Pickups
Pickups are one of the most confusing things an ‘ukulele player can shop for. There are different types: UST, soundboard transducer, internal mic (not so much a pickup, but an option for amplification nonetheless), active or passive. Choose the type you want and you will find many different brands, most with several models that are suitable for the ‘ukulele. Then of course everybody has their own opinion about what sounds best.
Active vs. Passive – Passive pickups use just the electricity generated by the piezoelectric crystals to get the signal to the amp. Active pickups, however, feed the signal coming from the piezo crystals into an internal preamp (usually mounted on the endpin jack) that is powered by battery. The preamp balances and boosts the signal, pushing it on it’s way.
Endpin Jack – The place where the pickup signal leaves the ‘ukulele’s body. It’s a metal ¼ in. jack that accepts a ¼ in. instrument cable.
Feedback - Every soundman’s nightmare. An awful scream of electronic pain that is created when vibrating strings (or any other vibration the pickup or mic hears) are amplified. The amp in return vibrates the strings, and it goes round and round until the soundman or somebody does something about.
Internal Microphone - A little mic that is mounted on a gooseneck “stand” (like a wire) inside the body. The gooseneck allows the user to move the mic around to the “sweet” spot inside the uke. An internal mic is more prone to feeding back than other kinds of pickups because – well, it is a mic…
Onboard Controls - EQ, volume, tuner, notch filter, and gain are all things you can have at your fingertips if you choose to have an onboard system installed. The controls of an onboard system are usually put in the side of the ‘ukulele – after cutting a 1½ by 2 inch hole in your uke. Some companies like Fishman are making sound hole controls that stick on the inside of the sound hole, allowing fairly easy access without having to do any cutting.
Pickup – a pickup is a transducer that changes vibrations into electricity, which can in turn be used to drive an amp or PA system. The transducer itself is made out of piezoelectric (piezo for short) crystals. A pickup is usually placed under the saddle (UST), under the soundboard (soundboard transducer) near or on the bridge, or floating around inside the body as an internal mic.
Power Sources - The power source for active pickups usually comes from a 9v battery. The battery has a holster near the sound hole for easy access. D-TAR uses 18v (two AA) for its pickups, giving the circuitry more headroom because there is more voltage to work with. MI-SI uses a super capacitor to hold enough power for 8 hours of play time after a one minute charge.
Preamp – A preamp is a circuit that balances and boosts the signal as it passes through. Preamps can ether be onboard or outboard. Onboard preamps are wired straight to the pickup and endpin jack. Outboard preamps are connected in between the ‘ukulele and the amp (‘ukulele > instrument cable > preamp > instrument cable > amp). The Fishman Pro EQ Platinum and the L. R. Baggs Paracoustic DI box are some of the most popular outboard preamps. Here is a rough comparison between my ‘ukulele with and without my Fishman preamp.
Soundboard Transducer - A soundboard transducer is a little disk that sticks onto the inside (or outside) of the ‘ukulele on or near the bridge. They are more prone to picking up arm movement and tapping on the body than USTs. It seems that when a soundboard transducer feeds back it does so via soundboard vibration instead of string vibration, which is more of a bass “hum” than a shriek.
UST (Under Saddle Transducer) - A UST is a type of pickup that sits in the bottom of the saddle slot in the bridge. The saddle fits in on top of it. These pickups require a small hole be drilled on one side of the saddle slot for the wire that goes to the endpin jack. The saddle and slot also must be smooth, so that the transducer strip fits perfectly sandwiched in between.
Some of the pickups that are commonly used (if you could call it that…) or have been used for ‘ukuleles are
- D-TAR Timbreline – UST, active, power: 2 AA
- Fishman Matrix Infinity – UST, active, power: 9v, soundhole controls: tone and volume
- Fishman Prefix Pro (Koaloha artist models) – UST, active, power: 9v, side mounted controls: volume, bass, mid, treble, brilliance, notch, phase switch
- K&K Sound Big Shot – soundboard transducer, passive
- K&K Sound Twin Spot Internal – soundboard transducer (2), passive
- L.R. Baggs Element – UST, active, power: 9v
- MI-SI Acoustic Trio – UST (LR Baggs Element), active, power: super capacitor (holds 8 hour charge)
