Acoustic Guitar Pickup Recommendations

OrganicZed

Fractal Fanatic
I am looking to get an acoustic guitar fitted with a pickup system and though I would solicit opinions from y'all. I don't want a setup that requires routing a big hole into the guitar for a preamp.

My top contenders are the Fishman matrix infinity mic blend and the LR Baggs anthem system. I have a Fishman prefix pro blend in another guitar and I really like the ability to blend in just a bit of microphone sound to help and air and to take the edge off of the piezo pickup.

I know that many people love the K&K contact style pickups. That option is appealing to me since it wouldn't require putting an element under the saddle (which I've read can change the acoustic tone and response of a guitar). My primary concern with the K&K is that I've read that these pickups tend to be kind of dark sounding and are more susceptible to feedback issues. Also, the K&K require an external preamp. Could I use my FM9 eliminate in place of a preamp?

Thanks for the advice!
 
In my experience-The L.R. Baggs Anthem blows the rest away..................I have my second guitar Martin OM28E with factory Anthem. Sounds great.
 
I have been considering the LR Baggs Anthem Mic/Piezo setup as well. You do need to drill 1 small hole from the bottom of the bridge saddle slot into the inside of the guitar but it's completely unseen and that's the only real modification, except mounting the controls & battery with Velcro pads inside.

One of my current guitars (a Breedlove Concerto) already has the piezo portion installed but not the mic part. It does sound good for a piezo but I would really like the mic added. I have another with a cheap version of the Fishman (piezo only) and it's okay but not great tone. The K&K's look interesting but not sure whether they are worth the extra $$ and having extra outside gear required or not for me.
 
It kind of depends on the sound you are going for. I have used all of the acoustic pickups and they all kind sound quacky if you use an under saddle style. These really are ok...but not the greatest. I currently use and endorse the Fishman Rare Earth - humbucker. It is really a great pickup because you can treat it a lot like an electric guitar pickup and an acoustic pick. It requires very little modding - maybe the end pin jack needs a little widening, but that would be it. Also - if you are going to use it say for looping or different sounds other than acoustic it straight up can handle gain or anything like that. Under saddles are nice at times - the mic option can get a little woofy and you get lots of feed back issues if you go too loud. But the Fishman is also a nice option - however I have personally had better luck with the Baggs undersaddle - even though I use Fishman, currently.
 
I have used several types and brands. I am beyond impressed with the DTAR 18v system in my Veilette doubleneck.

...And I'm the guy that built Archangel acoustic Preamps played by several monster CandyRat players 😉
 

Attachments

  • 0A47B957-C149-435D-BEC6-472A0B7CD739.jpeg
    0A47B957-C149-435D-BEC6-472A0B7CD739.jpeg
    183.6 KB · Views: 18
The K&K has the purest sound out of all of them and really didn't not touch the acoustic tone of the instrument at all. It does however require a good preamp to drive it. I would say the FM9 has enough gain on tap to handle it, though I no longer have k&k equipped guitar to test it with.
 
DiMarzio Black Angel is hugely popular among the best finger style players. Thinking of getting one myself
 
DiMarzio Black Angel
It does seem that magnetic sound hole mounted pickups offer a lot of positives, but I am really turned off by the fact that they alter the aesthetic of the instrument. The DiMarzio Black Angel piezo pickup does look interesting though and I will do some additional research on that.
 
The K&K has the purest sound out of all of them and really didn't not touch the acoustic tone of the instrument at all. It does however require a good preamp to drive it. I would say the FM9 has enough gain on tap to handle it, though I no longer have k&k equipped guitar to test it with.
I have a K&K mini in a Furch dreadnaught guitar, and that guitar is way too “alive“ for that pickup. Feeds back like crazy. And yes, it seems finicky when it comes to preamps, likes to see a certain input impedance.
 
I have a K&K mini in a Furch dreadnaught guitar, and that guitar is way too “alive“ for that pickup. Feeds back like crazy. And yes, it seems finicky when it comes to preamps, likes to see a certain input impedance.

I am leaning towards the K&K at this point. It was recommended by my preferred local luthier and I like what I've heard from numerous sound clips. The fact that it is minimally invasive is appealing to me.

From the reading that I have done, it needs to see a 1 M Ohm input impedance. The Axe-FX III / FM9 / FM3 happens to have or be able to have that exact input impedance so I'm hoping that will cover my needs preamp wise, but if I end up need an external preamp then I guess that is okay.

The feedback issue does worry me a bit, but the pickup is pretty inexpensive and can be removed if I find that it doesn't work for me.
 
I am leaning towards the K&K at this point. It was recommended by my preferred local luthier and I like what I've heard from numerous sound clips. The fact that it is minimally invasive is appealing to me.

From the reading that I have done, it needs to see a 1 M Ohm input impedance. The Axe-FX III / FM9 / FM3 happens to have or be able to have that exact input impedance so I'm hoping that will cover my needs preamp wise, but if I end up need an external preamp then I guess that is okay.

The feedback issue does worry me a bit, but the pickup is pretty inexpensive and can be removed if I find that it doesn't work for me.
I had one and ditched it. I couldn't hardly touch the body of my guitar for fear of loud thunder.. Guess it's good if you are into all that tapping\percussion on the body of the guitar stuff. I'm not.
The reason I mentioned the LR Baggs Anthem is I can mix the transducer (which is NOT under the saddle like most, it is UNDER the bridge itself and the mic-blend the two together and then use the master volume for final.

After all these years here I have come to realize there aren't that many true acoustic guitar players here. What I mean by that is the acosuic is for performance for me, not just something to play when I am not using my Strats. 75% of the gigs I have done in my 40+ years playing out have been acoustic gigs.
Just trying to say I have loads of experience playing acoustic guitars in live venues for a very long time.
Anyway, good luck with your choice.
 
If the most important part is live work the Anthem is the most practical at giving a usable sound without problems of feedback and clarity.
BUT piezo pickups and heavy components attached to the sound board are detrimental to the pure acoustic tone and I wound simply not fit one in a high end or vintage acoustic (think £10K up)
The KK is a more realistic tone if a bit dark but has feedback and volume issues. The Fishman is just Meh and without the mic it makes whatever you put it in sound like a £1k bog standard box. Also a huge tone suck with the preamp mounted on the soundboard in the sound hole. I once fitted one in a PRS Martin Simpson private stock and we took it straight out. Anthem would be my pragmatic choice but only if I had too.
 
I had one and ditched it. I couldn't hardly touch the body of my guitar for fear of loud thunder.. Guess it's good if you are into all that tapping\percussion on the body of the guitar stuff. I'm not.
The reason I mentioned the LR Baggs Anthem is I can mix the transducer (which is NOT under the saddle like most, it is UNDER the bridge itself and the mic-blend the two together and then use the master volume for final.

After all these years here I have come to realize there aren't that many true acoustic guitar players here. What I mean by that is the acosuic is for performance for me, not just something to play when I am not using my Strats. 75% of the gigs I have done in my 40+ years playing out have been acoustic gigs.
Just trying to say I have loads of experience playing acoustic guitars in live venues for a very long time.
Anyway, good luck with your choice.

Thanks for the thoughts. I am a bit concerned that the K&K will be too noisy / feedback prone. However, I only play out at church and we are on IEM's with the drums in an isolation booth, so I think feedback in that situation will be of minimal concern. If I were going to be playing in a variety of venues with significant volume I would probably go with another option. I have another acoustic guitar that has an under saddle piezo pickup that I can use if I ever need to play on a loud stage.

You are incorrect about the Anthem transducer location being underneath the bridge and not underneath the saddle. It is absolutely the type that goes underneath the saddle. The microphone is attached underneath the bridge plate, so that might be the source of your confusion. If you want evidence for my claim, here you go:

 
Are you using the trinity preamp as well? I like the idea of having a microphone to blend into the signal, but I'm not in love with needing a specialized preamp to power the microphone.
Yes, I use the preamp as well. I blend the mic in to taste depending on stage volume.
I believe the preamp has some internal eq adjustment which I haven’t messed with.
The preamp will output a mix of pickup and mic. It will also provide individual outputs for each, which is very nice for recording.
I have also ran these individual outputs to my Axe-Fx for individual eq, compression, etc.
I haven’t tried the pickup on it’s own to the Axe-Fx without the preamp. I can try this later and report back, as it was something you were considering.
 
SBT pickups sound very natural. They are prone to feedback in the low end. I found a solution that won't kill your lows and zaps the feedback ....
if it's howling at G# on the low E string, instead of reducing 103.83 Hz.. like a typical 100Hz filter on an eq. Reduce the first harmonic of that note at 207.65 Hz
It will keep your lows intact, reduce the overbearing G string, and quiet the air column resonance from when the back and sound hole get coupled.

I would pass on a K&K preamp. The one I had was very noisy (hiss) The fractal 1 Meg buffer and all it's powerful blocks and clean processing would do a far better job.
 
Thanks for the thoughts. I am a bit concerned that the K&K will be too noisy / feedback prone. However, I only play out at church and we are on IEM's with the drums in an isolation booth, so I think feedback in that situation will be of minimal concern. If I were going to be playing in a variety of venues with significant volume I would probably go with another option. I have another acoustic guitar that has an under saddle piezo pickup that I can use if I ever need to play on a loud stage.

You are incorrect about the Anthem transducer location being underneath the bridge and not underneath the saddle. It is absolutely the type that goes underneath the saddle. The microphone is attached underneath the bridge plate, so that might be the source of your confusion. If you want evidence for my claim, here you go:


I stand corrected. I have 2 higher end Takamine and that' is where my confusion started I guess. The Taks are under the bridge, not the saddle. Great system btw, but only factory installs.
I imagine you will be happy with whatever you do.
I do have a friend who plays in an acosutic duo. He is a killer guitar player and plays lots of stuff on Acoustic that others do not. His acosutic has the under saddle transducer and he didn't like it. He bought a cheapo in the hole pickup( I think its a low end fishman) Anyway, he swears bu y this because the transducer gives him some of the wood sound and the in the hole gives high end and mainly VOLUME without feedback.
 
Back
Top Bottom