Pickup recommendations

[yagon]

I have a Maton Australian acoustic that I've owned for 12 years. I love the tone and the way it plays: it's MY voice as a muscian.

 

http://www.maton.com.au/acoustics/australian-series.html

 

I've played guitar for 28 years, with about 5 years of gigging when I was a kid. I am considering doing some low-key gigs for fun now that I have some more time on my hands.

 

My guitar doesn't have a pickup at present, but I'd like to install a good quality pickup. I have no experience or knowledge with acoustic guitar pickups. I am prepared to pay for a good quality, maybe even a top quality pickup. I prefer simple but good quality equipment.

 

Can anyone recommend a good (or top) quality pickup?

[DeepEnd]

I'd recommend a K&K Pure Western for your purposes, assuming feedback won't be a problem (i.e., you won't be playing at wall-shaking volume). Another couple of possibilities are the Fishman Rare Earth Blend and the Seymour Duncan MAg Mic, both of which are magnetic soundhole pickups with built-in mikes, but they're more expensive than the K&K. One thing I wouldn't recommend for a 12-year-oild Maton is anything that requires significant modifications like drilling a lot of holes.

[DeepEnd]

Edited to remove double post

[DenverDave]

You will hear this echoed several times probably, but take a good hard look at K&K pickups. They have a variety of choices, and they work and sound great. They are the only third party pickup I will use in an acoustic. The K&K Trinity system is a great high quality pickup with soundboard transducers and a mic with an external preamp (no hole in the side of the guitar). I had that setup and loved it....

[yagon]

Thanks for everyone's feedback: it has been most useful.

 

I clearly have a LOT to learn about this subject before I make a purchase. I'm going to try a stack of guitars at my local shop to test how some of these pickups/preamps work. I'll also do more internet research.

 

I've discovered that Maton sells and installs their pickups: I'm going to carefully consider the APMic system, given that my guitar is a Maton:

 

http://www.maton.com.au/accessories/ap-pickup-system.html

 

I don't require a non-intrusive pickup & preamp: I'm quite happy to cut holes in my guitar if required.

 

Does anyone have any other recommendations that I should investigate that are similar to the Maton APMic?

[guitarist21]

 

I don't require a non-intrusive pickup & preamp: I'm quite happy to cut holes in my guitar if required. Does anyone have any other recommendations that I should investigate that are similar to the Maton APMic?

 

 

It may not be terribly smart to cut holes in your guitar, even if you're okay with doing so. Cutting into your guitar to install a preamp or pickup or whatever can create structural insufficiencies and can also cause the tone of your guitar (which I'm assuming you appreciate) to suffer, IMO.

 

The aforementioned K&K Pure Western Mini is what I use in my Epi Masterbilt EF-500R for acoustic gigs and I use a Fishman Rare Earth Humbucker for louder gigs. Both are terrific.

 

Ellen