Best Ukulele Pickup Reviews in 2024: Top 6 Models

As a player, you have unquestionably affection for your ukulele. Do you want to connect it to an amplifier to relish your music to a larger audience? If so, using the best ukulele pickup will become a better idea.

While there is nothing complicated about pickups, it is wise to be well-informed before purchasing.

When we think of an electric ukulele, we might consider an acoustic ukulele, including an installed pickup and an optional onboard preamp system.

So that being said, the ukulele pickup, an accessory, allows you to plug your instrument into an exterior sound source to make it sound much louder than using public address (PA) speakers or amp speakers.

It comes with a pre-installed preamp panel to utilize with every exterior device. It lets you control additional volume and melody.

This Piezo passive pickup has come for bridge mounting and features a dedicated ⅛-inch to ¼-inch TS cable with a ⅛-inch female TS jack.

This model has a wooden sensor casing and is too easy to set up. You don’t need to drill it and can separate it easily.

The only change you need to make is to glide it over the tie block and retighten the strings so it fits all ukuleles with tie blocks.

All these mounting features get even more impressive when you hear how natural the tone sounds when plugged into an amp or preamp.

This KNA UK-1 strikes a nice balance between a simple setup system and fantastic sound. Irrespective of its scale, it will work on every ukulele. It looks too natural and unobtrusive on any model.

While this little gadget might appear exceptionally cheap, its job does well. If you need the best clip-on ukulele pickup, simple to operate and use, it’ll fulfill your needs.

The superior characteristic of this GOSONO pickup arguably makes it veritable that you can use it with any other string instrument, regardless of innate tonal qualities or size, etc. Literal vibrations are received through contact rather than through air.

It’s straightforward to set up and remove. So you won’t require professional help. Besides, it is free from drilling for the ukulele. GOSONO has introduced it to be put in the soundhole and optimized to catch your natural sound by reducing background noise.

Clip-on pickups may not be the best solution, but these become ideal for a low budget.

While the Fishman Matrix Infinity VT features a passive under-saddle transducer pickup, you might actuate it with an additional accessory. So we recommend you purchase it.

Working alongside a ukulele pickup system, the Powerjack Active Endpin Jack Preamp offers the best active and passive pickup solution, two pieces of equipment built to work with one another.

So, nothing is left out. Technical flaws, such as between different technology brands, might impede relationships.

The price concern is also the real thing here. That’s because Fishman is aimed at professional musicians seasoned with ukulele pickups and looking to take their skills to a higher level.

It would likely apply to players performing their music on the road. They require a ukulele pickup system that is dependable for a long without any hassle.

This Aloha Twin pickup is from K&K’s award-winning Pure Model and is acoustic. Anyway, it provides a double-sensor system instead of a triple.

The rest of the parts remain too much the same, except for the straight female jack and a pretty minimalistic design, making it very easy to set up. Due to being a passive pickup, it has no onboard controls and requires no batteries.

This double-sensor pickup also features nice because if you’re using a strap, you can utilize a plastic jack strap adapter into the endpin jack when not using the amp. Also, you require no drill a 2nd hole for a strap button.

If you already have a guitar preamp that you prefer and use frequently, opting for a passive pickup for your uke can save you a lot of money.

This Ukulele Pickup features a premium under-saddle pickup constructed with a completely minimalist design approach that makes it easy for musicians to install.

It contains an incredibly lightweight and minimal modification to your ukulele. Plus, you’ll even be able to mount the volume control inside the soundhole.

Speaking of sound, it is avaiable with a mini endpin preamp, specially tuned to capture accurate frequency response and natural dynamics.

The cable from the pickup to the battery is too long. Therefore, it would also be compatible with a soprano or baritone. Moreover, its battery charge capacity remains more than 300 working hours.

We haven’t listened to any complaints from people who utilize this pickup. It works as per the manufacturer’s description. One notable thing is that some customers have been able to set it up without going to a music store.

This KNA AP-1 characterizes a passive piezo pickup that doesn’t require drilling into your instrument. It needs to be mounted on a tonewood top and covered with a beautiful wood casing, protecting this best piezo ukulele pickup from unexpected background sound.

Best of all, it is not only proper for ukuleles and other stringed instruments but functions well for Cajon instruments.

This model works according to the manufacturer’s description. Indeed, you’ll find it pretty cheap and pretty responsive for the sound it makes.

Maybe it is not available at the cheapest, but cheap ones would be low-quality ones that would be natural. According to customers, the customer support of this brand is helpful and responsive. Therefore, it will support in case of any unwanted manufacturing defects.

Nowadays, most acoustic instrument pickups come from piezo crystals. Indeed, the magnetic pickups found in electric guitars require steel strings to fret the magnetic field and generate an electrical signal.

Except for piezo magnets, piezos convert sound vibrations upright into electrical signals. It becomes more suitable for nylon-wire instruments.

While the technology is the same, the piezo pickup implementation may alter slightly.

These types rely on a ribbon-like transducer to pick up the resonances your instrument makes as you play. The Piezo crystals inside the pickup transform the vibrations into a signal, go through the preamp, and into the amplifier, outputting these vibrations from your instrument as amplified music.

It is the best of all available ukulele pickup types. This type produces the purest tones and does not have output feedback.

Simply put, soundboard transducers are technically similar to piezo pickups, built to fit into the underside of a soundboard. They are suitable for the ukulele containing fixed bridge saddles. Indeed, these are the best pickup options for this style of ukulele.

They are feedback-prone and prone to pick up other sounds like your instrument sound brushing against your body. It’s not true for all soundboard transducers but for equally expensive ones. But remember that it is a fact.

As the name implies, microphone pickups use a small microphone inserted into the ukulele and plugged directly into the amp. These pickups are too cheap and easy to use but have one major drawback that makes them far less wanted than their piezo cousins.

They are reaction-prone and can hurt your performance. Of course, the choice is yours, but we think you’ll be too happy with a Piezo pickup.

When you hear a note, the pickup converts the sound into an electrical signal, traveling to the speaker at the speed of light.

Everything between the pickup and the speakers can be considered electronics, but what interests us is what happens between the pickup and the endpin jack.

You can read more about active vs. passive pickup.

An active ukulele pickup has an internally powered preamp built into the pickup electronics. This preamp balances and amplifies the signal, sending “a finished product” to whatever you plug into.

Many players feel that the biggest drawback of active pickups is that they contain a low dynamic range and are sometimes characterized as producing “cold” tones.

Passive Pickups were the first pickups used in electric guitars. As the way the sound is transmitted, these are known as the raw signal at the output jack.

Because of the signal conditions, you always want to use a preamp with a built-in preamp or a guitar amplifier with a passive pickup. Remember that if you desire passive, you need to have a preamp.

You’ll enjoy many advantages, especially when pairing it with a good preamp and speaker passive pickup. They have an immense dynamic range and tend to run warmer than their active counterparts.

Since many types of pickups are getable, we will talk about the installation of one of the most complex – the Undersaddle active pickup.

• First, transfer all the strings from your instrument and use a bit to file the bridge slot to correct the pickup. Use tape to protect the finish around the bridge slot.
• Then, make a template of the bottom of the preamp on a piece of cardboard and temporarily affix it to where the preamp is to be installed. Identify the tape outline and use the drill to cut out the inside shape. Then, create a file to match the shape below the preamp. Keep the prompt before finishing so you don’t file it too much.
• You can split your cut piece of wood into four pieces and fortify where you will install the preamp screws. Sand it and affix it with glue under the surface of the body.
• Now, punch the hole in the back of the ukulele to provide the female jackhole. We’d recommend putting it slightly under from the center so your ukulele cable doesn’t interfere with your strumming hand.
• Use solder and screwdriver to install and tighten the female jack. Next, drill a small hole in the top of the bridge to install the piezo pickup. First, check if the hole is enlarged. After that, drag the pickup inside the soundhole and through your bridge hole. Once it moves through the entire bridge section, secure it in place with tape.
• Once it is set with the change, you can remove the tape from the body.

Hopefully, your investment in shopping for the best ukulele pickups will become successful in your ukulele career. Remember that we have reviewed several pickups, so you will choose the one that fits your needs.

Read also:

• Best Uke Pick
• Top Uke Capo
• Best Case for Uke