K&K Mini Install - Thanks Rob!

[Phostenix]

I helped a friend install a K&K Mini pickup system in his acoustic guitar with the assistance of Rob DiStefano's pictorial guide. The install went without incident. We installed all 3 mics at once like Rob shows.

http://frettech.com/kk/

I would say that the pickup sounds like I expected. Overall, it's really a nice sounding system. The highs need a little boost, as you might expect from a mic system under the top and the level is lower than a typical piezo system.

I'm looking forward to hearing it tomorrow through the PA. Judging from the palying we did through my PA, it's a deeper sound than his Taylor and I may be scrambling to change my pickup & amp settings to fit in the mix with him now.

[Lenderman_k]

WOW that pictorial is awesome. I need to get on of these for my Martin.

[Davo17]

Hows it sound?

[Phostenix]

Originally Posted by Davo17

Hows it sound?

Sounds good. Doesn't have the compressed, plastic-y piezo sound & it doesn't have the electric guitar sound of most soundhole magnetic pups. It could use some more brightness for the high strings, but some added EQ fixed that. I think the EQ on the mixing board will be enough to take care of that. The bigger question is whether it will need a level boost. The level is significantly lower than the Ghost system in my electric. He's going to bring a couple of pedals just in case. It is nice that there is no battery to worry about, though.

The body sounds are also good for percussive stuff you just can't get from a soundhole or under bridge piezo. He says it isn't as sensitive as his Taylor's ESS system, but he sees that as a postive. You don't hear scratching sounds when you brush the top.

[Phostenix]

It went into one of these:

http://www.recordingking.com/guitars_ros06.html

BTW, the neck on that thing is huge.

[krisls]

Very nice tutorial Monsieur DiStefano, thanks, I reckon I could pull that off now.

Always liked a passive pickup in a nice acoustic. I imagine those would work well with a Baggs or Fishman preamp.

Kristina

[Rob DiStefano]

glad to be of service, but please note that in their current install literature, K&K Sound now recommends placing the B/E transducer closer to, or directly over the high E string plate hole, to augment the the treble ...



....

[Toriginal]

Great info. And thanks for the wiring library.
Nice tip Rob as well. A piezo pickup system is in my future and these posts help to round out the research. Very cool.

[Phostenix]

Originally Posted by Rob DiStefano

glad to be of service, but please note that in their current install literature, K&K Sound now recommends placing the B/E transducer closer to, or directly over the high E string plate hole, to augment the the treble ...



....

We did cheat the mic for the high B & E strings towards the E, but not as much as that picture. More like off-center towards the E. If I put this setup in my guitar, I'll go further.

[Rob DiStefano]

i also have an ros-06 (fantastic acoustic, my fave) and when i installed the kk mini i placed the b/e transducer closer to the high e, but not directly under it, and i like it that way (at least for this guitar). i don't think it all matters that much. one could do a trial run for positioning using tape instead of glue, but gluing is almost mandatory for these kinda transducers, for the best volume and tone. outboard eq will solve most any problem/concern. love the kk pure mini!

[Phostenix]

It sounded great today with a little EQ from the board. He's very happy with it.