Acoustic Pickups???

[souldonor]

Ok, I have been a giggin' musician for a number of years. Every guitar that I have ever played out has come with a pickup in it. I have owned many over the years.

 

I now come to my dilemma.

 

I now have the most awesome guit-fiddle I have ever had. A Gibson J-50, it was made in 1970. It was a factory second and somebody changed the tuners, so it is not a collector. It is however a player. It sounds like Butter. Nice Action, and it booms and resonates like no other guitar I have ever had. I could go on and on, I have owned many Martins, Takamine, Eggle, Santa Cruz, Taylors, Guild, Fender, Alvarez, Washburn, Ovation, Ibanez, Epiphone, other Gibsons. Never have I had an acoustic sing like this one.

 

It didn't come with a pickup. I bought one of the Dean Markley wooden in hole deals. It is ok, but doesn't reflect the guitar at all. My question is...

 

What kind of pickup should I get in it.

If money is not the issue, I will wait til I can afford the best.

 

I am concerned with battery life. I don't play the Martin with the Aura preamp, because it is a battery hog. I play six to 8 gigs a week and I have to change the battery about every 5 days. Other guitars I have owned the battery would last for Months with the same usage.

 

I don't want to cut a hole in the guitar either. I don't mind minor stuff but the controls need to be in the soundhole.

 

I kind of like the Fishman with the under saddle and the mic. but I have not idea what to do.

 

Please help. I am going nuts here. I have already started embezzling...er I mean diverting funds to get a pickup but want to get the right one.

 

FEEDBACK? HELP?

[Greymuzzle]

I would respectfully suggest a K&K pure western mini. No cutting, no drilling and a great sound of your guitar.

 

Yes it is passive but I've never had a problem with volume.

 

fwiw imho ymmv etc

[revive]

If money is not an object, and if you want a pickup that sounds good in both low-volume and loud environments, with good battery life... then I'd recommend the LR Baggs Anthem.

 

If you're interested, just email me. I'll be happy to give you a good deal.

[Seorie]

yeah, gigging with acoustics I've tried many configurations, here's what I now use.

On an '87 Lowden - K&K Western.

on a Bourgeois J-OM a Fishman Rare Earth Blend (humbucker / mic).

Live I'll feed them into a TC Electronics Parametric EQ to reduce the possibility of feedback which varies depending on the venue more so with the Lowden just because the guitar is so sensitive / responsive.

From the TC unit into an AER Compact 60 to get 'my sound' and a line or DI out to the house desk.

This achieves the best and trouble free sound I've had

hope this helps

[DeepEnd]

A Baggs M1 or Fishman Rare Earth Blend will do the job very well with a minimum of mods to your guitar. Go here and give various pickups a listen: http://www.dougyoungguitar.com/pickuptests/.

[MePeel]

K & K Pure Western Mini!

 

Mel

[Neal]

I'm a magnetic pickup fan. Personally, I think they sound heads n' tails better than any SBT or UST, and are extremely feedback resistant, that's a huge plus for me. Don't care for Fishman's Rare Earth, (I have one..)but the M-1(don't have), or the M-1A(have), Takamine TriAx (have), and the new Baggs M-80 looks seriously promising. I've heard real good things from Sunrise pickups as well, but have never used one. This probably goes totally opposite to the majority of thought in an acoustic forum, but you can eq a mag pickup very nicely, they don't sound like an "electric" guitar, never heard any pickup that actually sounded "like your guitar, only louder", and have never heard of an audience complaining one way or another. They do not affect the acoustic sound at all, to my hearing anyway.

 

But they are a soundhole pickup, so you may want something that isn't as noticeable.

 

Another option if you need an SBT or UST is to check out the Mi-Si offerings, no battery, you plug it in for 5 minutes for 8 hours of "active" play. Google "Mi-Si". The "no battery" is a plus, believe me.

[Smoky T]

Highlander pu => highlanderpickups.com

[herbie d]

I second the LR Baggs Anthem. I have that set-up in my main guitar and it works well. Then again... I hav'nt used alot of different pick-up like alot of the folks here either.

[Yamaneck]

I would respectfully suggest a K&K pure western mini. No cutting, no drilling and a great sound of your guitar. Yes it is passive but I've never had a problem with volume. fwiw imho ymmv etc

 

Couldn't agree more.

[TESmith]

Kind of surprised no mention of JJB as of yet http://www.jjb-electronics.com/our_products.html

Excellent product, great prices and fantastic customer service as well!

Many on here will speak up in favor of these if asked.

[recordingtrack1]

I have to agree with the JJB. It's the exact same as a K&K and is several bucks cheaper.

[Neal]

Yep, no one in THIS acoustic forum likes mag pickups...

 

Knew it! Doh!

[Pitar]

 

Yep, no one in THIS acoustic forum likes mag pickups... Knew it! Doh!

 

 

Not so. I thought the Fishman Neo-D was a decent mag. I hardwired it into a Norman dread I used to have. It was pretty good until you asked for upper fret trebles and then it went all electrical and {censored}. It sounded great, otherwise.

[Neal]

Not so. I thought the Fishman Neo-D was a decent mag. I hardwired it into a Norman dread I used to have. It was pretty good until you asked for upper fret trebles and then it went all electrical and {censored}. It sounded great, otherwise.

 

C'mon man, you know I'm not talking about the toys Fishman makes..

[Pitar]

C'mon man, you know I'm not talking about the toys Fishman makes..

 

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/NeoDHum

 

No toy. Seymour Duncan might have something to counter that statement but we're only soliciting an acoustic guitar here. Besides, anything electric to a serious guitar player is not only a toy, it's also an abomination. At least that's what some busker named Segovia had to say about them.

[rjoxyz]

 

Yep, no one in THIS acoustic forum likes mag pickups... Knew it! Doh!

 

 

I have a Baggs M1A in a Breedlove and love it. Most accurate soundhole pickup I've ever heard.

[Samilyn]

Another vote for the K&K Pure Western (Mini or Standard, depending on the size of your bridge plate.) I have a Mini in my 6-er and a Standard in 12-er, two very different gits. The plugged-in sound in each git is everything I could ask for.

[Neal]

I have a Baggs M1A in a Breedlove and love it. Most accurate soundhole pickup I've ever heard.

Of course not a toy, was but making a joke at my magnetic loving expense . All are viable, but some, like the M-1, TriAx, and (with great hope) the new Baggs M-80, offer a lot of body sensitivity, much more so than my Rare Earth, or the NeoD, which offer none. All amplify an instrument, and do a good job, some are just easier to manage, and give an easier-to-get-to acoustic sound.

 

Yeah, amplification to some is anathema. But the thing is this- for the most part, an audience could not give a poop, or knows any difference, what that "true" acoustic tone is. I know I fall in that category when listening to someone. As long as they spend time making it sound like a decent guitar, it's pretty much just the music that anyone walks away with. Folks in louder situations with SBTS or USTS seem to always have a bit of difficulty making it sound good, not that they can't, and not always the case to be sure. This is especially true at an open mic with no soundperson, or a small coffee house gig with terrible acoustics.

 

I've got magnetic pickups on my Nationals as well, the National Slimline on 2, and a made in Germany Flatbucker on 1. All pick up the body resonance as well, and there's no mistaking when amplified that they are resonator instruments. A nice little benefit is there's much more feedback resistance in some of those situations the other types may find themselves in a spot of trouble over.

 

All my opinion, of course. There are those (not everyone, to be sure) that hold fast to the belief that all magnetic pickups make an acoustic sound like a Les Paul or a Tele, and I wouldn't want to change that position any more than I'd want to convert them to Islam or Christianity. Not even Dudeism, and I'm an ordained priest. :phil:

 

Edit: and this is a big edit, because I don't want to come across as saying those that prefer the UST or SBT are wrong. On the contrary, they love what they're using and it works out well for them, have learned the ins and outs of 'em, can dial them in great, and have no feedback issues. I confess I'm just not savvy enough on the board to be able to dial that stuff in well, and have found I don't need to be with some of the magnetic offerings available.

[revive]

 

Yep, no one in THIS acoustic forum likes mag pickups... Knew it! Doh!

 

 

I do! Particularly the M1A and the upcoming M80. Who doesn't like a non-invasive pickup, easy to install, one that you can even move from one guitar to another rather easily, and sounds good too? I think it's really cool solution for people who have multiple guitars and don't want to spend $$ installing a pickup in each guitar.

 

Check out this clip (particularly the last 2 minutes or so). The M1A sounds pretty darn good (although EQ'd in this clip):

 

 

New clips of the M80 have been popping up lately. I think the M80 will be significantly better than the M1A.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=lr+baggs+m80&oq=lr+baggs+m80&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=416233l418787l0l419004l16l8l0l0l0l0l679l1142l4-1.1l2l0

 

So for me personally, the Anthem is my favorite pickup bar none. It's the "100% solution", but it's not cheap and requires professional installation. The M1A and M80 are very cool "90% solution" for those who prefer a cheaper & easier solution and don't mind compromising *a little*.

[Pitar]

Of course not a toy, was but making a joke at my magnetic loving expense . All are viable, but some, like the M-1, TriAx, and (with great hope) the new Baggs M-80, offer a lot of body sensitivity, much more so than my Rare Earth, or the NeoD, which offer none. All amplify an instrument, and do a good job, some are just easier to manage, and give an easier-to-get-to acoustic sound. Yeah, amplification to some is anathema. But the thing is this- for the most part, an audience could not give a poop, or knows any difference, what that "true" acoustic tone is. I know I fall in that category when listening to someone. As long as they spend time making it sound like a decent guitar, it's pretty much just the music that anyone walks away with. Folks in louder situations with SBTS or USTS seem to always have a bit of difficulty making it sound good, not that they can't, and not always the case to be sure. This is especially true at an open mic with no soundperson, or a small coffee house gig with terrible acoustics. I've got magnetic pickups on my Nationals as well, the National Slimline on 2, and a made in Germany Flatbucker on 1. All pick up the body resonance as well, and there's no mistaking when amplified that they are resonator instruments. A nice little benefit is there's much more feedback resistance in some of those situations the other types may find themselves in a spot of trouble over. All my opinion, of course. There are those (not everyone, to be sure) that hold fast to the belief that all magnetic pickups make an acoustic sound like a Les Paul or a Tele, and I wouldn't want to change that position any more than I'd want to convert them to Islam or Christianity. Not even Dudeism, and I'm an ordained priest. :phil: Edit: and this is a big edit, because I don't want to come across as saying those that prefer the UST or SBT are wrong. On the contrary, they love what they're using and it works out well for them, have learned the ins and outs of 'em, can dial them in great, and have no feedback issues. I confess I'm just not savvy enough on the board to be able to dial that stuff in well, and have found I don't need to be with some of the magnetic offerings available.

 

When it comes to that sort of stuff I view the sound of mags as science and all others as art. Or otherwise expressed, anyone can amplify strings while it takes an artist to amplify wood.

[Neal]

 

When it comes to that sort of stuff I view the sound of mags as science and all others as art. Or otherwise expressed, anyone can amplify strings while it takes an artist to amplify wood.

 

Sorry bud, ya sorta lost me on that one. I've heard a lot of {censored}ty guitar players playing non mags, as well as mags. And vice-versa. I think I'm reading that you prefer a non-mag, which is perfectly reasonable. The magnetic pickups I'm referring to, just a simple reminder, all have body sensing capabilities as well, and do amplify the wood. The ones I don't care for, though have heard very good things out of them, are the Rare Earth, some of the other straight magnetic pickups, the Woody, the cheapies. Those can be difficult to EQ properly, and as I said, I have a Rare Earth, but I'm not a loyalist. Would prefer an M-1, TriAx or the new Baggs M-80 in that particular guitar.

 

They sound rich, acoustic, easy to EQ without a lot of diddling, and the big plus, other than the sound-- feedback resistant. Sound though, is an art, I'll give you that. I'm a hack, so I'm fine with crayons.

[Pitar]

I don't give a crap which one sounds better. My preference is only for the one that does. The valid distinction I make still stands, though. There's an army out there trying to electronically duplicate the freqs from an acoustic other than from the strings themselves. A mag is a mag is a mag to those people. And you're right. The audience doesn't have that ear - or so we would like to think - so we throttle our mags delighting in the absence of feedback. It's a whole dweebie world of audiophiles who grit their teeth on the differences.

[Neal]

Idunno, I don't throttle the mag, I try to use it judiciously, after all, I have a voice I sort of like, and don't want the guitar to overpower it. The thing about amplification though is this- you can't duplicate the acoustic sound, merely by amplifying it, you change it. The trick is to change it in a pleasing manner. For me, I've found that certain, not all, magnetic pickups do that. I don't know one audiophile that gritted his teeth after listening to Michael Hedges (Bless His Holy Name) live, and he used a Sunrise. So {censored} the dweebs, they probably don't play anyway.

 

Having said all that, all my ukes have SBTs. Do you know how difficult it is to EQ a uke.... Huh? Do ya? They are {censored}ing horrible. I prefer to use a microphone as opposed to the expensive little gizmos from K&K that I already have installed in 3 of them. I do have a Red-Eye pre amp coming, and that has a lot of positive recommendations from some Austin fiddle players, so we'll see if that helps those little bastards at all. It is an art, but I'm more of a color-by-numbers sort of player, like most I imagine.

[Joseph Hanna]

I don't give a crap which one sounds better. My preference is only for the one that does.

Kierkegaard right? He always made my head spin.