Kamaka HF-3 with LR Baggs 5.0 pickup

Well I wasn't going to put it in my Kamaka due to buying new and voiding warranty but I went and did it anyway. I really hadn't played it much because I think it wasn't set up to please me so I really didn't like the way it played and I was playing the crap out of my Kanilea super concert I got from DK and loved the way it played. I took the Kamaka and the Kanilea and Baggs pickup to my guitar set up man and said I want the Kamaka to be setup exactly like the Kanilea and the pickup installed in the Kamaka. I got it back yesterday and haven't been able to put it down since I got it back except for work. I love the way and ease of play of it now. The LR Baggs sounds great playing thru my PA system only going thru the 12" floor monitor. I've got a 71 Fender Princeton Reverb and a 59 Gibson GA-18T I want to try it thru and maybe even my 78 Fender Vibro Champ.
So I'm very happy with the choice for pickups so pleased that I'm going to buy another one and have it put in my Tom Guy Walnut Tenor with Low G so I'll have high and low G with nice pickups in them.
Cost of the pickup and installation was about $200 if your wondering how much it would cost to do this to yours. I feel every bit worth it.

what did they do/change for the setup?

For the setup he lowered the saddle I think is all he had to do. I don't think he did anything to the nut. Lowering the saddle was all it took to change it from a good player to a great player.

I'm curious where he located the battery. I have found the wires on the Five-0 too short to mount in at the traditional location on the neck block.

The battery is on to the left of the neck block and mounted on the back.

Moore Bettah Ukuleles said:

I'm curious where he located the battery. I have found the wires on the Five-0 too short to mount in at the traditional location on the neck block.

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The volume knob had to be put at between 7 and 8 oclock in the soundhole due to the bracing of the Kamaka.

The volume pot seems to be located in a good position. On those pickups I usually locate the battery on the inside of the upper left bout. Anywhere is fine as long as you don't see it, you can get to it easily, and the wires don't touch the sound board. They really need to make those battery wires about 3" longer IMO.

I've read reviews about the wires being to short. You can see the battery if you turn the ukulele up and look inside the soundhole. Luckily the wires aren't touching the body. Hopefully this weekend I'll post a pic of the battery in the uke so you can see its placement. It's just a pain for me to post pics anymore due to my laptop being so slow. I only seem to use my iPad anymore for the Internet for that reason.

Moore Bettah Ukuleles said:

The volume pot seems to be located in a good position. On those pickups I usually locate the battery on the inside of the upper left bout. Anywhere is fine as long as you don't see it, you can get to it easily, and the wires don't touch the sound board. They really need to make those battery wires about 3" longer IMO.

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Markr1 said:

For the setup he lowered the saddle I think is all he had to do. I don't think he did anything to the nut. Lowering the saddle was all it took to change it from a good player to a great player.

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Interesting. Did he take off a lot from the saddle?

He told me what he took it down to but I don't remember the dimensions he told me. There is still a lot of the saddle showing but it sure made a noticeable difference playing up the neck.

laundromatt said:

Interesting. Did he take off a lot from the saddle?

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laundromatt said:

Interesting. Did he take off a lot from the saddle?

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The UST is about .033" thick so that's the amount to remove from the saddle height IF it was at the correct height to start.