PIckup for a Bouzouki? Any ideas / suggestions welcome

[Marc S]

I really must play my Bouzouki more. One of the acoustic bands I'm in would really suit the Bouzouki on a couple of songs.
My Bouzouki was fairly cheap, and didn't come with one fitted - however, although it was inexpensive, I really like it. I've played on some more expensive ones with pickup fitted... but didn't like them as much as my own.

What I really want is at least a volume control on the pickup, and I'd rather not go cutting holes in the body at this stage. I spotted a Shadow pickup that might just fit the bill
https://www.bax-shop.co.uk/guitar-pickups/shadow-sh-nfx-ac-nanoflex-acoustic-pickup-preamp-for-guitar?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=surfaces&gclid=Cj0KCQiA8t2eBhDeARIsAAVEga3-IvCfbFg42fNTPGnlPDSl26We9_TdLpBWR5ihnSahr0wHSuNGxv0aAllzEALw_wcB

has anyone on here used these on a Bouzouki or other acoustic instrument? Or if you play Bouzouki or Octave Madolin - what pickup do you use?
Cheers all

[Happy Jack]

[pete.young]

That is an under-bridge saddle pickup, so it will only work if your bouzouki has a guitar-style bridge stuck in the middle of the soundboard.

 

I have a K&K sound big twin in one of my 8-string bouzozukis  and a K&K Sound Pure Mini acoustic guitar pickup in the other. The 10-string has a custom magnetic sound hole pickup made by Almuse. None of these have volume controls. I normally use a pre-amp with the K&K Sound units. The magnetic doesn't need anything.

 

All three of them have end-pin jack sockets - you can now get these with built-in pre-amps which will tone down the piezo harshness somewhat.

 

I had a Shadow with a volume control on a banjo. In practice the volume control isn't a lot of use. You have to set it to full in order to get a decent output.

[pete.young]

Beg pardon, it is actually a twin spot rather than a big twin. The pure mini is on a guitar-bodied bouzouki with a conventional guitar bridge.

[Grahambythesea]

I do play octave mandolin, but mine has a built in piezo which I think is Artec. However a cheap an effective solution is “The Cap”, a pickup in a bottle top which applies with a sort of putty to the front of the instrument. I used one a while back and it worked well considering the price. I looked them up on the net and Hot Rox still sell them.

 

 

[Beer of the Bass]

On my cittern (mine is tuned much like an Irish style bouzouki with an additional low course), I have a JJB pickup, a two sensor model very similar to the K&K Big Twin. I installed it internally with the discs on the inside of the soundboard where each end of the saddle would be. I don't have any controls on the instrument as I use an outboard preamp, though I think they do offer a passive volume control that mounts in the soundhole.

Even with shipping from the US, the JJB pickups are very well priced and probably as good as any piezo.

Edited February 18, 2023 by Beer of the Bass

[probonopublico]

Hi Marc

 

This has been a bugbear for me for a couple of years.  Short version of the story is that I purchased a cheapish bouzouki  (which I must get round to selling) and was spurred on to get something better.  I bought an Ashbury which sounded glorious acoustically in the shop.  It has an under saddle pickup which seems to emphasise the two bass courses and thus plays havoc if we go through a PA.  If we have back line I play this through a Roland AC-40.  This is a great little amp voiced for acoustic instruments but it still cranks up the bass strings.  My solutions have been:

 

1. Bought an EQ pedal to turn down bass frequencies and up the treble.  This did not work
2. Bought a DPA 4099 guitar mic for an eye watering £450.  It clips on the body and the mic is a gooseneck over the sound hole.  The mount kept being knocked off so I bought a £30 clothes peg that fitted on the strings before the bridge.  This worked well but didn't get enough volume.  I then took the battery holder out and inserted the mic inside the instrument.  Loud but not a good result.
3. My latest and best is to use the mic and clothes peg along with the pickup  in 2 channels reducing the bass freq for the pickup.  This works ok but there is a slight sacrifice of tone.   
4. I'm now looking at an LR Baggs but like the idea of what @Beer of the Basshas so I may try that first.  Looks like they have an in line volume control

None of the above has a volume control on the instrument.  This probably won't help you but you know what cul de sacs there are.

 

@Beer of the Basswhat do you tune the lower course of your Citern to?

[Beer of the Bass]

My cittern is a 650mm/25.6" scale, similar to standard long scale on guitars. I've settled on CGDAD with unison pairs, and also spend a fair bit of time capoed at the 7th fret giving me GDAEA for melody playing. 

The JJB gives surprisingly deep bass on the low C string, actually rather more than a body that size can project acoustically. That can be useful for solo song accompaniment, but rolling off a touch of bass at the preamp gets it a little closer to the balance it has unplugged.

[pete.young]

My 10-string bouzouki is a Jimmy Moon, 640mm scale. I use either DGDAD or DADAD, capoed at 3 for F , 5 for G and 7 for A. Also in pairs, experimented with octaves but didn't like the end result.

[atsampson]

I've got a Skyinbow violin pickup in my Freshwater octave mandola - it has a small piezo sensor set into the bridge, with a tailpin jack that includes a little preamp running off a supercapacitor (you plug a battery into the jack briefly to charge it up and it lasts for a few days). This was a bit of an off-the-wall suggestion from my local guitar tech about ten years ago, but it's a very neat install and I've been really happy with the sound - it's much more like a microphone than a typical piezo pickup, and I've not had problems with feedback when playing live.

 

[Baloney Balderdash]

What you would likely want is one of those tiny flat contact microphones, and one of the good ones of them.

 

Unfortunately I don't have much knowledge as to which are crap and which are great, so can't help you nay further.

[DTB]

A few (more than a few) years ago I wanted a pickup in my Clapton Martin acoustic guitar, but didn’t want to have to drill a hole through the top under the saddle for the transducer wire, although years later I did and it was actually pre drilled slightly to mark the spot. Anyway the first pickup I had fitted was a simple passive transducer that the luthier cut to size and glued to the inside of the soundboard under the bridge. 
I’m fairly certain it was the innards of one of the bottle top pickups. It worked okay but needed a fair bit of eq ing to sound good. 
I also had a Fishman rare earth with the additional mic as my final solution, but as soon as I added enough mic into the mix to hear, it would be very prone to feedback. So I think a contact mic would be similarly feedback prone. 
The under saddle pickup was prone to piezo ‘quack’ which is why I went to the fishman. 
I think either a bottle cap pickup, or magnetic soundhole type would be your best bet. The latter had a tiny volume control. 

Edited March 10, 2023 by DTB
Bad speeling.

[Baloney Balderdash]

31 minutes ago, DTB said:

A few (more than a few) years ago I wanted a pickup in my Clapton Martin acoustic guitar, but didn’t want to have to drill a hole through the top under the saddle for the transducer wire, although years later I did and it was actually pre drilled slightly to mark the spot. Anyway the first pickup I had fitted was a simple passive transducer that the luthier cut to size and glued to the inside of the soundboard under the bridge. 
I’m fairly certain it was the innards of one of the bottle top pickups. It worked okay but needed a fair bit of eq ing to sound good. 
I also had a Fishman rare earth with the additional mic as my final solution, but as soon as I added enough mic into the mix to hear, it would be very prone to feedback. So I think a contact mic would be similarly feedback prone. 
The under saddle pickup was prone to piezo ‘quack’ which is why I went to the fishman. 
I think either a bottle cap pickup, or magnetic soundhole type would be your best bet. The later had a tiny volume control. 

Contact mics are not quite as prone to feedback as regular ones.

 

But feedback in general is an issue with acoustic instruments no matter how you chose to amplify them, some methods more so than others though.

[DTB]

https://www.instructables.com/Dirt-Cheap-Acoustic-Guitar-Pickup/

[Jeff Elkins]

I used a McIntyre Feather in my Trinity College zouk some years ago (flat, internal stick-on, strap-button jack, no controls), and had great success recording with it. https://hmmcintyrepickups.com Back then, they sold through retail outlets; now it looks like each is custom ordered from the maker. 
 

For live applications I actually preferred a mic though. 
 

Man, now I’m missing it thinking about it! I might have to poke around London for an affordable bouzouki or octave mando. 

[Marc S]

Sorry folks - I've not had chance to do anything re getting a pickup for my Bououki as yet.
I've been rather busy with DIY "stuff" - my garden fence blew down several weeks back, and I've been digging, repairing, rebuilding, concreting new posts in.... as well as work and looking after Mam.
Also, I got myself a new upright the other week - a rather lovely BSX slim bodied EUB / acoustic bass, and I've been rather distracted by that.

Funnily enough, I've just started a recording project with a Greek gent (a really decent bloke), who is the lead guitarist & studio engineer in the project. He also plays Bouzouki - so I've forewarned him I want to pick his brains in the coming weeks. I'm hoping he has some ideas & suggestions to add re a pickup. (Plus, he's a music teacher, so I'm hoping he can offer some guidance on playing techniques too)

I really wish I had more free time - cos I love the sound of the Bouzouki

[Rosie C]

I'm a bit late to this thread, but you're in South Wales as well, so I'll pitch in. I have a mandocello I wanted to play through a PA, but fitting a pickup was problematic. It has a fancy rosette glued in the sound hole which didn't help. The trapeze bridge didn't suit a pickup, and the end of the fretboard was the wrong size for a pickup. I didn't want to cut a hole in the body but in the end it gave more options, so we just went for it. The pickup is a K&K big shot pickup fitted on the inside. It's paired with a Fishman pre-amp from a guitar, cutting the holes for the pre-amp gave access to fit the pickup - I understand that involved two drumsticks and some blu-tack. 

 

Anyway, as I say I'm a bit late replying, and you did say you din't want to cut holes! But you're probably not far from me so there's always the possibility of popping along to try it.

 

[pete.young]

Anyone come across Fionn O'Hanlon before? I hadn't until this popped up in my Youtube suggestions box.

 

Every now and again, someone comes along and just raises the bar to an entirely new level.

 

 

[Marc S]

Don't think I've come across Ffion O'Hanlon before @pete.young - nice stuff  

Thanks for your reply @Rosie C - that Mandocello looks lovely too. It would have been a crime to butcher that rosette.
I'm beginning to think that I've no other options but to cut into the body of my Bouzouki, and install something like that Fishman system.

I could of course, think about cutting the wire on one of those stick-on pickups, and fit a potentiometer? 

[Rosie C]

They're not cheap, but would one of the Realist "Docking Station" volume controls help? That would at least extend the range of pickup options.

 

 

[Marc S]

1 hour ago, Rosie C said:

They're not cheap, but would one of the Realist "Docking Station" volume controls help? That would at least extend the range of pickup options.

 

 

 

As it happens, I used to own one of these - which I never used in anger, on my DB. Possibly a tad bulky for my Bouzouki.
The more I think about it, the more I'm tempted to just get a stick-on pickup and have a go at wiring in a volume control....

I'll be seeing the guys at Hobgoblin music this weekend - so a chat is in order, I think 

[pete.young]

It's just occurred to me that I used to use a volume pedal with my bouzouki. The pedal I used has a control which allows you to set a minimum volume. I'd set it to max for single string stuff and then back it off for multiple string strumming.

 

I've still got the pedal if  you want to give it a go.