What pickup actually sounds like an acoustic guitar? GUITAR SHOOTOUT!

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#acousticguitar #shootout #comparison
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Комментарии : 608

@willweatherhead3115 2 года назад

Man that was brutal! They all sounded so good acoustically and no good with the pick up.

@joefitz7912 2 года назад

es verdad...

@seans.8487 2 года назад

Was hoping he'd A---->B the KNA ap-1 to mic. Considering something for a nylon string.

@giovannivicari8615 2 года назад

so sad is there any other pickup out there that would sound better than those? I can't play only with a mic on stage, as it always ends up being too soft or too feedbacky

@brechtdebaene 2 года назад

@@giovannivicari8615 try a maton guitar with their AP5 pro system. its the best i've heard so far.

@jeremyversusjazz 2 года назад

Yeah even the zoom mics sounded WAY better than all of em…was hoping the kk would sound good but it looks like im buying a mic. Original owner of a 90’s taylor 512 but rarely played it until recently and immediately hit the acoustic DI tone wall with the fishman i had installed 6 years ago. Time to take it out and get a mic. Thanks for this video.!

@dalonergan 2 года назад

Great comparison Jeremy. K&k sounded closest to a mic’d sound to my ears. I was pretty surprised how close the plugged in acoustasonic sounded to a mic’d acoustic.

@davidkyle5552 2 года назад

Absolute proof that pickups are completely pointless in high end acoustic guitars.

@brendancurtis7848 Год назад

How so?

@nickzav Год назад

@brendancurtis7848 you're not going to be able to hear the complexity of tones that a high end acoustic has unplugged. There really isn't a good acoustic guitar pickup out there. The best bet is an external mic like the old bluegrass guys. If you're going to buy an awesome high end guitar, don't slap a bunch of electronics inside that interfere with how the top would naturally reverberate. For live play with a pickup, a playable mid quality guitar is a better work horse.

@davidkyle5552 Год назад

Exactly

@daggad02 6 месяцев назад

@@nickzav Agree ! Still understand why people mics high end guitars, as the feel and playability is also a factor. But the only way to hear the wonderful sounds of a great acoustic is clean.

@Mr.Goldbar 4 месяца назад

Unless you wanna use one live :)

@jeffreydarling2376 2 года назад

I installed an LR Baggs Lyric in my Alvarez Yairi DY61 and, if plugged into a decent PA or amp, it represents the sound quite well. Very happy with it.

@BunkerProductions 10 месяцев назад

I have 3 of the lyrics and love them

@burrencrawler Месяц назад

But the minute you need to turn it up in a band situation it's useless due to the feedback, I know, I had one, and the anthem was crap too, the element fared out the best, still not ideal

@burrencrawler Месяц назад

@@BunkerProductionsgreat in my mandolin, but useless in my steel and nylon strings

@randysrhythm 2 года назад

Well brother J, you just convinced me that my initial thinking still stands. The better choice in my mind is to simply mic my acoustics. By the way, that tele grabbed my attention. The acoustisonic line sounds fantastic plugged in. I can see why you are a fan.

@dejadejayoutube 2 года назад

1000% :)

@jdbush49 2 года назад

The Baggs Anthem, followed by the Baggs Lyric were the two best to my ears. A pickup you don't hear much about but which sounds very good is the Baggs LB6. I have one in a Seagull guitar and I'll put it up against much more expensive setups.

@danielguitard5728 2 года назад

I have the same set up sweet

@monkeyfinger7949 Год назад

Ok, well the answer is....none of the above sounded like the guitar. And that makes sense because the Zoom recorder is picking up the output of the sound hole, and the pickups are buried inside the body. The sound of the guitar is very different in both of those places. Guitar builders are shooting for beautiful sound hole projection. The pickup is an afterthought. So, to be fair, you would need to adjust the EQ on every pickup to match the guitar which was not done here. Add to this, that when acoustic guitars are recorded, a combination of microphones and internal pickups are used - all to different tracks - and blended later. So my view is - you could make any of those pickups sound great - except that Fender acoustic. You need to slam that guitar in a car door and use it for fire wood.

@calebbhawkins 2 года назад

This is why I don’t often buy guitars with pickups in them. My main stage instruments all have the Baggs Lyric in them and I use the Baggs Para DI to adjust for the room/stage wonkyness. One of my guitars that I tune super low I have the Anthem SL. One thing to point out about the Anthem and Lyric is that the Anthem has a crossover circuit in it that makes all the guitars signal from 400hz on down go through the under saddle. It can give you the feeling that it has more low end because of that. The Lyric requires a little more planning on stage but sounds the best when adjusted to the guitar. That little trim pot does a lot!

@marcelchaloupka 2 года назад

How is the feed back situation with the lyric?

@Woozy.0 2 месяца назад

Thank you for this Caleb! I'm talking to a guy about buying his acoustic with the Anthem and trying to determine if I actually want that particular system

@BobPerrone 2 года назад

I do enjoy the Anthem, however my preference usually are passive systems that I can contour with a good acoustic DI

@sprugian 10 месяцев назад

The LR Baggs Pro stage Anthem sounded the most natural in my opinion,and the Fender Player in the acoustic setting not bad at all...great video!

@andrewhumemusic5838 2 года назад

The LR Baggs Lyric for me. Although still different, there are more similarities to the sound I think. I still think the AP5 Pro in Maton Guitars is the closest I’ve ever heard to the acoustic sound, going through an AER Compact 60, or De Capo 75 amp. Cheers

@williamcole9040 2 года назад

I AGREE….I HAVE 2 J200s, i with Fishman and 1 with Baggs, but my Maton custom small jumbo is the nearest to unplugged sound direct into Bose L1 S.

@robharris6874 2 года назад

You are spot on bud, that set up leaves everything else for dead !

@eddyrogiers6099 2 года назад

journey picups are the best

@wmarklanders Год назад

Tommy Emmanuel plays a Maton and he sounds great. Does he use the AP5 Pro?

@MirurImage 18 дней назад

I agree I have a Maton and there is nothing that sounds as good as the AP5

@randysrhythm 2 года назад

One additional comment Jeremy.. I’ve read through all of the comments thus far and come to a conclusion about something - I’m happy that I ran across your channel recently, because you have an audience that knows their stuff, myself excluded. I’m grateful to folks like you, who stepped out there financially to help bring an interactive format for others to benefit from. Very impressive brother J! Thanks again

@jmotwell72 10 месяцев назад

Great video. This helped me a LOT making a decision on my next pick up for my Martin CEO-7. I currently have a Fishman active pick up with a nasty hum and I want to replace it. I thought the K&K definitely had the most natural sound and I really love its simplicity. I use the Fishman Aura DI box as well so I can blend that with my stored images and hopefully get it dialed in nicely.

@fake_parrot 9 месяцев назад

Hi man😊 I have the same guitar. I spent a lot of time to find the best pickup system solution for this particular guitar. I highly recommend you to try Journey tek pickup system. Even the simplest Journey transducer sounds much more natural and pleasant for me than bunch of magnetic pickups, undersaddle piezo and etc. I remove the lr baggs lyric from my guitar, which sounds just terrible and absolutely happy with it. It's really capturing the natural sound of the instrument and add nothing. Lr baggs lyric for example sounds good, but shifts the frequency to high range that this guitar do not really features.

@max_mathews_m Месяц назад

For my years the closest match is Taylor`s Expression System 2. K&K is #2

@avenue6.554 2 года назад

I think the closest to a “natural” sound were the Lyric Acoustic Mic and the K&K but both would definitely demand some EQ to get the right sound. Some time spent messing around on the mixer or an acoustic amp is inevitable. I have the Fishman MX T in my Martin D12 which is just ok IMO and a Fishman Presys that I had retrofitted to my old Takamine GS330. The Presys can blend mic and piezo and I end up with a better plugged in sound out of my beater guitar than the Martin. At least to my own ear. Go figure.

@robharris6874 2 года назад

Listen to the AP5 pro from Maton then think again !

@nikolas_stratigos 15 дней назад

Thank you for this important comparison video! I think that from all the systems that you played, the most decent and naturall sounding is the L.R. Baggs Stagepro Anthem. One of the main reasons I recently bought a Maton Joe Robinson signature model (except that anyway it's an amazing guitar accoustically) is the amazing and most naturall sounding pickup system that it has. To my ears, the other (kind of) decent systems are the Fishman Prefix Pro Blend and the Fishman Rare Earth Mic Blend (and the L.R. Baggs Stagepro Anthem of course). But still none of these can beat the Maton AP5 Pro!!

@MrPalmersong 7 месяцев назад

Interesting and insightful. So many choices, so many options. Just one thought though, each guitar has its own tone wood variable which can also impact on the pickup choice. So to get a more informed shootout, each pickup would need to be in the same guitar spec to get an idea of how different they sound. To do that would be so difficult though, to install a pickup in four or five guitars and be able to compare them in one video episode. I’ve been able to compare a cheap fishman under saddle (under twenty UK pounds) with an Ortega Magus under saddle pickup (just under sixty uk pounds) and an L R Baggs M80 sound hole pickup (came installed in the guitar) and I found the L R Baggs to be a really good option, especially when finger picking, easy to install, and great output. The Ortega was really balanced and produced a good overall sound. Only issue was the piezo cable needed quite a large drill hole in the bridge to pass the piezo through, but it’s a tidy unit. The fishman was ok, but lacked tonal output. Decent for the money though, but a more upmarket fishman would probably be best (e.g. the Matrix model) I think that in the end a mic is the purest sound but a mic can be limiting by way of stage proximity etc. I prefer onboard pickups, and have top conclude that if you can afford it try more than system and decide on one that suits your particular guitar build and tone wood voicing.

@paulhendershott667 2 года назад

I think the L.R. Baggs Lyric Acoustic was the least-offensive sound. I have a new Martin 000-15M with the Presys + system and the sound is much different with the pickup system. In a pinch it will do just fine and I can adjust the tone enough to not be too aggravated - but for the other 99% of the time I won't use the pickup at all. The Fishman Sonitone GT-1 sounded awful to me - like the sound was bubbling up from the depths of the ocean. The funniest thing to me is that my PRS Hollowbody II Piezo with the L.R. Baggs Piezo bridge pickup, sounds more like an acoustic that half of the acoustic guitars you featured. Great video! I think everybody will agree with you that these pickups are all over-promising and under-delivering!

@jbguitarmanfl 2 года назад

Based on the comments I’ve read, it’s obvious that each individual’s choice is completely dependent on his/her own ear. The bottom line is that none of them accurately duplicate the acoustic sound…and that’s kinda sad.

@JeremySheppard 2 года назад

True! That was pretty much my entire point. It's nearly impossible to make your guitar sound like your guitar only louder.

@powellsa 2 года назад

@@JeremySheppard Jeremy, have you tried running a good EQ pedal between the guitar and amp? Or via the effects loop? I'm thinking this would 1. Give you an EQ without having to mount a panel on the shoulder of the guitar, and 2. Give you much more control over the EQ than you would have with an onboard EQ. I haven't done this, but looking to electrify my Yamaha acoustic to start playing out for the first time. Would much rather plug in than mic it. What are your thoughts?

@clydehannah1056 2 года назад

Love the LRBAGGS LYRIC in my Martin Custom Shop OO-18 & FISHMAN RARE EARTH BLEND in a Martin OOO-28 (didnt require Permanent Installation) but won’t be changing because of the Great Sound I’m Able to Get! I do use an LRBAGGS VENUE DI but it’s not a Necessity…played without and never think about those Pickups in those Martins until I watch a Demo Video. Thank You for the Extra Effort in your Video Jeremy, the Time it MUST TAKE in Comparing All of those!

@EyeOfWoden 2 месяца назад

The LR Baggs Lyric and Taylor Expression System 2, hands down. Thanks for making this video.

@icarocosta4302 2 года назад

i got the lr baggs lyric. it with a good eq sounds perfect. the bad part is the sensibility of the mic. get all the sound of the contact for the guitar on your body (learning english)

@karlcountry2363 2 года назад

I’m not a Taylor guy but there pickup seemed to represent the sound of the guitar the best.

@mrgreen1198 2 года назад

yes id i recall there was something to work with EQ wise to tune it in but had potential - also not a Taylor gy but maybe now will consider it. Still a Baggs M1 fan

@duffermod1 2 года назад

The Taylor expression number 1 without a doubt. The K&K number 2 . But if I was to put a pick in my guitar it would have to be K&K . I know especially LR Baggs and Fishman are up there as top top pick up manufacturers but in this video (and had good headphones on ) sounded absolutely terrible . Sorry Baggs and Fishman fans but that's my opinion . Good video Jeremy . Guitar line up incredible.

@joshuadsmusic94 11 месяцев назад

There’s a Brazilian pickup company called Harmonik microphones. 2 mics & a piezo, mix tone and volume knobs tucked under the sound hole (you can adjust the mic balance and piezo levels with a special tool). And the dealbreaker is a feedback suppressor button, which can store settings for frequencies that feedback (20 for the mics, 10 for the piezo). Piezo pieces are long enough for extended range acoustic / classical guitars (quite common in Brazil). I’m guessing the only reason they are not more well known is because they are Brazilian and not widely known outside? Would love to see you review that

@gabrielobrien21 2 года назад

Audio engineer here. The variables we aren't accounting for here are the room and mic placement. Those mics are in XY but they're basically pointed at the ceiling, not facing the guitar, and appear to be 3-6 feet away. None of the miked guitars sound very good and I know that's not accurate because some of those are outstanding guitars. So there's a mic placement issue. There aren't any pickups that will sound like that, nor should they. Move your mic - and I recommend just using one - 8-12in away pointed at the treble side of the upper bout. Set the input gain so the mics and the pickups are hitting roughly -18 to -12db. You'll get a much straighter comparison.

@andrewbootsdekemper3410 2 года назад

Huss and dalton sounded the best. I have found that no pickup is perfect. I use the tone dexter preamp and it has fixed the issues I’ve had with all pickups.

@bjornbezjak4315 2 года назад

same here. Tone Dexter!

@MrPhotomiked 2 года назад

my yamaha fsx3 with their Atmosfeel system is fantastic….even anthem or kk mini don’t come close. Please include in your next compatison!

@staylofordo7111 Год назад

The Lyric sounded close to the real guitar. I’m going to listen again because I would replace the pickup In my Yamaha LL16 D

@ZacCostilla 2 года назад

I liked the K&K the best. They have a preamp that supposedly makes it even closer. I almost bought the system for my guitar, but settled on the Mojotone sound hole pickup because it sounded better to me. I wish more RU-vidrs would review it and give it a try.

@eddyrogiers6099 2 года назад

K&k for me en journey picups the best acoustic pickup for les dollar eddy from Belgium

@janeandthecoolcats5033 2 года назад

On most of my acoustics i’ve installed the k&k trinity (undersaddle +mic) which goes into their preamp. And I have to say it is very close to the acoustic sound :) As in all systems with a mic be aware of the feedback in live settings and bring a feedback buster along..

@Nayah9 2 года назад

I first bought the Mojotone NC-1 soundhole pickup for my mahogany Martin. Best sound I heard from a magnetic pickup, but it still sounds like a magnetic pickup. It also had so much background noise it ruined soft playing. Furthermore, it easily picked up RF interference from the mains, so I basically ended up with a constant 4Khz tone depending on which venue I played in. The NC-1 is advertised as having a noise cancelling quiet coil, it's anything but that. Loudest noise I've ever heard in a pickup. I sent it back and then tried the L.R. Baggs M80 which was much quieter, but didn't sound as good as the NC-1. Both pickups had a bit of that electric guitar sound, especially when strumming hard or playing percussively. Inevitable for magnetic pickups. I then tried the L.R. Baggs Anthem, which sounded amazing (when using the mic), but turning up the volume just a little bit introduced a lot of feedback, which wasn't viable for me since I play loud gigs in unpredictable venues. Unavoidable for mic pickups. I sent the Anthem back and finally settled for the K&K Pure Mini with the soundhole-mounted volume wheel (no preamp needed). My guitar now sounds much more like an acoustic, has absolutely zero noise and resists feedback well. It's a tiny bit quacky since it's a piezo but thanks to its sticky transducers it is far less quacky than other under-saddle piezos. Either way you're gonna need some EQ for any acoustic pickup. The K&K sounds much more natural than any magnetic pickup to my ears, doesn't get in the way of my playing and is much less hassle.

@roopenieminen558 2 года назад

Great comparison! Thank you.

@robertnewell5057 6 месяцев назад

The K&K is great BUT because it is passive its output is completely dependent on the quality of the PA. I would them all the time, but you can have them through some PAs and they are fine, but with others they are so quiet as to more or less inaudible. So I end up taking a preamp everywhere, which rather destroys the point.

@miked3317 Год назад

Most of your guitars sound fantatisc acoustically, but all the pickups sound HORRIBLE! The Lowden acoustically is incredibly beautiful.......well to me all pickups did sound bad and transform the natural sound in a grotesque way...really.....best put a microphone in front of them.....the fender acoustatonic was surprising still......but all those fine guitars deserve better than the sound those pickups give them. I was not expecting the pickups to sound that bad! great video, thanks!

@dejadejayoutube 2 года назад

no need to worry jeremy:), even through a crappy phone speaker the differences are stark on all fronts. great resource vid 👍

@goldringhunter2431 Месяц назад

K&K Pure Mini going to buy one for my 1976 Gibson J-200 artist. Sold! on the K&K

@kirkp_nextguitar Год назад

The Baggs Lyric has a presence control. It’s important to adjust it for a natural tone when installing. It’s adjusted with a plastic screwdriver, so not intended for use on the bandstand.

@paulheartsongs 2 года назад

Hey Jeremy, thank you for sharing your knowledge. I get a lot of value from your videos.

@Darltornjacket Год назад

Well, Damn. Maybe the Anthem Or K&K. The Taylor pretty good I use Fishman Rare Earth Blend pickups I have a variety of other pickups that came pre installed UST. They all suck Thanks for doing this

@im58woody 2 года назад

I vote for the Furch as top sounding. I have a Baggs Anthem SL in my Martin 00015 Streetmaster and it sounds great. I run it through a Radial Passive Pro DI to the mixer at church.

@Wheelly1 Год назад

Wow man. What an amazing video! The Anthem stage pro just blown my mind. I think this is the only pickup that really transfers the meat of the original acoustic sound...

@burrencrawler Месяц назад

The anthem is great on paper but the pathetically low volume compared to its counterparts the element and the lyrics renders it almost useless, got rid of it and was glad, the element worked much better despite having no mic

@mjohnp2010 2 года назад

Overall the K& K mini to my ears. What was surprising to me was not how the acoustasonic sounded cheap ( not unexpected) mic'd but how good it sounded with the pick up.

@ianreid7791 2 года назад

Great video, Jeremy. It's all very subjective but do yourself a favour and try a K&K Trinity. It's in a whole different league. I have two of my guitars outfitted with them and when time and money allow (they aren't cheap) I plan to replace my Larrivée's 20 year old Baggs I-beam with the Trinity rig. Can't wait. Thanks for all your great work.. and I look forward to more! Happy new year from Ontario.

@gregggyf 2 года назад

Hello Jeremy, I can't tell you which "on-board" guitar system I like the best but I will echo what has been said below, the guitars played through the open air microphone produces the best sound to me. Thank you for the videos.

@robertbauman40 2 года назад

What I got from this is that-- when choosing a guitar the application needs to be kept in mind. If you play unplugged then choose an instrument for that purpose or if amplified what tone is the goal?

@professionalprocrastinator8182 2 года назад

As someone who owns a Taylor 510 with an LR Baggs Anthem Stagepro, I think the one you have might not have the mic dialled in correctly. There’s a small screw inside the battery compartment & the mic adds high end & clarity. When you went to the “mic only” blend, it’s actually a split frequency with the element handling just the lows (the element is never off). I’d expect that to sound full & clear but it instead sounded as if the mic blend was dialled back so it lost clarity. Moving the slider to full element pickup removes the mic from the sound & goes to Baggs version of a piezo.

@cerimccoy 2 месяца назад

Super important to use a great preamp

@frankweber2627 5 месяцев назад

My prefered system is dpa 4060 inside the guitar combined with a sunrise magnetic pickup through Grace Design Felix2. 70-80 % dpa microphone combined with the bass from the sunrise: I like the sound. Best regards and thank you for your comparison.

@nicolmicah 2 года назад

Always loved the Lyric and K&K! I ultimately went with the Lyric when I bought, but it still has things I like to tweak away with my preamp/eq pedal the Grace ALiX

@chaipod Год назад

Acoustic guitars and pickups are just like Russians and Ukrainians where the jack is Biden. Once u turn it on all hell broke loose 🤣

@zacksovine6923 2 года назад

The Fishman Prefix Plus was so close that I didn't realize you had switched except for reading it. The Lr Baggs Anthem at 50/50 sounded the same but it was a lot quieter than the mic you use for comparison which kinda throws a person off.

@barneystrachan Год назад

I have a K&K in one of my guitars and I'm really happy with the sound but I don't think I would use it through a large PA with potential for feedback. I use a Fishman Rare Earth blend on my 70s Bozo and I love it!

@misscorina Год назад

Yep Fishman rare earth blend is THE live acoustic pickup imho.

@recordingriot3450 8 месяцев назад

The only direct mic that sounded usable IMO is the lyric mic. I’ve been producing music for 30+ years including mixing and mastering. Guitar is my main instrument.

@JoeMama410 2 года назад

The best way to make a guitar sound just as good through a pickup and a microphone is to buy a really crappy microphone.

@carbineenibrac1980 2 года назад

Thanks for this - stage pro anthem sounded the closest to me but let's be real, none of them actually sound like the mic'd guitars..

@timnewman1172 2 года назад

I gotta be honest, I hate most of them. The K&K Pure Mini is about the best, but needs a bit of eq & volume boost... The thing I like about the K&K best is it is more unobtrusive in it's installation, which makes it ideal for unmolested guitars like my Martin 0-18.

@raduolteanu2829 2 года назад

Please try the Shatten HFN (passive or active). From my ears it seems the closest to a real mic. It is magic! And it is not so expensive. And noninvasive...

@JeremySheppard 2 года назад

Will do

@texhaines9957 2 года назад

I liked the K&K pure mini as the closest pickup sounding like the acoustic, and will get it installed on guitars that may need electronics. I bought a guitar with a K&K Trinity and that sounds super. I've also bought into Martin's version of a Fishman Aura and that make the amplified sound like the guitar sounds acoustically. I also have Taylor guitars and the ESP2 works/sounds fine. I don't plug in much because of where I play so the K&K is my preference.

@AffinityKit Год назад

I am still waiting for a good pickup system. I've tested the anthem a few times but don't like it. I prefer using Takamines with their special pickup inside the bridge and CT-4b Preamp. They still don't sound very natural, but to my ears they're more present and way more fun than other Piezos. If one wants a very natural acoustic guitar live sound, i think the best solution would be a dual source system (Mic/Pickup) running into two differently processed channels. What also makes a difference is having some room/reverb on the signal. Another thing which might become more and more interesting in the future is using IRs. I tried it on acoustic guitar but it wasn't much better than my processed Takamine signal (yet?).

@JTroskaTV 2 года назад

I think you just saved me some money. I was researching possible upgrades to my stock Fishman Classic 4 piezo system. But maybe I’ll just stick with what I’ve got. The Anthem gets so much hype but it doesn’t seem to be much of an improvement based on this. Piezos are unforgiving and unflattering. But they’re fairly easy to EQ into something serviceable for a mix. I just wish they didn’t emphasize every rattle and buzz and make the guitar sound in need of a setup. The LR Baggs Element seems to be an improvement over the Fishman but not enough to justify the expense and work of replacing what I’ve already got.

@kodybryantmusic7357 Год назад

anthem mic wasn't hot enough. I put mine all the way to the mic then a smidge back. Sometimes I take some highs off, but it's very close to how my Taylor 414ce sounds. You have to know how to use your pickup. The piezo in that pickup will overpower the mic if it's not dialed in right and it will be very bassy!

@instrumentenfreak 2 года назад

Man ... your stagepro needs to be set up correctly. The mic is almost nonexistent in your preamp. You need the special tool to make it much louder... I had the same problem and was very disappointed until I found out that the mic needed adjustment.

@LonsdalePalmer Год назад

My God, they all suck! What about those outside mics like the DP 4099?

@jimwatson7438 Год назад

Thanks for the video, truly a huge challenge to match a pickup that represents the natural sound best. I have installed LR Baggs, lyrics, anthem SLs and the full Stage Anthem in a Martin D-24, a Taylor 416cE and a Gibson Sj-200. without a doubt, the four stage anthem with onboard controls and blend between Mic & piezo has been very best and most accurate representation of the natural sound. Get ready to spend about 300 bucks but it’s worth it!

@nickspitzley8539 2 года назад

Yeah... If you're using a piezo pickup mostly for that guitars purposes then just get whatever guitar you think looks best. Cuz it won't matter what it sounds like unplugged. You're hearing the strings and the breaking points. That lyric mic was nice. It needs a preamp. Oh and fishman has proprietary pickups for a certain body size. The mod technology in the fender acoustisonic is that with a selectable sweep. The fender higher end California acoustics is the same as the paramount system. I think the high end fishman in the higher end orangewood guitars is like that too. So the preamp mods it to sound more natural. So it's not the natural tone but neither it the peizo tone to begin with so eh whatever.

@chico280 Год назад

I have had the LR Baggs Element on a seagull guitar and loved it once I got it dialed in. I also have had and liked the LR Baggs dual source (an earlier version) and that sounded quite different. More mic in the mic if you know what I mean. Yours seemed muffled sounding for some reason. I was impressed with the Taylor system here actually.

@chico280 Год назад

Anthem EQ I meant not the element since it appears I can't edit this comment.

@burrencrawler Месяц назад

The lyric sounds great but warning to all, turning it up is not possible without feedback, great in your bedroom though

@jackbyrd4921 Год назад

The thing I you should remember that at this point in time a acoustic instrument most likely will not sound the same with a pickup. There's going need to alot more processing to achieve that at least that's what I'm thinking.

@markBAMBOO12 7 месяцев назад

The first tone thats the sounds that i need❤

@garfield8900 4 месяца назад

In my opinion the lyric pickup sounds the most natural and has the best tone.

@Travels_Tunes 2 года назад

I use IK multimedia Acoustic stage and it sounds close to the actual guitar sound.

@keestoft250 2 года назад

The K and K for me, it has an uncoloured flat sound that just requires some EQ to bring it up. K and K make an outboard preamp voiced for the pickup too. No batteries, lovely. Quite possibly job done!

@mootal2812 11 месяцев назад

What model is the K&K preamp?

@j.merkus 2 года назад

Thanks for this comparison! It really helpes to decide which pickup I want. I liked the K&K best. I got it in one of my guitars and I think I'll take another one in my other guitar.

@genegreenfield3551 2 года назад

I install the K&K Puri Mini in all the guitars I build. I like it the best because it doesn’t alter the guitar in anyway.It picks up not only the strings but also the body as well.

@burrencrawler Месяц назад

Guitar builders don't do gigs, so they end up with opinions about pickups which rarely agree with those who gig, I used the KK and it was awful, not to mention taking out the individual pads someone had glued in

@jasondonovan-oo3dx Месяц назад

@burrencrawler have you found one you like? I have a D18 and hate the knk mini

@burrencrawler Месяц назад

@@jasondonovan-oo3dx yes, the LR baggs element, I installed it in my 1930's Gibson L00

@occimoron 9 месяцев назад

I don't like any of the under saddle pick ups, they have that artificial attack that is hard to avoid. I like the lyric pick up ( Baggs calls them microphones, not pick ups, because that's what they are) and I have installed them in a couple of guitars; to me they sound most natural but you have to EQ them a bit to add some bass. I don't like the anthem as much because again, it has an under saddle pick up to boost the low end but it sounds too artificial.

@TomMcCormickGuitar 2 года назад

God I hate the ES2 system SO MUCH hahaha great video!!!!!

@ikigai47 3 месяца назад

I think most of them sound fine for live use but no musician would be caught dead in studio using them Element VTC: Lacks mid and high, a tad muddy but sounds okay Fishman Prefix Plus: Sounds fine LR Bags Anthem: Impossible to judge since it sounds like the treble was at zero LR Bags Lyric: Not enough body Taylor Expression System 2: A bit middy, which is great for live actually to cut through. It compared a lot more favorably than I imagined it would Pure Mini Passive: Sounded better than I thought but does lack body. How much of that is because it's in a small body, I don't know Fender Acoustasonic: Wow this one gets a lot of hate online but I was very impressed. Sounded better than all the rest though obviously it sounds the worst just mic'd Sonitone GT-1 Sounded great though lacked a tad high end. Great for live singer songwriter stuff but seems like it'd get lost in a live band mix

@Thoracius 2 года назад

Lyric is severely lacking low end but sounds the most natural. Surprised the Stage Pro Anthem at 100% mic sounded so muddy. Could maybe use some EQ adjustment to brighten it up? The Pure Mini is surprisingly not terrible, and is cool for a retro Beatles-y sound -- at least on that guitar that's already pretty tight and mid sounding. Don't understand why the Fishmans are so ubiquitous -- makes the guitar sound like it's made out of plastic. Can't stand that sound.

@dwaynenewton1 2 года назад

Okay, you have a problem here. Are you trying to compare with what people hear in a room? The mic placement is the issue. I am hearing room reflections and I am not hearing what I normally would with a properly placed mic. The Zoom recorder mics are picking up the mids and highs, but the lows are rolling off substantially. This really becomes apparent with the two guitars utilizing a body mic. I wonder what would change if you were to redo this video with the mic closer to the guitar. I have a guitar that sounds very close to a miced sound when plugged in. But my comparison was based on what the mic picks up a few inches away and slightly below the soundhole.

@kapstersmusic 2 года назад

Nice demonstration Jeremy. It's frustrating to hear a beautiful guitar's tone turn into "piezo quack". Often, especially with streaming, the player doesn't really hear it as much as the listener because they can still hear the acoustic sound of the guitar, unless they use very good closed back headphones as a monitor. It would have been nice to hear the Fishman Aura VT or Matrix Enhance VT systems in the mix, they add a transducer to the piezo signal from under the saddle. I have the Aura on my Dread and the Matrix on my 000 and they sound good to me through the mixer. That being said, nothing compares to the sound captured by my Zoom H5 with an XY mic a couple of feet in front of the sound hole. I have heard it said that it's just not possible to capture what you want with any microphone or pickup system INSIDE a guitar, when the sound you want to capture is IN FRONT of the guitar.

@thefreese1 Год назад

The system in theTaylor was enjoyable to me ... Personally I don't need a guitar to sound as it does acoustically while on stage ...I want to be able to set it for the song.. My Martin is has an awesome sound and is loud and if i was worried about duplicating it on stage I would simply mic it with a decent microphone like a sm57 or similar..as loud as permissible without feedback. I solo .. so I want that a good bass on the upper strings to get a full sound to go with my style of picking... which most decent undersaddles will do.. But I Also need clarity on all the mid and high strings... If you want that pure acoustic sound do what the Bluegrass groups do . Get a great omni and take turns on the leads ... :)

@jaycee4203 2 года назад

Hey brother Jeremy! I have found that I cannot stand acoustic guitar pick ups. Therefore, for the last several years I have been using a DPA-4099G condenser mic that attaches to the guitar. You might give this a good look/listen, I think it is the truest acoustic sound I have found to date. Thanks for the great videos! Keep up the great work!

@danholmes8044 2 года назад

I used to be a K&K guy, but recently have switched to the Anthem. Sounds great in my D35 once I've got it eqed! Just like having a mic without being stuck on stage with a mic. I'm also gonna guess that the pick up will need to be paired with the guitar....some pick ups might actually sound better in different guitars!

@blufordbirdsong1834 Год назад

Very helpful. I liked the Taylor. Also loved your general positive message at the close. Keep up the great videos man. Don't know if you are a Christian, my guess is yes. You are a good witness in the way you present yourself.

@TravisWhiteTribe 16 дней назад

LR Baggs Lyric easily...and put this into a serious preamp or DI it will get you the best sound for sure.....in my opinion and just using this video as a reference. Thank you for doing this no nonsense review. Perfect!!

@gerysasko3410 2 года назад

I wanted to like the K&K mini but I don’t get what the big deal is. I know it’s inexpensive and seen as a good value but it sounded trebly and more artificial than the others. Subjective, yes I know. The Lyric maybe sounded the best to me but they all sounded unsatisfying compared to the straight mike.

@kevincrouch3956 2 года назад

Maton AP5 Pro...beats the lot of them hands down...

@kudgeond755 2 года назад

Thanks for doing this comparison. I was curious to see whether any of these pickups would sound ok. I always thought pickups make an acoustic guitar sound like the strings are made of rubber bands and most of these systems confirmed by bias against them. I liked the sound of the Taylor Expression system the most. I was surprised at how much was lost in the bass & mids with the mic on the LR Baggs Lyric - it made the Huss & Dalton sound tinny like a cheap student guitar. Off topic but the Furch sounds fantastic and was my favorite guitar. Maybe I liked it the most because I love my Dowina Chardonnay GA (Dolomite Spruce/Walnut) and I think they sound fairly similar. Interesting that these small Czech & Slovakian companies are producing such outstanding guitars with their own unique sound. I don't need or want a pickup but I bought the Dowina used and it came with an LR Baggs Stage Pro Element that I have never even tested.

@alonzogarbanzo 2 года назад

I used some Taylors in the early 2000s to record and wasn't that impressed, but I agree, the Expression system in that Taylor came about the closest to reproducing the chunk. I was a little shocked at how thin and rubber-band-y the Fishmans tended to sound. The Telecaster didn't sound like much unplugged, but the first electrified sound on it was closer to a miked acoustic than several of the earlier demos. I like the Fishman Aura system in my 2005 Martin DC-Aura, but I don't know how it would sound in a comparison test like this.

@kudgeond755 2 года назад

@@alonzogarbanzo Other than the Taylor system most of the others were just as grating and unnatural sounding to my ears as autotuned vocals in pop music. I'm glad you're happy with the Aura but the Fishmans in this vid sounded horrible imo.

@fazooleq1523 Год назад

yeah - I agree - all the pickups sounded bad. AFter trying countless pickups for home and stage use I've found only two solutions that are tolerable: a K&K with an external LR Baggs Gigpro preamp or as fishman rare earth blend soundhole pickup going through an acoustic amp. I did have a Godin A12 that sounded really good, but I tried their A6 and hated the sound so it was hit-or-miss

@darrylday30 2 года назад

Great guitar collection! I’d love to see a re make of this video with a mono mic signal and some basic EQ on the direct signals. I think this would be a practical comparison as most pick ups are mono and generally everyone applies basic eq to make pick ups usable when plugging in. On a side note, I think your Anthem equipped guitar is somehow missing a large chunk of top end in it’s direct signal. Perhaps the mic trim screw needs a tweek or maybe the treble control was down. It’s a fantastic guitar and the anthem should be able to reproduce it. BTW, I love that Zoom mic on your guitars. Sometimes I turn mine sideways to spread the strings left to right across the speakers when finger picking. Great video, thanks for sharing.

@cramerfan04 2 года назад

I have 4 favorites, the only ones that I thought were faithful to the mic only sound. They are the L.R. Baggs Anthem, the Taylor Expression System 2, the K&K Sound Pure Mini, and the Fishman Acoustasonic. I think I would vote for the Anthem as the most realistic sounding, but I’d be happy with any of them. The Pure Mini really surprised me as a passive pickup, maybe that should be what’s used on lower end guitars instead of crappy sounding active systems. Also, that Gibson sounds AMAZING!! It’s really a shame how bad it sounds through the pickups compared to mic’ing it. (BTW, I’m a Jeremy too!) Great video, love your content!

@jamesa375 Год назад

they all sound fine through the mic and they all pretty much suck through the pickup.The somewhat tolerable pickups out of these, iMO were the LR Baggs Lyric and the Pure mini.all the others were horrible.The most natural pickup for acoustic is the Journey.

@chuckywaggs7770 2 года назад

Undersaddle pickups all sound quacky. IMHO you're better off going wit an adjustable pole magnetic, like a Fishman M1 and shaping tone through a good preamp like a Para di. Can get loud w/o feedback and much less quacky and noisey. Might not sound like an acoustical guitar natural but I think you can get way closer.

@reynoldswrap36 2 года назад

I have a Lyric in my 70's Takamine (Martin lawsuit era) and it was the closest I could get to the guitar sounding the same plugged in and with my ears. The Lyric does have a tiny, screwdriver operated tone control on it to help tame the highs and stop it from feeding back. I dialed it back almost all the way and now it sounds like the guitar in the room when I plug it into my interface or PA.

@Mike-kl1qc 2 года назад

Did you get your car alternator paid for through your guitar sale?

@LottimusMaximus Год назад

Best I’ve ever had is the Seymour Duncan SA-6 MagMic.

@leonodoherty9775 10 месяцев назад

For me you can't go wrong with a Fishman Rare Earth! (not featured in the vid). I do get feedback problems quite a lot tho through the moniters when on stage (but that could be down to the sound engineer). Despit that it's always sounded great out front! And it doesn't take much technique to rectify the feedback when playing, muting the strings and such you can get a great percussive sound.x

@jimboucher377 2 года назад

I have to be honest, I think I liked the Taylor Expression System the best. I have a Boucher SG-52-C with the Fishman Matrix Infinity and also a Taylor 614ce with the Expression System. The Boucher outplays the Taylor acoustically. But when I'm out on a gig, I play the Taylor because of the pickup sound. And also because I don't want anything happen to my Boucher. 😉

@JeremySheppard 2 года назад

With a name like Boucher, that means a lot. I can't wait to get a boucher.

@justinrussell3308 2 года назад

Great video man! This was very informative! I also struggle with this same problem. The K&k, and the Expression System probably sounded the closes acoustically to my ear. Although the Lyric with some EQ might do the trick as well. I'll throw this out there, the Takamine Tld-2 system is an amazing pickup. As well as the Fishman Matrix Infinity Mic Blend. I've also been running some of my acoustics through a LR Baggs Session Align pedal to sweeten the sound. Check it out if you haven't already, it really makes the guitar stand out more naturally in solo or duo performances. Thanks again for the video! Cheers!

@gracenotes5379 2 года назад

Lyric Acoustic, if EQ'ed skillfully would be my choice. There are enough ingredients there for a skilled sound engineer to work with, or for a properly adjusted LR Baggs para acoustic DI to bring out, I suspect.