Pickup and pre-amp in new custom ukulele?

I’m having a custom tenor ukulele made. Should I have pickup and pre-amp installed? I’m a pretty new ukulele player and I want an instrument that I can get to know and grow with. I just don’t know if i’ll need a pickup ever. I’m torn because I may want it in the future, but don’t really like the idea of having a hunk of tech staring at me from the side of my (hopefully) beautiful new instrument. I’ve read that mic’ing can be a real pain. Would it make sense to just leave it natural and get another off the shelf one with electronics installed if I ever need it? Thanks.

I would make sure I liked the ukulele first, as there should be a trial period.
Putting in a pickup will (probably) eliminate any return option.
Can always add one later for $100 installation fee.
Ron

I've run sound at a number of events, and putting a mic on a uke isn't a problem, 90% of the time. (Wind makes a big difference, outdoors).

But the right pre-amped pickup is virtually invisible. L.R. Baggs 5.0 has a tiny volume control, barely visible in the sound hole. MiSi is totally invisible. Volume and EQ are handled at the sound board, or at a pre-amp/DI box, then the board. K&K Twinspot (or Aloha) is passive and invisible, and all controls are at pre-amp/DI/Board.

And the pre-amp used will vary by the instrument. I just ran sound at a guitar festival, and the difference between a passive DI, and an L.R. Baggs active DI blew me away. (Now I have to save up for that Baggs!).

I have all three of the pickups mentioned, BTW; the K&K was installed in a custom instrument during the build, and the other two were installed by Mim when I bought the ukes from her.

I’d say enjoy your custom first then grow into the electronics.

Once you play well enough to amp up at your local bar or coffee shop, you'll own many more 'ukuleles and one of them is likely to have a pickup. The thing about luthier made instruments is they tend to be really resonant and, thus, are feedback prone when amplified. And French polish finishes are delicate and start turning to goo once you sweat through your shirt or a drunk spills his beer on you (been there!). You want a less expensive but bulletproof 'uku with plastic finish and builtin pickup like a Pono or Cordoba for bar jams. Once amped up, the sound quality difference between middle of the road and high end 'uku are tiny indeed.

Thanks for the info and advice! I'll definitely check out some of those pickup options. Sounds like there are some good options that won't change the look if I decide to take that path down the road. For now I think I'm going to get to know the instrument (make sure we get along) for a while and have some fun learning. Cheers!

Consider a JJB twin soundboard pickup. Cheap and good sounding, and far easier to install on the bridgeplate during construction...

You can always have a pick up installed in the instrument in the future. I have done that with two custom builds, Mya Moe and Webber and it worked out brilliantly.

Concur with folks that say you shouldn't install a pick-up to start, especially if you don't know if you'll actually need it in the future.

I needed to amplify my classical guitar but didn't want to buy one with a pick-up & it wouldn't be worth it to install one on my cheap-o guitar I bought for $100 37 yrs ago. One possibility that's not permanent & sounds pretty good is the iRig acoustic stage - it's easily removable. The very thin cable is a pain to deal with, but it sounds waaaaay better than a stick-on pickup I had years ago. It also has a feedback killer button which works extremely well (provided you're not playing at insanely loud levels).

https://youtu.be/dNXVBBmXMNs

If you do decide on a pickup, I suggest you install a volume control wheel also. It makes controlling the volume between rhythm and lead much easier. I never install a pickup without one.

I installed a few pickups and preamps after receiving my ukes. I want the volume and tone controls on the instrument, also a built in tuner.

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This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly West near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 11 solid body bass ukes, 9 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 34)

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