K and K Pure Mini - plus and minus

Flip · July 2023

This post is both praise for a splendid piece of kit and a caution to anyone without a grandson with slim wrists.

When I started playing in a few open mic events, using my Little Martin, LX1. It's a great instrument for the job, a decent sound, small size and remarkably robust. For some of the larger events, it lacks sound output so I decided to put a pickup in it. Unwisely I chose an inexpensive Chinese device that did the job, but badly. Recently I found myself able to afford a better system and after some research decided to invest in a K and K Pure Mini system.

For readers unfamiliar with the system, it consists of three thin 1cm diameter discs wired together. The discs are stuck in specific places beneath the saddle inside the body. The manufacturer rightly specifies gel super glue which is not included in the £100+ cost of the pickup. These disc pickups terminate in a standard output jack socket that's fitted in place of the strap stud. The output socket is easy – I've installed many as part of the restoration of guitars I do for my wife, an artist, who uses them as her canvas. Getting the discs inside is anything but easy.

The K and K company supplies an ingenious but fairly impractical Heath Robinson gadget including a golf tee that must have cost less than the box it comes in, and which is frankly more trouble than it's worth. After my wife and I had spent a frustrating hour managing to spread a considerable amount of super glue around inside the guitar but fail to fix he discs in place, we enlisted our 12-year-old guitar-playing grandson to do the job. By then we'd abandoned the installation gadget except for the golf tee of which we stuck two through the holes in the bridge as a guide.

Of course, it was worth the struggle. I don't suppose I'd have wanted to admit to wasting that sort of money if the pickups hadn't worked, but they did. Just as the makers claim, the amplified guitar sounds (to my ear at least) exactly the same as the unamplified guitar. Maybe other players would disagree, some might prefer Martin's built-in system which I find particularly characterless and perhaps an oscilloscope or other device would measure more accurately, but for me the sound is terrific, and justifies the investment – provided you have a handy grandson!

ICBM · July 2023

I've always found them extremely easy to install using the supplied kit (plus superglue). The 'tools' may be cheap, but the method is well thought out and works.

That is, if the soundhole is big enough to get your hand through... I do have small hands, but I think even for me an LX1 would be a challenge. I have one, and although I haven't tried to get my hand into it, I wouldn't expect to be able to reach the underside of the bridge.

However, this doesn't apply to probably 99% of acoustic guitars.

SteveRobinson · July 2023

It gets easier with practice!

I use a jig made from threaded nylon rods and perspex that I think was included with a K&K pickup long ago. They used to come with a small tube of super glue too.

You place the jig over the saddle slot with the rods in the pin holes, attach your pickup using the supplied blutac stuff, apply the glue then transfer the assembly to the inside of the guitar, using the same two pin holes to locate it and press the pickup into position.

Repeat for the other two pickups.

Guitars without bridge pins are a whole different level of difficulty.

Flip · July 2023

My experience was specifically with the LX1, but the plus part of my experience was the quality of the sound which in the end made even the struggle with the LX1 worthwhile.

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K and K Pure Mini - plus and minus

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