Acoustic Pickups re-visited

[Dr Izza Plumber]

Don, Is that something I could install, or is "involved"?

 

[sitka_spruce]

Don, Is that something I could install, or is "involved"?

You snap the actual pickup up against the fretboard from the soundhole. We're talking a magnetic coil here. An installation of internal pre-amp probably requires slight modification.

 

[dklsplace]

More acoustic pickup threads going lately, but I'll come back to this one with some recent experience.

I suspect the body type of the guitar lends itself better to some pickups than others. I needed a guitar gig ready on short notice, so I went back to my JF-55. Have a Baggs I-Beam on the shelf so I installed it & actually played around with it's position a little. Bottom line for me is that the big jumbo rosewood body is just too much for that particular pickup. I never got the crisp sound talked about in the literature. Regardless of position on the bridge plate, it was boomy sounding & quite prone to feedback. However I think it will be just the ticket on a 000 body.

Ultimately, I went back to the Lace Acoustic Blade, but this passive pickup really does need some help. Using the Ultrasound DI Plus I achieved a nice balanced sound on stage & it greatly helped the sound guy in mixing the house. No issues with feedback whatsoever.

 

[playsvintageguilds]

I recently had K & K Pure Western Mini's installed in my D55 and one of my D50's. I play through a DOD equalizer pedal,then into a chorus pedal. I am very pleased with the sound. Really, I love the sound reproduction.At $130 each install,I think that was a good price. Anyway,there is my 2 cents worth. Thank you!

 

[Graham]

I recently had K & K Pure Western Mini's installed in my D55 and one of my D50's. I play through a DOD equalizer pedal,then into a chorus pedal. I am very pleased with the sound. Really, I love the sound reproduction.At $130 each install,I think that was a good price. Anyway,there is my 2 cents worth. Thank you!

I put a mini in my JF30 and will more than likely put one in my DV52 and GF25 and a standard in Scratch (JF30-12).

 

[k2spank]

I wouldn't record with it but a seymor duncan single coil woody is so simple and sounds great for live preformance....and it's under $50
8)

 

[eagle52]

Here is a link for you to check out. I have one of these installed in a DV-72 and another in a Martin D-41 am pleased with them. Have a small volume control hidden just inside and under top portion of sound hole.
http://www.lrbaggs.com/html/products/sy ... stem.shtml

If you like sound hole removeable do an Ebay search on the latest Rare Earth pickups

good luck

 

[count savage]

Here is Richard Thompson's Acoustic Set-up Onstage:

"The main stage guitar has a Sunrise magnetic soundhole pickup, and a Countryman Isomax Condenser Mic in the soundhole. These both run through a 2 channel Gas Cooker Pre-Amp, made by Ridge Farm Studios. The Sunrise also goes through optional effects - a Line 6 Delay Modeller and a UniVibe rotary effect (Dan Armstrong?). From there into the P.A."

 

[gilded]

To me, it's a whole lot easier to get a good sound out of a 'real electric' guitar (solidbody) and amp than with an acoustic/elec setup.

There are so many different event or 'sound' levels when playing live acoustic/elec music:
one person guitar/voice,
two people guitar/voice(s) or guitar/bass/voice(s) or guitar/other voice(s),
acoustic-only band,
acoustic and 'real electric' music,
small room,
medium room,
big room,
small outside event, medium, large
with an 'acoustic' amp
without an 'acoustic' amp
with a PA
without a PA
with a dedicated sound man
without a dedicated sound man

Having said that, I like Sunrise pickups a lot, if only because I can run one through the same amp that I use for my Strat!
The only thing I don't like about a Sunrise, is that if you are using it with a small guitar, the weight of the pickup will dampen
the top too much. Of course, the 'damping effect' will help control feedback, too.

Sunrise pickups have been around for a long time, and I think a lot of sound guys are used to them.
That's it, that's all I got, you kids take it from here......

 

[fungusyoung]

I recently had K & K Pure Western Mini's installed in my D55 and one of my D50's. I play through a DOD equalizer pedal,then into a chorus pedal. I am very pleased with the sound. Really, I love the sound reproduction.At $130 each install,I think that was a good price. Anyway,there is my 2 cents worth. Thank you!

I put a mini in my JF30 and will more than likely put one in my DV52 and GF25 and a standard in Scratch (JF30-12).

K&K Pure Westerns are fabulous. I'm constantly blown away by them... it's such a natural and woody reproduction of your guitar's unplugged sound. No quack at all. I have standard versions in my Martin 000-15 and F112, and I have minis in a D17 and DV6. I'm also having one installed in my DV52 when I get the bridge repaired... there's nothing wrong with the Fishman Matrix in there now, but the K&K's are just that good/reliable... haven't used 'em in loud volume/band situations, but it's great for solo acoustic, acoustic duos, or acoustic & drums, etc.

 

[playsvintageguilds]

Well,"gilded" raised an interesting point with..."There are so many different event or 'sound' levels when playing live acoustic/elec music"...with regards to a dedicated sound person,someone oftentimes overlooked and un-rewarded.Find a good one and keep 'em well fed,so to speak.

I've been using my K&K Pure Western mini's now for about a month and I like what they do for my Guilds more everytime I play.

Best regards

 

[dklsplace]

I've just installed a Bartolini 3A V in a Blueridge BR-343. Used live a couple times with the Ultra Sound DI Plus & it's a fantastic sounding set up! My only real issue is that the mounts aren't particularly pretty, but it gives you height & tilt adjustment.

 

[Scratch]

Ya'll made me a K&K Pure Western believer. I love the natural sound I get from the F212CNT with the K&K Standard. I'm planning to install another K&K standard in the G312 and a K&K mini in the Martin D35...

 

[Guildmark]

I'm planning to install another K&K standard in the G312.

I'll follow that one with keen interest, Ken. I'm beginning to believe it's time to replace the original Hot Dots in mine.

 

[eagle52]

Has anyone ever used one on the new Fishman Rare Earth sound hole P/U? There is one out now that is a combo humbucker and mic and has a blend adjust wheel. I think they are kind of expensive around $300 maybe. You don't have to drill any holes anywhere unless you mount the endpin jack.

 

[bighouse]

I've been following this thread with interest, embarked as I am, like many others here, on the journey to find satisfying amplified acoustic sound, if that's not an oxymoron to begin with.

I had kind of settled on K&K's in my D25 and Lowden 010, thinking that they are very good value for the money - decent sound, relatively inexpensive, and fairly easy to self-install. But feedback has been an issue, as most of my playing is with others and one semi-regular gig is in a very lively, noisey room. So I recently put a DTAR Wavelength into my D25 - it's a different sound than the K&K, for sure, and in a "band" situation I think the sound is acceptable - not true acoustic, but certainly acceptable and completely functional.

I have just this week received a Seymour Duncan magmic that I'm going to put into my Lowden. Its the guitar I play out most and it is also has a very sensitive and lively top, so I'm frequently suppressing feedback (palm muting the A string in particular). I've only played it for about 15 minutes so far but my first impressions are favorable. It is a magnetic sound, certainly, but much less so, to my ear, than both the Baggs M-1 and the Fishman Rare Earth humbucker (both of which I have owned and sold). The ability to mix in the mic to suit does add some "air," as "they" say, and I'm looking forward to using it live next Friday. It also has two adjustable poles per string, so plenty of ability to control string balance. I would characterize its sound as somewhere (satisfyingly) between the M-1/ RE, and the Sunrise. Less chimey than the Sunrise I think.

So I'm going off the K&Ks, tho I've left them installed in case I want to use them again. The magmic is the most expensive pickup I've bought ($228) but I'm beginning to appreciate that, to a certain extent and like many things, you get what you pay for in the pickup world. I was recently reading about the Trance Audio Lens systems, around $500, used by Jackson Browne, which are based on the old FRAP pups that Neil Young used/uses. His amplified acoustic has probably been the gold standard for my ear. As mom would say: It's something nice to think about.

best,

Bill

 

[drive-south]

I have Fishman Matrix pickups in several acoustics. They aren't perfect, but they have their advantages. I find that feedback is rarely a problem even at fairly high levels.

I bought a Gibson Advanced Jumbo a few years back and wanted to add a pickup to it, however the bridge saddle is cut all the way through the bridge thereby making it a poor candidate for a UST. I decided to try a K&K pure western mini pickup on this guitar. I had it installed by a pro and have been totally undewhelmed by it. It produces way too much mid-range and will feed back at moderate levels. I've tried taming it with the mixer channel. When that didn't work, I tried running it through an Ultrasound PDI. Still not thrilled, I decided invest in the K&K XLR preamp (what's another $150?). After all is said and done, I don't like the pickup or the preamp and I'm not happy I modified my prized Advanced Jumbo with this turkey.

I'm still looking for the perfect pickup and I haven't found it yet. I think we'll be on this journey for several more years until someone develops a better system.

I'm starting to think the guys that are still using condensor mics may have been right all along.

drive-south

 

[chazzan]

On many of these acoustic guitar pickup threads I see a common theme- some people like a certain kind of pickup like the K&K- but there are a few that don't- some feel that a UST kills some tone- others swear there is no difference.

I think it boils down to what brand and type of guitar you have, AND how you will be using the pickup. Gibsons are kind of "thuddy" guitars (no offense Gibson fans- I've owned a few, just my 2 cents) They would probable sound bad with the K&K and do better with a UST or brighter pickup- a guitar with a sensitive dynamic top is more sensitive to having a UST beneath the saddle effect tone- than a differently built guitar.

I am putting the K&K in my F-20 a smaller guitar, so I hope I don't get a lot of boomieness- that may happen in a larger guitar with that type of pickup-if I was playing with a full band at reasonable size clubs-like I used to, then buy the UST- for this situation it is the best.

Still I like to hear everyones opinion- it is of help to me in deciding which pickup to choose, AND since this is a Guild site- it's nice to know what matches in particular with Guild guitars and their particular design.

 

[West R Lee]

I've sort of been considering a different pickup for the DV72. It's got a Fishman U/S, but sometimes doesn't sound consistent from string to string. You guys think this is the ticket ha?

http://www.kksound.com/purewestern.html

West

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

I've sort of been considering a different pickup for the DV72. It's got a Fishman U/S, but sometimes doesn't sound consistent from string to string. You guys think this is the ticket ha?

http://www.kksound.com/purewestern.html

West

http://littlebrother.nlpd.com/Clay-UST/index.htm

This works amazingly well, and I've performed it on many UST-equipted guitars, including my all of my own.

Be happy to send you a little of the clay used, too.