Topic: Pickup for fingerstyle blues?

[westside ryan]

Howdy,
I was hoping for some input on a good pickup for fingerstyle blues?  I am use to playing an acoustic with a loud band and because of this I've always used soundhole pickups (like the LR Baggs M1) as undersaddle pickups always sounded brittle and transducers would produce a lot of feedback.  I noticed that when playing solo and at lower volumes that my much loved LR Baggs M1 doesn't sound very natural and has more of electric guitar sound.

Any suggestions?

[Pan]

Hi Ryan

I believe most people here would opt for an external mic for a more natural sound.
A K&K pure mini is a popular bridge plate transducer.
I've had fairly good results with a Schatten Dualie soundboard transducer.
Stay away from the undersaddle piezos.

See this thread fore more info: http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=7057.msg56119#msg56119

Cheers

Pan

[Gumbo]

anyone use one of these? it's designed for smaller soundholes, and I'd be curious how it sounds
http://www.amazon.com/Lawrence-Compact-Magnetic-Soundhole-Guitars/dp/B000C1Z5T8

paste this into the amazon.com weeniesearch on the left if you want to buy:

Lawrence-Compact-Magnetic

[Pan]

Hi Ryan

I believe most people here would opt for an external mic for a more natural sound.
A K&K pure mini is a popular bridge plate transducer.
I've had fairly good results with a Schatten Dualie soundboard transducer.
Stay away from the undersaddle piezos.

See this thread fore more info: http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=7057.msg56119#msg56119


Cheers

Pan

I use to have a K&K Pure Western but to be honest I can't really remember what it sounded like (I remember it sounding decent tho) and I had to switch pickups to play with my band.  Is the Dualie sound comparable to thr K&K?  They are pretty cheap!

Unfortunately I have no personal experience on the K&K, so I can't compare it with the Dualie. Mike Brosnan seems to get a good sound out of the K&K's and that's what most people recommend on different internet sites. See his video on the matter:

 

Cheers

Pan

[GhostRider]

The best sounding amplified acoustic guitar I have ever heard is Mary Flower's L-00, in which she uses a Highlander pickup, undersaddle I think.

You can go to her webpage and ask her for the details.

Alex

[Pan]

I don't think that I could go the under saddle route ever again.  Maybe if I had enough cash to have a specific guitar used only for finger picking and only at low to moderate volumes.  Over the years I have just had to many problems with the sound and feedback of under saddles while playing (competing) with a band or in medium to large venues.  Right now I need something that can do both the finger picking and the band thing.

Sorry to say this, but I believe the undersaddle piezos are mostly popular because they are more feedback-resistant in loud band situations, not because of their sound! 
If you want an all around pickup and guitar, you can cross the Dualie from your list, at least. Maybe you'd have better luck with the K&K. Or use an external magnetic pickup for the band work.  I doubt that a solution that would work well in all situations really exists.

Pan