Live 'Ukulele
Tabs, lessons, and info for 'ukulele enthusiasts
  • Home
  • Info
    • Parts of the ‘Ukulele
    • History of the ‘Ukulele
      • Kamaka Hawaii Inc.
    • Recommended ‘Ukulele Stuff
    • Jam and General Etiquette
    • FAQs
    • Artists
      • David Kamakahi
      • Herb Ohta Jr.
      • Jake Shimabukuro
    • Tips
    • Videos
    • The Correct Spelling of ‘Ukulele
    • Links
    • Sitemap
  • Tabs
    • How to Figure Out Songs
    • Picking Vamps
    • Ideas/Short Tabs/Intros
    • How to Use Powertab
    • How to Read Tab
    • Scales
  • Songs
    • How to Make Songs Easier
  • Chords
    • Vamp Chords
    • Resolving 7th Chords
    • Constructing ‘Ukulele Chords
    • Diminished and Augmented Chords
    • Slash Chords
  • Gear
    • Amplifying Your ‘Ukulele
      • Effects
      • Pickups
      • Amps
    • Changing Strings
    • Straps
    • Buying Tips
      • What I Look for in an ‘Ukulele
    • Picks
    • Capos
    • Taking Care of Your ‘Ukulele
    • Fingernail Care
    • ‘Ukulele Sizes
    • Types of Strings
      • Low G Strings
  • Lessons
    • Video Lessons
    • ‘Ukulele for Beginners
    • ‘Ukulele for Intermediates
    • ‘Ukulele for Advanced Players
    • ‘Ukulele Techniques
      • Harmonics
      • Arm-wah
      • Hammer-ons and Pull-offs
      • Pull-offs Up and Down One String
      • Tapping
      • Octaves
      • Tremolo Picking
      • Bending
      • Slides
      • Palm Muting
      • Trills
      • Unisons
      • Mono Strum
      • Vibrato
    • Fingerings
    • Secquencing Scales
    • Strumming
    • Slack Key ‘Ukulele
    • Tuning an ‘Ukulele
    • Soloing
    • Playing Clean
    • Picking Patterns/Arpeggios
    • Intervals
    • Some Thoughts on Music
      • Finding Inspiration
      • Soulful Playing
      • Silence
      • Patience and Improving
    • Finger Picking
    • Tones
    • Song Endings
    • Muting Chords and Notes
    • Warmups/Finger Exercises
    • Practicing
    • Playing High Notes Beyond the Fretboard
    • Weird Sounds and Modulations
    • Jazzy Intros and Outros
    • Harmony
    • All About Vamps
    • Theory
      • Transposing
      • Constructing Scales
  • Interviews
    • Master Luthier Chuck Moore of Moore Bettah ‘Ukuleles
    • Interview with Alan Okami of Koaloha ‘Ukuleles
    • Interview With Victoria Vox
    • Interview with Smiley Kai of Ukulele Source
    • Interview With Brittni Paiva
    • Interview with Herb Ohta Jr.
    • Interview with David Kamakahi
    • Interview with Kimo Hussey
    • Interview with James Hill
    • Interview with the Dominator
    • Interview with Aldrine Guerrero
    • Interview with Al Wood (a.k.a “Woodshed”)
    • Interview with Jake Shimabukuro
    • Interview with Kainoa from Easy ‘Ukulele
    • Interview with Benny Chong
  • Reviews
    • Sunday Morning – Jake Shimabukuro
    • Gently Weeps – Jake Shimabukuro
    • Follow Me – Manoa DNA
    • Facing Future – Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
    • Hear… – Brittni Paiva
    • Million Miles Away – Jake Shimabukuro
    • Play Loud ‘Ukulele – Jake Shimabukuro
    • Talkin’ Da Kine – Braddah Kuz
    • Hawaiian Style ‘Ukulele – Troy Fernandez
    • Boss RC-20XL Loop Station
    • ‘Ukulele Mike by Michael Conway
    • ‘Ukulele Journey by Herb Ohta Jr.
    • All You Need to Know About the Music Business
    • 2 to Three Feet – Herb Ohta Jr. and Daniel Ho
    • He Mele Aloha: A Hawaiian Songbook
    • Live – Jake Shimabukuro
    • Eat, Sleep, Music Sessions by the K-Town Heroes
    • Four Strings: The Fire Within by Brittni Paiva
    • 4 Great Guitar Books
    • ‘Ukulele Breeze – Herb Ohta Jr.
  • About
    • Advertise on Live ‘Ukulele
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contest Rules
    • Contact
  • Subscribe

Welcome! If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to Live 'Ukulele's RSS feed or look at the about page. Feel free to leave a comment. I love to hear from readers. Thanks for visiting!

Amplifying Your ‘Ukulele

To plug in your ‘ukulele you need three things:

  • An ‘ukulele with a pickup
  • An instrument cable
  • [Effect(s) if you want/have to use them]
  • [Another cable(s) if using effect unit]
  • An amp

Plug one end of the instrument cable into the jack on the bottom of your ‘ukulele.

Plug the other end of the cable into the “input” jack on your amp. Plug the amp into an electrical outlet (or install batteries). Make sure that all of the volume knobs on your amp (volume and gain) and volume slider (or knob) on active pickup controls are set to 0. Turn your amp on. Turn the volume knob up as you play, until you reach the desired volume level (With an active pickup, turn your amp’s volume to halfway and then move the volume slider (or knob) to control the master volume). Play!

Amp controls:

  • Input – jack where you plug the cable coming from the ‘ukulele in
  • Volume – controls output volume
  • Gain – controls input volume (distortion)
  • Tone or EQ – controls which pitch range gets the most volume
  • Amp models (some amps) – selects amp model
  • Effects (some amps) – controls effect and amount

Amps

Plugging into your home audio system:

I have found that I can get a good amplified sound from my ‘ukulele if I run it through my old Yamaha stereo. A home audio system is essentially a small PA because it is only used for amplifying a clean sound – your CDs wouldn’t sound very good played through an electric guitar amp. Here is my setup:

  • ‘Ukulele pickup (passive) to Fishman preamp
  • Preamp to Boss ME-50 multi-effects
  • Boss into 1/8″ to RCA cable via a 1/4″ to 1/8″ adapter (the adapter is not necessary, it’s just how I’m making due for now. It would be easier to just use a 1/4″ to RCA cable.)
  • The RCA jacks plug into the the Line/Auxiliary input on the back of the Yamaha preamp.

From there I power up my multi-effects, check the volumes on both the preamp and the Boss, and slowly turn up the master volume on the stereo. I’m sure this can be done several ways, but at the moment, the Yamaha sounds way better than my Micro Cube. (Now I need to get a RCA to two 1/4″ jacks cable so I can take advantage of the Boss’ stereo chorus and panning!) Use your best judgment if you try this – I can’t make any guarantees.

Feedback:

Feedback is the nasty screeching sound that you hear when a mic gets too close to a speaker. This can also happen with acoustic instruments. You get feedback when the amp’s speaker vibrates the strings of an instrument, and the pick-up feeds the signal back into the amp. This creates a loop that gets louder and louder. Feedback is most common when EQ settings are boosting a certain frequency.

Learn how to plug in effects on the Effects page.

‘Ukulele pickups

Comments rss
Comments rss
Trackback
Trackback

Please leave a comment!

Click here to cancel reply.

Big Island 'Ukulele Co. Hilo, Hawai'i - 1-866-648-4036 Moore Bettah 'Ukuleles made by Chuck Moore Lele Music Productions Feat. 'Ukulele Artist Herb Ohta Jr. and Vocalist Jennifer Perri

Top Ukulele Sites Top 50 Ukulele Sites From Big Island Blogs

©2010 liveukulele.com

Sitemap | Privacy Policy | Tabs, Lessons, Reviews, Info | 'Ukulele