A long overdue 'Not A Ukulele' review for you today with a look at a little device that's had me intrigued for a while. This is the Positive Grid Spark Go Smart Amplifier.
Showing posts with label amplification. Show all posts
Showing posts with label amplification. Show all posts
18 Jun 2024
1 Aug 2021
1 Aug 2021T15:15
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Positive Grid Spark 40 Amplifier with Ukulele - REVIEW
Finishing up my look at amplifiers on Got A Ukulele - I took a look at the much hyped Spark 40 amplifier from Positive Grid.
30 Jul 2021
30 Jul 2021T15:06
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Blackstar ID:Core V3 Stereo 10 Amplifier with ukulele - REVIEW
Another amplifier review for those who want to 'plug in'. This is a video only review of the Blackstar ID:Core V3 Stereo 10. Scroll down for the video.
5 Jul 2021
5 Jul 2021T18:10
© Barry Maz
GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!
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Ukulele Effects for Electro models
Alongside the questions I get about amplification for ukulele, another common one is about applying effects to the sound. Here are a couple of videos I made on the subject.
GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!
BUY ME A BEER!
BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON
OR
THANKS!
T18:06
© Barry Maz
GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!
BUY ME A BEER!
BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON
OR
THANKS!
Read More »
Roland AC-33 Acoustic Chorus Amplifier - REVIEW
After being asked to recommend ukuleles, the most common question from readers is about amplification. I made this review video about my amplifier of choice for ukulele.
There are a LOT of amps out there and you can spend a pretty penny - but this one is my choice for piezo pickup ukuleles. I will try to follow this up with my amplifier recommendation for steel strung ukuleles with magnetic pickups.
GOT A UKULELE IS NOT PAID BY BRANDS OR SHOPS - DONATIONS ARE WHAT KEEP THE SITE GOING! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!
BUY ME A BEER!
BECOME A GOT A UKULELE PATREON
OR
THANKS!
3 Mar 2021
3 Mar 2021T15:37
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Ukulele Effects - a Got A Ukulele guide
Following on from my push to feature more ukulele accessories on the site, and the recent (ish) review of an amplifier, this got me thinking about another very common question I get from electric ukulele players (or the electro curious). What effects pedals do you recommend?
24 Feb 2021
24 Feb 2021T18:34
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Removable Ukulele Pickups - REVIEW
Here's a ukulele topic I have been to revisit for some time as I get asked about them so much. Are removable ukulele pickups any good?
19 Feb 2021
19 Feb 2021T19:05
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Boss Katana Mini Amplifier - REVIEW
A quick diversion from ukuleles on Got A Ukulele today to bring you an amplifier review. This is the Boss Katana Mini.
17 May 2017
17 May 2017T13:37
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iRig Acoustic Stage - REVIEW
I've been getting a number of emails asking about ukulele amplification lately. So hot on the heels of my last look at a ukulele pickup, I'm pleased to bring you another option in the form of the iRig Acoustic Stage.
23 Apr 2017
23 Apr 2017T12:35
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Kremona UK-1 Ukulele Pickup - REVIEW
Here's something a bit different for you. A passive ukulele pickup that requires no drilling, no gluing, no taping to the body. It's the UK-1 Pickup from Kremona.
16 Oct 2016
16 Oct 2016T14:34
The Travelog is a stompbox in the truest sense of the word. By that I don't mean it's a stompbox such as an effects pedal, rather it's a box you stomp! They are made in the UK and were the brainchild of Howard Bragen. The product also has some rather impressive endorsees including Seth Lakeman, Guy Garvey and our own Phil Doleman (who I have seen perform with one!)
The concept is simple, but highly effective. The Travelog is a wooden box chamber that contains a capsule pickup. Plugging the Travelog into an amplifier you have a box at your feet that when you tap it creates a beat sound kind of like a bass kick drum. The idea is as old as the hills and for years, folk performers would use upturned wooden crates to create a beat sound with their feet on stage. By making them small and capable of amplifcation, Logjam have developed something that you can easily carry around and with the right amplifer, make as much noise as you like.
The construction is simple but rugged and really rather pleasing. The body of the Travelog is made from a block of sustainable Sapele wood which contains a routed chamber inside housing the pickup. You connect that pickup to an amplifier with a standard guitar cable into the jack socket screwed to the side of the box. And that really is it. No batteries, and nothing really that I can see that can go wrong.
The hand finish is really rather nice as it's finished in rubbed linseed oil. The wood-shop smell from the box when you open it is divine! Aside from that is the Logjam logo plate riveted to the front of the box and an essential grippy rubber mat glued to the base to stop it sliding around on wooden floors.
What I found really interesting to play around with was the range of sounds you can get. Of course you can play around with the EQ on your amplifier (I found it best mainly on the bassy side, but really, the rules are yours to make or break), but choosing different footwear gives very different sounds too. In the video below I am wearing fairly hard leather soled shoes, which gives a very bright snappy sound, but if you use it in a pair of rubber soles, such as trainers or Doctor Martens, you get a more bassy thud.
Logjam recommend that it's best paired with a large-ish amplifier with good bass response for obvious reasons. For the video however, I have it running into a small simple Roland Mobile Cube and found it is still effective as an accompaniment to an acoustic instrument. Obviously if you are going to plug your ukulele in, you will need the Logjam plugged into something powerful to balance it. But the beauty of the simple design that it's only need is a jack input, means the sky is the limit. This would be a hoot to connect to a powerful PA system!
So why is this featuring on a ukulele blog? Well simple really - the ukulele on it's own has a pretty thin sound and it does (I think) come alive when accompanied by something else. Performers around the world who are playing songs (less so those who play delicate instrumentals) bolster the ukulele by playing in larger groups, or adding friends on bass guitar (or uke) or things like Cajon hand drums. But the role of the solo troubadour song singer is still one that many people are drawn to. And if you don't want to take drummer out on gigs with you, something like this gives you an extra dimension to your sound. A self accompanying beat!
The Travelog is part of a range of similar products from Logjam, but I like this one for the balance of size, simplicity and just sheer ruggedness to throw in your gig bag. If you are a solo performer, I think something like this could really add new options to some of your set. Recommended
The Travelog retails at a shade under £65 and is available from music dealers and from Logjam direct
http://www.logjam.net
VIDEO REVIEW
© Barry Maz
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Logjam Travelog 2 - REVIEW
Review time, and not a ukulele this week, rather an accessory that I think uke players will really like. Say hello to the Travelog 2 from Logjam.
The Travelog is a stompbox in the truest sense of the word. By that I don't mean it's a stompbox such as an effects pedal, rather it's a box you stomp! They are made in the UK and were the brainchild of Howard Bragen. The product also has some rather impressive endorsees including Seth Lakeman, Guy Garvey and our own Phil Doleman (who I have seen perform with one!)
The concept is simple, but highly effective. The Travelog is a wooden box chamber that contains a capsule pickup. Plugging the Travelog into an amplifier you have a box at your feet that when you tap it creates a beat sound kind of like a bass kick drum. The idea is as old as the hills and for years, folk performers would use upturned wooden crates to create a beat sound with their feet on stage. By making them small and capable of amplifcation, Logjam have developed something that you can easily carry around and with the right amplifer, make as much noise as you like.
The construction is simple but rugged and really rather pleasing. The body of the Travelog is made from a block of sustainable Sapele wood which contains a routed chamber inside housing the pickup. You connect that pickup to an amplifier with a standard guitar cable into the jack socket screwed to the side of the box. And that really is it. No batteries, and nothing really that I can see that can go wrong.
The hand finish is really rather nice as it's finished in rubbed linseed oil. The wood-shop smell from the box when you open it is divine! Aside from that is the Logjam logo plate riveted to the front of the box and an essential grippy rubber mat glued to the base to stop it sliding around on wooden floors.
What I found really interesting to play around with was the range of sounds you can get. Of course you can play around with the EQ on your amplifier (I found it best mainly on the bassy side, but really, the rules are yours to make or break), but choosing different footwear gives very different sounds too. In the video below I am wearing fairly hard leather soled shoes, which gives a very bright snappy sound, but if you use it in a pair of rubber soles, such as trainers or Doctor Martens, you get a more bassy thud.
Logjam recommend that it's best paired with a large-ish amplifier with good bass response for obvious reasons. For the video however, I have it running into a small simple Roland Mobile Cube and found it is still effective as an accompaniment to an acoustic instrument. Obviously if you are going to plug your ukulele in, you will need the Logjam plugged into something powerful to balance it. But the beauty of the simple design that it's only need is a jack input, means the sky is the limit. This would be a hoot to connect to a powerful PA system!
So why is this featuring on a ukulele blog? Well simple really - the ukulele on it's own has a pretty thin sound and it does (I think) come alive when accompanied by something else. Performers around the world who are playing songs (less so those who play delicate instrumentals) bolster the ukulele by playing in larger groups, or adding friends on bass guitar (or uke) or things like Cajon hand drums. But the role of the solo troubadour song singer is still one that many people are drawn to. And if you don't want to take drummer out on gigs with you, something like this gives you an extra dimension to your sound. A self accompanying beat!
The Travelog is part of a range of similar products from Logjam, but I like this one for the balance of size, simplicity and just sheer ruggedness to throw in your gig bag. If you are a solo performer, I think something like this could really add new options to some of your set. Recommended
The Travelog retails at a shade under £65 and is available from music dealers and from Logjam direct
http://www.logjam.net
VIDEO REVIEW
© Barry Maz
22 Apr 2015
22 Apr 2015T10:13
I have talked before about amplification options so I won't repeat all of that here. In short though you have a couple of main choices - either to use a microphone in front of the instrument (and that will give you hands down the most authentic tone reproduction) or using a pickup inside the instrument. The pickup option has its downsides, particularly if they are cheap, but with a good quality one and the right amplifier you can get a very pleasing tone from them. In fact the lions share of professionals you will see on festival stages perform with pickups this way. There are people who perform with microphones too of course and they sound great, but for many the versatility of a pickup system is the ability to move around and not be tied to the microphone coupled with a big reduction in feedback on stage. I suppose your type of act will come into play here as to what suits you better.
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Going Electro Ukulele Should Cost You MORE Not The Same
There seems to be an awful lot of discussion at the moment in social media circles about people wanting to amplify their ukuleles. I see this generally as a positive thing as I suspect it means they are wanting to perform live. I say 'generally' because amplifying just for the sake of volume is probably not a great reason, but there you go.
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22 Mar 2015
22 Mar 2015T16:02
I've been a fan of LR Baggs gear for some time, particularly their Gig Pro series of belt clip pre amp boxes. They just sound incredibly clear and natural with acoustic instruments and far more so than any many other pre amp boxes which can still leave the ukulele or guitar with an electric guitar type sound. Above the GigPro is the Baggs Para DI which adds some more detailed tone shaping controls to the mix. Now we have the Venue DI which takes those technologies and adds more.
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LR Baggs Venue DI Pre-amp - REVIEW
I've spoken before on Got A Ukulele of the benefit of a pre-amp box if you are plugging in to an amplifier. Last time we looked at this model from Fishman which is rather good. Time to look at what may be considered a luxury option, particularly with a price tag of around £300. The LR Baggs Venue DI. But does that cost make sense?
I've been a fan of LR Baggs gear for some time, particularly their Gig Pro series of belt clip pre amp boxes. They just sound incredibly clear and natural with acoustic instruments and far more so than any many other pre amp boxes which can still leave the ukulele or guitar with an electric guitar type sound. Above the GigPro is the Baggs Para DI which adds some more detailed tone shaping controls to the mix. Now we have the Venue DI which takes those technologies and adds more.
19 Jan 2015
19 Jan 2015T15:22
So what are the options for ukulele players wanting to amplify an acoustic instrument. Well, you have two main options. Either buy an instrument off the shelf with a system built in (including pickup and amplifying EQ box / volume control all cut into the body of the uke) - called an 'active' system or fit a pickup strip / transducer / microphone to an acoustic instrument and deal with the EQ and amplification off the ukulele (a 'passive' system). I far prefer the latter, pretty much every time.
There are a variety of reasons, including:
- I prefer less fiddly controls in a box off the uke
- I have seen many less than favourable wiring connections on the onboard units (noise and buzz!)
- The onboard systems add unnecessary weight to the instrument and cut a hole in your instrument!
But mainly it is about quality of tone. With the exception of much higher end instruments (the Godin system for example is VERY good), the onboard systems I have seen on even the highest end Kala instruments (for example) have felt lacking, thin sounding and one dimensional to me. Quite some time ago I stopped buying ukes for either performance or recording with these systems in favour of fitting passive pickup strips to acoustic ukes. The total cost may amount to a little more, but it is well worth the effort to my ears as the results are night and day better in terms of sound quality and control. Going the passive route also allows you to 'electrify' pretty much any acoustic instrument and not find yourself trapped by only buying those that come with an onboard system. Add to that the ability to upgrade either the pickup strips or the pre amps individually and for me the passive route is all good. It's the way most professionals go and some uke makers even refuse to install the onboard systems.
So, if you have (like me) fitted passive under saddle or soundboard transducer pickups to a range of acoustic instruments (as you may have noted I did on my Kanile'a tenor) why is that not the end of the story? Well, with the lack of any preampfification, a passive pickup can sound thin and rather quiet going in to a desk for performance. Add to that of course that you have no control over the sound yourself, and people will recommend you go for a pre amp unit between you and the sound system. These can be as big as you want them to be, but many are belt or pedal sized allowing ease of carrying and use. Just like the Fishman.
Some acoustic amplifiers may work ok if they have dedicated acoustic input stages, but more often than not I am plugging in to a mixing desk or a PA and prefer to output a better signal that I have control over. A pre amp does a few key things, it boosts the signal, provides a better quality signal and allows control of the system. As such I found myself with this Fishman model and used it on a variety of shows as it aims to tick all those boxes.
(A word of warning for this review, as I have heard Fishman may be discontinuing this model, but I am still seeing them available and in due course you may find some good deals on them (hence this write up). New this cost me about £90.)
The Fishman is a battery powered box, running off a 9v square battery (though does have the option of a power supply) that is very simple to use, with just a single in and out socket for regular guitar lead jacks. I tended towards it as Fishman do carry a good name in acoustic amplification and price wise, whilst £90 may sound expensive, in the world of pre amps it falls kind of in the middle of the prices out there.
The box is fashioned from plastic which was my first concern, but it is a damn tough casing and having dropped this on multiple tiled and concrete floors it has failed to crack or even scratch. Full marks. It also isn't that heavy compared to some I have used. In addition it is nice to see the jack sockets made from metal and not plastic, so they won't fail as quickly as the cheaper models either.
EQ is provided by a range of sliders which move with enough friction to not be loose or wobbly. They are also recessed a little so unlikely to get knocked off as may be the case with round protruding knobs. They are notched at the halfway point so you know where you are in lower lighting which is another nice touch.
We have the usual volume control, plus bass, middle and treble on the EQ plus a 'brilliancy' setting for extra sparkle (or cutting finger noise on lower settings). It's all very straightforward and they work well and have a good range. I used this in the main for cutting mids down to remove the 'bite' often heard with piezo under saddle pickups and it worked well for that. It's not what we call 'parametric EQ' so the settings are limited to just those three (meaning you can't cut out errant frequencies by sweeping through and cutting them) but for most purposes a 3 band is just fine and certainly as good as you will find on any onboard system.
We also have a phase switch. Ah yes, the phase option. Something that will get a confusing answer from even the most experienced of sound guys. Basically - it changes the polarity or direction of the output sound to help avoid feedback amongst other things at the PA end. The instrument projects both its own sound waves and amplified waves which sound better 'in phase' with each other and flicking the switch allows you to swap this. In other words - play with both settings and listen to what sounds best!!
On the reverse of the unit is a metal belt clip (if you want to look like those people who carry mobile phones on belt holsters I guess) and the battery compartment. We also have two gain pots, one for general gain and one for bass which can (and need to) be adjusted before use depending on the pickup. I found that with some pickups I needed to dial this back as I was getting an over driven sound into the amplifier, but that is exactly what this is for. As much as it is a pain to adjust (as you need a screwdriver to do it) I prefer to see that than an easy to knock and alter gain knob as on some other EQ pedals I have seen.
In use I can't really complain and it does the job it was intended to do well. Sound wise I think I would have preferred a more acoustic tone. Having tested this side by side against something like an LR Baggs GigPro the latter provides that in spades straight out of the box with very little tweaking (in fact it has less EQ altering settings than the Fishman for only a little more money). There is nothing 'wrong' with the tone, but it still felt a little electric sounding for me on a variety of EQ settings. That was fine for me when running through effects, but on pure acoustic tone you might want something sweeter. On the plus side it is quiet in operation and with a good saddle pickup introduces no hum or buzz which is more than I can say for some onboard systems I have used (the perils of cheap onboard gear!). This gives a VERY clean sound which will put a smile on any sound engineers face.
Still I certainly don't mean to run it down - it is well built, priced and performs admirably. I even used it on ukes with those dreaded on board systems, set neutral and it improved their tone no end too. Oh and the battery lasted for a year of gigs - trouble free indeed!
Would I buy it again? Well I suppose so, but that is something of a loaded question as I have now replaced it with a higher end system that I will be reviewing soon on Got A Ukulele and intend to gig with. Generally though, yes I would. The Fishman is a reliable answer to the need to amplify passive systems in a small tough package. So if you take my advice and head into the passive pickup area, you will need a good EQ box if you want better sound out of it. I would choose one of these over an onboard system every time. If you have the money - the world is your oyster though with other options.
And if the price is a concern, remember this. The concept of going out to buy a ukulele with a budget of £150 then picking a ready made acoustic electro for £150 - well - you are naturally getting far less for your money in the basic instrument AND in the pickup. If you want to electrify then you should budget on spending MORE on the full package and not the same amount - you get no free lunches. For me, if you intend to amplify, then that amplified tone has to be reasonable and not something to skimp on. All of that said, if you only ever intend to plug into small amps at clubs or in a bedroom then perhaps a full system IS overkill, but then you wouldn't be reading this would you? For me though, if you ever intend to plug in to a full stage PA, better tone is worth having - with cheaper models that is where your tone will be found lacking ( and the hum and noise from cheap units will drive you mad!). Remember, not every venue has the worlds best sound engineer on hand and £50k mixing desks to make your cheap system sound good...
(Final point - these are NOT just for ukuleles of course and I have used this quite happily with both guitars and mandolins with pickups fitted!)
Watch this space for another Pre amp box review coming soon - something higher end!
Read More »
Fishman Pro EQ II Pre Amp box - REVIEW
Ah, electrifying a ukulele. A massive subject in itself and something I still see a great many discussions on. My readers will know that my preference is for a passive system, amplifying the signal 'off' the ukulele rather than the glut of onboard systems that are out there cut into the sides of poor instruments. So as well as this being a review of a pre amp box I have used for a good year or two now, I intend to also expand on my thoughts on the subject generally. Here we have my trusty Fishman Pro EQ II box.
 |
| Rugged plastic case |
So what are the options for ukulele players wanting to amplify an acoustic instrument. Well, you have two main options. Either buy an instrument off the shelf with a system built in (including pickup and amplifying EQ box / volume control all cut into the body of the uke) - called an 'active' system or fit a pickup strip / transducer / microphone to an acoustic instrument and deal with the EQ and amplification off the ukulele (a 'passive' system). I far prefer the latter, pretty much every time.
There are a variety of reasons, including:
- I prefer less fiddly controls in a box off the uke
- I have seen many less than favourable wiring connections on the onboard units (noise and buzz!)
- The onboard systems add unnecessary weight to the instrument and cut a hole in your instrument!
But mainly it is about quality of tone. With the exception of much higher end instruments (the Godin system for example is VERY good), the onboard systems I have seen on even the highest end Kala instruments (for example) have felt lacking, thin sounding and one dimensional to me. Quite some time ago I stopped buying ukes for either performance or recording with these systems in favour of fitting passive pickup strips to acoustic ukes. The total cost may amount to a little more, but it is well worth the effort to my ears as the results are night and day better in terms of sound quality and control. Going the passive route also allows you to 'electrify' pretty much any acoustic instrument and not find yourself trapped by only buying those that come with an onboard system. Add to that the ability to upgrade either the pickup strips or the pre amps individually and for me the passive route is all good. It's the way most professionals go and some uke makers even refuse to install the onboard systems.
So, if you have (like me) fitted passive under saddle or soundboard transducer pickups to a range of acoustic instruments (as you may have noted I did on my Kanile'a tenor) why is that not the end of the story? Well, with the lack of any preampfification, a passive pickup can sound thin and rather quiet going in to a desk for performance. Add to that of course that you have no control over the sound yourself, and people will recommend you go for a pre amp unit between you and the sound system. These can be as big as you want them to be, but many are belt or pedal sized allowing ease of carrying and use. Just like the Fishman.
Some acoustic amplifiers may work ok if they have dedicated acoustic input stages, but more often than not I am plugging in to a mixing desk or a PA and prefer to output a better signal that I have control over. A pre amp does a few key things, it boosts the signal, provides a better quality signal and allows control of the system. As such I found myself with this Fishman model and used it on a variety of shows as it aims to tick all those boxes.
(A word of warning for this review, as I have heard Fishman may be discontinuing this model, but I am still seeing them available and in due course you may find some good deals on them (hence this write up). New this cost me about £90.)
The Fishman is a battery powered box, running off a 9v square battery (though does have the option of a power supply) that is very simple to use, with just a single in and out socket for regular guitar lead jacks. I tended towards it as Fishman do carry a good name in acoustic amplification and price wise, whilst £90 may sound expensive, in the world of pre amps it falls kind of in the middle of the prices out there.
The box is fashioned from plastic which was my first concern, but it is a damn tough casing and having dropped this on multiple tiled and concrete floors it has failed to crack or even scratch. Full marks. It also isn't that heavy compared to some I have used. In addition it is nice to see the jack sockets made from metal and not plastic, so they won't fail as quickly as the cheaper models either.
EQ is provided by a range of sliders which move with enough friction to not be loose or wobbly. They are also recessed a little so unlikely to get knocked off as may be the case with round protruding knobs. They are notched at the halfway point so you know where you are in lower lighting which is another nice touch.
 |
| Metal input and output jack sockets |
We have the usual volume control, plus bass, middle and treble on the EQ plus a 'brilliancy' setting for extra sparkle (or cutting finger noise on lower settings). It's all very straightforward and they work well and have a good range. I used this in the main for cutting mids down to remove the 'bite' often heard with piezo under saddle pickups and it worked well for that. It's not what we call 'parametric EQ' so the settings are limited to just those three (meaning you can't cut out errant frequencies by sweeping through and cutting them) but for most purposes a 3 band is just fine and certainly as good as you will find on any onboard system.
We also have a phase switch. Ah yes, the phase option. Something that will get a confusing answer from even the most experienced of sound guys. Basically - it changes the polarity or direction of the output sound to help avoid feedback amongst other things at the PA end. The instrument projects both its own sound waves and amplified waves which sound better 'in phase' with each other and flicking the switch allows you to swap this. In other words - play with both settings and listen to what sounds best!!
On the reverse of the unit is a metal belt clip (if you want to look like those people who carry mobile phones on belt holsters I guess) and the battery compartment. We also have two gain pots, one for general gain and one for bass which can (and need to) be adjusted before use depending on the pickup. I found that with some pickups I needed to dial this back as I was getting an over driven sound into the amplifier, but that is exactly what this is for. As much as it is a pain to adjust (as you need a screwdriver to do it) I prefer to see that than an easy to knock and alter gain knob as on some other EQ pedals I have seen.
 |
| Trim contols |
In use I can't really complain and it does the job it was intended to do well. Sound wise I think I would have preferred a more acoustic tone. Having tested this side by side against something like an LR Baggs GigPro the latter provides that in spades straight out of the box with very little tweaking (in fact it has less EQ altering settings than the Fishman for only a little more money). There is nothing 'wrong' with the tone, but it still felt a little electric sounding for me on a variety of EQ settings. That was fine for me when running through effects, but on pure acoustic tone you might want something sweeter. On the plus side it is quiet in operation and with a good saddle pickup introduces no hum or buzz which is more than I can say for some onboard systems I have used (the perils of cheap onboard gear!). This gives a VERY clean sound which will put a smile on any sound engineers face.
Still I certainly don't mean to run it down - it is well built, priced and performs admirably. I even used it on ukes with those dreaded on board systems, set neutral and it improved their tone no end too. Oh and the battery lasted for a year of gigs - trouble free indeed!
Would I buy it again? Well I suppose so, but that is something of a loaded question as I have now replaced it with a higher end system that I will be reviewing soon on Got A Ukulele and intend to gig with. Generally though, yes I would. The Fishman is a reliable answer to the need to amplify passive systems in a small tough package. So if you take my advice and head into the passive pickup area, you will need a good EQ box if you want better sound out of it. I would choose one of these over an onboard system every time. If you have the money - the world is your oyster though with other options.
And if the price is a concern, remember this. The concept of going out to buy a ukulele with a budget of £150 then picking a ready made acoustic electro for £150 - well - you are naturally getting far less for your money in the basic instrument AND in the pickup. If you want to electrify then you should budget on spending MORE on the full package and not the same amount - you get no free lunches. For me, if you intend to amplify, then that amplified tone has to be reasonable and not something to skimp on. All of that said, if you only ever intend to plug into small amps at clubs or in a bedroom then perhaps a full system IS overkill, but then you wouldn't be reading this would you? For me though, if you ever intend to plug in to a full stage PA, better tone is worth having - with cheaper models that is where your tone will be found lacking ( and the hum and noise from cheap units will drive you mad!). Remember, not every venue has the worlds best sound engineer on hand and £50k mixing desks to make your cheap system sound good...
(Final point - these are NOT just for ukuleles of course and I have used this quite happily with both guitars and mandolins with pickups fitted!)
Watch this space for another Pre amp box review coming soon - something higher end!
4 Aug 2014
4 Aug 2014T13:03
I must say, I don't really understand the 'you can't amplify your uke' brigade. Amplification means different things depending on the circumstances. Go to any large festival and you will see professional after professional plugging their instrument in to ensure they can be heard! Equally you can go rock with a ukulele or perhaps you just want a bit more oomph for busking. Its all good.
Perhaps the most common type of amp I am seeing beginners going for are the small battery powered units, such as the HoneyTone amps, or the Orange Cubes. Personally I don't like the ultra small amps as I find they give a very very thin sound to an instrument which is already kind of thin sounding. At the other end of the scale there are full on stage amps, but these are not really practical for bedroom practice or busking on the street. But there are a few amps in the middle ground, and having played many, the Roland Cube series is something I think is well worth looking at.
The Mobile Cube is something a couple of members of my band use and I have been so impressed I bought one myself. When we are on a big stage, we use a large PA - so why do they have them? Well, for a bit of fun, for busking, one has used one as a keyboard monitor in practice sessions. We even had our bass player run through one when we appeared on BBC radio and didn't have space to take our full rig in.
The Roland Mobile Cube is part of a wider line of smaller and larger amps in the cube series, but I have long thought that the Mobile gives about the best bang for buck, features versus tone versus money in the range. And at £120 to buy, it really is a good deal. Sure, its a lot more than a £20 battery belt clip amp, but.... well, you get what you pay for....
The Mobile Cube is a battery powered 5 Watt unit with an array of inputs and tweaks that make it shine. (note - it can be plugged in with an optional AC adapter too). But the real trick is the battery life. Roland claim this will run for 15 hours straight on 6 AA batteries, which really is some going I am sure you will agree.
The unit is cased in typical Roland bombproof type construction. Yes, it is plastic, but it feels like a tank. And having seen one of our band drop one from table height to a tiled floor leaving not even a scratch... well.... I wouldn't recommend it, but it goes to show.
The batteries power two separate 2.5W channels, left and right, which power two 4 inch speakers behind a grille. Yes, this can be a stereo amp too!
Inputs to the Mobile Cube are on the side with an input for microphone (sadly a line jack in and not an XLR socket), stereo jack input for either guitars, ukes etc (using one of the inputs) or stereo instruments like keyboards (using two). We also have a mini jack input allowing you to play back an MP3 track or similar and left and right RCA inputs for a feed from, say, a CD player, a mixer or sound processor. Pretty fully featured.
On the other side of the amp is a headphone socket, a power switch and a socket for the optional AC adapter.
The effects section consists of an overall tone control (and something that applies to the whole output. It would have been nice to have a separate tone for the microphone) and a fairly basic but useable effects section that offers both delay and reverb. Sadly though, not at the same time! It uses a rotary dial that builds up the delay, and when you get past 12 o clock, the delay turns off and it builds the reverb. I've seen this system on a number of amps and find it a bit limiting to be honest. That said, the effects sound nice, what with Roland owning Boss, they should do! Personally though, I think I would use them sparingly. And remember, you do have other effects (of sorts) on the electric guitar section where you have an overdrive and a distortion).
Batteries are inserted in an easy to open hatch on the back of the amp, and the back also has a grounding screw in case you get any hum or worse.
Another couple of neat features are the screw on the base of the unit that allows you to attach it to a vertical microphone stand - useful for getting sound at head height for busking, and the roland branded hand strap with super strong button connectors - you can feel at ease carrying this as it is going nowhere! (Incidentally, with batteries installed it weighs 2.5kg!). Finally we have a button called 'Centre Cancel' on the AUX channel. That takes the MP3 or CD player input and cuts out the centre frequencies from the track you are playing, ideally leaving just the instruments for you to jam along to. Results will vary on this, but its a neat feature.
Finally, the looks. Well, like a lot of Roland gear, it is somewhat utilitarian, but its more about function over form!
So all in all, a sweet looking package. On to the sound!
Do not let that 5W power put you off, this thing can go surprisingly loud and would work perfectly on the street on a busking slot (especially if, in a band, you had a few of them). It stays pretty clean on tone all the way up to ten, though it is possible to overdrive it if your uke is pre amped and running hot. The unit then doesnt so much distort as clip, but I found it rarely happened with my Godin electro which does output a high gain signal when turned up.
As I said above, I found the nicest sounds for uke on either the acoustic or clean electric settings. The overdrive is a little muddy sounding to my ears, but the distortion is huge fun. I actually found a very nice atmospheric type sound with the amp on clean electric, delay up to about one third and the chorus on. But then, its each to their own and you will find all sorts of combinations.
I was surprised at the natural tone which, for such a small unit was erring on the bassy side and I found I preferred the tone knob a little higher - even with a uke!
But overall it is pretty no nonsense and sounds great!
I have gripes, but they are really things that can be solved by looking at the bigger amps in the Cube series (XLR input for the microphone, dedicated microphone tone control, adjustable chorus etc). And bear in mind, the features on this alone far outweigh pretty much any 9V belt clip amp you may be thinking of. One thing that would be great for them to change is for power to be cut when things are disconnected. The power switch is kind of hidden away and the light that shows the unit is on is tiny. Twice now I have unplugged and forgot to switch off the master power. Something as simple as the power switch being larger and on the top would help!
If you are thinking about looking at amps for lower key, practice or busking type play on your uke, I would suggest that this needs to be near the top of your shopping list. Highly recommended.
(Being Roland - they are available all over to buy such as HERE )
VIDEO REVIEW
Read More »
Ukulele Amplification - Roland Mobile Cube REVIEW
Ukulele amplification... Some love it, some hate it, but this is clearly something that is becoming more and more popular. As such I thought I would take a look at a reasonable option for amplifying your ukulele. The Roland Mobile Cube.
I must say, I don't really understand the 'you can't amplify your uke' brigade. Amplification means different things depending on the circumstances. Go to any large festival and you will see professional after professional plugging their instrument in to ensure they can be heard! Equally you can go rock with a ukulele or perhaps you just want a bit more oomph for busking. Its all good.
Perhaps the most common type of amp I am seeing beginners going for are the small battery powered units, such as the HoneyTone amps, or the Orange Cubes. Personally I don't like the ultra small amps as I find they give a very very thin sound to an instrument which is already kind of thin sounding. At the other end of the scale there are full on stage amps, but these are not really practical for bedroom practice or busking on the street. But there are a few amps in the middle ground, and having played many, the Roland Cube series is something I think is well worth looking at.
The Mobile Cube is something a couple of members of my band use and I have been so impressed I bought one myself. When we are on a big stage, we use a large PA - so why do they have them? Well, for a bit of fun, for busking, one has used one as a keyboard monitor in practice sessions. We even had our bass player run through one when we appeared on BBC radio and didn't have space to take our full rig in.
The Roland Mobile Cube is part of a wider line of smaller and larger amps in the cube series, but I have long thought that the Mobile gives about the best bang for buck, features versus tone versus money in the range. And at £120 to buy, it really is a good deal. Sure, its a lot more than a £20 battery belt clip amp, but.... well, you get what you pay for....
The Mobile Cube is a battery powered 5 Watt unit with an array of inputs and tweaks that make it shine. (note - it can be plugged in with an optional AC adapter too). But the real trick is the battery life. Roland claim this will run for 15 hours straight on 6 AA batteries, which really is some going I am sure you will agree.
The unit is cased in typical Roland bombproof type construction. Yes, it is plastic, but it feels like a tank. And having seen one of our band drop one from table height to a tiled floor leaving not even a scratch... well.... I wouldn't recommend it, but it goes to show.
The batteries power two separate 2.5W channels, left and right, which power two 4 inch speakers behind a grille. Yes, this can be a stereo amp too!
Inputs to the Mobile Cube are on the side with an input for microphone (sadly a line jack in and not an XLR socket), stereo jack input for either guitars, ukes etc (using one of the inputs) or stereo instruments like keyboards (using two). We also have a mini jack input allowing you to play back an MP3 track or similar and left and right RCA inputs for a feed from, say, a CD player, a mixer or sound processor. Pretty fully featured.
On the other side of the amp is a headphone socket, a power switch and a socket for the optional AC adapter.
Controls for the amp are on the top, and split into three sections, Mic, Instrument and Effects. The mic channel has a volume control and nothing more. The instrument channel has a selector knob for acoustic guitar, keyboards, Audio (for MP3 playback) and three electric guitar inputs - clean, overdrive and distortion. With a uke plugged in, any of these can really be used, but I had best results with either the acoustic guitar input or the electric guitar on clean. Also within the instrument section is a chorus button which applies a spacey chorus to the instrument sound. Sadly, this is just on or off and cannot be adjusted. To my ears, chorus can easily be over done, and I think this one would benefit from being toned down a little. Its also a shame that the chorus can't be applied to the vocal microphone input too.
The effects section consists of an overall tone control (and something that applies to the whole output. It would have been nice to have a separate tone for the microphone) and a fairly basic but useable effects section that offers both delay and reverb. Sadly though, not at the same time! It uses a rotary dial that builds up the delay, and when you get past 12 o clock, the delay turns off and it builds the reverb. I've seen this system on a number of amps and find it a bit limiting to be honest. That said, the effects sound nice, what with Roland owning Boss, they should do! Personally though, I think I would use them sparingly. And remember, you do have other effects (of sorts) on the electric guitar section where you have an overdrive and a distortion).
Batteries are inserted in an easy to open hatch on the back of the amp, and the back also has a grounding screw in case you get any hum or worse.
Another couple of neat features are the screw on the base of the unit that allows you to attach it to a vertical microphone stand - useful for getting sound at head height for busking, and the roland branded hand strap with super strong button connectors - you can feel at ease carrying this as it is going nowhere! (Incidentally, with batteries installed it weighs 2.5kg!). Finally we have a button called 'Centre Cancel' on the AUX channel. That takes the MP3 or CD player input and cuts out the centre frequencies from the track you are playing, ideally leaving just the instruments for you to jam along to. Results will vary on this, but its a neat feature.
Finally, the looks. Well, like a lot of Roland gear, it is somewhat utilitarian, but its more about function over form!
So all in all, a sweet looking package. On to the sound!
Do not let that 5W power put you off, this thing can go surprisingly loud and would work perfectly on the street on a busking slot (especially if, in a band, you had a few of them). It stays pretty clean on tone all the way up to ten, though it is possible to overdrive it if your uke is pre amped and running hot. The unit then doesnt so much distort as clip, but I found it rarely happened with my Godin electro which does output a high gain signal when turned up.
As I said above, I found the nicest sounds for uke on either the acoustic or clean electric settings. The overdrive is a little muddy sounding to my ears, but the distortion is huge fun. I actually found a very nice atmospheric type sound with the amp on clean electric, delay up to about one third and the chorus on. But then, its each to their own and you will find all sorts of combinations.
I was surprised at the natural tone which, for such a small unit was erring on the bassy side and I found I preferred the tone knob a little higher - even with a uke!
But overall it is pretty no nonsense and sounds great!
I have gripes, but they are really things that can be solved by looking at the bigger amps in the Cube series (XLR input for the microphone, dedicated microphone tone control, adjustable chorus etc). And bear in mind, the features on this alone far outweigh pretty much any 9V belt clip amp you may be thinking of. One thing that would be great for them to change is for power to be cut when things are disconnected. The power switch is kind of hidden away and the light that shows the unit is on is tiny. Twice now I have unplugged and forgot to switch off the master power. Something as simple as the power switch being larger and on the top would help!
If you are thinking about looking at amps for lower key, practice or busking type play on your uke, I would suggest that this needs to be near the top of your shopping list. Highly recommended.
(Being Roland - they are available all over to buy such as HERE )
VIDEO REVIEW
27 Jul 2014
27 Jul 2014T12:46
A quick word in advance on pickups. If you want to go down the electro acoustic route I will always recommend that you first consider the installation of a good quality passive pickup ahead of the on board pickups that feature on many entry level ukes. In my experience, these on board 'active' pickups are rarely of the sort of quality you can get with a passive strip, and often REALLY poor quality. If you think about it - there are electro acoustic equipped ukes on the market from about £100 or so upwards. The cost of this Fishman AG 094 alone is about £75, so what does that tell you about the quality of either the uke or the pickup on the ready to go models? The other advantage with fitting a passive pickup is that you can choose to fit one to any acoustic uke and not limit yourself to certain models. Stores will often offer to fit these for you for a bit of extra money, but as I hope to demonstrate below, its not actually that complicated to fit one yourself. This post is about the fitting of an under saddle piezo pickup but other types are available, most notably transducer spot pickups that stick on the underside of the top under the bridge. I prefer under saddle models myself though as they pickup less body noise.
So, whats in the Fishman box? Not a lot really - a thin ceramic pickup strip with a wire connected for connecting to the jack socket, and a jack socket itself. And that is it. The Fishman pickup requires that you solder the wires to the jack socket as part of the install process, but there are models out there, such as those from Shadow that come either ready wired, or with plugs to clip them in to the socket. I went for the Fishman as it was very thin, and that meant less work to do on the saddle, but I also found the soldering meant for a slightly easier install. You see, when the whole thing is already hard wired, you need to find a way of getting the pickup strip up through the bridge from the inside out. It can be done, but with the Fishman, you install the pickup strip from the outside in, then solder the wires to the jack socket before fitting that. Much easier.
So what is the process? Well, aside from the soldering, its really just a case of drilling two holes, and doing a bit of sanding.
First up we need to drill a small hole in the bridge to feed the pickup wire through to the inside of the body. I removed the strings and the saddle (after marking up the bridge for the string positions to allow me to line up the strip so it sits evenly under all the strings) then marked the wire location for the pickup. It's then a simple case of drilling a hole within the saddle slot right through the top of the uke. The diameter will vary depending on the pickup system, but in this case it was about 2.5mm. Go steady, and ideally drill a very thin pilot hole first to guide the drill, but its really not too complicated. With the Fishman, the pickup wire extends directly downwards from the end of the strip, so a hole drilled directly downwards was needed to ensure the pickup sits flat with no pressure on the wiring. Some pickup strips use a braided pickup and the wire will then need to go into the uke on a slight angle to avoid it stressing. In those cases, just drill on a slight angle towards the edge of the uke
The second hole is the one that gets the pulse rate racing, and that is one right through the butt of the uke for the jack socket. In this case it was about 12mm, which is a chunky drill bit, but again I would recommend drilling a thinner pilot hole first to guide the drill. I didn't use a clamp or a vice to hold the uke (rather I had a wife to hold it for me!) but would recommend one if you have one. Again - go slow and steady and soon you will be through. Give the inside of the hole a bit of a tidy up with a file then hoover out the dust and wood shavings out of the uke before you continue. Another word of warning - if you are drilling this way, ensure that the instrument has an end block fitted to take hold the jack socket. This one does, as do most ukes, but if you cannot see one in your uke I would recommend an alternative system that involves a wire coming out of the sound hole to an external jack. Without an end block you are applying undue stress to the thin side pieces of the uke. I have seen an example of such a fitting where the instrument lead was pulled, and it ripped the jack socket out of the side of the uke leaving quite a hole!
And that is it for drilling, so on to the installation. Feed the pickup wire through the top of the uke and into the body. As I say above, if your pickup system is pre wired, then you need to feed it the other way as everything is connected and I would recommend doing this with either some cotton or thin wire through the body and connected to the end of the strip to feed it back through, but I warn you, that is fiddly!. So with the pickup strip seated in the slot, you can now reach into the uke to grab the loose wire and feed it out of the sound hole.
Solder the wires to the end pin jack and we are almost there. In the case of the Fishman AG, it comes with a clever multi use jack pin that allows the soldering of secondary pickups, or mic pickups to share the jack, but in the case of this passive strip, its a case of soldering the central 'hot' wire to the tip pin of the jack, and the ground wire to the the sleeve. All instructions with diagrams are on the Fishman website. Another tip here - you will find that you have more wire than you really need, so before moving on, coil the wire a little and either secure the loop with tape or a cable tie to ensure you don't have loose wire flapping about inside the uke. You can also attach the loose wire to the inside back of the uke with some tape for extra security. With that connected its time to attach the jack socket.
To do this, I fed an instrument cable with a jack that was thin enough to go through the hole in the base of the uke and plugged it into the jack to feed it back out. This takes a bit of fiddling and trial and error as you need to ensure it protrudes through the uke enough to take the locking nut. On the shaft of the jack socket are a bolt, washer and star washer designed to sit inside the uke, and then it is attached with another washer and bolt on the outside to hold it in place. This took a few goes of adjusting the inner bolt to the correct depth to ensure I had enough to work with outside but it didn't take too long. With the socket passed through the uke and enough protrusion to work with it is then simply a case of attaching the outer washer and bolt and tightening it. The jack socket has a hole drilled through the side to allow you to insert a pin or allen key or similar to keep it from turning whilst you turn the bolt. Tighten it up firmly, but not enough to damage the uke finish. With the Fishman, the jack socket comes with an outer bolt that screws over the jack to provide you with a strap button. Handy!
And we are almost there. The last adjustment is to now go back to the saddle. The installation of the pickup will naturally raise the saddle higher so your action will need to be adjusted downwards. I actually picked the Fishman as it was thinner than many other pickups meaning less to do here. You have a couple of options. First you could rout the base of the saddle slot down a little so the pickup sets in a recessed chamber but this would be a very delicate process with tools I don't possess. If you go this route you will need to be absolutely sure that the base of that saddle slot remains totally flat as efficient use of of a strip pickup requires even contact with the saddle and body of the uke. It is also essential you don't go too deep as well as you risk damaging the underlying top of the instrument. The alternative (and the option I took) was to sand the base of the saddle down a little to return the uke to the original action. Again, it is totally essential that you sand the base completely flat, but with this pickup strip it took only about 1mm to take the saddle down.
And that is it really. Re-strung the uke and gave it a test and the volume across the strings is nice and even as it should be. A sign of an uneven saddle or slot base would be one or more strings ringing louder than the others, but no such problems with mine.
As for the quality of the pickup tone itself, well, any passive pickup will perform best through an external pre amp box as they can otherwise sound a little thin. On this one, even without a pre amp it sounded clear enough, but really really nice through my Fishman Pre amp that I usually use on stage. It sounds remarkably natural in tone, like a uke in fact. That may sound like an odd statement, but that is my other complaint about cheap on board systems that run off batteries as I find they make the uke sound too 'electric'. No concerns on this score with the Fishman AG.
There are better and worse pickup strips out there, and you can spend considerably more if you want to, but I am delighted with the ease of installation with the Fishman and with the sound it creates. I accept that for many the process of drilling instruments may be something that scares them, but it's really not all that complex if you are careful and give it time.
As for the Fishman pickup - recommended!
http://www.fishman.com/product/ag-series-1
Read More »
Fishman AG 094 Ukulele Pickup - Review and installation
So yesterday I got around to doing something that I have been meaning to do for some time. Fitting a passive ukulele pickup to my Kanile'a Tenor ukulele.
Being an expensive Hawaiian uke, this was a somewhat nervous process, but actually, if you go steady and carefully its not all that bad. Thought I would provide a kind of semi review and comment on the installation process to help others out. The model pickup in question was a Fishman AG series 094 ukulele pickup.
A quick word in advance on pickups. If you want to go down the electro acoustic route I will always recommend that you first consider the installation of a good quality passive pickup ahead of the on board pickups that feature on many entry level ukes. In my experience, these on board 'active' pickups are rarely of the sort of quality you can get with a passive strip, and often REALLY poor quality. If you think about it - there are electro acoustic equipped ukes on the market from about £100 or so upwards. The cost of this Fishman AG 094 alone is about £75, so what does that tell you about the quality of either the uke or the pickup on the ready to go models? The other advantage with fitting a passive pickup is that you can choose to fit one to any acoustic uke and not limit yourself to certain models. Stores will often offer to fit these for you for a bit of extra money, but as I hope to demonstrate below, its not actually that complicated to fit one yourself. This post is about the fitting of an under saddle piezo pickup but other types are available, most notably transducer spot pickups that stick on the underside of the top under the bridge. I prefer under saddle models myself though as they pickup less body noise.
So, whats in the Fishman box? Not a lot really - a thin ceramic pickup strip with a wire connected for connecting to the jack socket, and a jack socket itself. And that is it. The Fishman pickup requires that you solder the wires to the jack socket as part of the install process, but there are models out there, such as those from Shadow that come either ready wired, or with plugs to clip them in to the socket. I went for the Fishman as it was very thin, and that meant less work to do on the saddle, but I also found the soldering meant for a slightly easier install. You see, when the whole thing is already hard wired, you need to find a way of getting the pickup strip up through the bridge from the inside out. It can be done, but with the Fishman, you install the pickup strip from the outside in, then solder the wires to the jack socket before fitting that. Much easier.
So what is the process? Well, aside from the soldering, its really just a case of drilling two holes, and doing a bit of sanding.
First up we need to drill a small hole in the bridge to feed the pickup wire through to the inside of the body. I removed the strings and the saddle (after marking up the bridge for the string positions to allow me to line up the strip so it sits evenly under all the strings) then marked the wire location for the pickup. It's then a simple case of drilling a hole within the saddle slot right through the top of the uke. The diameter will vary depending on the pickup system, but in this case it was about 2.5mm. Go steady, and ideally drill a very thin pilot hole first to guide the drill, but its really not too complicated. With the Fishman, the pickup wire extends directly downwards from the end of the strip, so a hole drilled directly downwards was needed to ensure the pickup sits flat with no pressure on the wiring. Some pickup strips use a braided pickup and the wire will then need to go into the uke on a slight angle to avoid it stressing. In those cases, just drill on a slight angle towards the edge of the uke
 |
| Hole drilled for pickup strip wire |
The second hole is the one that gets the pulse rate racing, and that is one right through the butt of the uke for the jack socket. In this case it was about 12mm, which is a chunky drill bit, but again I would recommend drilling a thinner pilot hole first to guide the drill. I didn't use a clamp or a vice to hold the uke (rather I had a wife to hold it for me!) but would recommend one if you have one. Again - go slow and steady and soon you will be through. Give the inside of the hole a bit of a tidy up with a file then hoover out the dust and wood shavings out of the uke before you continue. Another word of warning - if you are drilling this way, ensure that the instrument has an end block fitted to take hold the jack socket. This one does, as do most ukes, but if you cannot see one in your uke I would recommend an alternative system that involves a wire coming out of the sound hole to an external jack. Without an end block you are applying undue stress to the thin side pieces of the uke. I have seen an example of such a fitting where the instrument lead was pulled, and it ripped the jack socket out of the side of the uke leaving quite a hole!
 |
| Hole drilled for jack socket |
And that is it for drilling, so on to the installation. Feed the pickup wire through the top of the uke and into the body. As I say above, if your pickup system is pre wired, then you need to feed it the other way as everything is connected and I would recommend doing this with either some cotton or thin wire through the body and connected to the end of the strip to feed it back through, but I warn you, that is fiddly!. So with the pickup strip seated in the slot, you can now reach into the uke to grab the loose wire and feed it out of the sound hole.
 |
| Pickup strip seated in saddle slot |
Solder the wires to the end pin jack and we are almost there. In the case of the Fishman AG, it comes with a clever multi use jack pin that allows the soldering of secondary pickups, or mic pickups to share the jack, but in the case of this passive strip, its a case of soldering the central 'hot' wire to the tip pin of the jack, and the ground wire to the the sleeve. All instructions with diagrams are on the Fishman website. Another tip here - you will find that you have more wire than you really need, so before moving on, coil the wire a little and either secure the loop with tape or a cable tie to ensure you don't have loose wire flapping about inside the uke. You can also attach the loose wire to the inside back of the uke with some tape for extra security. With that connected its time to attach the jack socket.
To do this, I fed an instrument cable with a jack that was thin enough to go through the hole in the base of the uke and plugged it into the jack to feed it back out. This takes a bit of fiddling and trial and error as you need to ensure it protrudes through the uke enough to take the locking nut. On the shaft of the jack socket are a bolt, washer and star washer designed to sit inside the uke, and then it is attached with another washer and bolt on the outside to hold it in place. This took a few goes of adjusting the inner bolt to the correct depth to ensure I had enough to work with outside but it didn't take too long. With the socket passed through the uke and enough protrusion to work with it is then simply a case of attaching the outer washer and bolt and tightening it. The jack socket has a hole drilled through the side to allow you to insert a pin or allen key or similar to keep it from turning whilst you turn the bolt. Tighten it up firmly, but not enough to damage the uke finish. With the Fishman, the jack socket comes with an outer bolt that screws over the jack to provide you with a strap button. Handy!
 |
| Jack socket bolted in place |
And we are almost there. The last adjustment is to now go back to the saddle. The installation of the pickup will naturally raise the saddle higher so your action will need to be adjusted downwards. I actually picked the Fishman as it was thinner than many other pickups meaning less to do here. You have a couple of options. First you could rout the base of the saddle slot down a little so the pickup sets in a recessed chamber but this would be a very delicate process with tools I don't possess. If you go this route you will need to be absolutely sure that the base of that saddle slot remains totally flat as efficient use of of a strip pickup requires even contact with the saddle and body of the uke. It is also essential you don't go too deep as well as you risk damaging the underlying top of the instrument. The alternative (and the option I took) was to sand the base of the saddle down a little to return the uke to the original action. Again, it is totally essential that you sand the base completely flat, but with this pickup strip it took only about 1mm to take the saddle down.
And that is it really. Re-strung the uke and gave it a test and the volume across the strings is nice and even as it should be. A sign of an uneven saddle or slot base would be one or more strings ringing louder than the others, but no such problems with mine.
As for the quality of the pickup tone itself, well, any passive pickup will perform best through an external pre amp box as they can otherwise sound a little thin. On this one, even without a pre amp it sounded clear enough, but really really nice through my Fishman Pre amp that I usually use on stage. It sounds remarkably natural in tone, like a uke in fact. That may sound like an odd statement, but that is my other complaint about cheap on board systems that run off batteries as I find they make the uke sound too 'electric'. No concerns on this score with the Fishman AG.
There are better and worse pickup strips out there, and you can spend considerably more if you want to, but I am delighted with the ease of installation with the Fishman and with the sound it creates. I accept that for many the process of drilling instruments may be something that scares them, but it's really not all that complex if you are careful and give it time.
As for the Fishman pickup - recommended!
http://www.fishman.com/product/ag-series-1
7 Nov 2010
7 Nov 2010T10:09
Read More »
Ukulele Beginners tips - Types of ukulele pickups
Whilst a ukulele is, in the main an acoustic instrument designed to play anywhere, you will find times when you want a little more power to your sound - when playing in a band alongside other instruments for example, or on stage.
31 Oct 2010
31 Oct 2010T14:31
What amps do I use for Ukulele playing?
It may seem like a silly question, considering that the ukulele is an acoustic instrument, but I thought I would share with you how I like to amp my ukes. It really depends on the situation though... In both cases I either use a pickup inside the uke, or I mic the uke with an instrument mic (I use a Shure SM series mics)
1. If I am playing an acoustic set alongside somebody with a guitar, then I will find that the ukulele needs a little lift - nothing much, but just a little extra oomph to help the uke compete. In these scenarios I use my small battery powered pignose which is just the job. Great tone - everyone should own a pignose
More on Pignose HERE
2. If I am gigging solo to a larger crowd, I need a proper amp with me. I use a Marshall AS50R Soloist - its a beautiful sounding acoustic amp with twin speakers, chorus, reverb and two inputs (including a balanced XLR input for a microphone). Its a superb amp and can easily fill a village hall with sound. It also has an output if you wanted even more noise by feeding it to a house PA. I adore this amp and if you are considering an acoustic amp, I'd struggle to suggest anything else.
The current model is, I believe, called the AS50D
More about the Marshall HERE
So there you have it - horses for courses, but there are always times when a bit of power doesnt go amiss with a ukulele.
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1. If I am playing an acoustic set alongside somebody with a guitar, then I will find that the ukulele needs a little lift - nothing much, but just a little extra oomph to help the uke compete. In these scenarios I use my small battery powered pignose which is just the job. Great tone - everyone should own a pignose
More on Pignose HERE
2. If I am gigging solo to a larger crowd, I need a proper amp with me. I use a Marshall AS50R Soloist - its a beautiful sounding acoustic amp with twin speakers, chorus, reverb and two inputs (including a balanced XLR input for a microphone). Its a superb amp and can easily fill a village hall with sound. It also has an output if you wanted even more noise by feeding it to a house PA. I adore this amp and if you are considering an acoustic amp, I'd struggle to suggest anything else.
The current model is, I believe, called the AS50D
More about the Marshall HERE
So there you have it - horses for courses, but there are always times when a bit of power doesnt go amiss with a ukulele.
19 Oct 2010
19 Oct 2010T18:59
New purchase - Orange micro amp
Not totally ukulele related, but there you go. Just bought an Orange Micro Crush amp - its a 9v battery powered mini amp for home practice - but I really bought it for our acoustic sessions in the pub - I want to take my Stratocaster with me occasionally for a bit of lead noodling, and a full blown amp would be overkill (and not really in keeping with our sleepy pub).
But then again - I am really looking forward to getting some uke played through it on overdrive settings!
Fuller review to follow.
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But then again - I am really looking forward to getting some uke played through it on overdrive settings!
Fuller review to follow.
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