Acoustic Pickup

[bossking7]

Ive never used one before, but I was looking at the Dean Markley Pro Mag pickup. Will it work with any acoustic? I use an Epiphone Dove right now.

[Stubee]

It is the wood-framed sound hole pup? If so yes, it will work with any flattop that lets you fit it in. That would include almost any flattop BTW.

Doesn't sound very 'acoustic' but allows you to play thru a PA or whatever & is cheap & not bad. I have two & used them in a Martin HD-35 and other Flattops years ago on stage in bands.

[1955]

They are single-coils, so they buzz. Try the LR Baggs, or one of the noisless ones. I have a ProMag Plus on a dreadnought. I'm getting rid of it at some point, because its not playable - the single-coil noise is much more annoying than on a tele, just my opinion. I havent played much acoustic plugged in though, just a tele.

[bossking7]

Thanks guys!

[carbon ribs]

They are quite a bit more expensive but the LR Baggs M1 is a really nice sound hole pickup. No buzz and does a good job of sensing body vibrations IMHO. I use one in my Epi Masterbilt every week at church. Paired with the Baggs PADI it sounds very nice!

[chilldude]

I used to use the pro mag for a lot of years, but it was suceptible to hum, etc.
Got tired of that, then I bought the Duncan "Woody".
It's a humbucking acoustic soundhole pickup. No hum what so ever.
Not quite as snazzy as the Baggs system or K&K, but it sounds decent when run through a nice preamp. I use the the one made by Dean Markley. I believe they call it the "Ultrasound Plus".

[aunchaki]

Another vote for the L.R.Baggs M1 (I have the passive one). I tried one of the wooden ones and I had really inconsistent string-to-string volume. It was practically useless. I also like Fishman soundhole pickups. I have a Neo-D single coil. It's bright and sounds great, but I play in noisy (electronically) areas and it's a single coil--lots of hum. They make a nice humbucker.

[FenderNashville]

Some words of wisdom.

The LR Baggs M1 is a great pickup. I've got one. Probably the best sound hole pickup ever made. However, you need to be aware of some drawbacks:

(1) You cannot use a sound hole humidifier. Taking it out and putting in a humidifier isn't something you're going to want to do often at all, trust me. That means I have to spend effort time installing/reinstalling the humidifier when doing a gig so I can put my Baggs in it.

(2) You may prefer the acoustic sound of the guitar without the pickup when playing unplugged (like I do), so you'll probably leave it out at home.

(3) It will slightly mar the hole if your soundhole unless you install the pads. Even then, I bet continuos use of installation/reinstallation will mar it anyways.

(4) it doesn't look integrated.

The above are just some minor annoyances with the pickup that has caused mine to go in the file cabinet unless I'm playing live. Many times, I forget I even have one.

The nice thing about a K&K transducer pickup, is that it doesn't suffer from the above annoyances. It's also nearly invisible.

[el cheapo]

Originally Posted by FenderNashville

Some words of wisdom.
The nice thing about a K&K transducer pickup, is that it doesn't suffer from the above annoyances. It's also nearly invisible.

I have a K&K Pure mini pickup in my Martin OM-1. It's inside the guitar, under the bridge and completely out of sight. It sounds great too, just like my guitar only louder. It comes with easy to follow instructions and I installed it myself. I can definitely recommend it!

[benderb9]

+1 on the K&K Pure Mini. Get a Baggs or Fishman preamp to run it into and it's PERFECT.

[Millebern]

Another +1 on the K and K. I bought the K and K pure preamp to go with mine and I think it sounds great through my Loudbox mini.

[Drunkinminer]

Another KK user here. I installed mine today and tried it with/without the XLR Pre Amp and it sound good either way. I don't have an Acoustic Amp yet but tried it through my GDEC-JR and was surprised at how good it sounded.

[banjohabit]

i use the fishman neo-D humbucker. i really like it because it captures the acoustic sound of the guitar pretty well, and has no hum or feedback, even when volume is way up, which is usually the case with the group i normally play it with. i did a permanent install in my #2 acoustic, yamaha fg730s, not my vintage gibson, though i think the ease of use of it would not harm or mar the guitar in any way. easy.