K&K Aloha Twin for Ukulele EQ help

[beatbird]

Just installed the K&k aloha twin on my mainland tenor. I had to install in front of the bridgeplate, as there were a couple rough mounting holes on the plate and I couldn’t reach back that far.

The sound is pretty good. Was wondering what eq settings others use for the ukulele? To get a useable sound I cut the bass completely have a small amount of mids and have the treble up at half for my loudbox mini.

I have the gain set very low and the master at about half. This pickup is hot compared to any K&K in any guitar I have ever had. Any other setting seems to bring too many unwanted sounds.

I know some will suggest getting a preamp like the K&k or something else, but this is an $80 pickup in a $300 uke so I’m not looking for perfection, just a way to get a tad better sound.

[Dave Hicks]

When I record uke, I find that it has a lot of output around 400 Hz (low mids), so I often give that area a boost, and I usually do some cutting above 5000 Hz or so (high mids). I don't know if that would work for what you want, though.

D.H.

[mjh42]

I tend to boost the bass just a little bit, the mids a little less boosted than the bass, and lower the treble a smidge. I find the ukulele trebly enough.

On my Loudbox mini the gain is about 10-11 the master is at about 1

bass-mid- treble all at 12. Reverb and chorus all the way down.

I'm running the instrument through a Fishman Platinum Pro and several pedals.
Controlling through the PP for eq and most of the volume. Some tweaking of on board eq.

Playing a Godin Multiuke.

[beatbird]

Well none of y’all’s suggestions worked and I was like wtf. Called K&k. Turns out if you can’t attach the sensors to the bridgeplate and have to do a front of bridgeplate install, only use the tape when going directly to the soundboard. The superglue creates too hot of a bond if you don’t mount the sensors on the bridgeplate.

Anyway, I tried to cleanly remove the sensors…no luck, they are off but they are damaged. Going to get another set and this time make sure to go with the tape install.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by beatbird

Well none of y’all’s suggestions worked and I was like wtf. Called K&k. Turns out if you can’t attach the sensors to the bridgeplate and have to do a front of bridgeplate install, only use the tape when going directly to the soundboard. The superglue creates too hot of a bond if you don’t mount the sensors on the bridgeplate.

Anyway, I tried to cleanly remove the sensors…no luck, they are off but they are damaged. Going to get another set and this time make sure to go with the tape install.

I'm surprised you didn't follow their advice about installation that they have on the Aloha Twin page at their website. It would have saved you both time and money.

As far as EQ goes, a inexpensive preamp will effect tone significantly but I totally understand not wanting to spend money when you aren't sure of the results. If you're handy and feel like experimenting you might try the "Dozen Dollar Preamp" topic.

The only K&K I've installed in a Uke was the single disc one and it sounds pretty good, I don't normally play uke so I haven't got a lot of experience with amplification for that instrument.

I made up a wood yoke to assist with installing the transducers farther back than I could reach. The details are posted in the K&K Pure Mini Installation Tips topic here on AGF.

[beatbird]

That’s a nice tutorial. Yes in hindsight. Though it does not say specifically not to use glue if you can’t access the bridgeplate, it does recommend tape. I thought well if superglue is good for the bridgeplate then why not the soundboard. Anyway, clearly my mistake. Still working on getting the second sensor out as there isn’t much room in there. Then I will get a new set and install it correctly with tape.



Bottom line. Do not install the Aloha Twin using superglue if affixing sensors in front of the bridgeplate.

[beatbird]

Back to square one. Just picked up a Big Island One Spot, because it’s half the price and I didn’t want to pay double for my mistake.

Install was a breeze. The tone is great and running it through my orchid DI I am able to utilize the tone controls on my loudbox mini to get a much more authentic acoustic uke tone.

If you need a pickup for your uke, don’t hesitate to pick up a K&K just make sure to follow the instructions and use tape where tape is specified and glue where glue is specified.

Happy camper

[MissoulaFlood]

Same applies for a mandolin. Use double tape.

[DownUpDave]

Originally Posted by beatbird

Back to square one. Just picked up a Big Island One Spot, because it’s half the price and I didn’t want to pay double for my mistake.

Install was a breeze. The tone is great and running it through my orchid DI I am able to utilize the tone controls on my loudbox mini to get a much more authentic acoustic uke tone.

If you need a pickup for your uke, don’t hesitate to pick up a K&K just make sure to follow the instructions and use tape where tape is specified and glue where glue is specified.

Happy camper

Always love a happy ending. The ukes I've played with a SBT pick up all benefited from a DI/preamp as you have found.