Anybody got an acoustic soundhole pickup that they swear by?

[paulblackford]

I'm looking at an economical way to amplify three steel string acoustics that have no electronics. The best way I could figure is a removable soundhole pickup. I'm also open to those stick-on piezo pickups. Let me know what you thought sounded really good. Thanks.

 

[guitar_paul1]

I'm in love with this one.
Doesn't sound at all like a piezo but it tickles me to pieces. Expensive, though.

DeArmond (Rowe) RHC-B Acoustic Soundhole Pickup (c. 1960/1961) | Reverb

This is a good, used DeArmond round soundhole pickup. Output meters as it should. Output is through a 1/4" T/S male jack. There are variations on this pickup, but from what I can determine, it was made around 1960/1961. It has five exposed pole pieces (not six), non-adjustable pole pi...

reverb.com

 

[Tarkus60]

Go with LR baggs in what ever configuration. I have the anthem in a D18 and M80 in a Sc13.
There is a lot guys on the KK pure mini.
I am a LR Baggs guy.

 

[Dismalhead]

I had a couple of the less expensive ones, I know one was the Dean Markley. They sounded decent, but both crapped out after a couple of months - not made for daily use IMO. Good for a once in a while thing. Now I just have A/E guitars.

 

[black_doug]

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Seymour Duncan SA-3HC Woody HC Acoustic Soundhole Pickup - Hum-Canceling​

 

[telestratosonic]

LR Baggs M80 active/passive pickup.
I have two for my 4 acoustic guitars.
I bought an extra 2 strapjack plugs. All 4 acoustics have the strapjacks installed. I can switch the pickups to any of the 4 acoustics.

I bought a Fishman passive soundhole pickup some years ago. It has a 6´ or so non-detachable cable and no volume control. The LR Baggs M80 is a big improvement.

Seagull Maritime SWS mini-jumbo and a Simon & Patrick
Showcase dreadnought.

 

[sjtalon]

I am very happy with this one.

Dean Markley Pro Mag single coil (SC1) acoustic pickup. I've had it since 2010- zero issues

 

[Pcs264]

I have a Duncan Woody, and it's not bad - certainly punches well above its price point. But my Mojotone NC-1st is absolutely brilliant; the best amplified acoustic sound I've ever had, in all 3 of the guitars I've tried it in.

 

[netgear69]

I have gone through a lot of acoustic pickups piezos with preamps piezo & built in mic combos didn't like any of them
i recently put a passive 4 head setup in a electro classical build which lets you move them to where the best sound is not too thin and not booming equal volume of each string no preamp you manipulate the sound & volume by what you plug the guitar into for me it is straight into a daw and what ever effects stand alone etc i like the clean sound as base to work with
probably not for everyone who like to control things with preamps but is an option

 

[INFANT]

I’ve got a Baggs M1 on my Martin. It’s designed such that it picks up the strings as well as the vibrations of the top of the guitar. I really like it as it doesn’t have that piezo “honk”. It sounds more natural.

 

[thesamhill]

Another vote for the Baggs M80. Here's a thread if you want to hear it for yourself

Thread 'Every Kind of Wrong (John Moreland Cover)' https://www.tdpri.com/threads/every-kind-of-wrong-john-moreland-cover.1107463/

 

[Monoprice99]

If you have a SM57 or even a $ 20-30 off brand SM57-like microphone, maybe try micing the guitar to see if that does the trick ? Is this for recording or out thru a traditional amp, either/both ?

 

[24 track]

I use a Dean Markley when I am recording my acoustics , plus the installed bridge pick ups and stereo condenser mics to get a well rounded sound .

I use the piezo on my classical

 

[Santiago]

For a natural acoustic sound, the LR Bags M1 passive is hard to beat. I love mine, much better than a piezo.

For a cool semi electric sound that sounds good through a normal guitar amp, the Bill Lawrence soundhole pickups are super cheap and really good. Used in the past by Daniel Lanois, the Edge from U2 (he's been using it in the recent Las Vegas Sphere shows), Elliott Smith, Bob Dylan...

 

[paulblackford]

Another vote for the Baggs M80. Here's a thread if you want to hear it for yourself

Thread 'Every Kind of Wrong (John Moreland Cover)' https://www.tdpri.com/threads/every-kind-of-wrong-john-moreland-cover.1107463/

Nice playing. That pickup sounds good, too.

 

[paulblackford]

If you have a SM57 or even a $ 20-30 off brand SM57-like microphone, maybe try micing the guitar to see if that does the trick ? Is this for recording or out thru a traditional amp, either/both ?

I want to keep things to a minimal setup. I'm not recording, but occasional volume boost, and effects would be nice. I've got a Marshall As50r that I'm trying to repair, so I'd like to keep my rig to guitar>cable>amp as much as I can.

 

[58Bassman]

I bought a Lace soundhole pickup a long time ago and never really used it much because I don't have an amp that's made for acoustic guitar pickups. Not long ago, I decided to plug it into my Tascam USB interface and listen with headphones and was amazed by it, considering the low price. I compared it with the Fishman Matrix in another guitar and the Matrix had that low end 'splut' thing that I always hated about the sound of Ovation guitars, but the higher strings sounded OK.

 

[Monoprice99]

I want to keep things to a minimal setup. I'm not recording, but occasional volume boost, and effects would be nice. I've got a Marshall As50r that I'm trying to repair, so I'd like to keep my rig to guitar>cable>amp as much as I can.

I have a Pyle version of the SM57, think they call it a PDMIC78. It was $ 12 delivered before pandemic era, it might be $ 15-20 today. The acoustic I have has the piezo under saddle & preamp Ovation. That works because it's already there, but I have tried the PDMIC78 into a 1x8 open back combo with Reverb (Pyle PVAMP60R). That works OK too. I figured since you had 3 acoustics without electronics, would be just easier & more economical to mic up the guitar thru the amp or a DAW. That way you aren't removing the pickup & installing it into the other acoustics. There's the output jack that all 3 of the acoustics might need to be modded for that might require drilling to the bowl or even where the strap button would be a strap button & output jack dual function modification. I guess the downside to the mic approach is you'd have to set up the mic every time for a different location/venue ?

 

[schmee]

Frankly I've had several. I have not found a huge difference in them. They are magnetic pickups, most of them anyway. I actually prefer a piezo myself.
I really like this Lawrence design, easy to install and has a small volume pot on it.
How it installs:

With volume pot: Lawrence A245C


I have a Fishman Pro Single coil also.
With long cable.

SPAM: I have both for sale.
Lawrence with RCA plug as shown: $50 shipped
Fishman Pro Single coil with long cable attached: $45 shipped

 

[Happy Enchilada]

I have 3 acoustics with magnetic soundhole pickups that I gig regularly.
All 3 sound fine (lots better than any piezo).
And all 3 are passive because I'm too old to futz with batteries.

One is a Mojotone passive humbucker model ($170)
One is a K&K Double Helix humbucker model (170)
And then there's the Amumu SP60 humbucker ($60)

I've gotten compliments on all 3, especially the one I got for $60 offa Amazon.
A buddy who's a luthier stuck the cheap one in his "daily driver" and loves it.
So that's what I'd recommend.