Acoustic Guitar Pickups #10 - K&K Pure Mini 

I just install a K&K mini in my Martin M36. It is so much better then any of my other guitars pickups. Thank you for review.

Installed mine into my cheap Jim Dandy Gretsch parlor guitar to pair with a Bill Lawrence A300 and it made this little guitar sound amazing. Nice combination of acoustic lowend from the K&K and clear highend from the A300 which is just a singlecoil pickup would highly recommend but pain in the ass to install if your guitar doesn't have string pins.

Hey Arron, excited to hear your next video on the Tonedexter. I recently bought Tonedexter which sounds awesome and I currently have the Fishman Matrix Infinity installed in my guitar (HD-28V) because I play very loud venues with a full band. I'm wondering if you think it is worth upgrading to the K&K or possibly the ultra tonic? From what I hear it sounds better than the fishman but I really need the feedback protection that I have with my current pickup.

Aaron - i just bought an AD27 and love it, but now im wondering if I should go back and return for the AD27E version with the ES2 or should i go with a k&k and preamp?

Great video! Just one question. Does de K&k pure mini works a a strap button?

Love your Channel Aaron. I have a K&K in my Martin, and was looking to get the AER 60/4. Does the AER sound great with K&K straight in, or would having a Tonedexter as well into the AER make a big difference? Thanks, John.

Really interesting video. And probably explains why I’ve heard both wonderful and horrible sounds from this pickup system in user demo videos. The microphone quality and high sensitivity to body vibrations is a blessing and a curse. My stage volume is often loud enough that I require a rubber soundhole cover to keep my stock piezo from feeding back. Do you think a rubber plug in the soundhole would help the K&K?

Hi Aaron. Thanks for the review. I would like to ask you this question. I have a nice guitar from Thomann / Harley Benton, Model No CLD-41SE WN. It has a Fishman Presys 11 pickup and preamp built in. The guitar has got a very good tone. I really do not like the sound of the pickup. Could I install this K&K pickup and connect it to the Presys 11 preamp that is already on the guitar ?. I am hoping that this will improve the pickup sound. If it doesn't I could always run the the K&K pickup to an external preamp that I have.

I have kk installed in my guitar now, but as with all of us, we all wanna try something new all the time. I have a new guitar comming, and what is your opinion. Shatten passive or k&k (I will run them through tonedexter in any case). Gr8 channel btw!

Hey Aaron have you reviewed the k&k Trinity? If so would you recommend it? Is it better than the Anthem? Thx for always responding so many others don’t. I hope your channel grows.

Vety informative video! Good job! I have K&K pure mini in both of my Guild F-50R models, as well as my Guild JF-30. (all Jumbos, that's what I play!) I also have, and use, the K&K Pure pickup, just like you have shown. With a bit of tone tweaking, I get a GREAT sound out of it. Also, I had read that you couldn't use the K&K pickup straight into the Fishman Aura Spectrum D.I./Preamp...and that is just not true! It works great! It has the mic/guitar imaging selections (that I use VERY sparingly, if at all), plus it has an onboard compressor, 3 band EQ, phase switch, and the feedback eliminator button that will automatically tune out up to 3 different feedback frequencies...very handy for live performances! And I have a Gibson SJ200 that came from the factory with the Aura Ellipse, a sort of mini on-board Aura Spectrum. I can plug that straight into my amp, or the board, or even through the Aura Spectrum and into amp, board, whatever. My band can get pretty loud, yet I have very few feedback issues. HOWEVER...and here's the big BUT...you HAVE to put in the time to dial in the proper sound. In this age of "plug-and-play, instant-gratification", very few actually take the time to dig in deep with the settings. And that's a MUST for great acoustic tone. Having said THAT, for recording in a studio, under controlled conditions, nothing beats a well-placed mic! Cheers!

For a Yamaha FG5, would you recommend installing the K&K or just purchase the FGX5 with built in pickup?

Hi great info, is the HX stomp good as a preamp for k&k pure mini ? I saw another of your videos that you are using but with another pickup I think, thanks

Aaron nice review man! I have a question, it may be not related to the k&k but if you could kindly answer it would be of great help! Whatstring gauge is in that guitar? And what pick size you used? More power man!

hey aaron, great explanation/demo/review. can you also do a review of the taylor es-2 system? it's a behind the saddle pick up but i find it also responds to body tapping. I also found it picks up outside sound like a microphone. i dont understand why most people dont like the es-2. they are saying it is too muddy. but i found mud can be easily tamed with an eq. i plug my taylor 214ce into an lr baggs venue and it sounds awesome.

Nice job Aaron

Yes it does👍

The NUX Stageman Floor is 1Mohm and sounds nice with this system. I’m gonna order one in the next couple days

awesome video!

Great thank you!!

Basic question as I’m just getting into acoustic guitar pick-ups. I have a Boss Katana amp that has an acoustic channel (apparently it does the job pretty well). When plugging into the Katana, I assume there would be no point having a separate pre-amp (given the Katana has it’s own pre-amp stage)? Thanks for any guidance, M

Could double sided tape be used? to later remove the transducer without damaging it? Does the tape interfere with the sound quality? What other method can be used to remove it later without damaging it?

This is good stuff. I have been using the K&K Pro Mini system in a D21 Special and it is the best plugged in sound I have had in 40 years. The mic does improve the sound. In a noisy environment I use a Zoom A3 and the feedback suppression is very effective without wrecking the tone. However with a band feedback remains a problem so I use an electric and hope that at least one person shouts 'Judas'. I am looking forward to hearing the K&K with the Tonedexter, As an aside I have not had very good experiences with the Anthem, Lyric or Venue preamp but that may just be me and my very old ears.

What did you use to install k&k pick up? tape or super-glue

Hi.. Great videos!! I've watched all your pickup videos... Is the K&K transducer similar to the Face Sensor from the Cole Clarke 3 way pick up? I mean, does it use the same transducer technology.. If yes, then Cole Clark will be the best option!! Thank you

Hi Aaron, Great review and great channel! After you did all those pickup reviews and comparisons - What would be your number #1 recommendation? I'm looking for the best option that I can find for a full band situations, vary from small clubs to big venus such as arenas and stadiums (no preamp, just a cable straight into a regular DI). Thanks!

I have the K&K installed in al of my guitars. Sounds great with a correct pre amp. You talking about the wireless solution. Can you tell what the name is of the wireless system you mentioned because i could not hear exactly what you were saying. Thanks in advance. And thank you for the great work what you are doing for us.

Aaron - when are you going to try the Dazzo 70 pickup? I hear it's more "woody" and 3D sounding than the K&K.

good demo.

HFN with Tonedexter. Is that a good match, too?

Curious if you know why more people don't ever review the K&K trinity pro (the one with an internal mic)! The only K&K reviews i ever seem to find are for the pure mini. Thanks Aaron!

Sounds good to me.

Now that you've tested the K&K pure mini as well as the LR baggs HiFi, which one do you prefer?

Could you consider doing a demo of the K&K with the Trinity mic installed as well?

I use this with Orchid DI(from UK), and am happy with the results. Also, in another guitar, I have the JJB Prestige 330 (which is like a clone of the K&K) but much cheaper. The K&K is better though, with a hotter output and a more balance sound.

Good review man ! You tell the straight pure truth about the pure mini K&K . Time you buy pre amp and pickup you’ll have $$$ in this system. Still on the fence . What’s your opinion now after awhile. Thanks man ! Jeff Clark from ROCKDALE TEXAS. I am pretty well into the AUSTIN Music sene

So does it pair well with a Fishman Aura? I'm keen to put a K&K in my OMJM.

hey, what do you think of supernatural guitar pickups? and also Schatten Design HFN Player VT aktiv. Are they good?

Aaron you cut the bass and added the treble for brightness. The guitar went from a Martin and turned into a Taylor. Still awaiting your test of the Myers Feather pickup.

Would this pickup cause feedback problems with a tonewood amp!?

Could I use a boss GE-7 as a preamp? I run through a fishman loud box amp into mixer anyway?

with fishman aura pedal or voice print's baggs will sound amazing

Thank you for this video - we need more takes on the K&K Pure Mini, and what goes well with it. I have a Collings OM2H equipped with a K&K Pure Mini (no mic). I plug directly into my Fishman Aura Spectrum DI and Fishman Loudbox Artist. I know the Loudbox Artist and the Fishman Aura Spectrum DI both have an input impedance of 10 m ohm, but everything sounds really good! Surprisingly, when I plug my Collings into my Fishman Auro Spectrum DI into my Henriksen blu, it sounds even better. I play primarily fingerstyle or finger picking. I want to add one more comment. I listened to your video with sealing ear buds, and I think my set sounds a bit warmer and smoother than your setup. Maybe it's just the video compression here, but I just want to note that my sound is pretty warm and smooth and natural. In the future I plan to try the Mesa Boogie Rosette Amp, since it is rated 1 m ohm input impedance. Has anyone tried that amp with a K&K pure mini?

What is the signal chain here?

This is a passive pickup right? So it would always work?

So a year after this video. Bought a basic D18- what pickup; still K&K? Thanks

So getting a pre amp is a must??

Thanks

I’ve been looking for a pickup but can’t commit to drilling into my D28

is the lip sync out, or just my computer?

You first left it boomy. Then went bright. What about somewhere in-between, why didn't we hear that?

Perhaps it is an impossible quest but, I feel that pickups simply destroy the sound of guitars. I do have the K&K, with the K&K preamp, in a vintage D28, and I feel I lose 80% of the guitar's rich sound. Nothing so far beats a microphone in front of the guitar to my ears. I also tried to rationalize and think perhaps by blending the Pick Up sound with a Microphone , but in the end, the pick up adds no value to the sound imho. In the end - and I might be wrong - a good pick up will make an "ok" guitar sound "ok", and an amazing guitar just sound "ok" too. I could find it useful If I need to play live and want to avoid the hassle of installing microphones, but again, why do it with a high end guitar if in the end it's going to sound just ok. I think I might try coupling it with another pickup, in-body microphone type, see what I get, and if I'm still not impressed I'll just buy a cheaper guitar and put the pickups on that one.

Do you think The k&k pure mini sounds better than lr baggs lyric/anthem?

Request to try the Myers pickups.

I am kind of surprised how bad this KK sound? I have a “similar” pick up, but play through a really good preamp, and I find it sounds as good or maybe better then micked up - actually the best acoustic sound I have ever had. And I have tried A LOT -)

Boast the treble lower the bass. This is the way.

I thought it seriously lacked bass.

Na sounds to much like an electric pickup 👎