Ukulele Electrics - passive/preamp?

After owning my Lanikai tenor for a few weeks, I am researching my next instrument. I want a concert with electrics.
I've read & 'get' the need for professional setup, however most of the instruments I like are not electric. HMS do offer that upgrade on some of their instruments, however they have the Pono 'passive' and the Stag - which doesn't look like it'll work on the Australian 240V power supply. The ukes that come with electrics seem to have controls on one of the bouts, usually with volume & tone or volume+treble+bass. They're usually described as having a 'pre-amp'. I am getting more confused as I go on.

What is the difference between passive & pre-amp?
Can all ukes be converted, or is there some reason why some can't? Does converting a uke to electric result in trade-offs?

Hoping someone here can enlighten me on this whole subject.

I don't own an electric uke, but I hope I can help. Most acoustic instruments that can be plugged in, most commonly guitars, will have a piezzo pick-up and an onboard pre-amp. Those require 9V batteries to work, but the pre-amp will usually allow you to change the sound a little. A 3 band pre-amp will give you treble, mid, bass boost/cut. Your countries power supply is irrelevant as the whole thing is powered by the 9V battery.

Yes. All on board active preamps are battery powered so Australian power supply is irrelevant. Some outboard preamps are different but if you buy an Australian market product its no issue. Even if its for an overseas market these days what you find is a device that requires, say for example 12vDC at 100ma. Get the right Australian market transformer and its fine. Research first before you just assume anything.

And to pickups. I don't like them. The standard under saddle peizo pickup is harsh, percussive and not terribly musical. I'd use a microphone any day instead and I DO. Microphones aren't without issues, sure. But give me a microphone over a peizo pickup any day. Now I should say that I have an 8 string ukulele with under saddle peizo pickup that I find acceptable. The 8 strings seem to soften the percussive nature of the pickup and add some harmonics.

Others may disagree with my assessment. You probably get what you pay for.

Anthony

Either way, you'll benefit from a pre-amp/eq to get the best sound from your plugged in instrument. If the amp doesn't have a built in pre-amp/eq, you will need an external one for passive pickups which often to not match up to amps very well. Most set the amp flat, adjust the eq, then fine tune with the amp knobs to get the best sound.

I was on the HMS site, and they offer two types:

http://www.theukulelesite.com/pono-passive-pickup.html

and

http://www.theukulelesite.com/misi-trio.html

The Pono is described as 'passive', so it looks to me like there are no controls on the instrument. I figure that means all adjustments have to be made on the actual amplifier.
The Stagg is described as having a 'pre-amp' however the reason I mentioned the Australian 240V Power supply is this excerpt from the Stagg details:

"CHARGING AND PLUGGING IN
To charge the Acoustic Trio pickup, plug the Power Charger into a 120/220 V AC outlet. Then plug in the Power Charger 1/4” stereo plug into the pickup’s endpin jack and wait 60 seconds. Now you’re pickup is ready for 16 hours of performance time (actual playing time may vary depending on playing style). For best performance increase the charging time up to 120 seconds for the initial 2-3 charging cycles."

Whether the pickup is active or passive, an active DI/preamp will improve the sound of your instrument by getting the natural tone when amplified:

http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/f...ringer-ADI21-active-DI-preamp&highlight=adi21

I have ukes that have both passive and active pickups systems.

With the passive you usually dont get tone and volume control (though some do) and I find that you need a little more gain or volume on the mixer / amp you are plugging in to.

Those of mine that are active fall into two camps - those with chunky 9v batteries, and those that use a button cell battery. I think the former make the uke too heavy. Prefer the button cell ones, but again they need a bit more gain.

Agree re the pre amp / eq / DI box suggestions, but only if you are plugging into a stock amplifier. I either run mine through a soundcraft powered mixer (which allows me to shape the tone) or a Marshall Acoustic amp with a wonderful acoustic stage that gives me a cracking tone.

Have fun!