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hwnmusiclives
`Olu`olu
USA
580 Posts |
 Posted - 01/12/2009 : 07:40:04 AM
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OK... Here is a conversation I thought I would never be having. A custom `ukulele is being made for me. No, I didn't ask for it. It is just being made. My friend, a luthier, wanted to do this. This gift was to have been a 7-string archtop, but I have long coveted an 8-string `ukulele. So my friend switched gears and an `ukulele it shall be! So far I have had input on every aspect of design.
Here is the question for the experts. What pick-up systems are you using? What's available? What are the pros/cons? I will be using it to record (probably direct to the board, for better or for worse) and occasional performance (should I ever be so fortunate again).
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this issue. Mahalo in advance...
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Join me for the history of Hawaiian music and its musicians at Ho`olohe Hou at www.hoolohehou.org. |
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slipry1
Ha`aha`a
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - 01/12/2009 : 1:05:22 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by hwnmusiclives
OK... Here is a conversation I thought I would never be having. A custom `ukulele is being made for me. No, I didn't ask for it. It is just being made. My friend, a luthier, wanted to do this. This gift was to have been a 7-string archtop, but I have long coveted an 8-string `ukulele. So my friend switched gears and an `ukulele it shall be! So far I have had input on every aspect of design.
Here is the question for the experts. What pick-up systems are you using? What's available? What are the pros/cons? I will be using it to record (probably direct to the board, for better or for worse) and occasional performance (should I ever be so fortunate again).
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this issue. Mahalo in advance...
After a lot of searching around, plugging in other folks' ukes and talking to techno-hip pals, I had a double dot pickup installed in my Kamaka tenor. One of my prerequesits is - no preamp, no batteries, standard 1/4" jack so can use regular amp cord. I had
the end pin replaced with a 1/4'jack, and it works great! |
keaka |
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Lawrence
Ha`aha`a
USA
1597 Posts |
Posted - 01/12/2009 : 1:37:50 PM
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Do you actually mean the "twin spot" pickup made by K&K?
http://www.kksound.com/acousticguitar.html ??
I am actually thinking of putting in a K&K "triple spot"
a.k.a: "Ultrapure Western" into a Kamaka sometime soon.
I have also Mounted a Baggs I-Beam into a Soprano Uke, but the output is low and with the (Bushman) side mounted preamp that I installed it is a little noisy but sounds great otherwise.
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Mahope Kākou...
...El Lorenzo de Ondas Sonoras |
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Basil Henriques
Lokahi
United Kingdom
225 Posts |
Posted - 01/12/2009 : 1:46:35 PM
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Happy New Year Bill, the one Gerald Ross uses is excellent. I don't know the name, but there are no batteries although it's active..it charges up an internal cell from a wall wart, and that lasts for quite a few hours..
It's a Mi-Si ...
http://www.mi-si.com/trio.html
http://elderly.com/new_instruments/items/MSAT1.htm
This man fitted Gerald's..
http://www.davetalsma.com/Gallery.htm
quote:
So, how does it work?
All our products utilize supercapacitors (sometimes called ultracapacitors) as the energy storage elements.
To charge the supercapacitor, simply plug-in the Power Charge to the AC outlet and then connect its stereo 1/4 output plug to the instrument's audio output. After 60 seconds (yes, only one minute!) of charging, your preamp is ready for 8 or 16 hrs (depending on the model) playing time.
Is it a rechargeable battery?
No, it's not a rechargeable battery. A supercapacitor is a huge capacitor, and unlike any rechargeable battery, can be charged very fast.
Will it die after a certain number of charging cycles?
No. It's an extremely reliable component and the minimum number of charging cycles is at least 50,000 (for your regular Li-Ion cell phone battery this number is about 500). So if you charge it once every day, it will last for more than 137 years... We think it's probably long enough for most of us, even with the advances in modern medical technology.
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Edited by - Basil Henriques on 01/12/2009 2:01:21 PM |
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Mark
Ha`aha`a
USA
1628 Posts |
Posted - 01/12/2009 : 2:22:49 PM
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Hi there -
I think the MiSi is what Dennis put in the Territorial Guitar he made me. OK, it's a guitar, but same idea... Sounds great, and I love the 'no batteries" deal. I'd suggest checking this out.
The K & K's are wonderful, I have one in my Mya-Moe Resonator uke. I recently did some recording with it, and ended up using just the pick-up, not the mic. That's a first!
Again, not exactly the answer to your question... |
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noeau
Ha`aha`a
USA
1105 Posts |
Posted - 01/12/2009 : 8:38:23 PM
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| I agree. The K&K is agreat little pickup. I can plug into a PA 1/4 inch with no preamp and it smokes. Beteer than fishman and is comparable to LR Baggs. |
No'eau, eia au he mea pa'ani wale nō. |
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hwnmusiclives
`Olu`olu
USA
580 Posts |
Posted - 01/13/2009 : 05:02:12 AM
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Happy New Year, all! Thanks for the support and aloha. It is great to find some new and different common ground. I loved my `ukulele (plural) when I was a kid. (I have two Kamaka tenors - one a Christmas gift when I was six in - ahem! - 1976 and the other from the mid-1960s which I inherited.) I wanted to be Ohta-san the way some want to be Jake now. But then somebody handed me a guitar, and the rest is history.
I have to start checking out pick-ups on your recommendations. Standard 1/4" jack and no preamp were two of my requirements. But no battery? How far we have come...
Me ka mahalo...
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Join me for the history of Hawaiian music and its musicians at Ho`olohe Hou at www.hoolohehou.org. |
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Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1579 Posts |
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