PreAmp Question

I am looking for some input on a decent preamp that can be used for recording and playing acoustic.
Also if anyone has any ideas of a decent pickup for an acoustic I would appreciate it.
tanx

That's sort of a "War and Peace" type question. Maybe you could narrow it down a bit.

For recording, I've mostly used mic's, but have occasionally blended in a degree of solid state or tube-based preamps/DI's for clarity and/or "warmth".

For live, my opinion is that anything goes. I've used loads of preamps, EQ's, DI's, and boosts, but my educated guess is that what has and hasn't worked with my gear, approach, and material is specific to me, and might not fare so well for the next guy or gal. My "acoustic-electric" duo is louder and rowdier than any duo I've ever heard, so what I choose is not necessarily what the dedicated coffee house, Irish pub, or bluegrass player would choose for their work. Further, I use piezo, single coil, and humbucker pickups at my duo jobs, so I've tailored my gear choices accordingly to act as chameleons. I have as many opinions on this stuff as the day is long, but again, the only thing I'm sure of is that my stuff works for me.

What is it that you seek to do?

I have two different live setups, both of which can be used to record. For my Beatles cover band I use a Dimarzio soundhole pickup in my EJ160E, which goes into a Marshall ASD50 acoustic amp. The amp has an XLR direct out that can be used to record if you want.
The other setup has an L.R.Baggs M1 soundhole pickup (great pickup), into a Yamaha AG Stomp acoustic processor, into the PA. Sometimes I put a direct box before the PA.
Both of these rigs sound great.
For recording, like Tim, I usually use mics into some type of tube preamp, which really does warm up the signal. There are lots of those available, and they are relatively inexpensive to buy. You could use one of those to warm up your live signal, too, if you wanted, but I've never found it necessary.

Edited to add that the LR Baggs pickup is in a much better guitar (a '78 Guild D40C) than the DiMarzio pickup is, so that makes for a much better tone. I happen to think it's a better pickup anyway, whatever guitar you have it in.

Thanks so much you guys.
I am actually looking to do mainly home recording and maybe onto the comp box.
I want to get a real clean signal and keep as much transparency as possible.
I read that Takamine have a preamp called a Cool tube which actually gets some real rave reviews. Unfortunately they are not available as a sole option. Right now they are only sold as part of their guitars.

I have a Martin D18 with a K&K Western pickup into an Art Tube MP for live work. For recording we mic the guitar, most times with a JoeMeeks condenser, but some songs seem to be better with a SM 57.

I've just started adding the pickup direct, not sure how it will fit into the mix, though.

Martin
E. Christina Herr & Wild Frontier (http://echristinaherr.com)

Gary, start with good microphones for recording and take it from there. The outboard devices that I employ to project an A/E source for live use are not necessarily (actually, rarely) what I'd use to record with. When I've split my mic'ed signal to a pre/DI, the direct signal maybe constituted 30% of the combined audio source. Plus, for studio acoustic work, I've enjoyed benefits of fairly high end units such as Demeter and Avalon - stuff that you can easily hear the fidelity of, and stuff that my beer budget doesn't readily allow for as to personal use.

For recording acoustic instruments, I've never been a fan of 'do-all' pre/DI/EQ/comp/boost Swiss Army Knife units, although they can be useful for live. In splitting to a DI'ed signal for recording, my opinion is that a dedicated DI with superior fidelity and massive headroom is the only way to go. On a budget, this could be a Countryman or a Radial J48 (my choice for live; active; about 200 bucks). Skip the multiple bells and whistles and EQ options of pre/DI units for recording. Simple circuits and signal paths are the way to go. Just my opinion.