acoustic pickup

[clare_bear]

Hi Guys

It looks like I may be needing amplification for my acoustic (in the potential band), so I need some help with picking what I need. The guitar is a Vintage V300 - with a pickup would this be OK for gigging (potentially, and obviously nothing too serious!)?

What type of pickup do I need? I need general and specific help, as I have no idea about acoustic pickups!

Thanks

[Lewy]

I really like magnetic soundhole pickups both for the sound and the convenience of being able to easily put them in and take them out again.

You don't mention a budget, but the Fishman Neo-D is a good bet.

[clare_bear]

Originally Posted by Lewy

I really like magnetic soundhole pickups both for the sound and the convenience of being able to easily put them in and take them out again.

You don't mention a budget, but the Fishman Neo-D is a good bet.

Thanks, Lewy. I had no idea of what sort of budget range I was looking at really, but that Fishman looks perfectly acceptable to me.

Now I have a starting point, I'll look into it a bit more, but if it's good enough for Lewy, it's good enough for me

[Ash96]

I'm also in this situation, bought an acoustic just for jamming at home, now will probably doing some open mic nights soon.

Whats the difference between single coil and humbucking acoustic pickups?

I know how they react in electrics, but have no idea about acoustics!
could someone let me know the benefits/drawbacks of each?

Cheers.

[performingchimp]

the neoD pickups are OK but have a somewhat artificial sound and can be buzzy and noisy. Also you just get a jack dangling out so you'll possibly need a preamp of some kind. I wouldn't really recommend them but they are very cheap, I grant you!

THis is the dogs nads:

http://www.google.co.uk/products?num...s+m1&scoring=p

Try one if you can (it just clamps on the soundhole, so you can try it on your own guitar in a shop) so you know what a decent pickup sounds like! If you do buy one you can use it on several guitars and any subsequent acoustic you buy, so it is good value.

You can spend a LOT more than that on acoustic pickups. One of my pickups retails at 600 euros.

Jon

[performingchimp]

Originally Posted by Ash96

Whats the difference between single coil and humbucking acoustic pickups?

Just the same as electric pickups really - single coils will sound thinner but sweeter, but they will buzz. This can be a nightmare in a live situation. Humbuckers are fatter and warmer, and don't buzz.

[clare_bear]

Originally Posted by performingchimp

the neoD pickups are OK but have a somewhat artificial sound and can be buzzy and noisy. Also you just get a jack dangling out so you'll possibly need a preamp of some kind. I wouldn't really recommend them but they are very cheap, I grant you!

THis is the dogs nads:

http://www.google.co.uk/products?num...s+m1&scoring=p

Try one if you can (it just clamps on the soundhole, so you can try it on your own guitar in a shop) so you know what a decent pickup sounds like! If you do buy one you can use it on several guitars and any subsequent acoustic you buy, so it is good value.

You can spend a LOT more than that on acoustic pickups. One of my pickups retails at 600 euros.

Jon

Thanks, Jon. I think that pup is out of budget probably, especially as it was more than the guitar! But I will bear it in mind. I doubt I'll be able to go and try one as our local guitar shop is crap!

Would you suggest a humbucking pup then? I have no idea what I'm doing, so any advice gatefully received!

[Vim Fuego]

I used to have a page saved that A/B'd a load of acoustic pups, but I'll be hung, drawn and quartered if I can't find it. IIRC, K&K western pure came out very highly, didn't atomic panda fit one to his acoutic? Not sure where you get 'em in this country. LR Baggs are very highly thought of as well.

[atomicpanda]

Originally Posted by Vim Fuego

I used to have a page saved that A/B'd a load of acoustic pups, but I'll be hung, drawn and quartered if I can't find it. IIRC, K&K western pure came out very highly, didn't atomic panda fit one to his acoutic? Not sure where you get 'em in this country.

Yup, to my old Seagull. It's a good pickup, it attaches to the bridgeplate inside the guitar, so it picks up a lot more of the vibration from the soundboard, and hence sounds a lot more natural than something like a piezo, which only really picks up string vibration. Easy enough to glue into place (and I am as clumsy as Frank Spencer), the tricky part would be drilling a hole for the jack output (fortunately my Seagull already had one from its previous piezo). I didn't even use a preamp, and it worked fine, you could run it through an effects box for EQ/volume control. I got mine from their website http://www.kksound.com/purewestern.html , don't think I even had to pay import duty, may be wrong though.

[imported_timmyo]

Originally Posted by Vim Fuego

I used to have a page saved that A/B'd a load of acoustic pups, but I'll be hung, drawn and quartered if I can't find it.

http://www.dougyoungguitar.com/pickuptest.htm