Best acoustic pickup ???

[rxkevco]

In a bit of a quandry at the moment with regard to fitting a pickup to my martin DM.
I have a yamaha FG430 which i have had for 25+ years, and bout 5 yrs ago fitted a martin under saddle pickup to it. Its sounds fine amplified, and even running thru the mixer when recording, but i dont particulary want to take it off the yam and fit it to the martin.
As well as recording my own material at the moment, i am about to start doing a few live sets in a few local pubs and will be using the martin mostly ( nicer deep tones ).
So,,,, what is the best pickup to have as there seems to have been some decent advances over the last few yrs and its all a bit confusing.

I would like to use another under saddle pickup if poss,, but if a soundhole pickup is better sound altogether then i would go for one of them, as ugly as they are !!!
I know its probably all to do with personal taste, but would really appreciate any advice anyone can put forward.
Many thanks, Kev.

 

[muttley600]

Best place to start would be HERE

 

[dragonworks]

I put a fishman in my 1974 guild D17M under the saddle and am quite happy with it.

 

[rxkevco]

Thanks muttley,,
Just what i have been searching for,,,looks like its gonna be the fishman rare earth then ,,,,ebay is my friend !!

 

[Big Kenny]

I use the rare earth in my Taylor and my Martin, very nice reproduction and at lower volumes, very authentic

 

[rxkevco]

Right,,, thanks for all the replies and info,,,, but,,circumstances have just changed slightly !!!!

Just got rid of the Martin DM, its not really what i was hoping for when i got it, so its gone. Have gone out and done what i should have done in the first place, !! Just took delivery of a Martin HD-28, which is probably the best thing thats rested on my crotch for many years !!
To add to the HD-28, i have just ordered a Fishman AURA blend pre amp, stomp box thingy, which sounds amazing on any guitar .

So,,, Now that i have the AURA, to go with the HD-28,, i think a quick reveiw of what pickup would suit this setup best is required.

Does anyone have any veiws on this setup,, the aura, or any further advice on which way to proceed ?????

Would i get away with just an undersaddle pikcup with this setup,, or is the fishman rare earth/rare earth blend still the way forward ??
Cheers, kev.

 

[c7sus]

www.tranceaudio.com

If you go with their Amulet system you can send the Fishman back.

 

[rxkevco]

I am so impressed with the aura that i am gonna stick with it, its amazing really, and very easy to edit and tweak !

All i need now is an acoustic pickup to compliment the HD-28 and Fishman Aura combination, and thats where the fun begins !!!!!

After what i have spent in the last few days i cant really afford to go over the top on a pickup, but i am sensible enough to know that cutting corners now over a pickup is plain stupid.

I really dont know which way to go now !!

 

[c7sus]

If you go with a piezo be sure to have somebody install it that knows WTF they are doing.

If they just slather silicone on it and stick it to the underside of the soundboard they're doing you a disservice. They need to audition the placement and adjust accordingly.

 

[Light]

The Aura is INTENDED to be used with the Fishman Matrix Natural I.

That being said, I thought the Aura sounded better set to "Bypass."



Light

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

 

[RandyW]

I really like the sound of the expression system in my Taylor. But they pickup a lot of sound from your hands on the soundboard and bridge. All my other acoustics I use a Lace California pickup it sounds pretty good but you have to deal with dangling cables and reattaching etc.
I do have on classical with some type of saddle pickup can't remember what it is called something with a B in it? really can't stand the sound of it.

 

[tkingen]

I think it's hard to get an under saddle pickup to sound natural. The most authentic amplified acoustic tone I've ever heard were Leo Kottke and Kelly Joe Phelps - both using Sunrise magentic pups.

 

[Light]

I think it's hard to get an under saddle pickup to sound natural. The most authentic amplified acoustic tone I've ever heard were Leo Kottke and Kelly Joe Phelps - both using Sunrise magentic pups.

While I can't speak for Kelly Joe Phelps, Leo keeps coming back to the Sunrise. But Leo ALSO uses a microphone out in front of his guitars, which makes a BIG difference. This works well for him largely because he is usually the only person on the stage. It becomes less useful when you start adding other players to the mix. And of course, on recordings, he is always playing into a mic.


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