Best Piezo/Mic Acoustic Pickup?

[Chistopher]

I played one of them there Seymour Duncan SA1 in my Taylor BBT (solid Sitka Spruce top, layered Sapele side
back, and neck, ebony fretboard) and it didn't have the fullness I was expecting from an electrified acoustic.

What I was looking for is one of those piezo/mic combinations that unobtrusively sits on the side of the sound hole with the jack inserting into the strap hole. Preferably at a decent price; LR Baggs Anthems look good, but $300 is too much.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Best Piezo/Mic Acoustic Pickup?

Well, the Mag Mic sounds pretty remarkable, but it is magnetic and mic, not a piezo. You do have to be careful at very high volumes, as the mic can feed back, but you can dial less of it in the signal if you need to.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Best Piezo/Mic Acoustic Pickup?

I looked at that, but one of the big parts about it is that I want it to be discrete enough that you can't see it from a distance.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Best Piezo/Mic Acoustic Pickup?

Yeah, you'd have to go for an internal system for that. Something like the Wavelength Duo would be a good choice. There used to be some more choices in acoustic pickups from Duncan under their old DTAR line- I had a Mama Bear for awhile.

No matter what pickup system I use, I always wind up further processing the signal.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Best Piezo/Mic Acoustic Pickup?

You know wha, I think I can afford an LR Baggs right now. How does the Anthem compare to the Lyrics and SD's Wavelength Duo?

 

[Mincer]

Re: Best Piezo/Mic Acoustic Pickup?

Personally, I've never compared them. Maybe someone else here has.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Best Piezo/Mic Acoustic Pickup?

I have no idea what it is - but my Yamaha Classical has that combo and it is bad@$$ sonically when amplified.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Best Piezo/Mic Acoustic Pickup?

I just found online that there is also a Ultra Tonic available from James May Engineering (not the one from Top Gear) who sells a version of the K&K Mini with a few extra Bells and whistles to get rid of the bassy overtones and prevent feedback with phase cancelation of certain lower frequencies; it's also completely passive. Anyone hear about this?

 

[jeremy]

Re: Best Piezo/Mic Acoustic Pickup?

got a link? i usually find passive systems to be really low output so depending on what you are plugging into, you may want a preamp

 

[Artie]

Re: Best Piezo/Mic Acoustic Pickup?

I want it to be discrete enough that you can't see it from a distance.

I recently did a repair on an Epiphone EJ-200SCE. It uses the Shadow Electronics E-sonic system that has both the Nanoflex undersaddle piezo, and the Nanomag neck pickup. It's so small it's virtually invisible. You can blend them to any degree. It was one of the best sounding acoustics I've ever heard. That little neck pickup really added something.

You can just barely make it out at the end of the fretboard.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Best Piezo/Mic Acoustic Pickup?

got a link? i usually find passive systems to be really low output so depending on what you are plugging into, you may want a preamp

http://jamesmayengineering.com