it is pretty pointless anyway). It does have a line input for e.g. a CD player, but that's just meant for having something to play along to - its frequency response is set up for electric guitar.

I'm not familiar with the mobilce cube, but it sounds interesting.
Click to expand...

My uke instructor has one and loves it.. plays all sorts of stuff through it mostly a little acoustic electric custom.. plus you can run keyboards or mic through it.. I am waiting because I am such a beginner.. I don't really need it...
 
I agree with pauljmuk. The Pignose is a dandy little amp. Frank Zappa thought so too.

-Pete
 
What about something like the Fender G-DEC range, which have tons of modeling capabilities plus built in percussion which will help with timing and rhythm.

http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=2354000000

Personally I use a Laney P20 with a Boss RC-2 Looper to put compositions together. My ukes and guitars all work very well through this set-up.
 
pdxuke said:
How about a portable amp, battery powered for street corner use? Anyone have one they like, with a mic combo?
Click to expand...

I love my AC-33. Sounds amazing, battery-powered, reverb, chorus, looper, mic input...just a great amp all around!
 
I use a roland mobile cube and its fantastic. Lightwieght, battery life is long and it can get a GOOD clean sound from a traveler guitar, classical, uke or electric. Its cheap and an all around amp that can get fairly loud if needed. I suggest giving it a look.
 
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