Acoustic pickups

stickyfiddle · November 2022

What's good these days?

Background - am now in a band again and assuming I may need to do something on acoustic at some point (possible in about 2 weeks but tbc!). Currently I have a Martin HD28 with a LR Baggs Anthem but that's going up for sale as it doesn't get a look in next to my Bourgeois and Atkin these days. The others have no electrics and I'm not keen on fitting anything internally at this stage.

So thinking about a soundhole pickup I could fit when I need and remove when I don't - maybe Baggs M80? or do I just get an Anthem fitted and call it done?

I'm also not against an outboard preamp, esp if it has a DI to go straight to the desk

Thoughts & recommendations please!

Cryptid · November 2022

My only soundhole pickup is a Baggs M1a - decent for fingerpicking and flatpicking, but I don't like how it sounds for strumming work. I need something with a mic for that.

My mate has a Fishman Rare Earth Blend that does the job nicely, that would be my choice if it had to be a soundhole pickup.

If you're keeping the guitar and gigging with it regularly, I just bite the bullet and get an Anthem SL fitted. I prefer the SL as there's less bulk inside the guitar. I like the controls fitted a bit further back using two adhesive pads - looks neater and allows you to use a soundhole cover if needed for loud gigs.

TheMadMick · November 2022

If you were prepared to buy 2nd hand, I have a Fishman humbucker I'd let go for around £70.00 inc P&P 2nd class UK. I got it for a guitar that never appeared - silly me! It sounded OK on my Takamine when I tested it although the output was a bit below a piezo but apparently that is to be expected.

Lestratcaster · November 2022

I've got a D28 and its got the Schertler AG6 with the S-Mic you can blend. Sounds great and easy to use. I've also got the iRig Acoustic Stage as a back up and again, its simple to use and has that nice natural mic sound. Cost me £80 when I got it.

thomasw88 · November 2022

I use a M80 and also have a rebadged m1a in another guitar.

The M80 is fantastic. Get a lot of compliment (including from sound engineers) about the sound.
The M1a is also excellent but I think the sound is a lot more fuller from the M80.

bermudianbrit · November 2022

K&K pure mini? Isn't that the darling of the forum generally speaking? Ok very nominal changes to the internals of the guitar but nothing drastic and doesn't change appearance at all.

Lewy · November 2022

stickyfiddle said:

What's good these days?

Background - am now in a band again and assuming I may need to do something on acoustic at some point (possible in about 2 weeks but tbc!). Currently I have a Martin HD28 with a LR Baggs Anthem but that's going up for sale as it doesn't get a look in next to my Bourgeois and Atkin these days. The others have no electrics and I'm not keen on fitting anything internally at this stage.

So thinking about a soundhole pickup I could fit when I need and remove when I don't - maybe Baggs M80? or do I just get an Anthem fitted and call it done?

I'm also not against an outboard preamp, esp if it has a DI to go straight to the desk

Thoughts & recommendations please!

You'll get the best sound with a simple passive undersaddle piezo going into an IR based preamp such as the ToneDexter or LR Baggs Voiceprint. It will sound like a bag of arse without the preamp obviously because by themselves piezos are awful, but they are the best devices for driving IRs and that's where the best plugged in acoustic sound is to be had these days. If you want a bit of redundancy in your setup then you could go K&K Pure Mini into an IR Preamp and it would work, just a bit fiddlier to dial in, and then if your preamp goes down a K&K still sounds and feels decent on its own.

It's not the completely non-invasive option (like a soundhole pickup with a trailing cable) as you need an endpin jack but that is one of those mods that people don't mind, even on high end or vintage instruments.

Cryptid · November 2022

The Baggs Voiceprint does sound amazing from demos. What's stopped me from going down that route is that it can't be powered by batteries or phantom power, iPhone required (unless that's changed), the price, and the complete reliance on it as the main engine of your tone if the guitar's just equipped with a piezo. Even a K&K alone needs the right preamp and careful EQ treatment, for me anyway.

The Anthem may not sound as natural but if I have to go straight in to PA or battery-powered amp, I know it sounds good.

That said, I'll probably bite the bullet at some point and get a Voiceprint but keep the Anthem in and turn the mic down. Then, if I forget to pack the Voiceprint's PSU for a gig it's no problem.

WindmillGuitars · November 2022

+1 for a K&K - especially if paired with a K&K onboard or outboard preamp.

TheBigDipper · November 2022

WindmillGuitars said:

+1 for a K&K - especially if paired with a K&K onboard or outboard preamp.

Another +1 for K&Ks. On three different acoustics, now. I'm just a tFB whore (!). I use a K&K XLR preamp or a FlyRig Acoustic, both make it sound very natural, but it sounds OK straight into the desk if you must.

shufflebeat · November 2022

What's the band and likely environment?

Stratavarious · November 2022

+1 K&K

stickyfiddle · November 2022

shufflebeat said:

What's the band and likely environment?

Full band is guitar, Bass, keys, drums and multiple vocals playing Motown up to Killers sorts of material.

If & when i need anything acoustic it’s likely to be a subset of that in smaller venues

shufflebeat · November 2022

stickyfiddle said:

shufflebeat said:

What's the band and likely environment?

Full band is guitar, Bass, keys, drums and multiple vocals playing Motown up to Killers sorts of material.

If & when i need anything acoustic it’s likely to be a subset of that in smaller venues

In this lineup where the role of the guitar is both rhythmic and melodic I'd be looking at a UST which has a strong transient to fill that niche but without the complexity that sounds great in isolation at low levels but which gets lost as soon as the bass/drums kick in.

For a smaller lineup it would sound fuller when played more gently and EQ'd appropriately.

For the record, I have both UST and SBT instruments which both have their place. I have no use for mic based systems, although they are lovely.

ICBM · November 2022

shufflebeat said:

For the record, I have both UST and SBT instruments which both have their place. I have no use for mic based systems, although they are lovely.

I really can't get on with internal-mic-based or blended systems. On paper they should be more natural, but I've tried several and never found one that doesn't sound slightly odd and cause too much feedback - and never actually sound as 'right' as even a basic external mic.

I like magnetic soundhole pickups because the inherent *tone* is good even though they don't sound 'acoustic' in many ways, I like K&K-type soundboard transducers because they're simple, reliable and the most natural-sounding of the analogue pickup systems, and most of all I like a piezo UST driving digital modelling for actually sounding like a real acoustic guitar.

I have also used combination magnetic/piezo systems which can sound really good, even though each individually doesn't - there is a good physics reason for that, which is that the two are inherently 90º out of phase with each other, and goes some way to giving the complexity of the way an acoustic guitar top vibrates.

All my guitars currently have passive USTs which I run through an outboard modelling unit (Boss AD-8) and I have a couple of magnetic pickups I can add, although I usually only do that when I want overdriven sounds

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