Soundhole pickup options

mark_jwedge · June 2017

The band I play in have been getting a few acoustic gigs recently and we have a few more in the pipeline. I don't have an electro so have been borrowing the singer's old takamine which is a good guitar but has been toured and battered and is in desperate need of a re fret.

so I was thinking about using a soundhole pickup on my acoustic but I have no idea where to start. Are there any recommendations for a good solid soundhole pickup option for gigging?

DiscoStu · June 2017

I use an LR Baggs M1A in my Stonebridge. It sounds far more natural than piezos and the battery lasts forever!*

*well, I'm still on the original after a couple of years.

KKJale · June 2017

I use the Fishman Rare Earth humbucker. It's practically bulletproof and gives a great big warm sound, but it's not as silvery and Stratty and subjectively "acoustic" as the Baggs M1. Mind you, the Baggs does pick up the sound of plectrum scrapes, that's the downside.

Bluesman1989 · June 2017

The Dimarzio Black Angel is pretty good. Mike Dawes and Nick Benjamin helped design it as well!

crunchman · June 2017

I'm not a fan of soundhole pickups. I think they mess with the way the top of the guitar vibrates. I've had a couple of really good sounding acoustics that I fell out of love with. In both cases I'd put a soundhole pickup in. One of them is currently on consignment sale in a shop. I'm thinking of bringing it home and taking the pickup out.

I think @Gassage started a thread on this a while back. If I remember correctly he had a limited edition Martin OOO28EC that he took a Rare Earth off of and it massively improved the sound. He might chime in to confirm this, or you can probably find the thread somewhere in the acoustic sub-forum.

Personally I'd get a KKK Pure Mini installed rather than a sound hole pickup.

Lewy · June 2017

crunchman said:

Personally I'd get a KKK Pure Mini installed rather than a sound hole pickup.

Image: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U1SxeZa7S0E/U62zTFdXLeI/AAAAAAAAJgc/h9m4xReYi3w/s1600/A+KKK+child+and+a+black+State+Trooper+meet+each+other,+1992.jpg

crunchman · June 2017

Oops! That's K&K

Winny_Pooh · June 2017

I never leave soundhole pickups in my guitars if I play them at home and I don't think the manufacturers expect most guitarists to either.

Lewy · June 2017

Winny_Pooh said:

I never leave soundhole pickups in my guitars if I play them at home and I don't think the manufacturers expect most guitarists to either.

I think that varies by model actually. If you want your Fishman installed via an end pin jack then that's got to stay in place, whereas you can unplug the Baggs and take it out for example.

ICBM · June 2017

Lewy said:

Winny_Pooh said:

I never leave soundhole pickups in my guitars if I play them at home and I don't think the manufacturers expect most guitarists to either.

I think that varies by model actually. If you want your Fishman installed via an end pin jack then that's got to stay in place, whereas you can unplug the Baggs and take it out for example.

That's true, which is why I have my Rare Earth with a trailing cable. It's a bit of a faff though - when it's in, you have the cable to coil up and hope the jack doesn't bash the guitar or something, and taking it in and out all the time isn't the most convenient operation and tends to chew the screw heads up.

Mostly I can't be bothered and just use the old Fishman AG094 under the bridge with an even older Pro EQ outboard preamp.

Probably I should just get a J-160E and be done with it

.

midlifecrisis · June 2017

dumb question, but why do you not leave it in all the time. i have the fishman rare earth single coil, in my sigma , wired to the endpin jack so i leave it in.

Lewy · June 2017

midlifecrisis said:

dumb question, but why do you not leave it in all the time. i have the fishman rare earth single coil, in my sigma , wired to the endpin jack so i leave it in.

Some perceive that it changes the sound - which makes sense when you consider it adds weight to the top and essentially becomes a brace across the soundhole, as well as partially blocking it.

Probably less of an issue with the unobtrusive fishman rare earth but things like the LR Baggs M1a are quite big and hefty by comparison.

midlifecrisis · June 2017

that makes sense

ICBM · June 2017

midlifecrisis said:

dumb question, but why do you not leave it in all the time. i have the fishman rare earth single coil, in my sigma , wired to the endpin jack so i leave it in.

Because it looks ugly, changes the acoustic sound and gets slightly in the way of fingerpicking when I play sitting down.

Winny_Pooh · June 2017

I use a GS mini with a seymour duncan mag mic so it would be quite obtrusive at home.

I got fed up with trailing cables so I've wired both my acoustics with endpin jacks and internal mini female jacks that stick to a small patch of internal velcro near the neck block when not in use.
Both mag pickups have shortened cables and mini jacks.

When I need a pickup I can use the magmic or a rare earth, loosen the top E reach in, plug the pickup in and mount it.

Lewy · June 2017

While we're on the subject, has anyone got experience of both the Baggs M1a and the M80?

Is the M80 as much of a step up as the marketing suggests?

I'm a K&K Pure Mini fan but have a guitar with a bridge plate that's too small for it, and another that I don't want to drill. I'm using an M1A in those at the moment and it's ok but wonder if investing in the M80 would be worth it...anyone done that upgrade?

TimmyO · June 2017

This discussion reminds me : there's a Youtube video where the guy has 4 pickups fitted - a piezo, a Baggs Lyric, K&K and an odd stick-on gooseneck thing.

Interesting comparisons.

The best sounds were various blends of pickups.

Also the first demo where I wasn't wowed by the K&K

found it :

BigLicks67 · June 2017

TimmyO said:

This discussion reminds me : there's a Youtube video where the guy has 4 pickups fitted - a piezo, a Baggs Lyric, K&K and an odd stick-on gooseneck thing.

Interesting comparisons.

The best sounds were various blends of pickups.

Also the first demo where I wasn't wowed by the K&K

found it :

On the basis of that I'd say - I solo, K&K, Fishman & Lyric in that order. The Baggs Lyric sounded absolutely awful IMHO, I wonder if he has positioned it in the wrong place?

Lewy · June 2017

BigLicks67 said:

TimmyO said:

This discussion reminds me : there's a Youtube video where the guy has 4 pickups fitted - a piezo, a Baggs Lyric, K&K and an odd stick-on gooseneck thing.

Interesting comparisons.

The best sounds were various blends of pickups.

Also the first demo where I wasn't wowed by the K&K

found it :

On the basis of that I'd say - I solo, K&K, Fishman & Lyric in that order. The Baggs Lyric sounded absolutely awful IMHO, I wonder if he has positioned it in the wrong place?

If he's got a Pure Mini installed then the Lyric can't be in its normal position because they go in the same place.

guycp · June 2017

Big fan of passive pickups i.e. Baggs M1 (not M1A). I Use a Orchid guitar Pre/ EQ to boost signal. More natural sound than active, I find.

Lewy · June 2017

My experiences have led me to be a bit wary these days of DI'd demos of pickups for live use. They give a great insight into the sonic potential of the pickup, but actually realising that potential in your typical plugging in scenario is a totally different kettle of fish.

The Lyric was a classic case of that for me. Wowed by the demos, super happy with trials at home, and then only got a decent sound live maybe twice (and only on bigger stages with great PAs and very good sound people). Most other scenarios, especially when I was doing the sound myself for a solo gig or festivals/events where it's a case of quick line check and go...so fiddly and always some weird bullshit going on in the mids.

Conversely, the K&K never sounds that great in DI'd demos but it's as if what's missing from its direct recorded sound is somehow restored when a PA and a real acoustic space become involved, whereas mics and pickups whose pure recorded sound have more content start to cause problems.

ICBM · June 2017

That's exactly why I'm probably selling my Fishman Aura. It can sound amazing when recorded, but it's very unpredictable when going into a PA or an amp - it can be quite weird and artificial-sounding - so for open mic-type gigs I can't trust it. Even with the modelling turned off the preamp seems to have too powerful EQ or something...

My ancient Fishman Pro EQ preamp is the opposite, at its best it never sounds quite as good - it does have that 'classic piezo tone' to some extent, although it's not as bad as many - but it's consistent and easy to get a usable sound with through anything.

stickyfiddle · June 2017

+1 to the M1A. I gigged one for 18 months and it was great. I'd bet @guycp is right that the M1-non-A is better through a good preamp, but obviously a little more faff to set up.

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Soundhole pickup options

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