Adding a pickup

[carollaj]

Hi, Bit of a rambling post here sorry! I have a Kala solid cedar top with acacia sides concert in a gloss finish and am thinking of adding a pickup to it. I am a little nervous though and was wondering if anyone else had done this and if it affected the finish at all or the sound of it. I really like the idea of the pickup but the thought of someone drilling a hole into my lovely wee uke is quite anxiety provoking!! I already have bought a fender acoustasonic 40 amp and have bought a cheap ‘stick on the front of the body’ pick up thing (sticks on with a suction cup) but it always leaves a little mark and I am sure doesn’t sound as good as a built in pickup. It has been suggested to me that an LR Baggs pickup is a good one to get. Im a real newbie though so my knowledge and ability to differentiate between good and bad is not very good so I would love any advice or suggestions. Thanks, Carol

[Andrew]

I use the LR Baggs 5.0. It takes up a very tiny amount of real-estate. I’d highly recommend it, great pickup. I’m getting it again in my new uke!

[carollaj]

Good to hear a second recommendation for the LR Baggs. When its not plugged in, is there any change to the sound of the uke? Do you think retrofitting is better than buying a uke with one already fitted because you get to choose what pickup you get rather than stock standard issue? Oh the decisions!
Thanks, Carol

[Andrew]

No change to the uke’s tone/sound/projection. Mine wasn’t installed by Kanile’a, but was installed by Joel at HMS (the ukulele site). As long as someone with experience installs it, there’s nothing to worry about.

[carollaj]

Thanks for that!

[keiki18]

Aloha Carol
C/o https://www.theukulelesite.com/accessories/customize-your-order/pickup-installation.html to distinguish between pick-ups in tonal quality & costs.

[carollaj]

Thanks keiki18, I’ll have a look.

[Author]

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