Acoustic Guitar Pickup Comparisons

[T.B.]

We've had quite a few enquires about acoustic pickups. Mr. Doug Young has a collection of sound samples that capture and compare the sounds of different acoustic guitar pickups brands/manufacturers.

 

http://www.dougyoungguitar.com/pickuptest.htm

 

 

Trina

[thetree4U]

I listened to each one of the sound samples... took a while. Some sounded perfectly awful, even with a good guitar!

 

Here are my picks...

 

L.R. Baggs Ribbon + Highlander Mic

B-Band A2 AST/UST

B-Band Core 99 UST + Int Mic

Pickup-The-World Pickups

Fishman Blender

K&K /Mic, pickup alone, superglue, K&K preamp

K&K/Mic, pickup alone, superglue, PMB-1 preamp

SC Laboratories GFP

McIntyre Acoustic Feather, Feather + Mills Mic

 

Any particular standouts recommended?

 

Any that are better for feedback reduction?

[sdelsolray]

I play solo fingerstyle. For me, I use:

 

PUTW #54 and Joe Mills internal mic (in guitar #1)

K&K mini and Silver Bullet internal mic (in guitar #2)

 

I have a pretty sophisticated signal chain afterwards and both of these setups work well, for me. I use an external condenser mic instead of the internal condenser mic whenever possible. I like the PUTW #54 a bit more than the K&K mini, and the Joe Mills mic is definitely superior to the K&K Silver Bullet internal mic.

 

These setups have modest feedback resistance, compared to other dual source combinations. But I have no problem cranking up a 300 watt stereo system with them. A magnetic pickup will be most resistant to feedback followed by a UST, SBT and mic (in that order).

 

One other thing. As good as Doug Young's samples are, they are not real world examples. Most of the samples use no eq. Every sample that has an internal mic will sound very different (much much better) once proper eq is applied to each source before blending.

[guit30]

That was fun, Really liked the Baggs and int mic on the Taylor 914, The pickup on the Olsen sounded great, The M1 sounded good, The NEOD (which I use) sounded really good on the 914. Really fun page, thanks

Jim

[Bamadawg]

I liked the Seymour Duncan... but I am a noob to acoustics... The Martin DM fingerpicking sounded awesome to me. Would like to hear clips of the other PU's they offer. I believe they are better known for their electric PUs?

 

Nate