Acoustic pickup query

[southpawpete]

I play a cheap Fender electro acoustic with a rather uninspiring piezo pickup. What I'm wondering is whether it's possible to install a soundhole pickup like the Woody, but wire it to the onboard preamp for greater control.

Has anyone tried this?

 

[Artie]

Re: Acoustic pickup query

I've never done it, but I don't see why you couldn't. The only "tricky" part is that under saddle pickups usually use a tiny 1/16" plug. You'd probably want to solder one of those to the Woody so that you didn't have all that cable rattling around inside the guitar. You'd need to make sure your soldering skills are up to snuff. Alternatively, you could upgrade to one of the "Hotspot" style acoustic pickup systems like K&N make. Duncan used to make them through D-TAR, but I don't see them anymore.

Edit: Something else occurred to me. There isn't a whole lot of variation in under saddle pickups. It's just a piezo crystal. The lack of sound quality could be in the preamp itself. Just a thought.

 

[David Garner]

Re: Acoustic pickup query

Honestly, I’d just get a separate preamp. I use a Baggs M80 and a Para DI.

If you don’t like the onboard pickup, chances are the preamp isn’t any better.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Acoustic pickup query

The Mag Mic contains instructions on how to permanently mount it.