Soundhole pickups...

[T Rice]

Is there such a thing as a good one? I'm sure this has been covered extensivly but the search function is down...Thanks for any advice, T Rice

[OldGuitarPlayer]

Well..I'll jump in here but I am in no way an expert on soundhole pickups.

I have a Fishman Neo D passive single coil soundhole pickup and for what it is... it does the job.

 

I have also seen and heard other higher end soundhole models and they all seem to do the same as far as I can tell which is basically they amplify the sound of the strings. Some players also use an outboard pre-amp to help boost & EQ the signal to the PA system or amp. I use an outboard pre-amp with my setup as well and it also provides me with a way to EQ the signal and has an XLR direct output.

 

I have heard the names L.R.Baggs and Sunrise also mentioned as having very good soundhole pickups and I have also heard to stay away from the Dean Markley one as it is noisy and doesn't provide a very good signal. I have also seen ads for the nes Dimarzio soundhole pickup and wonder what it sounds like but if I was to suggest anything would be to make sure you get a humbucking one as the single coil ones tend to be a little more "buzzier". I know this because my Fishman is single coil and a little noisy at times. Usually the pre-amp cuts down the noise and gives a nice clean signal.

 

I don't know if this was any help but I wish you luck in your search

 

OGP

[min7b5]

I would say most are pretty bad, so they do get a bad rap. I think at a certain price point they get a lot better. The M1 Active and the Rare Earth Humbucker can sound great. The Rare Earth Blend can sound really great. The Sunrise can also be wonderful- IF- you spring for the really expencive buffer box. I've never owned a Magmic but it looks pretty good too. All soundhole mags need eq in a big way. A big cut in and around 500hz on a little eq pedal makes a world of difference.

[Chicken Monkey]

I depends on what you're looking for. I've played a Dean Markley $30 special through a 15-watt amp, and it sounded fine--like the guitar, but louder. I've played the Fishman Rare Earth single-coil, and it was too noisy at stage volume, so I switched to the Fishman humbucker, which is where I've settled. I don't play a style with a huge demand for fidelity or subtlety, so I don't know how you'd fare doing delicate fingerpicking or a lot of string-slapping/top-tapping. For chopping rhythm, boom-chick playing, and the occasional lead line, the Fishman Humbucker is fantastic--never regretted the $170 or so I paid.

[guit30]

Love the Fishman NeoD

Jim

[Chicken Monkey]

Have the NeoD people played at stage volume under flourescent lights? I don't remember if I tried that one or not, but their powered single-coil gave me trouble.

[guit30]

Had trouble with it once and all I did is hit the invert switch on my direct box and the hum went away

J

[Terry Allan Hall]

Used to use the Bill Lawrence FT-145...great for my 6-strings but problematic for my 12-strings, as the unwound octaves were louder than the bronze-wound fundamentals, and electric 12-string sets were too light, so I could never find a 12-string set that sounded good for both acoustic and plugged-in playing.

 

Also tried the Lace Sensor and the DiMarzio Elemental...same deal, great for 6-string, not-so-great for 12-string.

 

Passive USTs, plugged into a Baggs PADI, work well for me, once I adapted my picking to avoid "quacks" (which, it turns out, also improved my unplugged tone)!

[EvilTwin]

I like the neo-D, but haven't played it at stage volumes.

 

Soundhole pickups have gotten a bad rap...but IMO, most of that comes from outdated designs. A lot of older, under-saddle pickups sounded horrible, too.

[angus_old]

the old dearmonds are suppoed to be good. great overdrive. but they are expensive now

[min7b5]

They make a humbucking Neo D now. Though it wouldn't be that much more to get the regular active Rare Earth Humbucker at the that price.

[bransonb]

Give the Bagg's M-1 a shot. Very easy to bail out if you don't like it. Do yourself a favor and get a Bagg's Para-DI to go with it. Using the Para-DI's EQ to scoop the mid range is what makes the M-1 a superb acoustic pickup. Also you'll find a Para-DI to be an excellent investment with just about any pickup you settle on.

[Cortfan]

The Dean Markley's get a bad rap, but with a pre amp, the Pro Mag Plus sounded good enough to me to permanently install one in my Fender and put the cord into an endpin jack. Its a cheapo rig, but I get lots of compliments on the tone.

[J.]

I have the LR Baggs M1 Active and it sounds really good. It's much more natural and less 'electric' sounding than other soundhole pickups. The only negative is that the output is rather low (even on the active version, which I have).

[T Rice]

Thanks all you folks for your input:thu:Really helpful and gives me a lot of knowledge to ponder.I'm a longtime guitar player but not much of a gearhead so I appreciate your help.

[Etienne Rambert]

I put a DiMarzio in my son's 35 year old Guild D-25. I like the sound - especially when you run it through a JoeMeek pre-amp compressor. It's like the Dean Markley but it has a volume control.

[garthman]

Personally I don't see much point in using a soundhole pickup on an acoustic guitar. They are magnetic pickups (the same as used on electric guitars) so if you use one all you get is the same sort of sound as an electric guitar - all the acoustic properties of the guitar are lost so you might as well use an electric guitar in the first place (and you can also control the sound better then, too).

 

If you want to amplify an acoustic I think it is better to use a piezo transducer based pickup (which amplifies all the vibrations produced by the guitar not just the strings like a magnetic pickup does) or an external microphone.

[bransonb]

 

Personally I don't see much point in using a soundhole pickup on an acoustic guitar. They are magnetic pickups (the same as used on electric guitars) so if you use one all you get is the same sort of sound as an electric guitar - all the acoustic properties of the guitar are lost so you might as well use an electric guitar in the first place (and you can also control the sound better then, too).

 

 

Hey Garthman,

As a magnetic pickup user I strongly disagree. If you'd like some further evidence of just how acoustic a magnetic pickup can sound see the demonstration at

 

http://www.fingerpick.com/pickups.htm

 

This is what sold me on the concept. As the article points out, scooping the midrange with an EQ is the key.

[Chicken Monkey]

 

Hey Garthman, As a magnetic pickup user I strongly disagree.

 

 

+1. The amount of sustain is a pretty major factor, too.

[Loud Librarian]

I just got the Dimarzio Reference Acoustic soundhole pickup. First impression - it's a bit on the fugly side, a big lump of wood - but it sounds great. Easy to install and remove. Check out the review on the fingerpick site mentioned above. It has NO hot B string issues at all, very balanced. Yes it's the electric style tone vs. a piezo, and eq really helps, but it's another valid choice vs. the undersaddle or internal mic sounds.

 

I bought it to use for recording and want to be able to take it in and out of the guitar. My use is to augment the bass response of my condensor mics. I take the pickup signal and eq it - boost 80hz a bit and cut all the treble and mids. Blended in with the mic signals it gives a nice round low end sound, then the mics take care of the mids and highs. I'm still experimenting but the combo of pu and mics sounds very full for solo guitar where I'm not worrying about blending in with any other instruments.

[valleyguy]

You can listen to various pickups at :

 

dougyoungguitar.com/pickuptest

[corduroyhorn]

i have a takemine pickup thats the same as the LR Baggs M1 Active but a bit cheaper...(well i was told its the same )