Can the uglyface be misbiased?? Weird gating.

[octafish]

I decided to dig this out of the cupboard, de-bug it, and stick it in an enclosure. I fould a blob of solder shorting two veroboard rails and now it works as an oscillator, a loud oscillator. My guitar and amp are in a friends garage, so I thought i'd give it a try out with an old hifi amp and my electro-uke (ukulale with a piezo). I recently modded this with a built in buffer I found here //scotthelmke.com/Mint-box-buffer.html. No dice. Then I plugged a keyboard into the uglyface and found the signal coming through like you would expect, only the volume on the keyboard had to be all the way up. This signal is jacked straight out from the speaker leads and is probably about 1/2 watt into 8 ohms.

Why wouldn't the uglyface work with my ukulale?

BTW the uke with buffer plugged into the hifi amp works fine. Also this the 386 version of the ugly face with a lm386, TLC555, and homemade vactrol.

[octafish]

Found a broken wire, on the threshhold pot. I feel like a prat. Delete the thread please.

Please.

Playing a ukulele through an uglyface is a surreal experience.

Just had a break and played Hawaiian Cowboy, I think the cat is hiding in the cupboard.

[petemoore]

"Tim's Ugly Face...Too Funny"...I saw this quote when searching for Circuit Snippets recently...
  "The 'ol broken wire on the T pot"..just doesn't boil over right without that, does it ?

[bwanasonic]

Found a broken wire, on the threshhold pot. I feel like a prat. Delete the thread please.

Please.

Playing a ukulele through an uglyface is a surreal experience.

Just had a break and played Hawaiian Cowboy, I think the cat is hiding in the cupboard.

Don't delete the thread! I never would have read about ukulele thru an uglyface! We demand soundclips! You can't just tease us like that!  :lol:
Are you the uke player who has a whole bunch of uke covers on your website? I remember listening to a great version a Black Sabbath tune, as well as some other great stuff.

Kerry M

[octafish]

Samples aren't likely anytime soon, sorry not set up for it.
I'm not exactly a uke player I just happen to have one lying around with a piezo pickup. Its just a toy/thrift shop purchase with "proper ukulele strings" replacing the fishing wire it had before. I had it for a couple of years and then last month I added a simple transducer made from a piezo tweeter out of my broken boombox.
As to what it sounds like through an uglyface... There isn't much ukulele left. Squealy microphonic feedback keeps creeping in cause my cords are only 2m long.
Its mostly the type of music the uke makes you play that makes it so weird. You've got to play cheesy rags and Hawaiian folk songs. Its kinda fun to strum some Tiny Tim then step on the switch and blast a little power chord riff from something like "Weep Woman Weep".
Buy one they are cheap and fun. As one of my friends has said "Ukulele, its like playing bass.. but little"

[Dan N]

I'd like to know how you made a piezzo tweeter into a pickup.

[octafish]

http://web.mit.edu/kumpf/www/Acoustics/main.html
I think they could probably use some caps, the output is a little trebley. You can buy the buzzers at electro parts stores and smash the plastic.

If you can buy them, buy piezos labled piezo transducers. These have a better frequency range I believe. Jaycar in Oz have these. Have fun.

BTW these are really sensitive contact mics. I have attatched them to carboard boxes(drums), bicycles, and my shower curtain with success.