How do you amplify your uke?

Just wondering how you gigging ukists prefer to amplify your ukuleles - pickup (built-in or attached?) or mic (SM57?).

Got some ukulele playing gigs coming up - got my plug-in Ovation Applause UAE20, but also considering mic-ing the "regular" uke... or maybe a bit of both... experimenting with the PA...

Eh, I like pickups better. With a mic you have to stand really close, and if you bump the mic you get a bad noise, lol.

Thanks!

Thanks, SinisterDom!

Here's a thread you might find of interest . . .

ColinB said:

Thanks, SinisterDom!

Click to expand...

No problem. I might also suggest using the search feature, you'll probably find some useful threads.

Mikes. Or, in my case, one mike. I use an inexpensive "fat can" condenser mike and it picks up both my voice and my uke. You can see it in all sorts of photos of me at my site as well as in most of the live vids I've done with my band, Snake Suspenderz.

You don't have to be real close to a condenser mike. If you use one of the "pencil" types (along with a vocal mike) you don't have to worry overmuch about feedback.

Of course, that depends on where you're playing too. I've long had a solid-body electric uke on my "wish list" because I wanted something I could practice on when I'm being a sales agent at Pike Place Market in Seattle. You can't sit behind your table and play music because it would screw with your neighbor's ability to communicate with his/her customers. But you could if you had a nearly silent one like a solid-body.

Having recently played several gigs at a punk club here in Seattle, I've expanded the reasons for getting one. Apparently it's impossible to teach a sound man at a punk (or other rock) club how to handle miking an acoustic instrument. At my last one I decided I wouldn't take the condenser. You know, maybe if I let the sound guy use his own mikes I'd get a decent sound.

Fail.

Now the problem is finding a solid-body that:

1. I can afford
2. Doesn't look like a miniature electric guitar

Maybe someday.

Thanks!

Thank you too, Kanaka916, for the informative thread, and thank you Mr. Hobbit (or may I call you Howlin?) for the condenser advice - I have an MXL condenser set (fat can and pencil) which I use for recording - never thought about using them live. Will continue to experiment with my PA. Ironic I recently spent about $140 on the Applause, now it looks like I may just mic up my $19 Costco uke...

I'm sure there are solid-body electric ukes out there - I think I saw one in Hank's guitar store in London, but it doesn't show up on their online store...

in my opinion, i like using both. when i want a mic, i just mic my amp. along with setting the eq straight from my amp. i also use a boss eq pedal for a better tone variety. when i want to use a PA system, i just plug right in and use the mixer as my eq. its all on you man, just find out whats better for you. and another thing about using a mic for your uke, you dont have to go up to a mic and play unless its not electric, it just makes things a bit harder if your not using an amp.

Thanks!

Thanks dannyboy, and everyone else with your thoughtful and useful advice - much appreciated. After much experimentation and rehearsal today with the PA, I've decided to go with the pickup/plug-in option. I play standing up and move about a bit, and I found keeping the right distance from the mic restricting, and I was not as relaxed. I did a lot of tweaking and found, by cutting a lot of treble off the UAE20 uke input, I could get a reasonably warm tone - not exactly natural, but fairly ukish and pleasant.

More or less ready for the gig...

on my electric i use an ibenez guitar amp when you get you pickup use any ibenez or rolland mini cube amp there both around 75-125 dollers

AA batteries, Colin. Really! I reviewed battery powered amps on the following link:

http://ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5333

I own a couple of UAE20's and it mates up nicely with a Vox DA5. The Vox DA5 is the ultimate busker's amp. It has a seperate microphone input, with it's own level control. The instrument channel has a seperate level, 11 different effets combinatioons and 11 amp models. Play with the tone control on your UAE20, to get the right sound that is not harsh or too bright.

The Vox DA5 uses C cell batteries, but I use rechargeable AA NiMH batteries in mine (I own 3) using C-cell sleeve adaptors. I've played it 5 hours straight, with no signs of the batteries getting weak:



At the Bolsa Chica State Beach in California, playing my UAE20 through a VoxDA5 and singing through a Crate Taxi (also battery powered). We played two UAE20's through two seperate VoxDA5's. The guitarist played through a Roland Microcube RX and we ran two microphones through a Crate Taxi (we used a Lil' Imp on the second channel, to fit an XLR connector)"





The amps covered enough area on a noisy Pacific Ocean beach to entertain about 100 people in several areas:

Howlin Hobbit said:

Mikes. Or, in my case, one mike. I use an inexpensive "fat can" condenser mike and it picks up both my voice and my uke. You can see it in all sorts of photos of me at my site as well as in most of the live vids I've done with my band, Snake Suspenderz.

You don't have to be real close to a condenser mike. If you use one of the "pencil" types (along with a vocal mike) you don't have to worry overmuch about feedback.

Click to expand...

I've been experimenting with an MXL99, on Howlin' Hobbit's recommendation. My local fellow musicians like it, because they have more mobility than they do with the super cardiod microphones, like the Shure SM57's and SM58's. I've effectively used it with four different musicians on the stage at the same time. While I still prefer super cardiod mikes for feedback control, most musicians don't have the discipline to use them properly:

Howz it goin man''
I use a stick on mic, which i run through a 10' Rocktek Amp,with built in distortion ,, giv's my uke a good raw dirty sound
http://au.youtube.com/tHeDirTyJoHnSon:rock: