Acoustic/Electric or your own Pickups?

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kilfin

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In your opinion, do you think its better to buy a good acoustic and then put in your own pickup or buy and acoustic with a pickup built in? I am definately not an equipment guy that is why I am asking. It seems to me that I would have better luck buying an acoustic and putting in my own, I don't know why it just feels like it would be better. Kind of like...let the guitar people make guitars and let the pickup people make pickups?
 
In my experience, it's always better to mic up an acoustic when you can but that's pretty obvious.

If it's a toss up between the under saddle piezo pickup or an aftermarket (i.e. Seymore Duncan or DiMarzio - my personal fav) soundhole pickup, I would definitely go with the soundhole pickup. Makes it sound a little more electric in a way, but it's still better than the piezo IMO.
 
I always advise getting an acoustic and adding a pickup.

And if your going to go with a magnetic pickup, get a good one, a Sunrise, Rare Earth, or Baggs M1 (though even there, the only one I would use is the Sunrise).


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Ditto what Light said,

The advantage of an add on pickup is you can choose what does best for you. I prefer soundhole pickups. Add the ibeam, if you want something out of the way. I still like them a lot. It's best to have an idea of how your going to be using it before you choose one. Other than that Mic up when you can.
 
Guitar people don't make the pickups, even if the guitar comes with them - they install the pickup made by the "pickup people". Unless they happen to make both. :D

Are you talking about really high-end guitar? Maybe, if you list several models you've been thinking of...

I always liked internal mics - little condenser thingies, that's always a possibility too. It's not the same as miking externally, but to me sounds better than a piezo pickup, more natural. Or sometimes people combine piezo with internal or external mic and blend the sound to liking.

My current (cheap) solid-top acoustic has a cheap, but decent sounding mic, which I had a guitar tech install - it's part of the end-pin/jack. Runs on 3 watch-type batteries. But I don't really record, this was more for live playing. I'm not saying it wouldn't record well, just can't comment. There are more expensive models, too, also sound-hole insertable mics.
 
I've been adding K&K Pure pickups in my acoustic instruments. I really like the natural full sound they add. But when I record, I still rely primarily on a condensor mic or two, but also will mix in some the pickup.

I would put the K&K's against any other OEM pickup. They just make a great guitar sound great.
 
The idea of adding a pick-up yourself appeals to me becuase you can be sure that, if you buy an acoustic without one, you are (hopefully) paying for the important things - materials, fit and finish.
 
Blues is on the right track because ive heard taylors using their mics thqt qre built in and thye tend to get a lot of feedback and arent top of the line pickups. Putting in your own would assure you a cheaper higher quality acoustic sound. Once you have the good acoustic sound see which pick ups would work well and sound well. Elliot Smith always used regular acoustics with pickups.
 
A lot of luthiers are critical of the Taylor pickups. They are at best unreliable and worst they just don't sound as good as other stuff.

A word of caution about internal mics. A lot of guys have success with them but the inside of a guitar is the last place you want to pickup the sound from. They can be incredibly hard to balance in a live situation and the sound of a guitar inside the box is far from acoustically ideal. There has been a lot of threads on this in the past I suggest doing a bit of searching there is some good advice and recommendations in them.
 
I put an LR Baggs Element transducer in my Martin DX-1 (usa).

I am pleased with it in for the live stand point. No tone controls just a small volume wheel just under the sound hole. IF you only play with your fingers then it is perfect. The pick attack is pretty brutal. I use an instument preamp strip to tame the attack.

If you did mostly solo acoustic stuff I would put more money into one of the combo pickup setups.

From a recording stand point it's not so great on it's own. I blend it with a LDC to get some ambiants. But the baggs stuff is pretty good.
 
Hey thanks for all the opinions...I think I'll probably go with adding a pickup later. Oh, and just for the record this was all geared towards live playing (sorry I thought I put that in there).

Oh and about the "guitar people" making pickups...lol...I was just guessing :)
 
muttley600 said:
A lot of luthiers are critical of the Taylor pickups. They are at best unreliable and worst they just don't sound as good as other stuff.

A word of caution about internal mics. A lot of guys have success with them but the inside of a guitar is the last place you want to pickup the sound from. They can be incredibly hard to balance in a live situation and the sound of a guitar inside the box is far from acoustically ideal. There has been a lot of threads on this in the past I suggest doing a bit of searching there is some good advice and recommendations in them.
Click to expand...


Most guys who use internal mics use very little of them, because they just don't sound very good. What they add is not accuracy, but complexity. Which is the primary thing a good undersaddle is missing. And for that, a mic is OK. But personally, I much prefer to use a magnetic in combination with a undersaddle. The sound of the two pickups is much more complementary to my ear (the magnetic has very good lows, and an undersaddle is nice in the midrange and can be good in the highs, if it is treated right). Plus, you get much better feedback rejection from an undersaddle and magnetic than any other combination I know of.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Light said:
Most guys who use internal mics use very little of them, because they just don't sound very good. What they add is not accuracy, but complexity. Which is the primary thing a good undersaddle is missing. And for that, a mic is OK. But personally, I much prefer to use a magnetic in combination with a undersaddle. The sound of the two pickups is much more complementary to my ear (the magnetic has very good lows, and an undersaddle is nice in the midrange and can be good in the highs, if it is treated right). Plus, you get much better feedback rejection from an undersaddle and magnetic than any other combination I know of.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
Click to expand...

Yeh I'll agree with that. Thats one reason I lean towards the Ibeam I like the attack and mids. The low end I punch up with eq. I still struggle with the quack that all undersaddles seem to have at least to my ear. Some people seem to quite like it, but my ear has never adjusted. I must try the Sunrise one day.Just can't get them here. Not that I've ever looked very hard. For all round usability and for people that want a good all round pickup for live work I still recommend a decent magnetic soundhole. A lot of folks can't be bothered or don't have the time to tweak their sound every time they plug in.
 
Not that I'm an expert...
but for recording solo or playing in a great acoustic space, i like a loud, sensitive, responsive guitar.
For plugging in live, i like an inexpensive, less responsive, stiffer top guitar.
Less boomy feedback, more midrange, less heartbreak if stolen. Less worry
about altering the instrument with a pickup installation.

Plus one on the magnetic or mag/peizo combo.

I like what Dave Wendler does...
 
muttley600 said:
Yeh I'll agree with that. Thats one reason I lean towards the Ibeam I like the attack and mids. The low end I punch up with eq. I still struggle with the quack that all undersaddles seem to have at least to my ear. Some people seem to quite like it, but my ear has never adjusted. I must try the Sunrise one day.Just can't get them here. Not that I've ever looked very hard. For all round usability and for people that want a good all round pickup for live work I still recommend a decent magnetic soundhole. A lot of folks can't be bothered or don't have the time to tweak their sound every time they plug in.
Click to expand...


You should also try the D-TAR stuff. Rick Turner designed it, and it's really nice. Because of the 18 volt preamp, it is a lot smoother on the top end than you are used to. Doesn't really quack so much. I like them a lot.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
I'd go for an acoustic/electric for one simple reason - acoustics without electronics and with cutaways are few and far between.

I almost never use the peizos on my Martin, but for the upper access it was a no questions sort of situation for me.
 
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