installing pickup: effects on uke??

heyup uu!!
i'm toying with the idea of installing a pick up into my new ohana tk300g. it's just that leap of faith i would have to make of drilling through that beautiful solid koa.

i was wondering if there was a noticable difference in sound quality if i do. i can't imagine drilling holes in ukes makes it sound better

i would like a pick up but only if it doesn't damage the uke too much.

cheers

peace :cheers: and beer

geoffsuke said:

heyup uu!!
i'm toying with the idea of installing a pick up into my new ohana tk300g. it's just that leap of faith i would have to make of drilling through that beautiful solid koa.

i was wondering if there was a noticable difference in sound quality if i do. i can't imagine drilling holes in ukes makes it sound better

i would like a pick up but only if it doesn't damage the uke too much.

cheers

peace :cheers: and beer

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It shouldn't effect it at all.

I have pickups in several of my ukes and the sound hasn't changed since I've gotten them installed.

thejumpingflea said:

It shouldn't effect it at all.

I have pickups in several of my ukes and the sound hasn't changed since I've gotten them installed.

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so you had them installed by someone else??? how much did it cost?

pickup's effect on uke

I'm not sure about active pickups, and I chose an under-saddle passive pickup because I'm not interested in finding out what all that hardware would do to my little concert Kala.

There is a significant difference in the sound of my uke now, not because of the pickup but because the guy who put it in melted the original plastic saddle, and replaced it with one made of bone. My uke now has much more sustain and a fuller sound than it did before.

the only noticeable difference would not be from the hole for the cord jack. it would come from the undersaddle transdeucer being wedged between the saddle and the bridge.

the tone that you are experiencing now is a result of the strings' vibration being transmitted through the saddle, through the bridge, onto the soundboard. by installing an undersaddle transdeucer, you are adding one more layer in the mix that can affect the efficient transmission of vibration to the rest of the chain.

if you have a plastic saddle, consider upgrading to one more known for its ability to transmit good vibes, like TUSQ, NUBONE, or actual bone, when you do this. if you already have a saddle of this material, you may notice some change (might be good, might be bad) in the acoustic tone of your instrument after you install an undersaddle transdeucer. IMO it mostly depends on how the transdeucer is constructed.

the way i try to minimize this is to make sure everything fits nice and snug - transdeucer and saddle - into the bridge. this way you are maximizing the amount of surface aream making contact with the other parts. what i mean is, the saddle (mostly) should not only make good contact with the TD and the bottom of the slot in the bridge, but also the SIDES of the saddle should make good contact with the inside of the slot in the bridge.

Nuke...how would a rookie like me go about purchasing a saddle created of bone?

Would be cool if it was made out of turtle shell! Sweet!

mmanalo said:

Would be cool if it was made out of turtle shell! Sweet!

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Yikes! It would also be a felony. Turtles are endangered.