jasonguitar09 Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 I haven't had too much experience with acoustic pickups and I am not particularly a fan of the piezo sound but on a friend's recommendation I installed a Baggs Element in one guitar and for live use its working satisfactorily. However, I have an early 70's J-50 with an adjustable bridge so it can't use an under saddle type pickup and was wondering what forum members might recommend for a guitar like this. The Pure Western Mini the way to go? Any advice? Anybody know what Amy Mann uses? I think she plays a J-45 with an adjustable saddle sometimes and has a great plugged in sound. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grOOved Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 There are only 4 types of pickups for acoustic I know of - a miniature mic, stick on transducer, piezo undersaddle, and soundhole magnetic. All have difference sounds so you have mic, transducer, and magnetic as your options. A mic will sound the most natural, but also most prone to feedback (which makes them the least popular). The most popular transducers are bridge plate (e.g. K&K or B-Band). They sound really good, but do have feedback issues at high volumes. Magnetic pickups sound the most "electric" since it's pretty much the same design as an electric. With magnetic pickups you have a lot more volume without feedback and can get a very deep/round tone (but more tone from the strings than "wood"). Obviously there are designs out there that do their best to deal with feedback, balance, and tone. But this should give you a good idea of your options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drathbun Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 I would add the K&K Pure Western Mini and the LRBaggs iBeam to another category; SBT (soundboard transducers). These two are, IMO, the best acoustic pickups on the market. They both adhere to the underside of the bridge plate inside the guitar and should be the best solution (again IMO) for an adjustable bridge acoustic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonguitar09 Posted December 6, 2009 Author Share Posted December 6, 2009 I would add the K&K Pure Western Mini and the LRBaggs iBeam to another category; SBT (soundboard transducers). These two are' date=' IMO, the best acoustic pickups on the market. They both adhere to the underside of the bridge plate inside the guitar and should be the best solution (again IMO) for an adjustable bridge acoustic. [/quote'] That's kind of what I've been thinking. Any preference between the two? I'm leaning toward the K&K. It seems that you have to buy the proprietary preamp for either to get the most out of them though right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GibsonGuy Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 You will not be able to make a UST work with the Gibson adjustable bridge, I use a LR Baggs M1 active in my 1961 J-50 with exceptional results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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