Which acoustics / pickup systems have the most natural sound?

Stratavarious · March 2022

I can’t keep borrowing my wife’s small body and my old dreadnaught has too much piezo click and feedbacks when we are driving the subs hard.

I installed some K&Ks transducers into a mandolin.. very impressed.

Could go acoustic IR route and I use those a lot recording. There are a few IR loader pedals now. But that is more stuff on the floor.

Looking for guitars in the £750-£1250 range. It will get hammered at gigs.

What is outstanding natural tone wise into a desk these days?

Roland · March 2022

What type of acoustic guitar sound are you looking for? Full bodied grand auditorium, or a percussive dreadnought, or a jangly 12 string, or a tinkly EQd Takamine, or something else?

Stratavarious · March 2022

As close to a close miced martin 000-28 or larivee 0-40 for all styles.. mainly flat picking and strumming. Feedback proof as poss.

TheMadMick · March 2022

If you're going to bash the living daylights out of it, you could do a lot worse than a Takamine. Hang the "close to original" sound criterion. And you will probably spend a lot less on a Tak as well.

chor808 · March 2022

I use a Yamaha silent guitar for gigs after some grim feedback issues in cramp 'stages'. You can dial in the sound you like from under saddle all the way to mic'd ll26 , on the new one's. Obviously you only get your sound back at via the monitor. Compact, looks a bit odd to the audience and easy to play standing or sitting. Would prefer to play a real guitar but it's so relaxing not having to worry about feedback.

lincolnblue · March 2022

I know some others disagree but I've been very impressed with the system in my Taylor

ToneControl · March 2022

K+K Pure mini is my current choice

I do have a guitar with the trinity system which adds a mic and an external preamp mixer, sounds great but pricey

RickLucas · March 2022

I have had good results in a Dread with Fishman Rare Earth blend and LR Baggs Lyric.

ArchtopDave · March 2022

I agree with the above comment by @ToneControl . In particular, the full K&K Trinity system is excellent.

I know the following will be controversial given some of the previous Threads, but a Fender Acoustasonic into an EQ pedal might suit, though it depends on if you need something that actually look like an Acoustic Guitar.

mr335ish · March 2022

RickLucas said:

I have had good results in a Dread with Fishman Rare Earth blend and LR Baggs Lyric.

I have a Fishman Rare Earth on a Manson 12 string and an LR Baggs Lyric on a D18, would recommend both for a great natural sound.

Only played in fairly 'polite' environments so can't vouch for feedback rejection.

thomasw88 · March 2022

Been using a lr baggs M80 for a number of years. It sounds excellent and doesn't feedback.

Stratavarious · March 2022

Thanks.

I have a K&K Pure Mini to install as a secondary system or in a new one but for live simplicity, the Yamaha silent guitars are def. interesting. I am already swapping different types of instrument a lot at gigs, so compact, easy and reliable is target. Sounds over looks. I can usually only hear my acoustic instruments through monitor/IEM anyway.

I think I will give the silent guitars a better look, I am good for recording.

crunchman · March 2022

Non-traditional, but for a live workhorse these will be hard to beat:

https://www.andertons.co.uk/fender-acoustasonic-player-telecaster-arctic-white

I have the US version, and I think it sounds better plugged in than either of my other acoustics (a Martin with a factory fitted Fishman Ellipse blender, and a Furch with a K&K Pure Mini).

Lewy · March 2022

I've gone down the IR route and now I've gigged it a couple of times I'm totally sold. I started out with the inexpensive NUX Optima Air to experiment and now have the LR Baggs Voiceprint DI. Yes, it is an extra box in the floor but it's not like you weren't going to need a DI box of some sort anyway and for what little complexity it adds in that respect it removes a whole lot more in terms of having to faff about with different active pickup systems inside the guitar.

Now this tech is out there and very user friendly (it wasn't initially) I don't see any advantage in the complex multi-source pickup systems any more. Just a passive UST or SBT is all you need. IRs can even make soundhole mag pickups sound a lot more natural.

Stratavarious · March 2022

I use acoustic IRs all the time in reaper the newer Nux and TC IR loaders are also on my radar.

Certainly it is the other option and i was looking closely at the Nux Optima Air to try it cheaply.

If it can do both mandolin and acoustic I could be sold.. I already have a DI box for the mandolin but more tone shaping and a mute would seal it. Feedback is the other practical concern. We play the whole gamut of spaces.

crunchman · March 2022

If feedback is a concern, definitely look at an acoustasonic.

Lewy · March 2022

Stratavarious said:

If it can do both mandolin and acoustic I could be sold.. I already have a DI box for the mandolin but more tone shaping and a mute would seal it.

It definitely can. I even captured a half decent IR of a single cone National with a magnetic pickup.

ESBlonde · March 2022

Fishman rare earth blend, if your amplification is average then a Mesa Rosetta stomp/DI with lovely parametric eq sweeps etc. will tidy up a good sound to be great.
the current range of epiphone acoustics have a couple of nice models that are 85% of sound or the copies a sigma if you want that Martin sound(ish) on a budget.
That said I’ve been pleasantly surprised by some of the modern laminate composite guitars under about a grand from both Gibson and Martin. As ever play everything and trust your ears.

CavemanGrogg · March 2022

Everybody swore by Ovation guitars when I used to gig, personally I hated them, still do. But allow me to throw a spanner into the works, Godin, specifically the Godin A6, I seriously came close to buying the 7 string nylon string version, the stock electronics are superb if you don't go nuts with it, you can make the guitar sound very synth like if you over do it too much. It's a slimline steel string acoustic, so not the best when played as a traditional acoustic, but definately one of the best pickup systems in a steel string acoustic, next to impossible to get feedback on them unless you're trying for it. The list of guitarists who use the Godin steel string and nylon string slimline guitars is very very impressive, and more importantly so is their work and tones.

Cryptid · March 2022

If there's strumming and hard driving involved, it's far trickier to achieve a natural sound IMO.
Best I've found is Trance Audio Amulet MV (transducer), Maton A5 Pro (piezo + mic) and Cole Clark PG3 (piezo, trans + mic). All have preamps and can go straight into the desk.

I ended up buying a Maton SRS70C with an A5 Pro just for the plugged-in sound - 95% of my playing is amplified so it made sense to make it a priority over pure acoustic tone.

Gandalph · March 2022

Plus one for the Lr baggs M80.

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Which acoustics / pickup systems have the most natural sound?

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