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Need an acoustic guitar pickup!


mfc_pj

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Depends somewhat on your budget.

 

I have a Fishman undersaddle thingy (actually it's a Martin Thinline 332, but I believe these are made by Fishman). It's cheap and I love it. You would need to use a DI unit with that.

 

I've heard the L.R. Baggs ones are the dog's bollox (that's a good thing, in case you don't know that expression), but a bit pricey. Never tried them.

 

Are you thinking of mounting this under the saddle or just clipping it on the sound hole?

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I have the K&K in my Yamaha and Parkwood. I love it's warm natural tone. After my luthier installed them and heard how they sounded he started recommending them to other musicians.

 

Here is a link to Shoreline Music. They are a great and dependable dealer of all sorts of pickups and pre-amps. The link will take you to the K&K section; read it and then click on the other manufacturers and read up. Then, call John at Shoreline and talk with him. You will find he is happy to help you figure out what will work best for you without pushing any particular product. I bought both my K&Ks from him.

 

FWIW, I run my K&Ks though a Baggs PADI for the best tone. However, the K&K, even though it is passive, is hot enough to run directly into a PA. With the PADI however you can really dial in the best tone.

 

http://www.shorelinemusic.com/amplification/kk.shtml

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I have the K&K in my Yamaha and Parkwood. I love it's warm natural tone. After my luthier installed them and heard how they sounded he started recommending them to other musicians.


FWIW, I run my K&Ks though a Baggs PADI for the best tone. However, the K&K, even though it is passive, is hot enough to run directly into a PA. With the PADI however you can really dial in the best tone.

 

 

 

Agreed

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My rig is a little more complicated (but only slightly): passive Artec (or Dean Markley "Sweet Spot", depending on the guitar) Under Saddle Transducer and passive contact Sound Board Transducer under the bridge plate (basically the same thing as a K&K, but from a somewhat less expensive source*), wired in mono, then plugged into a PADI, then into amp or PA.

 

The trick is to first install the UST and get it just like you like it, then take the SBT and touch it to different places around the bridge until you find that guitar's exact "sweet spot" (moving the SBT as little as 1/16" can change the sound a lot!), then super-glue it to the inside at that exact spot...very close to the sound of a good mic, w/o the feedback issues (although it will feedback a little easier than just using the UST by itself, but much less than by only using the SBT(s) by itself/themselves).

 

This set-up works for both solo and ensemble work in even the loudest conditions.

 

* www.JJB-ELECTRONICS.COM

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... (basically the same thing as a K&K, but from a somewhat less expensive source*), ...


The trick is to first install the UST and get it just like you like it, then take the SBT and touch it to different places around the bridge until you find that guitar's
exact
"sweet spot" (moving the SBT as little as 1/16" can change the sound a lot!), ...


*
www.JJB-ELECTRONICS.COM

 

Two questions:

 

1) Are there any differences between the JJB and K&K? Do you prefer the sound of one over the other?

 

2) You mentioned touching the SBT to different places around the bridge. How do you test the sound? I assume you have the strings off at this point. Do you tap the top? Do you move all three around at once?

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