Electric uke burn out?

Vicki67

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Just purchased a Stagg electric ukulele. Put in the 9 volt battery and tried to play through amp and it did not work and also got faint burning smell. I may have put battery the wrong way round - would this have made the uke to burn out? Have tried again and power light on uke comes on but nothing coming through on amp. Thanks.
 
It's entirely possible that a reversed battery would damage the preamp built in to the uke, although many preamp designs have features to prevent damage and/or use chips that aren't damaged. But if you let the magic smoke out and it's no longer working, it sounds like yours has been damaged. Might want to contact the vendor and see about service options. Or if you're handing yourself, it's not impossible to swap the preamp.
 
...Or if you're handing yourself, it's not impossible to swap the preamp.

That isn't necessarily true. I've replaced preamps with a different one a number of times. Contact Stagg and see what they can do, they may sell you a replacement preamp, or they may have you send them the uke and charge for them to replace the preamp. They may even be generous and not charge a lot. Worth contacting them.


This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly Grove near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 4 acoustic bass ukes, 12 solid body bass ukes, 14 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 39)

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Most 9 volt batteries have different + and - poles so I am not sure how you could have reversed them.
 
Most 9 volt batteries have different + and - poles so I am not sure how you could have reversed them.

I'm with SailingUke here. You would need pliers and a big hammer to incorrectly install a 9 Volt battery.
 
Most 9 volt batteries have different + and - poles so I am not sure how you could have reversed them.

I'm with SailingUke here. You would need pliers and a big hammer to incorrectly install a 9 Volt battery.


Not necessarily. I ran into one of these a few years ago.
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Battery backwards or not, if smoke came out and now it won't work, it's pretty much a done deal. Luckily those preamps are dirt cheap (like $15) and very simple to replace. When bought new they usually come with a piezo strip, you can just leave your current one in place. They also come with a special funky endpin jack. The jack can likely be left in place as well. So all you need to do is pop the old control/battery unit out, unplug the two wiring harnesses, plug them into the new box, and pop it in.
 
Same thing happened to my old OscarSchmidt tenor. I was on stage in a dark bar when I put it in wrong way round, made the burning electronics smell, no more preamp. Replaced the entire pre-amp and the new one had redesigned the tray to make it impossible to put the battery in backwards.
 
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