Best Acoustic Guitar Pick-up?

[A440]

best system I've found so far is the Highlander IP-2 ...

[T.RayBullard]

I love the LR Baggs system..Ryan Adams and Jeff Tweedy and Jay Farrar all use that gear, and it sounds great. (m1)

i love their guitar sounds...

[dadgad65]

I too am 'mildly guitarded' , and I would not install pickup(s) unless you will be playing out with the guitar. A couple of good mics will give you excellent recordings, and many options.

If this is the direction you decide to go in, give these guys a call. They have been doing this forever, and will be able to guide you in the right direction, offering many options.

www.shorelinemusic.com

[theom]

Originally Posted by Rednose

Neve makes a nice one thats available for Taylor guitars.
I'm not sure if you can get it as a stand alone.
I agree with the above, its best to mic an acoustic.
Matt

The taylor neve system is amazing, but the preamp is where the real magic is.
I've had personal time with several different pickups using the taylor / neve pre.

My fav was a stock J200 with it's rather cheese pickup into the magic box.
Really somthing, Still a decent mic will sound more like an acoustic than any di./pickup.

[max cooper]

Originally Posted by nathanvacha

Bill Lawrence? I hear this is what elliott smith always used, and i think most of his songs were recorded that way... you can tell, but I guess the magic was in his fingers.
(-- okay, that was off topic...)

The one he used was ancient. Like possibly pre-eighties. I've never seen another like it. The Lawrence pickups from the eighties look like the ones they sell today.

It depends on what sound you're looking for, though. I usually like the sound of a PAF in an acoustic.

Most of the ones I hear today try to preserve too much of the highs which runs into trouble.

[musical5]

Baggs I-Beam. Really liking this one a lot, when I play out. Wouldnt catch me dead tracking an acoustic direct though.

[T.RayBullard]

man..just right..thumbsup love baggs....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUz4uXPTW9c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W76jJthPFG8

[Vandergraf]

Thanks for all the replies.
I ended up getting the Baggs "Element Active".

Sounds great, but I still usually use a mic with it and play with the mix for the right tone.


Van

[CoffeeGuitar]

not meaning to drag up an old thread but i really want to state the case for the schertler DynG

i've always hated using a pickup in my acoustic but have been really pleased with this one after trying it out one a friends instrument

[Alexander Dunnet]

D-Tar Wavelength pickup - 2 votes -
Sunrise Pickups pickup - 3 votes
Bill Lawrence pickup - 3 votes

Detecting a trend here. Can you provide links to buy these? I found the Sunrise for USD$278 on their website. The D-Tar Wavelength I found for USD$149 on eBay (the regular version). The Bill Lawrence pickups I found for as low as USD$50, but none of you said which model you reccomended? The FT145 and A425C seem too cheap to be the one you were reccomending.

[legato]

the schertler DynG

Different but special indeed.
Do use a good EQ in the chain.




Henk

[Alexander Dunnet]

I ended up going with the Lawrence A300. It's the one that Elliot Smith used (amazing artist), and was only $60! I figure that's the one everyone was talking about, and if it rivals the $280 Sunrise Pickups pickup we're in business.

[skyshaver]

I use a Larrivee with an LR Baggs under saddle and a JDK R20 mic-pre as a di live. It hasn't let me down yet but I have not toured it extensively. B-Band are awful, I had to replace the stock b-band in my larrivee after extensive gain issues which both b-band and larriveee refused to acknowledge because I didn't discover the issue within the first year of ownership.

[Santiago]

Originally Posted by Alexander Dunnet

he Bill Lawrence pickups I found for as low as USD$50, but none of you said which model you reccomended? The FT145 and A425C seem too cheap to be the one you were reccomending.

Well, that's the magic of the Bill Lawrence pickups, they are cheap! I have a current production FT145 and a A425C from the 80s, both sound good.

Daniel Lanois used the FT145 a lot, for instance for Bob Dylan's guitar and for his own, usually as a an additional track to add to the microphone recording of the acoustic guitar - I've even seen a recent picture where he is using it although he has mostly moved to the LR Baggs M1. The Edge from U2 can be using it in the studio too on the Unforgettable Fire documentary and in live performances up to 1992. Brian Blade currently uses one, according to pictures.

They don't sound at all like an acoustic guitar, though, they sound like an electric hybrid. I like that sound myself, but it may be a bit too electric for some people.

However, the prices are great, so they are cheap to try out...

[sdelsolray]

If not already mentioned the new Trance Audio Amulet M dual mono pickup seems quite nice.

[kneelie]

RMC Pickups - Acoustic Gold Standard are nice.

[legato]

They don't sound at all like an acoustic guitar, though, they sound like an electric hybrid. I like that sound myself, but it may be a bit too electric for some people.

As with the DynG sounboard transducer (that needs ample highs added), key with magnetic pickups is EQ-ing. Those need a lot of clean up in the mids. Then you can get pretty convincing results. Not quite truly acoustic but more musical than most undersaddle piezos, especially for fingerstyle (less so for strumming).
Not the cleanest by all means, but extra sweet ad musical (after serious EQ-ing) is the DiMarzio DP139 IMOAE. I think it's discontinued, though. It has adjustable pole pieces (which is important for me) and it's easy to install and remove, without screws.

For piezos, check out K&K's Pure Western Mini. It's passive (but not thin sounding if used properly) and resides on the bridgeplate, inside the guitar. Somewhat more prone to feedback, but more natural sounding to my ears than undersaddle piezos (and even coaxial cable, electret film and whatever can be buried in there). The latter do improve with higher voltage preamps, but they'll remain more spikey. Well, unless digital tricks are implemented. But I think I'll stop here.



Henk

[Hot Vibrato]

Originally Posted by Alexander Dunnet

I ended up going with the Lawrence A300. It's the one that Elliot Smith used (amazing artist), and was only $60! I figure that's the one everyone was talking about, and if it rivals the $280 Sunrise Pickups pickup we're in business.

The Sunrise pickups go for $280? Jeez... I have two of them sitting in a drawer. I didn't know I was sitting on a goldmine. I don't use flattops on live gigs anymore (I'm more of an archtop guy these days), otherwise I'd still be using them. The Sunrise is by far the best sounding magnetic soundhole pickup I've heard. It sounds best when paired with an internal mic or a contact pickup to add a dimension of body noise and hollowness that the Sunrise lacks.

The reason I got into using the Sunrise was because at the time I was fascinated by Michael Hedges' sound (I still am, but I'm not trying to sound like that anymore). Its bass response is HUGE. Michael Hedges described it as "bone crushing" bass.

A fellow Sunrise user and I were really excited when the Baggs M1 came out - we really WANTED to like it. We did an A/B comparison between it and the Sunrise, and the M1 sounded thin and nasally in compared to the Sunrise.

The main drawback when using a soundhole pickup is the fact that it changes the acoustic tone of your guitar, because it blocks the soundhole, and because it weighs down your top. More so with the Sunrise because it's heavy. This can be an asset in a live setting because because the additional weight and partially obstructed soundhole can reduce feedback.

[John Eppstein]

Seymour Duncan Mag-Mic. It has a magnetic pickup (with adjustable pole pieces) in combination with a small condenser mic. It has volume controls for master and mic.

[billkahler]

There is a really cool preamp/ modeler called a DTAR Mama Bear. I've been using it for a few years - got a great Craigslist deal on it form$150. If you spend a little time with it, results are fantastic, at least with my Taylor. Haven't tried it with a sound hole pickup. Buddy Miller uses it to isolate a guitar /vocal track a little better. He said he sings and plays at the same time and says sometimes you get a little guitar in the vocal mic but no vocal on the guitar track.

[litepipe]

I've tried so many pickups. My all time favorite is LR Baggs Dual Source. Soundmen and Soundwomen always comment how good it sounds.

[Hot Vibrato]

Originally Posted by litepipe

I've tried so many pickups. My all time favorite is LR Baggs Dual Source. Soundmen and Soundwomen always comment how good it sounds.

+1. The best sound I ever had on a flattop was with the Dual Source in conjunction with a Sunrise soundhole pickup. The best of all worlds.

[markham]

In my experience, the preamp you use to drive the pickup(s) matters tremendously, and can really change the game.

For years, in all my guitars, I used a combo of a Fishman Matrix UTS and an internal Crown mic, blended and sent to my Pendulum HZ-10SE. The Pendulum just makes a lot of stuff sound really, really good.

By the way, I am now selling the Pendulum if anyone is interested. Just not using it much these days.

[sharkydude50]

If you're not playing in a band situation (where feedback might be an issue) then I say the K&K Pure Western Mini gives the best "natural" acoustic guitar sound around.

[FFTT]

I had always heard the Sunrise system with the external pre-amp was the best, but these days, live most of the performers have something like
an Avalon pre pushing the signal to the board anyway.

Frankly I hate them all. It really never sounds as good as a mic'd
up acoustic.

For live work, it's always a compromise.

For recording acoustic instruments, I'd put my money into better mic's
or better preamps.

[Hot Vibrato]

Originally Posted by FFTT

...Frankly I hate them all. It really never sounds as good as a mic'd up acoustic.

For live work, it's always a compromise.

For recording acoustic instruments, I'd put my money into better mic's
or better preamps.

I've made all of these statements myself on numerous occasions. In fact, I don't even bother anymore - on the gig, I just play an old archtop through a tube amp. It doesn't sound like an acoustic, but it sounds GOOD!...

That said, there are more choices available to acoustic musicians than ever before. There are dozens of decent sounding acoustic pickup systems available these days. And while it is indeed still somewhat of a compromise, there is absolutely no excuse for bad tone - period.

[Mylithra]

I did the K&K stuff. Their Mini with the pure western has been good to me.
Check out this place for all types of sound clips.
Doug Young | Acoustic Guitarist | Pickup Tests

[motone]

Originally Posted by nathanvacha

Bill Lawrence? I hear this is what elliott smith always used, and i think most of his songs were recorded that way... you can tell, but I guess the magic was in his fingers.
(-- okay, that was off topic...)

right on ... old magnetic Bill Lawrence soundhole pickup into a guitar amp (that's Lanois' secret) .. I have best results with clean but smooth amps (like an Ampeg Jet, Tone King Meteor). does NOT sound like your acoustic guitar (no pickup does, also Sunrise doesn't), but as opposed to all those brittle plastic sounding hi-end things it sounds GOOD.

[FFTT]

Yeah every last one of them will make a pre war Martin sound like its made out of plastic, so for live work just get the one that cuts through the mix as clear as possible.

There's nothing saying you can't do a direct feed and a live mic on the guitar to make it sound more real.