Acoustic pickup for Takamine

[Ricklh]

I've recorded my Takamine acoustic with the mic and it sounds really nice, but I've been considering getting one of those pick-ups that you just stick into the soundhole (the Fishman ProNeoD01) and plug the 1/4 cable into my Fostex 8-track recorder. Anyone here recorded an acoustic this way or compared miking vs. an add-on pick-up? Some of these pick-ups recommend a pre-amp, which I have an ART mic pre-amp, but is this really necessary or can I just plug the guitar pick-up directly into my digital recorer and get a decent sound?

 

[Light]

Don't bother. Pickups do not sound good enough for recording. They are fine for live, but not for recording. This is particularly true with the kind of pickups you are talking about (magnetic pickups). Piezo pickups sound better, but they still can not compare to a mic. In both cases, they only pickup the sound of the vibrating strings, and they do not get the sound of the top vibrating, or the reflections of sound inside the body.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[Ricklh]

Don't bother. Pickups do not sound good enough for recording. They are fine for live, but not for recording. This is particularly true with the kind of pickups you are talking about (magnetic pickups). Piezo pickups sound better, but they still can not compare to a mic. In both cases, they only pickup the sound of the vibrating strings, and they do not get the sound of the top vibrating, or the reflections of sound inside the body.


Light

Thanks, Light. I've decided to keep miking the acoustic and just get an electric, a Telecaster, to have some electric guitar riffs to compliment the acoustic.

 

[VesuviusJay]

Anyone tried the EMG accoustic pickup or the high end Fisher?

 

[LI_Slim]

I have always stayed away from recording acoustic guitar with a pickup, but lately I've been experimenting with adding it on. Although you won't like the tone much separately, it can add fullness to the overall sound; plus, if you pan the mic one way and the pickup another, it helps expand the stereo field. So I would not discount it.

Unfortunately, you do not have a Takamine with built in electronics, which is what most of their guitars do best. The soundhole pickup probably will suck for any recording purpose. A fishman ribbon condensor under the saddle pickup would be good, but you will probably need to have a luthier do that and you'll end up spending more than $200 by the time you are done.

 

[Ricklh]

I have always stayed away from recording acoustic guitar with a pickup, but lately I've been experimenting with adding it on. Although you won't like the tone much separately, it can add fullness to the overall sound; plus, if you pan the mic one way and the pickup another, it helps expand the stereo field. So I would not discount it.

Unfortunately, you do not have a Takamine with built in electronics, which is what most of their guitars do best. The soundhole pickup probably will suck for any recording purpose. A fishman ribbon condensor under the saddle pickup would be good, but you will probably need to have a luthier do that and you'll end up spending more than $200 by the time you are done.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[freshmattyp]

Anyone tried the EMG accoustic pickup or the high end Fisher?

I use the EMG ACS soundhole pickup, as well as the Fishman Rare Earth. In my experience, the magnetic soundhole pickups sound better with less effort than the standard piezo setup. Others will tell you exactly the opposite. I run mine through a Boss EQ pedal with a shallow smile on the sliders, then straight into the PA. This has been my setup for the last 2 years. I'm saving for a Sunrise Pickup to install in my J45 to replace the POS piezo that was factory installed.

 

[VesuviusJay]

Which would you recommend for live performance with a Gibson Workingman 45 through a mesa boogie triple rectifier?

 

[freshmattyp]

The EMG.