Members Crustee Posted September 9, 2011 Members Share Posted September 9, 2011 My Rainsong has the Fishman pre which sounds really good, but I have a crappy old Ibanez acoustic from the 80's that has a Rare Earth in it that is the most natural sounding pickup I've ever heard. Absolutely breathtaking! I hear the K&K stuff sounds awesome as well. A buddy has a Taylor with one installed and it does sound nice, but I haven't heard anything yet that trumps this Rare Earth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members saturn1 Posted September 9, 2011 Members Share Posted September 9, 2011 I have an OM style with koa back and sides, spruce top that was built by a luthier. I love how the guitar plays and sounds but I didn't use it for performance because it didn't have electronics. Finally, I had an LR Baggs Anthem system put in. The Anthem has an undersaddle pickup and a microphone that sits under the bridgeplate. It has a knob for adjusting the blend between the two pickups. I have it virtually permanently set to the full mic setting (Although this still mixes in low frequencies from the undersaddle). I find that it sounds just like the guitar does when miked traditionally. It has ringing highs and the right amount of bass, it just sounds 'acoustic.' I have never had any feedback problems from the mic either. Our vocal mic's will feedback well before the guitar does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crustee Posted September 9, 2011 Author Members Share Posted September 9, 2011 interesting. the condenser styles usually feedback like crazy.sounds like you got lucky with that one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RupertB Posted September 9, 2011 Members Share Posted September 9, 2011 Sort of a pet-peeve of mine: Walking into a bar or restaurant where someone is playing guitar and immediately thinking "cheap transducer." That thin sound that squashes in a nasty way if you hit it too hard. It is my nails/chalkboard. I've tried a bunch of different types & brands but have gotten good results with the Baggs Element Notch system on my Larrivee. I have a Rare Earth Magnetic Single in my 12 string. It sounds pretty good. I've considered upgrading but the volume at most of my gigs makes a soundboard or internal mic/dual source pickup problematic. Thing is, you don't have to shell out a lot of money to fix this problem. My duo partner has tried a bunch of different guitars, some expensive and some not. He wound up putting a couple of dual-source transducers (both Baggs IIRC) on two of his tried-and true old acoustics, neither of which were over $500 at retail. He gets to play guitars he is comfortable with, that suit his style and they sound terrific. Just like electrics, budget-priced acoustic guitar builders cut corners on the electronics. Most often, it is the weakest link in your rig and where you'll get the biggest bang for the buck on an upgrade. My .02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crustee Posted September 9, 2011 Author Members Share Posted September 9, 2011 Sort of a pet-peeve of mine: Walking into a bar or restaurant where someone is playing guitar and immediately thinking "cheap transducer." That thin sound that squashes in a nasty way if you hit it too hard. It is my nails/chalkboard. My .02 Keller Williams always gets that sound, and as great a guitarist as he is, I can barely stand to listen because of it. [video=youtube;PAI3QgssxKA] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Howie22 Posted September 9, 2011 Members Share Posted September 9, 2011 Like Rupert, I can't stand to walk into a bar and hear a guitar with a cheap UST installed. Drives me crazy - they sound awful. I'm a big believer in K&K. Very acoustic sounding. I have the Pure + Pre-Phase installed in two guitars now, and will soon be putting it in a third. I plug it straight into the mixer. Over the years, I've received a lot of comments about how good the guitar sounds. Playing as a solo or duo, I've never really had feedback problems. When I first got it, I used one of those soundhole plugs. One night, I left it at home, and had no issues. Hasn't been in my guitar since. I've heard some people using the I-Beam, which I thought sounded phenomenal. However, I decided against it after reading how temperamental and difficult to install they can be. They are also apparently prone to feedback. Check out the K&K systems. They are nice, and easy to install yourself. If you want to drop the extra $$$, they even make versions with internal mics and USTs that can all be blended. I've yet to hear the Anthem. As mentioned, I'm a little scared of how prone it would be to feedback? I've found most of the internal mic systems to sound kind of "woofy." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members roamingbard13 Posted September 10, 2011 Members Share Posted September 10, 2011 I have a K&K pure western system made by JJB electronics called the Prestige 330. Less than half the cost. To complete my knock off rig, I have a Behringer ADI 21 preamp. For about $80, it beats any UST system in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members richardmac Posted September 10, 2011 Members Share Posted September 10, 2011 I put an LR Baggs into my Larrivee and it sounds awesome IMHO. And the 9 volt battery lasts forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Voltan Posted September 10, 2011 Members Share Posted September 10, 2011 i'm running an LR Baggs active I beam in my washburn and could not be happier...feedback? oh yeah! controllable feedback! beautiful harmonics and every nuance is captured... guitar is a spalted maple 125th anniversary dread running through a fishman aura spectrum into a fender acoustasonic sfxII... 2nd guitar is a breedlove with a fishman classic IV system... love them both for completely different reasons... part of the trick to the Baggs Ibeam is placement... it's got to be perfect and it takes a bit of time to get it right... and secondly i had my mechanic set it up and install the thing and he guaranteed me that even i wouldnt knock it loose... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members YeahDoIt Posted September 10, 2011 Members Share Posted September 10, 2011 Some months ago I purchased an inexpensive used acoustic guitar with a single coil sound hole pickup. I am impressed by the quality of the sound, how much it sounds like an acoustic guitar when amplified. This is the first recording that I made of the guitar: http://picosong.com/SVj The picture is a little distorted because of the camera angle, the guitar has the typical shape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pine Apple Slim Posted September 11, 2011 Members Share Posted September 11, 2011 I have a Baggs M1 Active soundhole in my R07 (Recording King 000).Great pickup! Just put a Baggs element in my uke, with a rechargable MiSi endpin preamp.Best sound I've ever gotten from an undersaddle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueStrat Posted September 11, 2011 Members Share Posted September 11, 2011 Baggs ribbon transducer in my Takamine bridge. Sounds great, works great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chip Stewart Posted September 11, 2011 Members Share Posted September 11, 2011 Sort of a pet-peeve of mine: Walking into a bar or restaurant where someone is playing guitar and immediately thinking "cheap transducer." That thin sound that squashes in a nasty way if you hit it too hard. It is my nails/chalkboard. My Yamaha APX5A had a bit of that sound when I ran it straight into the mixing board. Since I started running it through a passive DI, it sounds much better. I'm not sure why. Someone once told me it had to do with something about high frequency harmonics, but don't ask me to explain it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stunningbabe Posted September 30, 2011 Members Share Posted September 30, 2011 My Yamaha APX5A had a bit of that sound when I ran it straight into the mixing board. Since I started running it through a passive DI, it sounds much better. I'm not sure why. Someone once told me it had to do with something about high frequency harmonics, but don't ask me to explain it. Your piezo fitted Guitar has high impedance. By using a DI, 1it lowers the impedance to produce a more useable and 'rounder' tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Howie22 Posted September 30, 2011 Members Share Posted September 30, 2011 I'm about to put a pickup into a third guitar. I've been assuming I would put in a K&K, but I'm kinda itching for something different. I REALLY want to try an I-Beam, but the placement/feedback issues do kind of scare me. I'm looking into the I-Mix, as I'd like to have a guitar with a dual source system so I could play with a band if I so choose (wouldn't really work with the K&K or I-Beam alone without feedback). I've seen that you can custom order a version of the I-Mix that comes with an I-Beam and M1 instead of the standard I-Beam and Element. I've also been looking into the BBand A2.2. So many choices. I don't know what to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Telecruiser Posted September 30, 2011 Members Share Posted September 30, 2011 Anybody know anything about these? At $599 it is a little steep for my budget. [video=youtube;ixdv3mE98j8] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RupertB Posted September 30, 2011 Members Share Posted September 30, 2011 Thing is, you don't have to shell out a lot of money to fix this problem. My duo partner has tried a bunch of different guitars, some expensive and some not. He wound up putting a couple of dual-source transducers (both Baggs IIRC) on two of his tried-and true old acoustics, neither of which were over $500 at retail. He gets to play guitars he is comfortable with, that suit his style and they sound terrific. Turns out I did not recall correctly. They're both Fishman Ellipse Matrix Blend dual-source pickups. Great upper & lower extension, no piezo "squash" (and he hits 'em hard). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Micky Z Posted September 30, 2011 Members Share Posted September 30, 2011 I REALLY want to try an I-Beam, but the placement/feedback issues do kind of scare me. I'm looking into the I-Mix, as I'd like to have a guitar with a dual source system so I could play with a band if I so choose (wouldn't really work with the K&K or I-Beam alone without feedback). I have the standard iMix in both my Olsen and Brazilian Taylor GS, and love the sound I get. I mostly mix the two pickups at about 95% iBeam and 5% Element, and get a full round tone with full bottom, but if I need less bottom and more mids I mix in more of the Element pickup. I value that versatility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted September 30, 2011 Members Share Posted September 30, 2011 I use a 2-way system made up of a carefully placed JJB soundboard transducer and a UST, mixed 50/50, run passively into a Baggs Paracoustic DI...if installed correctly, this set-up gives a great tone, but it takes a little tweaking until you determine the exact spot for the SBT on the bridge plate. Basically, the two transducers reinforce one another, by correcting each other's faults...worth the trouble getting everything balanced, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Howie22 Posted September 30, 2011 Members Share Posted September 30, 2011 K&K makes a similar mic system for about half that cost. Haven't used it, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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