My D-40 Sound hole too small for pickup?
- Thread starter krugjr
- Start date
fretless
Member
my M1s and M1A pickups fit in all my Guilds except for my 1971 D50. My understanding talking to the helpful people at Baggs, is that unlike the way you can just loosen it and angle it to fit "standard" sound holes, you have to fully disassemble it to install it on the smaller ones. It's not that big a deal if you plan to leave it in place, but is a pain if you plan to take it out regularly. It's also a lot easier with the strings off.
If you opt out of the M1s, and don't want to spend a fortune, my first choice is K&K, with the Baggs Anthem SL system being a close second or possibly even a tie
If you opt out of the M1s, and don't want to spend a fortune, my first choice is K&K, with the Baggs Anthem SL system being a close second or possibly even a tie
fretless.....my thoughts exactly, I'm getting close to driving 145 mi up to Bozeman (the Gibson factory) and having them put in the K&K pure mini.....if I choose to spend more, and only if the sound warrants it, they have guitars set up with K&K under the saddle and DiMarzio sound hole pickups like the Angel and Black Angel...they are on my short list too...I can demo them and decide based on my aggressive rhythm style.....every acoustic I've played since the 70s has had electronics standard...this is very new and different for me with this D-40....couple times I've thought maybe sell my D-40 and when one comes along with the D-TAR in it (which I like quite a bit) , grab it ....but I'll tell ya, the sound of this D-40 is pretty special and you don't always know what the next one will sound like or how it will play....so I believe I'll follow the good advice of my LTG friends, throw a pickup in this one, and at least I know what I have.....................a gem!
jcwu
Senior Member
On both my DV52 and JV52, I have the K&K pure mini along with a Takamine Tri-Ax in the soundhole, which is a black version of the Baggs M1, which looks very similar to the DiMarzio Angel. I have the two pickups wired to a stereo endpin, and use a Ultrasound DI Max to dial in each pickup. I use the K&K for the main sound (it's very woody), and use the Tri-Ax to bring in a little bit of treble/zing and percussive low-end. The combination sounds quite nice to me, and I play mostly rhythm and pound my guitars pretty hard.
Just a data point for you, since you were considering that combination of pickups.
jcwu.....always good getting advice from someone who plays a lot of rhythm.....bet those 52s have a beautiful rhythm sound.....I do like the idea of combining the two pickups, not only for the sound like you're getting, but those two pickups don't need major installation.....easy on the guitars, and the sound hole pickup can always be used in another guitar.....
krugjr - I bought it new in 2014. I haven't given much thought to the under saddle vs. multiple source. If I had to make a choice today, I would pick the under saddle. From the installation instruction, it appears less invasive.
I have a D40C build in 1979. I would probably amplify that guitar first, with the under saddle model.
The BG model produces enough volume and projects well enough to play with typical bluegrass instruments.
I use the cutaway model more for blues. I might want some help being heard over drums, keyboard, electric bass (etc.). Currently, I don't have the need.
I have a D40C build in 1979. I would probably amplify that guitar first, with the under saddle model.
The BG model produces enough volume and projects well enough to play with typical bluegrass instruments.
I use the cutaway model more for blues. I might want some help being heard over drums, keyboard, electric bass (etc.). Currently, I don't have the need.
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