Pick-up suggestion for a '69 J-50

[amemee]

Hello,

I bought my very first Gibson yesterday and am still buzzing with excitement. I gig quite regularly and am needing to get a pick-up installed in my j-50 (quite soon too). Just wondering if you have any suggestions or opinions as to what is the best way to go. I'm looking for one that requires very little modification, yet is hidden from the sound hole.

Thoughts?

Many thanks

[ryanfender]

I would recommend the K&K Pure Mini Western or the L.R. Baggs M1.

[pescadore]

I am very interested in this topic. I have a '73 to '75 J-50 and have been considering the K&K Mini. I have read some good reviews on AGF. They are around $90 and don't appear to be too difficult to install. If I get one, I will post a review.

[vincentw]

Sunrise have always been very very good. Anyone know the wait for one of these now?

[Jon S.]

I would recommend the K&K Pure Mini Western or the L.R. Baggs M1.

 

+1 on the Baggs M1. I used the passive version with the Paracoustic D.I. box for a long time and it sounded great!

[rachelharrington]

I play gigs a lot. I use a Martin (Fishman) Thinline and just go direct to the board/PA with it (usually have to tell the soundguy to ease off the lows a bit but my guitar is naturally very low end-y). It's installed under the saddle, totally invisible, no external knobs. When possible, I supplement the pickup with an instrument mic (for tone, not volume), just a Shure SM 57. It's a good hearty combo that travels well, holds up, does the job, sounds good, and is predictable. Just replace the 9-volt battery every 6 months. I travel with a cheap $500 Texan reissue and am amazed at the compliments I get on my guitar sound at every show.

 

I believe this is the new, slightly upgraded version of what I have now. I'll get this installed on my new Gibson whenever I get one:

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Martin-Thinline-Gold+Plus-Acoustic-Pickup-System?sku=300255

 

Have fun!

[Honky Dog]

I love the K&K Pure Mini. Great acoustic tone. I can plug directly into my acoustic amp or PA without a preamp just fine. The Baggs, which is stock on many Gibsons, sells used for more than the cost a new K&K. I know because I've sold several to replace with the K&K. Some prefer the Baggs, I prefer the K&K. Both are great, just a personal preference for me.

 

 

 

[zombywoof]

Because of the heavier bracing on the late 60s guitars, I would think a soundhole pickup would work better than an under the saddle system which lives off of the energy from top vibration. Just a guess though.

[Jinder]

For the guy who asked about the Sunrise, I think there is a 6-month wait for one nowadays. They are great, but necessitate a preamp etc to work properly, so might not be the optimum choice for a working musician who wants to plug and play on the hoof without fuss.

 

David Gilmour uses an LR Baggs M1 soundhole pickup in his J50, which sounds great-these are supeb pickups.

 

I'm imagining it's an Adj. bridge model, so a standard UST might be a problem. I approached K&K with regard to putting a Pure Mini in a '68 B15 with adj. bridge a couple of years back, and they said they'd had excellent results from installations in adj. Gibsons.

 

Congrats on the new guitar by the way...they're great!

[KL]

I would go for a Baggs M1 Active soundhole pickup. I have one in my 66 J-45 and my J-185 12 and I have been more than pleased with them.

[EuroAussie]

I would go for a Baggs M1 Active soundhole pickup. I have one in my 66 J-45 and my J-185 12 and I have been more than pleased with them.

 

Interesting. I bought an M1a mainly to be used on my CW and have found the sound to be horrid. I get this quacky tone that sounds like a phased electric - awful.

 

Im sending mine back to Baggs, hopefully mine was just a dud.

 

Just a word of warning.

 

PS: I also have a Fishman Matrix Infinity installed in my Furch which i am very happy with.

 

cheers.

[pschaafs]

I have had a Baggs active Ribbon Transducer in my 1969 J-50 for many years and have been happy with it

[KL]

Interesting. I bought an M1a mainly to be used on my CW and have found the sound to be horrid. I get this quacky tone that sounds like a phased electric - awful.

 

Im sending mine back to Baggs' date=' hopefully mine was just a dud.

 

Just a word of warning.

 

PS: I also have a Fishman Matrix Infinity installed in my Furch which i am very happy with.

 

cheers.[/quote']

 

It does sound like you have a dud. I've never had any problems with quack with either of mine. If you send it back to Baggs they can tell you if there was something wrong with it, so please report back. Their customer services are very good.

 

I have a Fishman Matrix undersaddle in one J-45 (Factory Fitted) and I would say it is OK but not as good as the Baggs M1a. I have a Headway in my D-28. It's an undersaddle and it sounds really good. Customer service is not so good there though. Got a quick reply when I wanted to buy something, but no reply when I had a problem.

[milod]

You don't want it to show in the soundhole?

 

Hmmmm. If I had it to do over again, I'd stick with a soundhole pickup on my flat-top 12, but get one with at least a volume built in, if not vol and tone. I did have it installed with a jack on the guitar so all the "stuff" is inside except for the pickup itself.

 

I've also got a cupla mid 1970s Ovation EAs that are pretty nice, but... I'm not sure that if you have the right strings the soundhole pickup doesn't work about as well. Either type can feed back, depending.

 

As for looks... yeah, I got hung up way too much on looks when I was a kid. Now I think sometimes that a bit of "this is my special put-together to do what I want" look may be better than the "see how clean and stock this nice guitar looks."

 

<grin>

 

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