Confused about Uke electronics (pickups)

rps

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Hello all. I am narrowing down my list of tenor ukes I would like to buy.

I’ve been thinking about the pickups, if I go electric. When I look at the descriptions I find each manufacturer appears to have a different definition of what the electronics are.

What I think I need is a passive system ( so no wires, batteries, less weight ). So this then comes to the question should I be looking for a brand name .....thoughts.

I also would like to hear from those who just use a mike with an acoustic uke as I’ve been leaning towards a Fluke in this regard as just using a mike might be the easiest solution...again thoughts.
 
Your application will greatly determine which way to go. Are you looking to do live performances on stage, if so a pick up is much more hassle free. If you are looking at recording your playing a mic will give best results.

I have ukes and guitars with both active and passive pick up. I also own microphones, mostly for singing but I have used them to record. I greatly prefer the easy plug and play of an active pick up. Most passive pick ups need a separate pre amp to boost the signal to usable levels from instrument to PA speaker/ amplifier. Ask any questions you want to.
 
Your application will greatly determine which way to go. Are you looking to do live performances on stage, if so a pick up is much more hassle free. If you are looking at recording your playing a mic will give best results.

I have ukes and guitars with both active and passive pick up. I also own microphones, mostly for singing but I have used them to record. I greatly prefer the easy plug and play of an active pick up. Most passive pick ups need a separate pre amp to boost the signal to usable levels from instrument to PA speaker/ amplifier. Ask any questions you want to.

Hello Dave ( if I may ). Not looking to record, but will do the occasional playing in front of a group of people: pub, seniors home, that sort of thing.

I’ve played some electric guitar years ago, so I’m wondering about feedback with either system. I get the active, but can additional wiring and such cause buzzing.. While I’ve had my heart set on the MultiUke, the rise in its cost gives me pause. So I’ve been looking at the Gretsch and also the Kala Thinline. Both have different named systems. But I am wondering if the Fluke near a mike would really suit my needs better. All are about the same money.
 
I have five ukes with pickups, all but one is the K&K Big Twin. The previous owners either chose to have this pickup installed when they ordered the uke, or they had it installed later. The one exception is the Duke 10 banjo uke, and that seems to have a Schatten Design LP-15.

https://www.kksound.com/products/bigtwin.php
 
Peter Kun Frary above makes some good points. A friend has a Pono with a Pono passive pick up and it is good straight in. It boils down to how much you want to spend. Active systems don’t causes buzzes or any more problems then a passive. Just gotta change the battery now and then.

How much do want to spend.
 
I have active MiSi pick-ups in 2 of my 4 ukuleles. I chose the MiSi pick-up because it doesn’t use a battery, so no extra battery weight or need to change a battery. MiSi uses a rechargeable capacitor. I play plugged into the PA system at church every Sunday. Other than that, I play plugged in to an amp or unplugged into a mic at my monthly uke group meetings. Plugging in is quicker & easier than adjusting a mic to capture both the uke & vocals. I’ve not experienced buzzing or feedback while plugged in. When I first started playing at church, my uke didn’t have a pick-up, so I was playing into a mic. Maintaining a consistent distance from the mic so that I could be heard clearly was a challenge for me.
 
Peter Kun Frary above makes some good points. A friend has a Pono with a Pono passive pick up and it is good straight in. It boils down to how much you want to spend. Active systems don’t causes buzzes or any more problems then a passive. Just gotta change the battery now and then.

How much do want to spend.

Pono uses Artec ukulele piezo pickup (passive).
They cost about $15-20 on eBay. Good quality stuff, but it can be obtained and installed for cheap with OEM knowledge ;)


To address the original question,

There are many different brands of passive and active, and thus different quality outputs.
It also depends heavily on what kind of systems you intend to plug into.

Passive pickups (no battery or electrical power) are indeed lower maintenance, less parts and weight.
But good output tone depends heavily on the amplifier you are plugging into. Some instrument amplifiers have great built-in preamps that can shape the sound to be more pleasant, whereas some amp systems (like PA) won't do that and passive pickups will sound either too harsh or too weak.
You can also buy an external pre-amp or DI (eg: LR Baggs, Behringer) to have the "active" components exterior to the instrument to shape and boost the tone.

Also, you gotta be picky about what brand passive. Unless they have brand names (eg: Artec, "Pono", Fishman, etc) assume that cheap piece-of-crap ones that cost $1-5 on eBay are used, and the output + BALANCE between strings amplified will be horrible.
Also, in my experience, passive systems are more prone to hum, even when coupled with an external pre-amp (hum could be generated between the passive pickup and preamp)


Actives are generally better, as the preamp is built-in and will shape and boost your tone to usable form in whatever amplifier system you plug into.
Same logic with "Brands" exist here.

However, if your uke comes with a no-name, generic (eg: "Belcat") active system, the preamp component is usually not bad.
You might be able to replace the undersaddle piezo component itself to improve the overall system (undersaddle piezo competent is the same part that passive uses).



Other options:
Good quality transducer pickups that you stick on to the sound board, either internally or externally.
Examples: K&K and Peterman.
Peterman has a nice model "external" transducers, which don't require any installation.
You can simply stick it onto your instrument's soundboard using a putty. Sound output is amazing relative to its simplicity.




Microphone.
Good option. But disadvantage is that it might be difficult to get a clean and focused ukulele tone, as the mic picks up ambient noise and is prone to your constant distance from the mic and other noises such as knocking it, etc.
 
The Pono passive was $60 at HMS two years ago. However it is strongly recommended that your ukulele have a deep slot for the saddle. Shallower slots have had problems seating the piezo strip and holding the saddle. There are wires from the undersaddle piezo to the jack. I haven't had a problem with hum or feedback with mine. I often use it with my Boss Singer amp. It has a built-in preamp.

I like the LR Baggs 5.0 active pickup on two of my ukes. The only sound adjustment is a volume control. No tone control. It uses a 2032 battery, which is a pain to reach and change.

I have a K&K active in another uke. It likewise has only a volume control. To me, it sounds just as good as the Baggs. But I haven't done a critical comparison.

So far, the MiSi pickup in my one uke has worked perfectly and sounds equally good as the battery powered ones.

I understand the aNueNue Air Air has an under saddle piezo and a microphone that work in combination. With a separate volume control for each so you can balance them to give you a preferred sound. Output to a single jack. But it runs about $225. Great reviews though.

There a ton of other quality pickups available. And a lot of cheap knockoffs.


All of the pickups can cause feedback if they get too close to a microphone. Like your vocal mic.

With a passive the person operating the mixer/soundboard has to set the volume. With an active, you can adjust the volume, somewhat, yourself. If your pickup includes, it you may be able to change the tone a bit.

A lot depends upon the installation of the pickup. How good is the jack is it properly installed so it doesn't loosen up right away from a strap? Is the excess wire well secured? Are the controls at an easy access position. Is the battery?

TheUkuleleSite.com (HMS) has a couple of excellent comparison videos of 5 different pickups. PLus, a great video about installing a Baggs 5.0 active pickup in a tenor ukulele.

I am more than willing to pay to have a professional install a pickup. Rather than struggling to do it myself.

Good luck.
 
Thanx to all for your help. I think I have a better understanding now.

A further question if I may. The MiSi sounds like the answer. Just wondering as these have a charge f I plug my headphone directly into my Uke with this type of pickup, will they work? I’ve looked on the web but I’ve only gotten “in theory” answers. For those who have them, such as RafterGirl, do they work?
 
RPS, I don't mean to further complicate things, but I have always been impressed with the fact that one of the really competent players/performers out there--
a British (I think) guy named Chris Hough, also known as "Ukulele Uff", opts to "mic up" his Martin soprano on stage rather than "plugging in". He usually plays from a seated position, and has one mic aimed at his ukulele and a second mic aimed at his voice (each mic has its own stand and boom). Most often there'll be a "sound guy" tweaking things and keeping feedback at bay, but if you check out some of the videos online featuring Ukulele Uff (and his guitar-playing partner, "Lonesome Dave"), you can see what good results they get from good old-fashioned "micing up".
 
Thanx Bill ( if I may ). At our local Uke group most use the mike. We do have one or two that have pickups built in. My reason for looking at an electro Uke is that I have amps that I’m not using and thought that I might as well use my Uke with them. Also, tone change can be fun. If you look at the Fluke SB, tone changes would be pretty wild on that thing.

BTW, ukes seem to be the National Instrument of the U.K.....many of the YouTube videos I see are from U.K. locations however I am sure the U.S. and Canada has as many, I just haven’t found them as yet.
 
Yes, our awesome friends in the U.K. definitely appreciate the ukulele! There's a really nice, welcoming, group called "UCL" (Ukulele Club Liverpool) that Chris Hough is affiliated with, if you wanted to check 'em out online. Just to clarify, I don't have any particular connection with UCL or to Chris himself, but I just find his ukulele playing to be stunningly good (and fun to watch), and I'm kinda surprised we don't hear more about him; he seems like a very nice and modest guy.
 
Thanx to all for your help. I think I have a better understanding now.

A further question if I may. The MiSi sounds like the answer. Just wondering as these have a charge f I plug my headphone directly into my Uke with this type of pickup, will they work? I’ve looked on the web but I’ve only gotten “in theory” answers. For those who have them, such as RafterGirl, do they work?

The short answer is no.
Generally speaking, "active pickup" does not mean you can plug headphone directly into the instrument.
The signal needs to be amplified to headphone levels - such as by using an amplifier or there are "headphone amps" like ones made by VOX and Mooer Pogo that enable you to listen to electric instruments by plugging a headphone in.

eg:
IS666776-01-01-BIG.jpg


VOX-AP2AC.jpg



The longer answer is, you may be able to faintly hear the output through the headphones, but not much/barely any.
Not for any practical purposes.

And unless your ukulele is a silent type (solidbody) there aint much point.


Some ukuleles (such as Eleuke) have pickup systems specifically with a headphone output.
 
Thanx for this kissing. I have browsed this and didn’t get as complete an answer as yours. Thinking about where and how I play ( at this stage to say play is extremely generous ) I might just stay with using a mike.

However, if I decide to go with pickups, and there is no dramatic change in the technology, I’m thinking that MiSi are they way to go.
 
Direct headphone into pick-up.....probably not.
Cable from pick-up to amp, then plug headphones into amp....yes.
Go to the HMS/TheUkuleleSite website, then go to accessories, then pick-ups. You’ll see videos comparing various pick-ups. I like the MiSi because it has no battery to change & it sounds good.
 
RPS, I don't mean to further complicate things, but I have always been impressed with the fact that one of the really competent players/performers out there--
a British (I think) guy named Chris Hough, also known as "Ukulele Uff", opts to "mic up" his Martin soprano on stage rather than "plugging in". He usually plays from a seated position, and has one mic aimed at his ukulele and a second mic aimed at his voice (each mic has its own stand and boom). Most often there'll be a "sound guy" tweaking things and keeping feedback at bay, but if you check out some of the videos online featuring Ukulele Uff (and his guitar-playing partner, "Lonesome Dave"), you can see what good results they get from good old-fashioned "micing up".

Hello Bill, I looked Chris Hough up. His trio is quite good ( I’m impressed with his guitar players ). He has a shade of George Formby in him. Honestly the speed is amazing of his wrist work....thanks for the heads up on him.
 
Hello Bill, I looked Chris Hough up. His trio is quite good ( I’m impressed with his guitar players ). He has a shade of George Formby in him. Honestly the speed is amazing of his wrist work....thanks for the heads up on him.

Yes, definitely a shade of Mr. Formby there!
 
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