If you use metal (steel) pick, then the magnetic pickup could hypothetically catch it. But I don't think it's a good idea to use a metal pick, especially on acoustic. It leaves really significant scratches and you can break a string with it if you use thin ones.
Using different guitars to demonstrate pickups seems to be missing the point. He originally said and I perhaps paraphrase, was how pickups change the sound of the guitar. If head stayed with the Fender it would have made an opinion on what pickup sound you were going for.
i somewhat agree but these pickup technologies are so different that they almost sound like different types of instruments. you can spot a rubbery piezo in any blend any time, it just sounds like itself. so if this were a metrological demonstration with spectrograms you'd definitely want to minimize variables. like this, it's really no big deal in my opinion.
1:16 Darman magnetic soundhole pickup 2:22 LR Bags m80 magnetic soundhole pickup 3:27 Transducer Pickup 4:49 LR Bags Anthem Mic 5:02 LR Bags Anthem Piezo
There's no real way to do the demo on the exact same guitar every single time. You'd have to remove your strings and the wiring from the guitar every single time and when you're done you'll have changed what the guitar itself sounds like every single time too
@@WorldsOkayistGuitarPlayer No, when you change the strings you change the sound so it's effectively not the same guitar anymore, that's what I was getting at
If a song is written on piezo then it doens't sound right on anything but piezo. They tend to sound better with nylons though. They make steel sound like nylon. Write all your songs on piezo then it'll sound good.
The best sounding "pickup systems" are when you blend different types. I think more sound sources in an acoustic pick up more of the tonal characteristics of an acoustic guitar.
This may be of interest regarding the K & K mini. I carefully installed one in my Ibanez lawsuit guitar (basically a Martin dreadnought clone they got sued for) , following instructions carefully, using super glue. Plugged in and played it, determined that the treble side transducer was too hot. So I decided to move it away a bit. Oops! K & K instructs that the installed transducers can be reset even when superglued if you are careful. Apparently I was not careful enough, I destroyed that transducer trying to unglue it. Here's the interesting part, it didn't matter! With the two remaining dots, middle and low, the guitar sounds fine! I got rid of the overly bright one completely but highs still come thru. The guitar has a ton of bass, of course, but can be easily controlled with normal eq, and is always there for nice roundness at lower volumes. Sounds great and natural.
Based on what I've seen and heard on other RU-vid videos, plus more experienced guitarists, since a sound hole pickup is a magnetic pickup, just like on an electric guitar, electric guitar strings work better than acoustic strings. Also, most than a few high end, and some mid-level acoustics as well, have the endpin strap button installed in a pre-drilled hole that will accept a quarter inch jack. That means you can install the jack without drilling, just swapping a few parts.
What kind of pickup would you recommend for someone who plays fingerstyle stuff in multiple open tunings on a Guild P-240? I have a vintage Jax soundhole pickup but it’s basically a piezo pickup. It looks really cool but I’m not getting the tone I’d like but it could also be the mic. The Jax pickup is on a Recording King ROH-05. I need help with this.
I have tried many pickups... The LR Baggs Anthem is the best from my own personal experience. Being able to switch and blend the two really helps with feedback and tone.
I love my Seagull jumbo acoustic 🎸 - for the $$$ I think it's 👍. . It sounds much better than a more expensive Taylor. The only other 🎸was a Gibson acoustic but it cost $2000 compare to $600 for my Seagull. Can't justify that.
As a rule if thumb I don’t like sound whole pickups but the LR BAGGS M80 is excellent so much better then the others it’s rich warm and natural sounding
Just buy a Maton guitar and save yourself a lot of trouble of messing around with these systems. Or just put a Journeyman system in at a fraction of the cost.
I was lucky to get the last K&K Power-mix from Thomann Mic+Piezo+Pure mini THAT SOUNDS AWESOME I have L.R.Baggs M-1 also, but it sounds to plastic guitar with cold.. not for my taste.
Somedays I just don't feel like using any pickup for acoustics playing them in a Silent environment just gives more satisfaction and the pure pure sound.
If not performing live, then I definitely wouldn’t be using a pickup. For very small performances, where I’m barely amplifying my own voice, I will also go fully acoustic on the guitar. However, for a sizable performance, I wouldn’t recommend it
L.R. Baggs M80 and Anthem are the ones that I like the most. But I am still finding it hard to pick an acoustic pick up, since there are a lot of good ones, and I want one that can get as close as possible to the sound of my acoustic
Great video. Most folks just don’t hear that the true tone of an acoustic guitar is extremely bass-y and their brains focus on the highs when they try to consciously analyze the sound. Recording engineers often don’t get it. Listen to the intro of the huge hit low places by Garth Brooks as evidence of some of the worst tone ever recorded. I installed the L.R. Baggs Lyric into one of my guitars which is only the mic part of the Anthem with no piezo. It works like a regular mic on the outside because it rejects the reflections around it so it doesn’t pickup the sound of the inside of the guitar, just the bridge. Then I tried to match the cheap Fishman Isys onboard piezoelectric pickup in another guitar. I was able to achieve this pretty close with a wonderful tone by having the bass at half or a hair more and the mids and treble only barely on from fully off. That’s the key to authentic acoustic we tone. Mix the other instruments in around that sound instead of trying to fit an acoustic guitar into a mix that is for Rock’n’Roll. Tighten the bass and turn it down. Less upright bass sound and more like the left hand of a piano. A little goes along way. The acoustic will carry the song and vocals much better if it doesn’t sound like a tin can attached to a walkie-talkie. Good luck and enjoy your acoustic sounds!
Can I use a LR Baggs pickup directly into the mixer? Or use piezo-system jack + LR Baggs pickup into mixer (so 2 different jacks into the mixer)? Or I should buy a D.I. first?
If I’m honest, I think the sound of any of these amplification systems is really disappointing compared to what an acoustic guitar should sound like. We can put a man on the moon but we can’t get a decent electric sound from an acoustic guitar? If anyone has any suggestions for a great sounding electro acoustic, I’m all ears! Aiming for around 1000 euros for a guitar that fits in a pop cover band.
I'm using a fishman 301 presys+ blend. I replaced the mic with a magnetic rail humbucker pickup. It blends well with the piezo and absolutely feedbackless.
I absolutely hate soundhole pickups for anything except as a backup (if your main pickup fails) or to make a makeshift electric guitar (that sounds a bit different from an actual electric), and an external microphone (or two) is definitely best in the studio, however, they’re a pain to work with live, and if you’re like me and move around, are not workable. While undersaddle piezoelectric pickups on their own definitely don’t sound at all like an acoustic, what I’d prefer is a dual-piezo system; one combining an undersaddle pickup with a soundboard pickup (remember, both are piezoelectric). Being a singing guitarist also helps a little, as some of the tone is captured (albeit at the completely wrong angle) by my vocal mic.
I have an LR Baggs that came with a new Guild D-55E. I can’t stand the look of it. It makes the guitar look like it has a hearing aid... (no offence to any hearing impaired people). Why LR Baggs can’t make it a dark colour is beyond me... I had a Fishman Matrix Infinity Mic blend installed into a Martin HD28V and the sound was incredible. And it was invisible ... I know this is all about sound, but the Anthem looks dreadful and detracts from the beauty of the guitar. I also agree with the comments - it would be great to hear them on the same guitar.
@@karlcountry2363 idk, maybe i will put a Fishman Presys Mic Blend on my acoustic guitar, but I'll cut the piezo off then replace it with passive magnetic pickup. I'm not quite sure if this will work but, yeah i love experimenting 😅😅. The idea was, i love the tone of magnetic pickups (especially if it was a single coil) but i still want to keep the acoustic tone
Hello, I play an acoustic instrument. is there any wireless that can work just only with under saddle pieso pickup (Passive) with out any preamp or EQ Mounted over instrument? I had the same wireless problem with transducer mics as well. They both work only when a preamp system is between mic and wireless. I tested a lot and all wireless systems work with the help of pre amp or with magnetic electric guitar mics installed over the instrument and could not be able to find anything working and adaptable wireless system just with under saddle mic or sticking transducer mic over the acoustic instrument. Thanks in advance.
K&K sounded best by far, but with different guitars it's hard to tell. Magnetic soundhole pickups always sound... metallic. I wish the K&K Trinity (transducers + mic) was not so expensive.
Hello > > > Can i plug the pickup (Harley Benton TrueTone SH-30 Pro Active) directly into the mixer Dynacord (analog\digital etc) and that the guitar sound comes out to the speakers connected to the mixer? > Or do l need some accessories? (Guitar amps, Preamps)
The magnetic soundhole pickups sound too much like the neck pickup of a Strat. I'd rather play a Strat instead of this, it deletes the tone change that happens when you pick in different places. If I had to have one I'd rather install it backwards stick one at the part of the soundhole that's closer to the bridge because I pick right between the soundhole and the bridge. the Transducer sounds pretty accurate but pretty mid focused, doesn't capture the full range of the acoustic guitar. the LR Baggs Anthem sounds really good in both parts! I like the blend between both the true mic and piezo
Not until we can point a mic at a guitar, reject all the background noise without destroying sound quality, and have the mic floating in front of the guitar without it being attached (never going to happen)
@@xHadesStamps There is the Myers mic which attaches to the guitar from the outside, but it's both dynamic and omni which is exactly the kind of mic I don't like haha
@@Mr.Goldbar Yeah. Dynamics definitely aren’t what I’d use on an acoustic guitar, that’s for definite. I love them on my voice, though. Omnidirectional live, though? Hell, no. I also don’t want anything attached to my guitar and therefore (basically) me. Definitely not for either of us.
Quit using reverb for clickbait practices of advertising ukuleles at very affordable prices and linking the ukulele listing to a set of strings instead of the ukulele advertised. It's false advertising. I won't shop there.
Thanks! I´m working with a Schatten Design transducer und a ART Tube Preamp. In this way I can just have a little overdrive sound on my akkustik guitar. But a lot of times I use a shure SM 58 mike. And sometimes I mix. I think yousing a normal singers mike is still a verry simple and good sounding way.
Why didn't you show my the acoustic guitars without the systems (magnetic pick up/transducer/internal microphone) as recorded by an external dynamic mic or condenser mic? As would be done for a person who has none of these systems, and therefore would be interested in getting one. And why did you change guitars constantly! that just destroys any ability to compare the various systems as the guitars will have different tones also. For instance the tonal difference between the two sound hole magnetic pickups is impossible to really know as you changed guitars.🤔😑
Zabardast cheers from Toronto. Where exactly to place this inside the guitar as the one in my Yamaha APTX2, 3/4 guitar dropped in. It is about 1 inches in diameter and has glue on one side? Not like the one you are using.
This is great. Thanks. I want a pickup with less labor required on installation and a sound hole pickup is for me and i think i will deliver properly on the sound quality and feedback.
They all sound artificial. A well-placed external condenser mic is the best way to go. If I ever need to plug in again, I’ll just go borrow an electric guitar.
That's a STUPID comment. EVERYONE knows that. But what makes it stupid is the fact that that condenser mic ONLY works at a studio environment. Out of it, it's totally useless, since it'd pick up every sound around it. Keep playing in your couch. Besides, even if it's "artificial," it won't ever sound like an electric guitar. EVER.
@@maraviyoso8473 I wouldn’t say it’s *useless,* but it’s definitely quite hard to set up. You also need to get it pretty close to not produce feedback, but if you have it that close, you can’t move around! So not usable for me. Definitely won’t sound exactly like an electric guitar, though-even a soundhole pickup.
That lr baggs anthem mic sound isn’t correct. There’s a wee volume setting for the mic you turn with a screw and it’s set too low here. That’s why the sound is woolly and has no top end.
My conclusion is if you need a good pickup you have to be ready to pay lotta money or have a bit of knowledges of electronics. And solder, solder, solder😁😁
Hi Joe (and everyone else for that matter) I'm wondering if an internal mic gives the same sound texture as a DI? Is an internal mic worth it? Also If I already have an under-saddle pickup, would it make any difference to buy a piezo or soundhole pick-up? Cheers guys
Seems like a good choice for many, but I still go by the K and K now mixed in with a Myers Grip pickup, mainly because my guitar does not have a soundhole in front but just a soundport on the upper side!!...Benoit Lavoie modern flatop!!...
Mains Blanches Thats a good shout, Ive heard some good things about the K&K stuff, but I havnt tried one unfortunately... I will say that I am now trying using a Sunrise (soundhole) instead of the mic... It still sounds amazing live!. ;)
Important to have at least two sound sources, so you can have different effects on one and the other or to have a clean sound and one with effects that you can mix in together!!...magnetic is great for octave pedals and sounds a bit more "electric" in nature!!...the Pure Mini will reproduce a "pure" acoustic guitar tone!!...the mic will give more "air" to the overall sound!!...so many systems out there now days!!...Anthem, Fishman Rare Earth Blend, K and K Trinity or PowerMix or Double Helix mixed in with the Pure Mini, etc...
No acoustic guitar pickup sounds as good as an acoustic guitar played directly into a good mic. That out of the way, the only way I would consider using a pickup in an acoustic guitar is with an external equalizer pedal before the PA head. That way there are no holes for controls cut into the guitar body, and an external equalizer works better than a builtin equalizer in my opinion.
I’m the kind of person who would make a chassis to use an internal piezo preamp externally. Sure, might only be as good as a built-in preamp, but I have yet to see an external one I can afford.
Cheers for the useful video, would have been nice to have the one guitar fitted with each and to have the room mic turned off to allow direct comparison
this review did no good, because each time you showed an example of each pick up, you switched guitar, making it hard to tell the differeneces. thanks for nothing
Thanks a really useful overview and love this guy's playing. The blend on the Anthem sounds great... looks like it would work really well live if switching between ballads (think Annie's Song) primarily on the microphone setting and then bashing out some blues type stuff when perhaps a bit more of the piezo sound would help.
I love my Highlander pickup and frequently get glowing comments on the great sound of my guitar. For years I used the IP-1 model but recently I installed the IP-2 model which gives me dual pickup capabilities.
Piezo pickups are ok, but all you are getting is the sound from the strings, If you use a transducer, you are getting the sound of the wood of the guitar..The soundhole pickups are great to, but once again , you are getting the sound of the magnetic pickup against the strings, that's why a lot of people have a dual system like a microphone or transducer and a sound hole pickup, then you can mix the sound of both ...
I have a Seymour Duncan singl coil, is there a way to eliminate the hissle at 5khz it causes? May a passive DI help? I ve tried an active di or through an instrument input but the hissle is always there.
Hello friend... Is there any of these pickups that, in addition to the Chorus, Delay, Reverber effects, also add Flanger or Phaser? What models of pickups are available with bluetooth? Are the pickups installed in the guitar hole as good as these? Of the various models available on the market, which would you prefer?
Ive got a nylon style Yamaha. Amazon offers different 2, 3 & 4 piezo pickups to glue (blue tak) to the inside at bridge area. some even an upgradeable status. Anyone have good luck with such?
