Official Luthiers Forum!

The guy down the street has asked me to build him an 8 string uke with pickups. Having absolutely no idea what I'm doin, I am throwing myself out to the group here begging guidance. Would K+K Minis be appropriate? HELP!

Thanks Mikey

_________________
The Biggest Little City, Nevada
www.hammondguitars.com
I love building guitars!

since no one has chimed in I will take a stab at it. I know fishman can custom make a pick up (ust) you can of course use a sound board pick up like the K&K but I see a lot of ust pickups being installed. I think the key if you are going to use an ust is to get one where the peizo is all along the strip instead of spaced at certain intervals to match string spacing. hope that helps

_________________
Zac

Anchorage Alaska

Finshed my 1st! See #1 here

I've installed MISI batteryless preamp with Baggs UST. YOu have to have the saddle slot absolutely flat and a flat saddle with no slop. If the install is not right on you won't get even amplification from each string. I have done two. The UST tends to be a bit quacky - turning down bass helps. I am leaning toward a K&K Western mini which has three transducers that you place on the bridge patch. since it has no preamp, no battery is required either.

_________________
A higher purpose for wood.
Rich Smith
Issaquah, WA

I've installed Fishman's in the past. My friend didn't like it because of the soldering required, which its not on the new ones (which are pretty slick, by the way).

I've pretty much settled into LR Baggs Element - I order them with nothing attached, so I have to solder everything anyway. I haven't tried the MiSi, and haven't really wanted to because I "trust" the battery in the bag for the Active UST. And, if Ricardo says it quacks, it must be the preamp, because the Baggs preamp doesn't quack, and neither does the D-Tar.

Baggs actually recommends angling the saddle on the bottom, but I do what Rick Turner does, and back angle the saddle slot 7 degrees instead. Huge difference.

If you've never done a pickup installation before, I think the Fishman is easier, while the Baggs is more finicky. I still use Baggs.