Newbie with DV6 in need of pup

[Guest]

I am new here at LTG and very happy to be here.

I just recently purchased a DV6 from a local music store. Absolutely love the guitar, one of the best guitars I've ever played. I have owned Taylor and Martin guitars and I think this Guild surpasses them both in tone and playability.

My situation is that I play in Church and need to be plugged in, so I'm having a Pickup installed.
A Martin thinline was recommended and after doing some research I decided to go with a Martin Thinline Gold Plus 332 Pup.
Then I found this forum and noticed a lot of talk about K&K and some other pups but nothing a bout Martin pups, so I'm a little concerned.

I'm having the pup installed this week and could really use some good advise.

Thanks!

 

[cjd-player]

Hello FCC.

Welcome to the forum. Congrats on the guitar.

You'll get lots of advise here, but as to whether it will be good ... there are lots of characters here among the inmates :wink: .

Yea, lots of folks, including myself, like the K&K pickups better than under-saddle pickups, such as the Martin Thin-line. To my (our) ears, the K&K's give a more "realistic" acoustic tone when amplified compared to an under-saddle. But that is also effected by your whole amplification chain as well: preamp, power amp, etc.

The K&K's can be more prone to feedback on a stage situation. So depending upon your stage set up, monitor volumes, etc., you may be better off with the under-saddle with respect to feedback issues. I've used both types on our church stage, both solo and in a full band situation, and never had any feedback issues.

I think the fact that there are so many acoustic pickups on the market, and the fact that they are constantly being "improved" illusrtrates the difficulty in amplifying an acoustic guitar. Any amplification colors the sound compared to the actual acoustic tone. Under-saddle pickups have a unique tone. Once you become familiar with it, you can instantly recognize the tone at live and television performances, and even on some recordings. But other pickups have unique tones as well. I think its just a matter of what type of amplified tone you are looking for.

I'm sure the Martin under-saddle pickups are fine; I would not lose any sleep over your choice. I would use it for a while and see if you run into any issues. If you become unsatisfied with the under-saddle tone, you can always replace it with something else later. As I'm sure you have seen, there are lots of options.

 

[Metalman]

Welcome to the Forum! You will find a lot of opinions here, on a wide variety of issues concerning our Guilds, and how to make them heard over the fray!

I echo cjdplayer's comments. I might add my own. I have been involved with our worship band here at Gateway Cathedral in Staten Island, as a guitar player and as a sound engineer. Yes, I have defected back and forth many times . . .

Volume is an issue, especially on stage, where you are competing with drums, bass, piano, and vocals. The under saddle transducer (UST), seems to work best for fighting feedback. Few people I talk to really like those pickups, largely because of their shrill and quacky sound.

Anther choice is either a LRBaggs M-1, which is a magnetic pickup, with another coil underneath its carriage that picks up body sensations (not yours . . .the guitar! Ahem . . .). That lends itself to more volume before feedback, and a more natural sound from a magnetic pickup.

I did say "either" didn't I . . The other one I was referring to was a Fishman Rare Earth Blend. Has a magnetic pickup coupled with a gooseneck microphone, and a mounted dial to mix the two. This is what I use, and in loud situations, I use mostly the setting that favors the magnetic pickup.

That system, as well as the LR Baggs M-1, just needs a little E.Q. to tweak out some of the mids. Even if you don't have an EQ, or know how to use one, that pickup combination will sound the best in a live band situation.

What you want to do is to cut through the mix, and make your guitar be heard. You don't want to draw attention to yourself through feedback, but just the music from your instrument.

 

[plaidseason]

It's been my experience that with undersaddle pickups (a Fishman is what I use) it's all about the pre-amp, something like a Fishman Pro-EQ Platinum will really shape the sound and get rid of unwanted quack.

I've heard really great things about the D-TAR products as well.