Does the K&K Pure Mini ruin the acoustic tone of my Waterloo WL-S? 

K&K manual says, "Impedance mis-match issue: Acoustic amps and most competitors’ preamps are designed to work best with undersaddle pickups or other very high ohmic piezo pickups. They feature extremely high input impedance (5-10 meg), which boosts the bass response. Most competitors’ pickups need this high input impedance to boost their weak bass response.The Pure has a strong low-end response. It is overkill to boost it. The Pure sounds best with input impedance like 500 k to 1 meg. If you experience excessive bass response, plug the Pure Pickup straight into the line input of a mixing board -- you’ll see that the excessive bass response is gone.The best option to compensate for excessive bass on an acoustic amp is to get a K&K preamp. It may still be necessary to turn down the bass control on the amplifier. Phase issue: Use a preamp with a phase switch like the K&K Pure XLR Preamp. With properly adjusted phase, you will achieve 30-40% more volume before feedback." This week I tried out an LR Baggs Voiceprint DI. (Per the K&K advice above, the Voiceprint has a phase inverter that is activated by a short press of the anti-feedback knob.) Once I convinced it to pair with my cell phone, it really worked. Seriously, I am now a fan. So far I have used it on a Breedlove Focus Maple with LR Baggs Dual Source, Eastman E8om with LR Baggs Lyric and a Martin J40 with K&K Trinity and they all sound way better and more natural running through the Voiceprint than through my Session DI. What led me to this review is that I have three guitars I've hesitated installing pickups in because I feared installation might change their tone. The original plan was to share a DPA 4099 clip-on mic between the guitars but the thing kept slipping off and I wasn't about to duct tape to a nitrocellulose finish. Your review helped a lot. I'll be installing the K&K Pure Mini in all three.

Still sounds great! I put a K&K western in my sigma/martin 12 string cause it plays so nice and I didn't want to mess with the saddle. I tried a sound hole pickup first which didn't do it any justice so I tried the K&K with great results! Thanks for your vids and keep on pickin! ⛏️

Great video. Yes, JP Cormier was the one who made my mind up, after watching one of his videos, to purchase the Recording King RD-328. And I love that guitar.

I've used K&K's in my acoustics for years. By far the most natural, organic sounding acoustic pickup. Your guitar sounds great!

Great before after and installation video, I have several guitars with K&K mini and I am sold on them.

This is exactly the video I was looking for, thank you! Just bought a S/H Guild GAD F130 and wanted a cost effective, unintrusive p/up - no need for pre-amp as I’m going into s Fishman Aura. Ordering K&K after seeing this perfect A/B demo!

Thanks for the video Jeremy. It was very helpful. Yes, JP has a great channel also. Take care!

that's a beauty! great work on getting that pick up in there :D

Awesome brother!!

Great video, Jeremy. As I recall, Goodall Guitars may be using these in guitars that they build (see their RU-vid factory tour video with great soundtrack). I'm still in the first week learning to love an Angel , the Cole Clark Angel 2EC-RDBL, Redwood top, Tasmanian blackwood back and sides. My first all solid woods guitar! I checked out all their RU-vid videos before pulling the pin on this one (The price was too good to ignore.), and now I'm contemplating making some room in the 5-case rack. As soon as I see a spade bit, I start to cringe a bit for a better drill bit.

Love it! Thanks for a great video! -TJ Sanner

Great video! Love that little guitar!

Sounds great Jeremy! I installed one of these into a Taylor GS Mini years ago and never felt like it was pleasing to the ears. I never ran it through a preamp though because I didn’t understand any of that stuff yet. I have. a Journey pickup installed in a Takamine that is the same type of system and it sounds great for about $50

K&K has been on my radar for at least 15 years. Before RU-vid, I remember going to their website and listening to their Tommy Emmanuel demos, alongside others, for hours at a time. I’ve always hated the sound of acoustic electrics, but somehow K&K has changed my mind.

Nice sounding Waterloo. Waiting for the shoot out. Have a great day. Maybe you can talk a bit more about the ore amp and what DI you use on another video. I use a Fishman Loudbox.

Traded an electric for an Alvarez acoustic a couple of years ago. Shortly thereafter started having trouble with B- Band pre-amp. Recently it stopped working altogether. Was going to put a Fishman in it but after talking to my guitar tech, watching videos by you and JP I am going with the K&K Pickup. Will let you know how it turns out. Great video by the way.

I put a K&K in my Guild 12 string. It still sounds fabulous acoustically, and very nice on the pickup. And I've got a Pure Mini in my Big Muddy mandolin. Talk about a pain to install! But it still sounds great.

@Jeremy Sheppard - Does your opinion of the K&K pure mini change depending on whether someone is finger picking or strumming? I want to put one into my Martin 000-28EC which, while some people consider a finger-picker's guitar (a-la Clapton obviously), I use mostly for strumming stuff. I just LOVE the tone of that thing... Also considering getting a 00 size and putting one in there.... Cheers!

Great video ! Beautiful guitar ! Way to go on the install ! Check out “ step bits “ for drilling end pins if you’re going to do more. One bit will last you a lifetime in wood and you’ll have 5 or 6 different size bits. Also, I think #JPCormier tech, Chris, made a jig to simplify K&K instals. Might be worth looking in to.

love the pedalboard toolbox! goals.

I love your comment about taking your favorite guitar out and play it. Ive been selling my extra instruments off because they are just sitting and they were built to be played and making music. Great Video. Just bought a D28 reimagined and looking for pick ups currently. Thanks for your insights. Love your videos

The K&K mini is great. Installed in my Martin 0015 and truly love the sound

I love the K&K in my Martin. I need to grab a preamp, but haven't decided what to get. You should get sweetwater to send you some to test out.

Have you ever tried the Schatten HFN passive pick up. It has the same end pin hole requirements as K&K mini and somewhat similar transducer elements for the sound board. The Schatten rivals, or may be even better than, the K&K for acoustic replication of tone. You might consider this as an option in the future.

Just wonderful!

Great video. I have a K&K installed in a Guild 12-string that sounds really good. I tried the K&K in another guitar, and it did not work out well for that one. I do think some pickups work better in some guitars than others. Yours sounds great. Congrats.

I’ve had a K&K mini (mine was called the Western Mini at the time I think) in my D28 for 10 or so years. I didn’t notice any difference in acoustic tone after the install. I have a feedback buster that I put in the sound hole and I’ll experiment with all kinds of gain with it. So much fun, way more useful live and recording. Typically the sound difference I hear is just a lack of natural reverb, so you can dial that back in to get closer. Cheers.

Yes, Jeremy your Waterloo sounds great with the K&K pickup in it! I believe I need to have one of those put into my Martin 0000-18S (12 fret slot head). But, I think I'll have my Guitar Tech do this for me. Thank you!

Both active and passive K&K's in my guitars. They are so good.

Great video👍🏻 I think I’m going to get this Pup for my Epiphone EJ-200. I don’t understand running “Pre-amp low cut“?

Sounds amazing Jeremy ,no change in sound at all ,If anyone wants to see a complete install of the K&K pure mini watch Jp Cormier s channel on you tube its very good info that his guitar tech does

I have a K&K Pure mini in 1 guitar and then decided to try a Schatten HFN Player Passive pickup in another guitar I have. I do like the K&K but I love the Schatten. More airy and sounds just a bit more acoustic to my ears. I feel like I need to cut a bit off the bass and a lot of the midrange when using K&K. For the Schatten just a tiny bass boost and it sounds wonderful. Not many videos out there reviewing the Schatten but there are a few where it is compared to the K&K. Another plus for the Schatten is the fact that you can choose 2 ways to glue it, double sided tape or putty. No superglue.

Thanks for this video. Very interesting for me. My favorite guitar is also a Waterloo. I have the WL-14 (ladder braced). I'm also looking for a pickup that can amplify this guitar as naturally as possible. At first I thought of the LR Baggs Lyric but I was advised against this. The LR Baggs Anthem SL would also provide too much electronics for this guitar. A ladder bracing can even cause installation problems. A Mi Si acoustic trio was recommended to me. This is a simple system (with LR baggs Piezo) but on the internet I find little about sound quality. Your video makes me consider installing the K&K pure mini. I would combine this with my LR Baggs venue di. The only thing I still read about Waterloo and K&K is a problem because Waterloo guitars have a typical uneven surface of the bridge plate. The contacts of the pick can make inconsistent contact with the wood. The solution is pre-sanding the bridge plate smooth.

Dude!!!!!!!!!!! I have the same guitar and have been wanting the tiger strip pick guard SO bad but Collings says they dont have one that would fit. Can you tell me where you ordered yours from? Stumac maybe? And which pick guard is it? TY!!!

Got one in my Martin 00015m... Wonderful

I always put K&K trinity in my guitars. There is a mic which you can blend in a bit. In case you have any feedback you can either turn it down or just put a feedbackbuster. The external preamp from K&K which you have to use too (in the trinity system) is also cool and allows you to adjust bass trebles & mids for each input. Thanks for the vid. Greetings

Merci!! I use a Seagull Maratime Sws for worship

Have you tried to record using this K&K? Would i have to use a preamp or ampflier to record with it (because it is passive..low volume)? Thanks.

Jeremy have you ever reviewed the FISHMAN LOUDBOX MINI amp...supposed to be great for an acoustic especially in combination with the Pure Mini...Today my luthier will the install the KK on my D18.

I took the Fishman out off my Excellente and put the K&K in , not only did it not change the sound , but not having the under saddle pickup in the guitar makes the guitar sound better on it.s own . So In the future , I would buy a guitar without pickup and install the K&k . I don't want to have to deal with removing any undersaddle pickup again . That was the biggest deal for me . I have LRBaggs in another guitar and spend $300 on it and since it is not my main guitar I will not change it .But any future acoustic of mine will get the K&K also the price is third of the LRBaggs . Great Video I agree it's the best pickup I have seen yet !

Whats your opinion on the Lr Baggs Anthem pickup. Does it really effect the acoustic tone of the guitar?

I have a WLS deluxe I want to install a pickup in. The endpin seems glued in. From what I found online it is but it Looks like you were able to pull it out with pliers? Can you confirm how you removed it? Did it remove easy? I don’t want to damage the guitar by yanking on it to Remove.

I run a K&K in my Martin CEO-9. I love it for the same reasons you highlight here. (BUT, it still doesn't capture the unplugged sound of the acoustic as well as an outboard mic, of course).

Hi Jeremy. What are your thoughts on the K&k after a year of use?

Put a K&K Pure Mini w/soundwheel in my 208 Martin D-28 Marquis. I was a bit disappointed. Sounded thin but the acoustic tone was there. Then I ran it through a Zoom A3 preamp... magic. Just wow! Totally love it.

Hey jeremy What can you recommend on bringing guitars from tropical places to winter places have a nice day!

12 fret slotted headstock acoustics play and sound absolutely fantastic. I am enamored with my Martin 000-15S (early Nazareth made). Super sweet guitar. Nothing quite like it that I have ever played. My "grab it if the house is on fire" guitar ;-).

I have k&ks in two martins and I'm going to try something called The dazzo in a Martin hd28v. It is supposed to rival the k&k also non-intrusive check it out.

Nice. I'm considering putting this pickup in my Larrivee 00 which looks pretty similar to this guitar.

Does it work with a wireless Shure system for live church setting? I play thru a line6 board

You are a very smart man with a very big passion and dedication for your love to guitars. This is the only reason why i subbed you - i can smell smart people from miles away - smart people with a vision. Anyway. I am still looking for a decent pick-up. I really don`t like this drilling a hole in my expensive Western guitar idea.....easy as that. It feels to me like killing my guitar and having Karma-Problems with my guitar after doing that...Sounds crazy - if feel ya... ;-) May have to look at other options...any suggestions?

I have an Alvarez parlor and I will be putting this pick up in , based on you and JPs videos. I have a Fender Acoustasonic 15 and a Fender Blues Jr. Can I go direcctly into these? Or do i need a preamp?

Yeah, just going by their instructions, that process is way more involved than it needs to be. I ditched the jig that came with the kit and then cut my own jig that covered the entire length of the plate, cut the corners on the cardboard so it matched the X bracing (think triangle shape) then put it in the guitar and lined it up with two golf tees. One at 1st and one at 6th fret. Then used the putty to secure all three disc on my new jig and just put them all in at one time, using the two golf tees to make sure I had the alignment correct before bringing them up to touch the wet glue on disc to bridgeplate. The entire operation took me about 15 minutes, then 10 minutes to restring. Doing them all at one time and I feel I got perfect alignment (mirror in guitar confirmed). It's an alright pickup solution, I have two LR Baggs systems and I like them both better, more control and I take strong issue with the super glue. It takes a razor blade and a very skilled hand to get those out of there. The Baggs pickups are all secured with 3M tape. Easy to remove without damage, no GLUE! I know a lot of people love the K&K, but SUPER GLUING something on any part of the guitar, even something inside the soundhole out of view is a huge concern to me. I won't put another of these in for that reason.

Sounds good! K&K pickups are the best bag for your bucks in my opinion.

I'm putting a K&K in my Martin 000-18. What pre-amp do you recommend?

Just got the chinese set of piezio discs (the gold and white ones that stick on...can't put them on my sound board cause they're bigger then K&K...used the top behind the bridge....about 3.00....sounds great with my line level eq.

gorgeous light burst, what does Waterloo call it

Hi Jeremy, you should check out the pickup made by Journey guitar, it is a very natural sounding pickup, it’s similar to the k&k pure mini (both are 3pieces piezo style) but cost much less, very good deal for the price!

Just put a K&K in my Eastman and it sounds great!

Sounds good. I have one in an hd28 and it’s great. You do need the correct matching impedence 1M I think ohms as input to get the best sound out of it. Make sure they match. A Baggs preamp doesn’t match

11 of my 12 acoustics stay at home and I play them and love the acoustic tones. There is no pickup or amplification that makes me feel even close to the goodness of pure acoustic tone. My one gigging guitar is a Taylor with ES1. I use it for all gigs as it sounds musical and it does not feedback.

I could not be more delighted with the sound of the K&K Pure Mini. My only gripe is that the end pin does not stick out very far, and it is difficult to attach a thick strap. I wound up getting a TapaString StrapKeeper which not only makes attaching the strap much easier but also much more secure.

Did the Full Anthem effect anything? Acoustically?

How is the K&K for feedback when playing with a band? Or will a soundhole plug take care of that? That’s what I have to do for my Martin with a Fishman Aura to eliminate feedback issues. Thanks.

Did you install the pick guard?

I put a K&K in my ‘62 LG2. The only pickup I would use on a vintage guitar.

LrBaggs regular model (the cheapest) imo but amp settings must be factored in wether it’s acoustic(fishman etc)or ‘electric’(that has acoustic setting like Cube amp)

this passive pickup has a good output volume?

Just want to say you’re the first person I’ve ever seen on RU-vid who has acknowledged in anyway at all that the k&k is not a breeze to install. All other reviews either say the install is easy, or they don’t mention it. I found it very difficult to get my hand in there and you have to do it before the glue dries. Well worth it though, I love it! But just saying it ain’t fun to install.

I’ve been contemplating either the K&K or the Mojotone NC-1 for my Martin Custom Shop 0-15 (12-fret). I was leaning towards Mojotone for ease of install, but now you have me squarely back on the fence. As far as the studio goes, it’s not “echoey”, it’s “natural reverb”!

I'm between the K&K mini and a preamp vs the LR Baggs Anthem for my Martin HD28. I saw your previous video installing the Anthem in your D28 and thought I was convinced until I saw this video. I would like to be as least invasive as possible but also want to get the best tone out of it. Do you have a recommendation between the two? I play with my worship group and would be plugging DI into the PA system.

To get the best tone from your K&K pickup, get a K&K preamp and cut the mids. Magic! Sounds like your guitar!

Thank you Jeremy. These are definitely great sounding pickups, but they are not reliable played direct into a PA. I have had very different results in different venues, to the extent that I end up taking a pre-amp everywhere, which kind of takes some of the point of the K&K's lifelike sound out of the box away. I've gone back to various active systems for this reason. In particular, for the occasional gigger, you absolutely HAVE to have a preamo with you, or you could find yourself with a PA the won't work with the K&K and that is incredibly distracting while they mic you up. Guess how I know! They are great PUs, thoguh.

First off, good play on "Old Man", I haven't listened to Harvest in years and It's a brilliant Album. Also, I almost bought that very guitar. It's a very sweet one. OK, on the basis of a tech I respect, his recommendation, I'm planning on putting on the K&K pickup, on a guitar I have mixed feelings about, and don't mind experimenting with, a Martin 000-18 modern deluxe. I think it sounds good with your guitar, and I think specific guitars are going to sound better with different pickups, but I don't have the time or inclination to spend the rest of my life trying them all, it's too confusing anyway. Too, I don't mind the inherent distortion that different pickups will create if I like the sound of that distortion. Consider the acoustic playing of Mike Dawes and how brilliantly he's pushed effects with his acoustic. I'm not an astounding musical genius though, but maybe I will want to add some delay or reverb etc. depending on what I'm doing. Thing is, I'm not always happy with the sound of the guitar I'm "upgrading", so I want to play with it. Again, I don't always want perfect electric replication of the inherent sound, and am buying the pickup, in large measure, to modify the inherent sound to try and dial in a better sound to my ear. Maybe the K&K is not the best choice for that goal. Anyway, thanks for the demo, and for your intentions with that instrument, it appears a definite winner. I'll give it a go.

Have you ever tried a fisherman rare earth blend? I have them in a few guitars. In my opinion they work best in smaller bodied guitars. I have a K&K equipped guitar, as well as some LR baggs Anthem and Lyric equipped guitars. While they are all great at what they are designed for, the Rare Earth Blends in my smaller bodied guitars (Martin CEO7 & 000-15sm) just smoke. probably the least invasive pickups I own considering there are only two tiny tabs holing it in the sound hole. nothing at all attached to the soundboard. (at least near the bridge). Ive had the rare earth blend in an old D28 and a couple of old J45s and they sounded pretty good (I prefer the anthems in slopes or dreads), but they've smoked anything else that I've ever tried in smaller bodied guitars. For me anyway, they are the perfect blend of extremely non invasive, easy to install, super useful and versatile in any situation, and just so stinkin good sounding. I find they sound as good as the guitar they are in. Which can be good, and can be bad.

did Collings provide your pick guard / did they put it on for you? Never seen a WL-S with one

What do you think about the K&K Pure Mini Vintage Jack (1/8”)?

I have K&K pickups in my guitars, but whenever it is possible, I prefer to mic my acoustics. The K&Ks sound more natural than other pickups I have tried, however, I find that as soon as I plug the guitars into an amp or PA they gain sustain that is undesirable in some genres such as bluegrass and traditional music. When playing with a full band the K&K sounds great through a Roland Jazz chorus 120 or a Guild Sequoia acoustic amp and a Keeley compressor, but it's not a truly acoustic sound; it's what we have come to accept as the sound of an acoustic guitar.

Just bought a K&K through your link after watching this…and after seeing your other video that basically shows that no acoustic pickup truly duplicates the acoustic sound. I’ve installed many LRB pickups over the last five or six years and they’re okay, but definitely not natural in their sound.

Hey would love to know a little more about why you didn't use a stepped drill bit for the endpin hole?

My friend used the K&K pickup in his Larrivee guitar. But he insists the Trinity system is the best

I might’ve used epoxy because I didn’t have superglue at hand, sounds great though lol

I like the k and k mini. Most of my acoustic guitars have the lr baggs i beam in them. Any thing but fishman

Nice job Jeremy....i bet you were a little nervous drilling into that guitar!!!!!!!!!!!

Dam, spade bit near my guitar, too risky for this guy. I’d use either a step bit or a pin bit but hey way to go kudos to ya mate 👍🏻👍🏻

What is DI? H5?

Yes, you can here more lows than normal, but you also say it sounds 'woofie'. Now to me, it's a little on the 'boxy' side of natural Acoustic tone. So curious, if you really crank it, does it get worse? Same? Or better?

Can you use a rubber soundhole cover? Is feedback ever an issue?

Humm, got me thinking. Should I put one in my Martin D16 GT?

You are awesome

Good stuff! Please...tune?

A more objective test would take multiple guitars to see if quality of wood and guitar body size make any difference in the k&k sound. I hear a ton of direct string vibration and a little bit of the top vibrating but I don't hear any of the acoustic chamber. The resolution of the signal is also rather low. This might be a case of the same mythos of tonewoods when really the pickup is the primary source of tonal quality. I suspect body size would make a slight difference and body material would make virtually no difference. If thats the case it wouldnt really be an effective way of sharing the sound of fancy solid top acoustic, only a way of sharing it visually and exposing it to the elements. I think it would be really smart to throw one of these in a cheap laminate guitar that looks like what you usually play and save the fancy guitar for photographs and home use. Nobody has to know.

Do you use a DI/pre-amp? Which one?

What type of strings are on your Waterloo?

One thing I never hear about is the hole that has to be drilled into the saddle in order to make that ridiculous matrix, under saddle, piezo garbage. My solution is a small wooden dowel I got from a hotel pack of coffee supplies. A coffee stirrer. Otherwise could'nt find that size without buying a hundred. Piezos might be good for violins, but not for guitars. Oh yeah, the little should be filled to make it sound the same after making the mistake of installing an under saddle pickup.

i much like l.r baggs lyric for lovely guitars

The K&K mini is one of the most natural sounding pickups out there. And they won’t alter the guitar’s sound.

Oh man, it looks like ya may have at least 2 of the transducers mounted perilously close to the bridge-pin holes. But I guess ya got lucky, because at least 2 luthiers who both install the K&K Pure Mini, state that if ya mount any of the 3 transducers too close to the bridge pin holes and/or the string slots in the bridge plate, it can cause the edge of the transducer to actually come in contact with the ball end of the string, and can cause pesky noise issues. One of those luthiers stated that even though ya have the transducer (any one of the 3 ) centered perfectly below the saddle, IF that transducer happens to be perilously close to a bridge-pin hole and/or the string slots in the bridge plate, simply locate that particular transducer a tad further away, because these transducers work so well, they are quite forgiving when it comes to "exact location". THIS IS WHY IT IS WISE TO USE A MIRROR & LIGHT INSIDE THE GUITAR, AND PERFORM "A TEST FIT" OF EACH TRANSDUCER BEFORE APPLYING THE SUPERGLUE/GORILLA GLUE GEL. During test fitting, and with the locating putty provided, if any particular transducer appears to be too close to the bridge pin holes and/or the string slots in the bridge plate, simply relocate the installation putty & transducer on the installation jig/tool and inspect the location of the transducer again. If it's now in a good location, go ahead and glue it in place.

Imo.. the Lyric is the most natural. I'm not saying K + K doesn't sound bad.. transducer pickups work by grabbing vibrations.. how can that possibly be as 'natural' as an actual microphone in your guitar? Transducer pickups also impart their own frequncies.. if you took 10 nice guitars all with K+K pickups in them, they would sound WAY more similar then the same 10 guitars with a Lyric in them. Feedback is a non issue with a simple soundhole cover. I'll bet most folks plugging in an acoustic will utilize some sort of eq or compression...etc.. or, plugging in/or thru an acoustic amp further deviates the signal from 'natural'..

Do you still have your Huss and Dalton?